EHJR 4204 is the proposal to amend the Washington state Constitution to elminiate the Supermajority rules for School Levy votes.

Under current law, school levies MUST pass by at least 60% of total votes cast, or, when the total votes cast is 40% or less than in the last general election, 24% of votes cast in the last election (60% of 40%) in the disctrict.

This essentially means that Property Owners, who directly pay Property Taxes, which the School Levies are part of, have some insulation and protection against frivilous increases in their taxes.

The Columbian had a very nice piece on the Pros and Cons of this proposed amendment:

Cons:

»	The supermajority rule for tax measures was set higher to protect property owners, who more directly pay levies. So was the minimum-voter turnout standard this amendment would eliminate. Simple majority, and loss of the voter turnout minimum, ultimately means taxpayers will pay more.
»	School districts hold non-November levy elections, when voter awareness and turnout is low, to gain more favorable odds. The supermajority is a necessary counterbalance.
»	The supermajority rule holds schools districts to higher standards and requires them to be more accountable to voters. Simple majority weakens districts’ incentive to perform well.
»	Schools could adapt their budget cycles to November levy elections without dire consequences.
»	Few school levies fail beyond a second attempt, even with supermajority rules. When they do, it’s only because of major disconnect with the public that requires attention.
»	Special elections outside of November should remain just that — special — and not be used for routine budget needs. What’s more, simple majority lets the Legislature off the hook for basic funding the state should provide equally to all districts and students.

Pro:

>> The supermajority unjustly rewards a minority who vote “No” and non-voters. All votes should count equally, and, Simple majority determines all elective offices — local, state and federal — and most tax measures, such as those for jails and sports stadiums. School levies should be no different.

While these two points are Democratic, they are counter to our Republican form of government.  They allow the tryanny of the mob (one half, plus ONE) to rule.  Instead of trying to make it easier to pass School Levy taxes, all other tax increases should use the existing rules, as a minimum, to ensure engagement by a plurality of the people, and confirm the need, or community desire, for the tax increases.

>> Modern vote-by-mail ensures all registered voters are aware of school elections. It’s not the 1930s anymore. Most districts run levies at the same time to split election costs; advertising and media coverage makes elections hard to ignore.

Ignorance of the election is not as much of the problem (though I would argue the point, as Junk Mail, SPAM, and the flight of viewers from Local TV and Newspapers had lessened, not increased, the level of awareness of community), and adding yet another task to people (property owners) who are already information overloaded and time crunched, by having special elections at changing and inconvenient times, in what seems to be an effort to keep participation to a minimum.

>> .November levy elections won’t work, because districts set annual budgets in summer and need to know revenue figures by then. Also, county property valuations are updated only at year’s end, making levy rate estimates months ahead of time more problematic.

As noted in the Cons, this is simply an accounting and scheduling issue, not a problem.

>> School resources are stressed and students suffer when districts with majority support are forced to re-run levies to reach the artificially high supermajority standard.

This one takes the Hypocrisy award.  One of the main supporters of this measure is the Teachers Union, whose concern for the Children was made clear to me, in their illegal strike at the start of the chool year in Bethel SD, forcing the School District to take funds from Copier reapair/replacement, to make up for increases to teacher pay and compensation. 

If you cant convince 60% of voters in an election that you need the money, and will use it wisely, then you need to take another look at your track record, and proposal.

>> Washington schools are chronically underfunded by the state, making local levies ever more critical. State per-pupil funding and class size rank near the bottom in national ratings.

The key to this item is The State.  If the State isnt doing it’s share in meeting it’s constitutional mandate, then we need to hold the state Legislature accountable.  Making it easier to punish local property owners by raising their property taxes to compensate for the State Governments inaction is killing your Ox for food for a short time, instead of using him to plow the fields to grow food as you need it.

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In my opinion, EHJR 4204 is nothing less than an attempt to “game” the system.  Special Interests (WEA & other Unions, Politicians) will band together with well meaning folks (PTA, etc) and schedule obscure out of the way elections, to maximize turnout of their voters, while trying to minimize the turnout of voters that believe that just throwing money at a situation is not always the answer.

The only real answer to the problem, is complete privatization of the schools.  But of course, that will not happen, as their are too many special interests feeding at the trough of Education.  Too bad they are the ones intercepting much of that per student spending before it gets to the kids.

Soon after it opened, my wife and I went to the Tacoma Museum of Glass, in the hopes of seeing great examples of art…made of Glass.

What greeted us was a display of several modern “artists”, including, among others, John Gage.

