WEATHER ALERT: URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY320 AM EDT FRI OCT 12 2012
…FREEZING TEMPERATURES LATE TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING…
NORTHERN FAIRFIELD-NORTHERN NEW HAVEN-NORTHERN MIDDLESEX-
NORTHERN NEW LONDON-SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD-SOUTHERN NEW HAVEN-
SOUTHERN MIDDLESEX-SOUTHERN NEW LONDON-WESTERN PASSAIC-
EASTERN PASSAIC-WESTERN BERGEN-WESTERN ESSEX-WESTERN UNION-ORANGE-
PUTNAM-ROCKLAND-NORTHERN WESTCHESTER-
320 AM EDT FRI OCT 12 2012
…FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 9 AM EDT SATURDAY…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 9 AM EDT SATURDAY. THE FREEZE WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
* LOCATIONS…SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT…THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY…AND
PORTIONS OF INTERIOR NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY.
* HAZARDS…SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES.
* TEMPERATURES…IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S.
* TIMING…AFTER MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING.
* IMPACTS…TEMPERATURES BELOW FREEZING COULD KILL CROPS AND
SENSITIVE VEGETATION.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A FREEZE WARNING MEANS BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE IMMINENT
OR HIGHLY LIKELY. THESE CONDITIONS WILL KILL CROPS AND OTHER
SENSITIVE VEGETATION.
American Legion Post 53, Ridgewood will be honoring all Gold Star and Blue Star families in our community. We will have a dinner for them at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Center on Friday, October 19th at 6:30 pm.
You are invited to attend. Our guest speaker is James Dao, N.Y.Times writer covering military affairs who has been in Afghanistan. Meet and greet Gold Star Mother June Augusta and many other Ridgewood families.
Eleven years ago today, terrorists shattered America’s sense of safety. Generations who did not remember Pearl Harbor suddenly knew the shock of an attack on U.S. soil.
Brothers, fathers, cousins, wives, and daughters were lost. And more sisters, mothers, husbands and sons would give their lives in the years that followed as they fearlessly joined the fight against terrorism around the world.
Because of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform—and the hours put in scanning intelligence documents and patrolling the streets by our servants here at home—America has thus far avoided another 9/11. Since that day, at least 51 terrorist plots against the country (that we know of) have been foiled. Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has been eliminated.
But as the U.S. withdraws from Iraq and Afghanistan, the world is not becoming a safer place.
Pakistan continues to serve as a safe haven for terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Taliban, and the Haqqani network, threatening to jeopardize everything the U.S. has fought for in Afghanistan since 9/11.
In a new Issue Brief taking stock of the war on terrorism, Heritage security experts Michaela Bendikova, Lisa Curtis, and Jessica Zuckerman warn:
[T]he U.S. counter-terrorism strategy remains flawed. The U.S. needs to name its enemies, maintain the nation’s commitments abroad, fully fund the military, reach out to allies, and truly defend the home front.
The campaign has certainly seen its share of successes in addition to the bin Laden mission. Drone strikes have helped to disrupt al-Qaeda operations and planning. But the U.S. must concentrate simultaneously on “uprooting extremist ideologies that support terrorism, collecting information from captured terrorists, and convincing the Pakistanis to conduct joint operations that deal with the threat,” the authors write. Continued terrorist sanctuaries inside Pakistan’s borders remain a threat.
At home, we cannot combat terrorism under “a law enforcement paradigm that focuses on reactive policies and prosecuting terrorists rather than proactive efforts to enhance intelligence tools and thwart terrorist attempts long before the public is in danger,” they write. This strategy fails to recognize the true nature of the threat posed by terrorist groups (such as al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab) and state-sponsored terrorism, while thwarting terrorist travel and financing remain the most effective ways to protect the homeland.
Unfortunately, the reality is that terrorism—without the face of a particular nation—is not the only threat America faces. Iran and North Korea continue to invest in capabilities designed to kill Americans and our allies. Syria is wracked by civil war and has the potential to destabilize the entire Middle East.
If we are to meet this volatile world with a determination to protect U.S. citizens, our priorities must shift. The defense budget has already absorbed about half of all spending cuts even though it represents less than a fifth of the federal budget. If U.S. forces are weakened further, the country will be unable to maintain its superpower status.
Today, we remember those we have lost. Tomorrow, we must honor their memory by strengthening our defenses for those who do not yet know the horror of an attack at home—so that they never will.
