Happy now?

Admittedly, GAE is affiliated with NEA, but it doesn’t have the union strength that NEA affiliates in the north and west have.

Trust me, you’d know it (and hate it) if GAE were a real union.

Only one party has put forth a plan. The Democrats are just preaching to “stay the course.” They don’t want us to “cut & run” on the teacher’s unions.

Yes, well, we don’t disagree on that.

Yawn. False causation alert. Private schools students receive higher marks for reasons that are not, as you assume, an inherently better educational effort. They are largely the result of the self-selection of a better class of student (those able to afford private school and commit to attending it) and the ability to deny entry. It is analagous to comparing the animals in an open-admission shelter and in a no-kill — they are not the same population because one simply does not accept hard cases.

Your solution is to continue the system as is, even though this debate was brought about by the lack of an educationally adequate education offered by the public schools of this state.

My solution is to come up with a plan which is viable, guarantees educational quality, and provides the best value for the state of Georgia. Your choice is to champion a patronage system as a solution when it is likely not one, and on my taxpayer dime.

…your entire argument is based upon your political leanings or some fantasy world.

Let’s be clear here. A fantasy world is one in which the vagaries of the free market combine to primarily deliver something other than a healthy profit margin for every economic beneficiary. Why are you so afraid of accountability?

“This is an issue in particular because the bill creates an economic incentive for creation of new schools, and yet places no provisions in place to assure that either established or new private schools are providing an education which is educationally adequate. As a taxpayer, I believe it fails to provide adequate accountability. And I see no point in subsidizing private education over public education if we are not assured that it is an effective investment in the education of our students. Anything else is a poor use of our resources.”

Since the proof of Georgia private school graduates receiving much higher marks on average than public school graduates is not sufficient to you, you claim that private schools don’t have enough oversight and accountability to provide an “educationally adequate” education.

Your solution is to continue the system as is, even though this debate was brought about by the lack of an educationally adequate education offered by the public schools of this state.

The point in subsidizing private education over public education is because private education facilities have proven to work much better than public education facilities. If you cannot see or admit that, then your entire argument is based upon your political leanings or some fantasy world.

The private market is adequate incentive for most schools to perform. However, there are examples in every state of private schools that do not address the public’s need for a well-educated citizenry. This is a public good, since an educated citizenry is more empowered to participate in every sphere of public life, to obtain better jobs, and to enjoy greater health. This is why there is no substitute for adequate oversight.

A free market yields what the market will bear. It does not necessarily yield “good” if the market does not demand it. And it may not, depending on what providers are located within the market.

In education, this may mean an educationally rigorous school, but it may also mean a school that has inadequate educational instruction but offers other intangible benefits — religious instruction, for example. Or simply an environment in which the students are demographically less diverse. To assume that the private market always creates an academically superior product for each child is to assume that the consumers do not have motivations more significant than education — and we know that’s not true. But as a state it is not our responsibility to do anything other than assure the education of our students.

This is an issue in particular because the bill creates an economic incentive for creation of new schools, and yet places no provisions in place to assure that either established or new private schools are providing an education which is educationally adequate. As a taxpayer, I believe it fails to provide adequate accountability. And I see no point in subsidizing private education over public education if we are not assured that it is an effective investment in the education of our students. Anything else is a poor use of our resources.

Clearly, you have no idea what a free market is, because you could not be more wrong.

External pressure to keep a consistent level of quality in the product is provided by competition. No one is going to pay good money to their child to a failing school – unless they have no other choice (see public schools.)

A free market demands good products for good services and good prices.

I don’t want to make Baby Jesus cry, but this is important.

STOP STEALING MY FAVORITE LINE!

Stealing my line makes the Baby Jesus ® cry even harder.

You are making the Baby Jesus ™ cry!

A lot of people give you and others from the legislature a hard time here, but you have earned my respect by participating in this forum.

Too many politicians want controlled anticeptic environment. It is truly refreshing to see a few that aren’t afraid to discuss things directly with constituents.

If not this year, when ????

Strike a blow for better schools while the iron is hot.

To repeat something i posted a few days ago–to say that the House Leadership is not conservative is really a joke. They voted to limit peachcare to those most in need and to stop class size reductions in high school (no evidence suggests cutting high school class sizes will improve anything)–together these save taxpayers over $100M per year forever. Will the conservatives in the Senate support the bills that provide these budget savings?

Also, I’ll say it, House Republican incumbents need to be defeated through primary challenges this upcoming election cycle.

Heck, I’ll go one step further, if I lived in a district represented by a House Republican, I would run against them or help whomever chose to run against them.

First it was a pork laden budget that had a lot in common with Washington DC Republicans and now it’s blocking all Senate legislation – regardless of merit.

Just a procedural note with respect to House Rules. Representatives and Senators have to present their bills to the committee to have them voted on. This is a long standing practice going back as long as the 20 years I have been here.
Only two bills were asked for today and one was placed on the calendar. Yesterday not one Senator asked for a bill. I truly do not know why they are not asking for their bills. The other is a very good propostion and will surely pass before the end of the session.

Just for informational purposes I am sponsoring a breakfast tomorrow for SB10 and HB 400 advocates and House members. We are flying in several experts to talk with House members about the efficacy of these bills both of which deal with school choice for disadvantaged and disabled students. I am the sponsor of HB 400