Some of the artwork included: 

• A piece of approximately 8 in. x 10 in. parchment, upon which the “artist” had traced the outline of several rocks.
• A 10 or 15 foot roll of parchment upon which the “artist” had wallked backwards across, after stepping into paint.
• A recording of one of Gage’s musical “art pieces” in which each note was played 60 seconds apart.

And other less memorable pieces…

This was when I realized something that I had long suspected, but whose thought had not crystalized in my mind:  It isn’t that I don’t understand “modern art”, it is that “modern art” ISN”T ART.

I guess the best way I have heard it phrased is:

I too believe that modern art was a liberal plot (and a very successful one at that) to suppress the truly talented artists. Liberals hate the fact that ability isn’t distributed equally in the population, so they endorse a form of “art” that requires little ability.

So, in that spirit, we have the news (courtesy of Komo4) that, in Ashland, Oregon (on the campus of Southern Oregon University):

An art project that was mistaken for vandalism was the target of vandals who destroyed the exhibit last week.

The artist, Paul Messenger, said the piece was a commentary on society’s apathy to its problems, but was left for interpretation by the viewer.

The exhibit in the Southern Oregon University art courtyard and art buildings consisted of 36,000 feet of red tape. It was titled “The Depravity of Society Juxtaposed Against the Apathy of Contemporary Culture” and scheduled to be shown through July 2 as a final project in an art course taught by professor Madeline Alt.

The red tape was meant to contrast with the grey stone of the buildings. “It’s a very dull atmosphere, a very sterile environment,” Messenger said.

Now, again, being the uncultured boob that I am, the only art I see in this is:

• The title of the work.  I mean, come on, that took some thought.
• The ability to use 36,000 feet of red tape as a “final project” in a course.  The guy didn’t even MAKE THE TAPE himself.

As adolescents will, many students started destroying the “art”.  One, out of a spirit, we assume, of community service, tried to clean up the mess.

Police cited an SOU sophomore, Genevieve Hummel, 19, for tearing the installation down, and the university art department is pressing charges.

“I didn’t know it was an art project,” Hummel said. “It wasn’t labeled. No one knew it was an art project.”

Hummel said other people were tearing the art installation down and she was cleaning it up when art professor Cody Bustamante confronted them.

Hummel’s reward for her public spirit?

Hummel was accused of 11 different conduct and student responsibility charges. She also is being charged with criminal mischief. The SOU art department is seeking $83.39 for six hours of labor and the supplies required to replace the installation.

The most interesting thing to note here is the admission that the “art work” could be replaced for less than $85, including the cost of the tape.  Wow, that’s some great final project.

And the “Artist”?

Messenger, 24, is a graduating senior who is working with an art therapy group at Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility and plans on entering SOU’s master’s in teaching program.

Nice to know that the values of the current Art staff at SOU will be carried forward by this member of the avant garde.

Although one wonders what, exactly, kind of art therapy he is conducting with the Youth at Rogue River. 

I am not a huge Steve Jobs fan, but the man does have a keen insight into technology, and good business sense. 

Thanks to the Houston Chronicle, I find that I agree with Jobs on at least one subject:

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs lambasted teacher unions today, claiming no amount of technology in the classroom would improve public schools until principals could fire bad teachers.

Jobs compared schools to businesses with principals serving as CEOs.

“What kind of person could you get to run a small business if you told them that when they came in they couldn’t get rid of people that they thought weren’t any good?” he asked to loud applause during an education reform conference.

“Not really great ones because if you’re really smart you go, ‘I can’t win.’”

I have long thought that Education should be run with a more business like model, which is why I firmly support Charter Schools and Vouchers.

“I believe that what is wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized in the worst possible way,” Jobs said.

“This unionization and lifetime employment of K-12 teachers is off-the-charts crazy.”

The inability to reward achievement, and disincentive failure, are at the core of the decline of the American educational system.  And we will not begin to recover until Tenure is eleminated, and the Unions are forced to take a step back.

Not that Unions are inherently evil.  Micheal Dell was at the same meeting as Jobs, and rebutted with this:

Dell responded that unions were created because “the employer was treating his employees unfairly and that was not good.”

“So now you have these enterprises where they take good care of their people. The employees won, they do really well and succeed.”

Unions do serve a purpose in ensuring fair treatment, and giving employees as a group a voice to management.  But when the Union becomes so powerful that it is, in effect, running Management, disaster is the only possible result.  The decline and fall of the American Automotive industry should be a cautionary tale to everyone on what can happen when the unions become so powerful, and demand so onerus, that business can no longer compete. 

But Dell did agree with Jobs on education:

Dell also blamed problems in public schools on the lack of a competitive job market for principals.

I would go further, and insist on a competetive job market for Teachers.  And choice for parents and students.