Christie task force recommends education law changes
Gov. Chris Christie’s task force on education said Wednesday that the state should implement the governor’s major education recommendations, as well as get rid of regulatory provisions in an effort to give schools and their teachers more leeway for spending their resources and organizing their classrooms.
The recommendations range from big ideas — using public money to send some students to private schools — to small ones — ending the mandate that school districts employ one janitor for every 17,500 feet of building space.
In its final report, the Education Transformation Task Force convened by Christie a year ago called for changing the law to allow schools to lay off more experienced teachers if less experienced ones get better marks on evaluations and to put in place new standards for how schools under state control can become independent again. (Mulvihill, Asbury Park Press)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of a New School Year
Amy PayneSeptember 4, 2012
As of today, the vast majority of American students have begun a new school year. As lunches are packed and carpool lines grow, Heritage reviews the good, bad, and ugly in education.
The Good
Support for school choice is at an all-time high. In a poll released in August, school choice favorability jumped 10 percentage points since last year, a sign that the proliferation of options such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and online learning is creating a welcome choice for families across the country.
Options like the education savings accounts implemented in Arizona, statewide vouchers in effect in Louisiana, and tuition tax credits benefitting children in Florida provide families with greater control over education—something more and more parents are expressing they want.
Social promotion is becoming less popular. In North Carolina, legislators approved a measure to end social promotion. Rather than automatically passing students on to the next grade, all third-grade students will be required to read at grade level before advancing to the fourth grade. Other states that have implemented this policy suggest that it is helpful in boosting student achievement.
Online, customized learning is on the rise. Individualized online learning options allow more emphasis on areas where students are struggling, without holding back their peers who may be ready for the next level.
Teachers union membership is declining. The National Education Association is projecting a loss of 308,000 members since 2010. One of the union’s top officials, treasurer Becky Pringle, blames “stupid” education reform: “We’re living with a recession that just won’t end, political attacks that have turned brutal, and societal changes that are impacting us—from stupid education ‘reform’ to an explosion of technology—all coming together to impact us in ways that we had never anticipated.”
The Bad
The Administration is singling out minority students for government “help” instead of raising them up through increased options. Over the summer, President Obama signed an executive order to form the new White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. According to the White House, the new initiative, which will work across federal agencies, “aims to ensure that all African American students receive an education that fully prepares them for high school graduation, college completion, and productive careers.”
Parents and taxpayers would be correct to be skeptical of a new Washington initiative to improve student outcomes. A new evaluation by Matthew Chingos of the Brookings Institution and Paul Peterson of Harvard shows a far more promising route to improving academic opportunity for the students the President’s initiative aims to help: school vouchers. The study of low-income students in New York City found a 24 percent increase in college enrollment among African-American students who were awarded and used vouchers to attend private schools.
This success has already proven the vital role of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Students who have used vouchers to attend private schools in the nation’s capital have a 91 percent graduation rate, while graduation rates in D.C. public schools hover around 60 percent.
The Ugly
Average per-pupil spending in public schools is reaching historic highs. Nationally, average per-pupil spending exceeds $11,400 this year, meaning a child entering kindergarten today can expect to have no less than $148,000 spent on his or her education by the time the child graduates high school. In all, more than $570 billion will be spent on public K-12 education this year.
Continual increases in the money spent per child and in overall spending haven’t led to increases in academic achievement. Heritage’s Lindsey Burke notes:
We continue to fund institutions—sending that money to schools—instead of actually funding children. Imagine if a child could put those dollars in a funding “backpack” and take that $11,400 to any school—public, private, or virtual. As in every other sector of American life, we would likely see outcomes improve as a result of competitive pressure placed on the government school system.
Despite the successes of more individualized learning and school choice, the Obama Administration wants to further centralize education in Washington through national standards and tests. It has been trying to entice states with waivers from the onerous No Child Left Behind law, which it gives to states that agree to adopt the Administration’s standards instead.
Implementing Washington-controlled education standards means that states, local school boards, and ultimately parents will have less say in their children’s education. This year’s homework assignment for conservatives: continue the fight for increased parental control, individualized options for students, and decreased government interference in education.
Greg Wu named 2012-2013 Ashby Award Winner
September 4,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The 2012 winner of the coveted Ashby Award is Greg Wu, Assistant Principal/Grade Administrator at Benjamin Franklin Middle School.
