I posted on Wednesday about a public hearing on the proposed Whitewater Unified School District budget. See, About that Public Hearing…. In that post, I offered a few suggestions for next year. (Hold the hearing at a convenient time outside of ordinary working hours, “Announce the hearing prominently on the main page of the district’s…
School District
School District
About that Public Hearing…
by JOHN ADAMS •
School District
Lewis Black on the Education Crisis in America
by JOHN ADAMS •
From The Daily Show, here’s a clip of Lewis Black remarking on the education crisis in America. It’s all very bristly, of course, but that’s the style of Black’s sharp humor. For it all, the brief scenes that Black includes about students’ desperation to attend a charter school (from the film Waiting for Superman) are…
Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation
A Referendum for Whitewater’s Schools (Part 3)
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story today about the removal from the ballot of one of two referendum questions concerning our public school district. (The story rightly describes this as a ‘pause.’) See, Whitewater referendum ‘paused’. I’ve written about a referendum approved in August for Whitewater’s public schools. The first question of two authorized for the November ballot…
School District
A Referendum for Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Schools (Part 2)
by JOHN ADAMS •
It does no good, in strength of argument, to repeat the same errors again, in the hope they’ll be more convincing the second time. From the August 24th edition of the Daily Union, Whitewater school board advances two referendums: If the new referendum is approved, the taxpayers will not see an increase in what they…
City, Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation, University
Calls for Public Spending in a Small Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are, I think, two principal ways that a government spending proposal in a small town succeeds. (There are more than two ways, but here I’m simply considering principal ways.) The first way is how all spending proposals should be considered — on the merits. Is it necessary to tax for a public purpose, and…
Government Spending, School District
A Referendum for Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Schools
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story at GazetteXtra.com about a November referendum for the Whitewater Unified School District. See, Whitewater schools seeking referendum. I haven’t written much about our schools lately. There’s been talk about a referendum for months, but no commitment in the press until now. The Gazette reports that “the school board is expected to approve…
City, School District
It’s Online for All: The City of Beloit’s Good Government Example
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I posted on the use of paper documents rather than timely and easily accessible public ones, in places like my own town, Whitewater, Wisconsin. See, “It’s in Your Packet.” The best part of publishing a website isn’t writing, but is reading the good ideas and information from generous readers. A fine example would be…
City, School District
“It’s in Your Packet”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Often, during a public meeting, one will hear a public employee tell members of a council, board, or commission that an item to be considered is available as part of a packet of documents provided to each member of the public body meeting that night. It’s all casual and blithe: “It’s in your packet,” someone…
School District
Private Alternatives as the Solution for Public Controversies
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story at the ABC News website, entitled, “Politics of Education: New Texas Social Sciences Curriculum Standards Fraught with Ideology, Critics Say,” about the new public education curriculum in Texas. Some voters are upset that the public curriculum is too conservative. I’ll not weigh in on what’s too conservative, or too liberal, in public…
Laws/Regulations, School District
Tribal Symbols for Schools and Legislative Over-Reach
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s high school has the whippet as a mascot, following the tradition of many schools to choose impressive animals as symbols. There are, though, some schools in Wisconsin that have chosen tribal leaders or tribes as symbols, including some nearby (the Blackhawks of Fort Atkinson come to mind). Governor Doyle has signed legislation that allows…
School District
On Science Night at Whitewater High School
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Tuesday evening, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., there was a science exhibit night at Whitewater’s high school, at which hundreds of people watched dozens of science experiments and demonstrations. For the student volunteers, and the teachers who staffed the event, the story of the evening might have been the wide number of exhibits. Anyone…
School District
On a Charter School
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater has the chance for approval and funding for a charter school. Our school district’s website lists the next Charter School listening session as taking place tomorrow, March 30th, at the Cravath Lakefront Center, from 4 to 6 p.m. Libertarians have long favored charter schools, and a video that I posted last week, from Reason.tv…
Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, School District
Reason.tv: Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey, Ep. 2 (Fix the Schools)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve posted before on the Reason.tv series from Drew Carey, entitled, “Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey.” Today, I’m posting Episode Two from that series, about the Cleveland public schools. I’ve not posted recently on our schools, and for that lack of attention, I’m surely culpable. (There are no column-inch limitations in cyberspace — there…