Donna New Haschke Needs To…How They Say…Take A Chill Pill?
School is out for summer. All across the state, public school teachers can now breath a long sigh of relief, start working on that tan, and relax. The academic year is over (well, almost) and now for our hardworking public school teachers, it’s time for some well deserved R and R.
But while others kick back with their feet up and their favorite drink in hand (at least that is where I would be), Donna New Haschke, the President of the Texas State Teachers Association, wants to be the bully on the playground and keep picking fights. Seriously, Donna, it’s called Vegas…go check it out.
But Donna doesn’t want to, instead Donna wants to get up and gripe for the sake of griping and mask it with her discontent with Education Commissioner Robert Scott’s proposed plan to expend $6 million on a dropout prevention program that could include…brace yourself…grants to private schools that are willing and able to answer the call to bringing our dropout students back to the classroom to finish what they started.
Oh thank you, Lord of Media. Thank you for bringing me an issue to write on instead of that stupid little -Gate thing going on. It’s been too long, so let’s get started.
At the heart of the issue is the ascertation that Commissioner Scott is using this dropout prevention program to start is own little voucher project outside of the Legislature’s permission to do so. Says Donna New Haschke:
“We are appalled but not surprised that the governor’s pet agency has found a way to try and repay his debt to a voucher lobby that has spent millions on his campaigns and have nothing to show for it.”
Believe me, Donna, I don’t think this little $6 million dollar program is what pro-voucher supporters had in mind when they started advocating for school choice. There’s no reason to get upset here, especially after I point out two major flaws in her argument.
To start, it is not accurate to label Mr. Scott’s plan a voucher program when you consider that any grant revenue bestowed to a participating private school will not take one dime away from our public school system. Not…one…dime. That’s right, despite what Donna wants to scare you into believing, this program will have no adverse effect on public school systems. We could give every cent of the $6 million to private schools and there isn’t a single public school in Texas that would have to tighten the budget belt because of it.
But where Donna is mostly wrong, and should be mostly ashamed of herself, is that the proposed program is not limited to just private school participation. Check it out from the DMN article…
The state has allocated about $6 million for dropout recovery grants that will be distributed to school districts, charter schools, universities, education service centers, and private schools operated by nonprofit organizations.
You read it right. Commissioner Scott has put out the call to everyone, public school, private school, charter school, it don’t matter. If you’re willing to participate in this program and can demonstrate your potential for success, then Mr. Scott has some money waiting for you. So in theory, our public school systems could get every dime of the 6 mil, all they have to do is demonstrate the desire to participate and the ability to provide the service.
Except, for Donna New Haschke that first means that she needs to put the microphone down and actually do some work.
You see, this is part of our teachers’ problem. They have bad leadership…really bad. Think of what that $6 million dollars could do to hire more public school teachers in Texas. Think of the supplemental pay increases it can bring to those already teaching who can also carry this extra load. Think of the opportunity that public schools have before them to show the state that they are the superior learning institutes in Texas. What an opportunity this is, the ultimate opportunity, to take your opposition head on and beat them outright.
But Donna doesn’t want to see this as an opportunity. She just wants to yell and scream of foul play. She wants to cry about how the state is trying to usher in a voucher program when the truth is, they’re not. All the state is doing is putting the word out that anyone interested, come forth and make a case for yourself.
Too bad for our public schools, of which I am a product of and greatly appreciate, that Donna is less interested in making that case and more interested in griping about how the 6 mil wasn’t spoon fed to her.
Nothing comes that easy, Donna. You’ve got to earn it. Get off your soapbox and earn yours. For the sake of my friends and my family, for the sake of all our friends and family. For the sake of our public school teachers.