The Ashby award was established in 1966 to honor former Superintendent Lloyd W. Ashby and his wife, Lois, for their distinguished service to the community. The recipient is selected from nominees submitted by staff members and is someone who, in the opinion of his or
her peers, has carried on our district’s long tradition of service and contribution. This is the highest honor that the Ridgewood Public Schools can bestow on a staff member.
The Ashby has been awarded every year since 1992 when Dennis Carroll became the first recipient
To read Dr. Fishbein’s remarks at the Ashby Award presentation at Convocation on September 4. https://tinyurl.com/9ze3634
“Town Garage” looks to make a comeback
September 5, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, With the Village facing a “”Park-pocalypse” next week the Village council looks to continue discussions during the councils next work session on the recently proposed “Chamber of Commerce” parking plan for the Central Business District and a new plane for the you guessed it “Town Garage” property.
As previously reported members of the Ridgewood business community presented an elaborate, through expensive multifaceted plan last month that included not one but two parking structures and a new retail space as well as a strategy to fund the entire venture. This plan has become known as the “Chamber of Commerce” parking plan.
Criticism has centered on whether the plan can come in on budget to meet the very aggressive requirements to fund the parking complexes without risk to tax payers. A rosie scenario was presented but given the Villages past inability to meet construction budgets ie, the $2 million Village Hall that became a $9 million fiasco or the $400,000 ‘Golden Toilet” at Vets field that much chronicled on this blog leaves readers with doubts .
Tonight the “Town Garage” project is expected to be resurrected by the owners .Village Council members are expected discuss the plan at length. Past plans for the property have always been based on the socialized taxpayer financing with profits kept in the hands of the few. Taxpayers in Ridgewood up till now have been in no mood to finance someone else’s profits., but with the new regime the jury is still out.
There is also the issue of old fuel tanks , and soil contamination at the site if needed with no one really sure what the Village is on the hook for.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012
BY CHARLES SAYDAH
THE RECORD
Charles Saydah is editor of The Record’s Your Views.
What sane person would want the likes of Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. as a teacher?
WE HEAR a lot about good teachers, particularly in New Jersey. The effort to reward them with the profession’s biggest prize — tenure, with its lifetime job guaranty — is at the center of Governor Christie’s tenure reform effort.
Unfortunately, outside of linking teaching skills to student performance on standardized tests, few elected representatives define precise characteristics of a good teacher. They say merely that they know one when they see one.
We ordinary people are as much at sea. Sure, we have a lot of pop culture prototypes to point to as exemplars. Richard Dreyfus’ portrayal of Indiana music teacher Glenn Holland in “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” Laura Dern’s portrayal of West Virginia science teacher Miss Riley in “October Sky” and Edward James Olmos’ portrayal of California calculus teacher Jaime Escalante in “Stand and Deliver” are among Hollywood’s more recent contributions to our collective understanding of a good teacher.
But try to put their strengths into words. A website called greatschools makes a noble effort, identifying seven standards of great teachers: They set high expectations for all their students. They have clear, written-out objectives, are prepared and organized, engage students and get them to look at issues in a variety of ways. They are masters of their subjects. They form strong relationships with their students, show they care about them as people and communicate frequently with parents.
But how would a character like John Houseman’s Charles W. Kingsfield Jr., the icy law professor in “Paper Chase,” fit into the general profile? He, too, set high expectations for his students. He, too, came prepared and organized to each class. He, too, engaged students and got them to look at issues in a variety of ways. He, too, was a master of his subject. Presumably, his students became great lawyers.
SPEECH: CONDOLEEZZA RICE STAKES STAGE AT CONVENTION
Wed Aug 29 2012 19:05:34 ET
**Prepared Remarks at Republican Convention
Good evening. Distinguished delegates, fellow Republicans, fellow Americans.
We gather here at a time of significance and challenge. This young century has been a difficult one. I will never forget the bright September day, standing at my desk in the White House, when my young assistant said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center – and then a second one – and a third, the Pentagon. And then the news of a fourth, driven into the ground by brave citizens that died so that many others would live. From that day on our sense of vulnerability and our understanding of security would be altered forever. Then in 2008 the global financial and economic crisis stunned us and still reverberates as unemployment, economic uncertainty and failed policies cast a pall over the American recovery so desperately needed at home and abroad.
And we have seen once again that the desire for freedom is universal – as men and women in the Middle East demand it. Yet, the promise of the Arab Spring is engulfed in uncertainty; internal strife and hostile neighbors are challenging the fragile democracy in Iraq; dictators in Iran and Syria butcher their own people and threaten the security of the region; China and Russia prevent a response; and all wonder, “Where does America stand?”
