Continuing the discussion regarding the 7-point NC Conservative Agenda. Today is Point 4:

Help Communities Build Schools

The lottery is a fact. It was named “The Education Lottery” and sold that it would be new money to help improve education. Now Governor Easley has admitted that the largest portion of lottery proceeds for lower class sizes and “More at Four” will be used to replace the money budgeted for these categories.

Both lower class sizes and More at Four will require additional classrooms, but the lottery proceeds barely address the problem of providing new classrooms. Conservatives should amend the lottery law establishing the distribution of lottery funds and designate more money for school construction. More at Four and lower classroom sizes will not be affected because they are already funded in the budget while school construction is not.

Local school districts that are experiencing phenomenal growth should receive preference in the distribution of funds, instead of the present formula that gives extra lottery dollars to counties with declining school populations.

Now I do realize that these agenda items are items that people have a hope of getting through the General Assembly THIS YEAR, so they can't put up there "Removal of the public school system" -- even if they should. This agenda items suggests that conservatives modify the lottery law to distribute funds differently. I disagree.

If you want to modify the lottery law, just remove the damn thing. It's state-sponsored, monopolistic gambling. If you want gambling in North Carolina, just legalize gambling and be done with it. You would get much better establishments than just the "lottery" if you did -- and there'd be competition and much less blatant lying if you did that.

This item also doesn't mention much about these "smaller class sizes" and "more at four" programs. Those are governor Easley's pet projects that he loves -- because they give him more power, more control, and more money -- not because they actually DO anything, because they DON'T.

After years of reducing class sizes and years of Easley's trademark "more at four" programs, there is absolutely ZERO correlation between participating in those programs and educational process. In other words, reducing the class size from 30 to 18 has NO effect on education -- other than making it cost more because more teachers are required.

There's supposedly a teacher shortage in North Carolina -- yet no one seems to make the connection that it's because of smaller class sizes -- which, once again, has NO EFFECT on the actual education received. NONE. Same with the "more at four" programs -- they're supposed to give "more opportunity" to "disadvantaged" youths. While there may be evidence of very short-term benefits, over the long run (into middle- and high-school) there's NO effect when comparing those who participated and those who didn't.

Of course, this fits into Easley and the Democrat's plans -- they WANT education to cost more. They WANT more money and more power for education -- and they don't care in the least that their ideas and programs don't actually educate. In their mind, the education system exists so they can spend money and spread power around, and for no other reason.

So no, I don't support "rewriting" the lottery to build more schools. If we want to change school funding at the state level, how about completely eliminating any funding for "English as a Second Language?" Seriously! There's BILLIONS being spent on that, and we shouldn't be spending a dime. If you can't figure what amounts are being used there, it's even easier -- if a school district even HAS an "English as a Second Language" program, that district gets no state money. Can anyone give me a reason why not?

Will this pass? It's hard to say. The lottery is such a hot topic up there, I'm thinking the Democrats will be afraid to touch it at ALL.

Previously:
Introduction
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3

Posted by: Ogre at 03:07 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I sure hope that the North Carolina Community College system doesn't teach economics. They just demanded asked for more money because

Growth has created challenges. Those challenges can only be conquered with an infusion of financial support.

So the complaint is that there has been an increase of 50,000 students in the system (since 1999), and they don't have enough money to teach them all. Anyone with a 6th-grade education that wasn't supplied by the government-run monopolistic school system can see the simple answer: charge more money.

But no, not anyone associated with government. Instead of actually asking the people who are getting something from the state, they want everyone ELSE to pay -- through more taxes. And they don't want a little, no, they want $141 million. Of that, only $31 million is to pay for students.

According to the NC state library, there are over 750,000 students enrolled. The average number of courses taken is 2, with the an average credit enrollment of 6. So, if the students paid a whopping extra $7 per credit hour, they'd pay for their own education. What a concept.

But that's not all they want. They want $33.5 million to give "faculty and staff" a seven percent raise. When is the last time YOU got a 7% raise? And being state employees, don't think for a minute that they're not already getting an annual cost-of-living raise -- that's built in for all state employees.

Once again, government fails to make any sense in a free and capitalist society. I think community colleges are a good system -- but the state is utterly incompetent in running that system.

Posted by: Ogre at 12:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The education system in North Carolina is really, really broken. Those who work inside it have zero interest in fixing it -- only in obtaining more power, money, and control. Keep that in mind when dealing with the government-run monopoly education system -- they are NOT interested in education, just money and power.

That's why I love reading about homeschooling, especially in North Carolina. I've mentioned before how much homeschooling is growing in North Carolina, mainly because of the poor "school environment" in North Carolina.

This news is regarding sports -- North Carolina Homeschooling just held the largest state championship for homeschoolers in the country for basketball -- there's over 42 teams in 11 cities. So much for the homeschoolers and their "lack of social interaction," eh?

There's other good news in the report, too, including music, debate, and other arts. Go read the good news!

