NC Campaign 2012: Don’t cry for the edu-crats

During the debate over the 2011 state budget, we heard a lot of screaming, crying, moaning and complaining from Democrats and their NCAE allies about alleged draconian budget cuts.  The new Republican majority was responsible for teachers being fired or laid off.  The cuts to state spending on public schools were going to make kids dumber.  

Well, let’s look at how the education establishment is operating in the wake of these “draconian” cuts. In Moore County,  the new superintendent has created AT LEAST THREE NEW six-figure positions at the central office.  (He imported a buddy in from his former system, and promoted two existing local principals to the central office.) 

Meanwhile, teachers are having to rely on their own money — and fundraising from parents’ groups — to equip their classrooms.    I’ll never forget — a few years ago — when a kindergarten class came to my Rotary Club meeting to beg for donations to pay for playground equipment.

Let’s look at what’s going on at the collegiate level.  While classes are getting cancelled because of alleged funding shortages, the “diversity” offices at UNC system campuses are growing by leaps and bounds.

It’s clear that the education establishment considers actually educating the kids a distant second to loading up the taxpayer- funded  bureaucracy with their cronies.  Meanwhile, two-thirds to three-quarters of all North Carolina high school graduates who head to community colleges need some level of remedial training in math, science and English.

A friend of mine just got hired as a teacher in an area public school system.  She told me the bosses are forcing her and her colleagues to sit through a three-day seminar on “Understanding Children in Poverty.”    How about backing off the indoctrination and letting the classroom teachers help those kids learn something SO THEY CAN ESCAPE POVERTY? 

There’s plenty of money to pay consultants to come in and peddle leftist pabulum to the staff.  There’s plenty of money to create new assistant superintendent jobs, with six-figure salaries, that have little to no impact on student performance in the classroom.

We’ve had hack after establishment hack occupying the DPI superintendent’s office.  June Atkinson is just the latest in a long line of charlatans insulting our intelligence, gouging our wallets,  and short-changing our kids.

John Tedesco has a record in Wake County of ripping money away from the bureaucracy and putting it into the classroom — where it does the most good.  I know, he IS a Yankee.  That is ONE strike against him.  But we need this bull-in-a-china-shop to shake up the status quo in Raleigh — and in the education establishment.

June Atkinson is just more of the same — more of this nonsense.  With someone like John Tedesco at the helm, perhaps our public schools can get away from pampering elitist, pointy-head edu-crats with OUR MONEY, and turn the emphasis back toward the really important work in the classrooms.