Indeed that is the question of the moment- “Where does America stand?” When our friends and our foes, alike, do not know the answer to that question – clearly and unambiguously — the world is a chaotic and dangerous place. The U.S. has since the end of World War II had an answer – we stand for free peoples and free markets, we are willing to support and defend them – we will sustain a balance of power that favors freedom.
To be sure, the burdens of leadership have been heavy. I, like you, know the sacrifices that Americans have made – yes including the ultimate sacrifice of many of our bravest. Yet our armed forces remain the sure foundation of liberty. We are fortunate to have men and women who volunteer – they volunteer to defend us on the front lines of freedom. And we owe them our eternal gratitude.
I know too that it has not always been easy – though it has been rewarding – to speak up for those who would otherwise be without a voice – the religious dissident in China; the democracy advocate in Venezuela; the political prisoner in Iran.
It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies– or to help the world’s most desperate – the AIDs orphan in Uganda, the refugee fleeing Zimbabwe, the young woman who has been trafficked into the sex trade in Southeast Asia; the world’s poorest in Haiti. Yet this assistance – together with the compassionate works of private charities – people of conscience and people of faith – has shown the soul of our country.
And I know too that there is weariness – a sense that we have carried these burdens long enough. But if we are not inspired to lead again, one of two things will happen – no one will lead and that will foster chaos — or others who do not share our values will fill the vacuum. My fellow Americans, we do not have a choice. We cannot be reluctant to lead – and one cannot lead from behind.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan understand this reality — that our leadership abroad and our well being at home are inextricably linked. They know what needs to be done. Our friends and allies must be able to trust us. From Israel to Poland to the Philippines to Colombia and across the world — they must know that we are reliable and consistent and determined. And our adversaries must have no reason to doubt our resolve — because peace really does come through strength. Our military capability and technological advantage will be safe in Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s hands.
We must work for an open global economy and pursue free and fair trade – to grow our exports and our influence abroad. In the last years, the United States has ratified three trade agreements, all negotiated in the Bush Administration. If you are concerned about China’s rise – consider this fact – China has signed 15 Free Trade Agreements and is negotiating 20 more. Sadly we are abandoning the playing field of free trade – and it will come back to haunt us.
We must not allow the chance to attain energy independence to slip from our grasp. We have a great gift of oil and gas reserves here in North America that must be and can be developed while protecting our environment. And we have the ingenuity in the private sector to tap alternative sources of energy.
And most importantly, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will rebuild the foundation of American strength – our economy – stimulating private sector led growth and small business entrepreneurship. When the world looks at us today they see an American government that cannot live within its means. They see a government that continues to borrow money, mortgaging the future of generations to come. The world knows that when a nation loses control of its finances, it eventually loses control of its destiny. That is not the America that has inspired others to follow our lead.
After all, when the world looks to America, they look to us because we are the most successful political and economic experiment in human history. That is the true basis of “American Exceptionalism.” The essence of America – that which really unites us — is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion – it is an idea — and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn’t matter where you came from but where you are going.
Ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have not believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. We have not been envious of one another and jealous of each other’s success. Ours has been a belief in opportunity and a constant battle – long and hard — to extend the benefits of the American dream to all – without regard to circumstances of birth.
But the American ideal is indeed endangered today. There is no country, no not even a rising China, that can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves if we fail to accomplish the tasks before us here at home.
More than at any other time in history –the ability to mobilize the creativity and ambition of human beings forms the foundation of greatness. We have always done that better than any country in the world. People have come here from all over because they believed in our creed – of opportunity and limitless horizons. They have come from the world’s most impoverished nations to make five dollars not fifty cents– and they have come from the world’s advanced societies – as engineers and scientists — to help fuel the knowledge based revolution in the Silicon Valley of California; the research triangle of North Carolina; in Austin, Texas; along Route 128 in Massachusetts – and across our country.
We must continue to welcome the world’s most ambitious people to be a part of us. In that way we stay perpetually young and optimistic and determined. We need immigration laws that protect our borders; meet our economic needs; and yet show that we are a compassionate people.
We have been successful too because Americans have known that one’s status at birth was not a permanent station in life. You might not be able to control your circumstances but you could control your response to your circumstances. And your greatest ally in doing so was a quality education.
Let me ask you, though, today, when I can look at your zip code and can tell whether you are going to get a good education – can I really say that it doesn’t matter where you came from – it matters where you are going. The crisis in K-12 education is a grave threat to who we are.
