Downeast Schoolhouse » wily & nefarious

What’s So Expensive About Democracy?

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:59:55 +0000

Here’s an interesting turn of events.

Some of our esteemed solons, including Justin Alfond of Portland (we keep running into that name!), are suggesting that we dump the present school budget approval process.

Read about it in this morning’s Kennebec Journal here.

“Money” (pardon) quote:

Three lawmakers on the Education Committee have recently suggested eliminating [...]

The Truth Sometimes Outs!

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:58:05 +0000

Here’s a little insight into the White House’s sanitizing of O’s schoolkid speech:

When critics lashed out at President Obama for scheduling a speech to public school students this month, accusing him of wanting to indoctrinate children to his politics, his advisers quickly scrubbed his planned comments for potentially problematic wording. They then reached out [...]

The Merit Wars

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:00:32 +0000

In his latest Report Card post, Matthew Stone points out that the party lines on merit pay, at least within the State of Maine. have shifted; no longer is it righties for, lefties against. Now that Obama has proposed merit pay, Dems and some of their allies are more favorably inclined. Stone sees little opposition [...]

Charles Murray: “Is He Really This Ignorant?”

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:00:27 +0000

Watching the Obama speech:

It looks very much as if the president is oblivious to everything we’ve learned about social programs and educational reforms in the last 40 years—and by “we” I include policy analysts on the left as well as right. The guy never indicates that he is aware that we’ve tried a whole [...]

“Unsustainable”

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:00:39 +0000

That’s what they say:

“What has been sustainable in the past will certainly not be sustainable in the future,” David Connerty-Marin, the Department of Education’s communications director, told an audience of legislators, lobbyists and others.

Well thanks David!

It was said Monday at this conference. All rather cosy. As though it were an act of [...]

School Choice in Danger

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:00:05 +0000

The Maine Heritage Policy Center’s* Stephen Bowen gives an update on how school choice is faring under reorganization:

For generations, families living in communities without a high school were allowed to send their children to a public or private school of their choice, paid for with public funds under Maine’s “town tuitioning” system. The district [...]

Predictions for Election Day!

admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:00:54 +0000

Yes, we’ve heard that there’s an election going on down in the United States, but up here in Maine, we’ll be watching the school consolidation votes!

Those wily and nefarious conservatives over at As Maine Goes are running a thread soliciting predictions for the consolidation votes.

Here’s one for instance:

Here are my predictions:

DEFEATED [...]