Are public teachers overpaid?

According to today's Wall Street Journal, "combining salaries, fringe benefits and job security, we have calculated that public school teachers receive around 52% more in average compensation than they could earn in the private sector."

The next time teachers unions come, tin cup in hand, begging for more money, we need not only to say "No," but to ask for a refund.

HT: Carpe Diem

Governor Beshear should stop being KEA's ventriliquist dummy on charter schools

Jake at Page One Kentucky has taken time off from hyperventilating at practically everything I have ever said to point out that Gov. Steve Beshear, despite fashioning himself as working to resolve problems in Kentucky education, is actually one of the problems in Kentucky education. Not only did he fight Senate Bill 1, which set the educational captives free from the state's ridiculous testing system, but he has yet to come out in full support of the one thing that would result in the state receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top grants: charter schools.

Go Jake!

Folks, all the state has to do is pass charter school legislation and millions of dollars all of a sudden start flowing into Kentucky school coffers. That's all. Just that one little thing.

But that requires that the Governor Beshear remove the hand of KEA ventriloquist that has been shoved up his ... back and take control of himself once again and ask the General Assembly to pass charter school legislation.

Is that so terribly hard, Governor?

The KEA Strikes Again: Kentucky loses millions more in latest Race to the Top grants

For Immediate Release
August 24, 2010

"The state teachers union and the state lawmakers who carry their water have once again caused Kentucky to lose out on millions of dollars in federal money for schools," said Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst with The Family Foundation Kentucky. The comments came in response to today's news that Kentucky lost out on another round of federal Race to the Top money because of the opposition of the politically powerful Kentucky Education Association (KEA), the state's teachers union, and their intransigence on the issue of charter schools.

"State policymakers who have kowtowed to the KEA now have a choice to make," said Cothran: "continue to do the bidding of the teachers unions and punish Kentucky's children, or tell the teachers unions to start looking out for the good of students, teachers, and schools and approve charter schools." Today's failure of Kentucky to receive Race to the Top funding is only the most recent round of awards it has lost out on due to its position on charter schools.

Cothran said state lawmakers have taken too long to act on this issue. "That little horned creature with the pitchfork whispering into the left ear of state lawmakers that they should vote against charter schools is the KEA; the little creature with wings and a halo whispering into their right ear is their common sense telling them to allow charters. If they can't figure out which one they should listen to, then their constituents need to bring them back home."

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Question for KEA: Where do your members stand on changing the CATS test?

Sharron Oxendine says her teachers union, the KEA, . Interestingly, the KEA also opposes Senate Bill 1, which would replace the CATS test with something that is actually valid and reliable.

Now I've got a question for Sharron: Are you telling Kentuckians that there are more members of your organization who support raising taxes than there are members who are in favor of changing the CATS test?

Here's your chance to demonstrate how representative you are of your members. Let's see the numbers, huh?