My mom was a teacher – I have the greatest respect for the profession – we need great teachers – not poor or mediocre ones. We need to have high standards for our students – self-esteem comes from achievement not from lax standards and false praise. And we need to give parents greater choice – particularly poor parents whose kids – most often minorities — are trapped in failing neighborhood schools. This is the civil rights struggle of our day.
If we do anything less, we will condemn generations to joblessness, hopelessness and dependence on the government dole. To do anything less is to endanger our global economic competitiveness. To do anything less is to tear apart the fabric of who we are and cement a turn toward grievance and entitlement.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will rebuild us at home and inspire us to lead abroad. They will provide an answer to the question, “Where does America stand?” The challenge is real and these are tough times. But America has met and overcome difficult circumstances before. Whenever you find yourself doubting us – just think of all the times that we have made the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect.
America’s victorious revolutionary founding – against the greatest military power of the time; a Civil War – hundreds of thousands dead in a brutal conflict – but emerging a stronger union; a second founding – as impatient patriots fought to overcome the birth defect of slavery and the scourge of segregation; a long struggle against communism – that ended with the death of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Europe, whole free and at peace; the will to make difficult decisions, heart-wrenching choices in the aftermath of 9/11 that secured us and prevented the follow-on attacks that seemed preordained at the time.
And on a personal note– a little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham – the most segregated big city in America – her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant – but they make her believe that even though she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter – she can be President of the United States and she becomes the Secretary of State. Yes, America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. But of course it has never been inevitable – it has taken leadership, courage and an unwavering faith in our values.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have the experience and the integrity and the vision to lead us – they know who we are, what we want to be and what we offer the world.
That is why this is a moment – an election – of consequence. Because it just has to be – that the most compassionate and freest country on the face of the earth – will continue to be the most powerful!
May God Bless You – and May God continue to bless this extraordinary, exceptional country – the United States of America.
Back to School: New Jersey cheating questions hit close to home
Investigations of teachers and administrators helping their students cheat on state achievement tests remain disconcerting and discouraging — especially when they occur as close to home as Woodbridge and other local districts.
Some of these cases are relatively decisive. A high-profile investigation in Atlanta implicated dozens of teachers and administrators and ultimately took down the district superintendent.
But there are murkier outcomes. An investigation into New Jersey’s own Camden schools, where cheating was never proven outright, led to a settlement last year with the whistleblower — a district principal — and left lots of unanswered questions. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Back to School: E-Books and a Healthier Food greet Students
Libraries at Benjamin Franklin and George Washington Middle Schools and Ridgewood High School will lend electronic books starting this fall. The Board approved funds for approximately 200 new e-books, which may be borrowed and downloaded to a variety of e-ink devices. The schools will also make available to students a limited number of ereaders for borrowing.
Also new this school year are revisions to the school lunch system, including the establishment of individual online accounts for all students and changes in menu items and portion sizes as mandated by new guidelines of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Look for more information to come on the lunch program and electronic library books.
The Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein are interested in hearing residents’ thoughts and concerns. To facilitate dialogue, they are inviting residents to drop in for casual conversation and coffee several times during the 2012-2013 school year.
The first Coffee and Conversation will take place on Wednesday, September 12, from 7-8:30
p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, floor 3.
Other Coffee and Conversation dates are November 14, January 16, 2013 and April 3, 2013.
Please come, and bring your questions, suggestions, comments and concerns.
Back to School: Back to School: Some Surprising Education Numbers
Lindsey Burke
August 27, 2012 at 12:25 pm
As children head back to the classrooms, let’s look at two important figures to consider this school year: 308,000 and $11,400.
308,000: Number of members lost by the National Education Association.
Education special interest groups, such as the teachers unions, are experiencing a decline in membership. As Stephen Sawchuck reports in Education Week, “by the end of its 2013–14 budget, NEA [the National Education Association] expects it will have lost 308,000 members and experienced a decline in revenue projected at some $65 million in all since 2010. (The figures are expressed in full-time equivalents, which means that the actual number of people affected is probably higher.)”
While the decline in membership appears to have shocked the NEA, the remarks of one of the union’s top officials, treasurer Becky Pringle, are even more shocking:
We’re living with a recession that just won’t end, political attacks that have turned brutal, and societal changes that are impacting us—from stupid education “reform” to an explosion of technology—all coming together to impact us in ways that we had never anticipated.