Posted by: Ogre at 05:04 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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...So you know it's got nothing to do with the hopeless cesspool that is government-run "public" education system. Homeschooling is on the rise in North Carolina. It's up 36% in the last 5 years and continues to grow each year at a rate of about 8 to 10%. That's awesome. This shows that more and more people are acknowledging that the government is incompetent at teaching, well, anything.

And no, for those who know nothing about homeschooling other than what the liberal news media will tell you, it's not just religious nuts. The #1 reason that people are giving for homeschooling in North Carolina is "concern about the school environment."

Gee, you mean parents disagree with Mecklenburg County's School Board king Joe White, who says that children should experience the "diversity" of sitting next to convicted sex offenders in public school? Or maybe it's the arbitrary division of people by age, rather than by ability.

Homeschoolers ARE a success, by all measures. They are more educated, they are more well-rounded. They score higher on standardized academic tests and they are more socially adjusted (see here, and here) than those who have been sheltered in the walls of a school.

I used to say that homeschooling isn't for everyone -- I don't think that's quite right. You should get your children out of, and away from, the filth and waste that is the government school. If you can homeschool, that IS the best option -- I have yet to meet ANYONE who has tried homeschooling that did not like it.

Oh, and in North Carolina? You won't be alone -- at least 63,000 children are being homeschooled. If that were one school district, it would be the 4th largest in the state -- and that really is good news.

Posted by: Ogre at 02:05 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Michelle Malkin points out Newsbuster's report on scumbag honored, esteemed, exalted, and celebrated member of the education establishment, Jay Bennish. In case you missed the case, he is a government employee who advocates treason against the United States.

He has been reinstated without any visible punishment and is permitted to continue teaching anything he wants in his "World Geography" class, including continuing to advocate that enemies of the United States should bomb this country. If there was any penalty, it may have been a minor "letter of reprimand" -- or it could have been a letter of commendation -- the school district will not say.

Either way, the taxpayers who pay his salary have been told that he can and will continue to preach for the destruction of the United States and the taxpayer will continue to pay for it, allegedly in the name of "academic freedom."

Of course, academic freedom ONLY applies to the left and Democrats. You see, a teacher in Miamidared to mention words from the Bible in school. "Students are upset." "It is distracting." The principle has "discussed his comments" with him and has not yet determined if he has violated any school policies.

So, if you mention the Bible in direct response to other students mocking it, that's insensitive, wrong, and may violate district policies. But if you openly advocate treason against the United States, you get rewarded and celebrated.

Now do you see why I continue to tell you the ONLY way to educate students in this country today is homeschooling? The government school system is a total cesspool of ultra-liberal thought. It has NOTHING to do with educating. If you have children, you are seriously doing them harm by permitting them to attend a government-run school.

Posted by: Ogre at 02:02 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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So, what could you do with an "extra" $210 million PER YEAR? The state of North Carolina has decided that the people of NC don't need that money, so they're going to take it and give it to people who openly break and flaunt the law. That's the current estimated cost of educating criminal aliens.

Those who support such massive expenditures are quite generous with other people's money, of course, as all government agencies are. They will even point to the NC Constitution which guarantees a free education for the state's citizens -- but seem to miss the point that these are NOT state citizens, but are criminals who are actively breaking the law.

At what point does it become too expensive? Supporters will claim that having the criminals more educated will help everyone -- but how much is too much? Wouldn't the entire world be better off if everyone in Africa had a Ph.D. in some science? Why don't we just raise taxes enough to pay for that?

If you're not a citizen, if you're breaking the law by entering this country illegally, you are owed NOTHING. If you want an education, learn the language first.

Posted by: Ogre at 12:08 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I can't say this is really surprising in a Canadian school. The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that bringing dangerous weapons to school is perfect okay with them, in a unnanimous 8-0 decision.

In a ruling based on religion, children are now allowed to take large metal knives with them to class. If you have kids, you are welcome to have them join my religion. It's called Cali-burr. Everyone has to carry a gun to be a member -- everywhere. And anyone who stops you is supressing your religion.

Posted by: Ogre at 01:05 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Oh, did you miss that one in the news reports, too? Well, it's been rather slow-developing, but steady. If you know or watch anything regarding the news and education in North Carolina, I'm sure you will recognize the Leandro case and King Supreme Ruler Almighty Judge Manning. He has elevated himself even above the governor.

In 2002, he replaced the NC legislature, completely usurping the power granted to them in the NC Constitution to determine all state spending. He ordered additional spending on schools, and the state accepted his imperial edict and increased spending to the tune of $22 million. In 2004, the state supreme court supported his coup and removal of the Legislature from the legislative process. But he wasn't done yet.

Not satisfied with the idea that 22-million extra dollars had absolutely no effect on education or grades, the leader of the coup has now taken over for the school boards, removing them from power. The judge has determined that he, and he alone, will shut down schools next year and "not allow them to open" if they do not meet his personal standards.

Apparently there's no need to elect a school board, because they are not allowed to run the school systems any more. Someone want to explain to me how this isn't a coup? Well, at least there wasn't any bloodshed with this clear change in government. Maybe we could revolt and try a representative republic in his place. I've heard those work good, at least for a hundred years or so.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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