Pringle is likely referring to the reforms that Governor Scott Walker (R–WI) put into place in his state last year, giving teachers the choice to join the union or not. And it’s no surprise that the unions fear the “stupid” reforms that are underway, namely, online learning and school choice. As former New York City Schools chancellor Joel Klein wrote in The Atlantic last week:
[T]oday’s entrepreneurs know they can harness emerging technologies to reimagine teaching and learning. It’s a story as old as change itself. The candlemaker’s union wasn’t cheering Edison on.
Those reforms are even more crucial considering the amount of taxpayer dollars that will be poured into the public system this year.
$11,400: Average per-pupil, per year spending in public schools.
Students headed back to school this fall will have historically high levels of dollars spent on them in the public school system. Nationally, average per-pupil spending exceeds $11,400 this year, meaning a child entering kindergarten today can expect to have no less than $148,000 spent on his or her education by the time the child graduates high school. In all, more than $570 billion will be spent on public K-12 education this year.
Sadly, continual increases in the money spent per child and in overall spending haven’t led to increases in academic achievement. That’s due in large part to the fact that most parents still do not have control over where or how that money is spent. We continue to fund institutions—sending that money to schools—instead of actually funding children.
Imagine if a child could put those dollars in a funding “backpack” and take that $11,400 to any school—public, private, or virtual. As in every other sector of American life, we would likely see outcomes improve as a result of competitive pressure placed on the government school system. Children would have access to schools that meet their unique learning needs. Parents would be able to harness the possibilities that online learning and customized education hold for tailoring their children’s educational experiences.
For all of those reasons and more, funding portability and school choice is an important assignment for policymakers to undertake as the school year begins.
Another Victory for Voter ID
Elizabeth GarveyAugust 15, 2012 at 1:15 pm
This morning, in a victory for election integrity, a Pennsylvania district court judge denied a preliminary injunction to stop Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law from going into effect.
The law, passed in March 2012, minimally changes Pennsylvania’s election code to require citizens voting in person on Election Day to present photo identification. Acceptable forms of photo identification include IDs issued by the federal or state government, such as municipalities, accredited public or private schools, and care facilities. Citizens who cannot produce an approved form of ID may still cast a provisional ballot provided that the person delivers proof of identification within six days after the election. The law imposes a similar ID requirement for absentee ballots.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation is charged with issuing free identification cards. For those who cannot afford the minimal cost of supporting documentation, such as a birth certificate, their votes will still count if they sign an affirmation that they can’t afford the cost.
The challengers claimed that many citizens will be disenfranchised or severely burdened by the photo ID requirement. At a trial in July, the challengers put forth testimony regarding the number of registered voters supposedly without certain types of photo ID (e.g., drivers licenses) as of June 2012, but others have noted that most of these voters have other approved IDs that they use to pass through airport security or get into government buildings.
Judge Robert Simpson flatly rejected the challengers’ attempt to “inflate the numbers” of disenfranchised voters—which he estimated were “somewhat more than 1% and significantly less than 9%,” as claimed by the petitioners. He also found that the testimony of the petitioners’ expert was “not credible” and demonstrated bias.
This outcome is similar to those in the unsuccessful lawsuits against the voter ID laws of Georgia and Indiana. In all three states, the courts threw out the opinions of the alleged experts hired by the plaintiffs as “not credible.”
In a motion for a preliminary injunction, the challengers must demonstrate their likely success on the merits. The challengers failed to convince the judge that Pennsylvania’s law is facially unconstitutional (rather than as applied, which means that the law is unconstitutional only in its application to a particular person under particular circumstances). The challengers provided “speculation about hypothetical or imaginary cases,” which Judge Simpson correctly observed has “no place in a facial challenge.”
Fraud in elections is a legitimate problem, and states from Colorado to Rhode Island have addressed it by passing laws that require identification at the polls. Voter ID laws strengthen enfranchisement of registered voters and ensure the integrity of elections, and now Pennsylvania joins the ranks of other states with common-sense voter ID laws that have withstood judicial scrutiny, such as Indiana, Arizona, and Georgia.
Back to School: School Choice program eyes expansion
The state Education Department has proposed changes to the popular Interdistrict School Choice Program, including allowing more public schools to participate.
It would also accept “non-public school students.” Such students, according to the proposal, could “enroll in choice schools if the choice school district chooses to admit the student and seats are available after all eligible public school students have been admitted.” (Hassan, State Street Wire)
