Oak Ridge Today

Guest column: What do ‘vouchers’ mean to Tennessee taxpayers?

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By Tammy Grissom

A school voucher is a publicly funded credit or certificate whereby a student may be enrolled in a private school and apply the credit to tuition.

So, why should Tennessee taxpayers care?

  1. Vouchers use your money to help pay for a student to go to a private school that answers to private administrators and not you, the taxpayer. Public schools must answer to the people and are held accountable for the use of local, state, and federal educational tax money.
  2. Article XI, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution specifically states, “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support, and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools.” Nowhere in our Constitution is the General Assembly directed to take taxpayer money and use it for a voucher system so parents can use public money to send their children to private schools.
  3. Private schools are not public institutions, and without proper oversight, the “qualifications and standards” for students may fall short of expectations and undermine the fundamental idea of equality in education.  Vouchers require the public to supplement these standards even if they are contrary to state and federal education law.
  4. Vouchers force the public to support two drastically different educational systems, one over which the public has no oversight.

[Read more…]

Obama’s visit: Education, manufacturing, a chance to see the president

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College

President Barack Obama announces a proposal to offer two years of free community college to responsible students during a half-hour speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15.

HARDIN VALLEY—It was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for some, a chance to shake hands with the president of the United States of America or wave at his heavily guarded motorcade as it passed by on a local roadway.

For others, it was a chance to hear about a presidential proposal modeled after a Tennessee program that would make the first two years of community college free to students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. That proposal, officially announced at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday, expands on the 20th century idea that all children in the United States are entitled to a public education. In the 21st century economy, the White House said, 12 years of school is no longer enough.

For a much-smaller group, Friday’s visit by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden offered an opportunity to hear an in-person announcement of a new advanced manufacturing hub, the country’s fifth, that will be led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and have Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a founding partner. That announcement at Techmer PM in Clinton was highlighted by a 3-D printed carbon fiber replica of a Shelby Cobra that the president joked about receiving for his birthday. [Read more…]

Letter: Hope wants to be mayor, focus on schools, jobs, housing

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

To my fellow City Council members,

I am asking you to consider me as a possible candidate for mayor, when we meet next Monday night. It would be a honor to become the next mayor of the City of Oak Ridge, I believe I have shown my ability to lead and find common ground on issues over the last three-plus years I have been on City Council.

Why do I want to be considered for mayor of our city? Oak Ridge is my home. I have grown up here, went through the school system here, started and maintained my business here, married my high school sweetheart, and raised my family all right here in Oak Ridge. I love my home town and care about what happens here. I care about my neighbors and the neighborhoods. I have watched multiple generations of families live their lives here, and look forward to seeing many more to come.

I want to see our city prosper and grow, and for us do that, we have to have good leadership from our civic leaders. As our civic leaders have done before us, I want to help our city continue to move forward. Over the last 55 years, our city has seen some remarkable things and has contributed many great things to the world. I want us to continue to build on these things and look forward to what we do next. [Read more…]

OREA has ‘Meet the Candidates, Meet the Educators’ at ORHS today

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Education Association is having a “Meet the Candidates, Meet the Educators” event at the high school this afternoon.

It’s scheduled from 4 to 5:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, October 22) at the Oak Ridge High School amphitheater.

“Because of the plethora of candidate forums in recent weeks (and the number of candidates), our event will not be so much a traditional candidate forum as much as a ‘conversation’ about public education,” a press release said. “Each candidate will have the opportunity to speak for three-five minutes on their views on educational issues pertinent to the office that he/she is seeking. Once each candidate has spoken, the event will transition into a ‘meet and greet,’ during which you can chat with individual candidates about questions that you have. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge educator to receive national recognition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mike Carvella

Mike Carvella

Submitted

Michael Carvella, a second-grade teacher at Woodland Elementary School, will receive the 2015 California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence, one of public education’s most prestigious awards, a press release said.

Carvella is among 39 public educators who will be honored at the NEA Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala to be held in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2015. One of public education’s most anticipated events, the gala attracts more than 850 of the nation’s leaders from public education, philanthropy, and the private sector.

“We give these awards annually to honor and promote excellence in education and to elevate the profession,” said Harriet Sanford, president and chief executive officer of the NEA Foundation. “Educators like these are critical to their students’ academic success, and they deserve national recognition. We are thrilled that California Casualty has joined us again this year to pay tribute to educators who are making such a difference in the lives of students in classrooms across the country.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Not seeking re-election, DiGregorio offers advice to potential candidates

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have been on the Oak Ridge Board of Education since June 2005. My second term on this board is coming to a close in November, after what will be nine years and five months. But who’s counting?

I have decided not to seek re-election. On a personal level, I’m committed to term limits and shared responsibility. I should have been through in June of 2013, but a City Charter revision, through some smoke and mirrors, fixed things so that terms that should have expired in June of 2013 were extended to November 2014, an additional 17 months. Three current board members are in that situation.

Recently, I have been asked about “school boarding”—what the process is for running for a seat on the School Board, where do you register, how many signatures are required to be placed on the ballot, what a campaign would entail, and what time commitment it takes to serve on the School Board if elected. I am glad to provide this information and my opinions. I applaud anyone who wants to serve on a Board of Education. Public education is very important to me, this city, this state, and the nation.

There are three basic tasks for a BOE: policy, planning, and promotion. But the job is far more involved than that. Board members will not hire or fire any staff. Nor will they micromanage the work of any staff, including the superintendent. Collectively, the BOE has one employee—the superintendent.  The board hires him/her, and he/she does everything else. You do not work for the superintendent or the board, but working with those two, even if you disagree, will make things easier. Otherwise, the board may become dysfunctional. No community deserves a dysfunctional board of any kind. A 5-0 vote has the same effect as a 4-1 or 3-2 vote. The board speaks with one voice.

So: [Read more…]

Letter: Vote for Nolan if you support schools, teachers, students

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

Like many of you, I received a campaign postcard promoting the re-election of Rep. John Ragan. My first reaction was, “Who are these kids?” Obviously, with their emblazoned uniforms, they did not look like students I know from Anderson County, Clinton, or Oak Ridge schools.

Look at the fine print on the postcard, and you’ll see it’s paid for by the Tennessee Federation for Children PAC. This is a Washington D.C.-based group that spends lavishly to pass unlimited school voucher legislation. Its ally is the controversial Michelle Rhee’s Students First that gave Ragan an award last year for his efforts to dismantle public education. They later rescinded it after an Oak Ridge resident launched a petition drive that garnered 57,000 signatures from people protesting Ragan’s efforts to legislate bigotry.

My question to voters is this: Whose interests is Ragan representing? The answer is clear: Out-of-state interests seeking to exploit our children for their own profits. [Read more…]

Guest column: B&W Y-12 improved Y-12, made a big difference in the community

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

David Bradshaw

David Bradshaw

By David Bradshaw

It has been almost 14 years since B&W Y-12 LLC took over operation of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

Soon a new contractor will be in charge. Thanks to the work of the B&W Y-12 team and many others, they will inherit a very different and much improved facility.

One only needs to approach Y-12 to see the changes. The first thing you will see is the New Hope Center, built as a public-private partnership and located just outside the secure gates of Y-12 to make sure public access is easy. It has conference space, an outstanding auditorium, and a museum that highlights everything from Y-12’s critical role in the Manhattan Project, to the NASA “moon box” built by Y-12, to Y-12’s role in winning the Cold War. Y-12 had always been a secret place and this space built with the public in mind was a major change.

The modernization process is even more obvious inside the gate. Y-12 completed and opened the new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. It’s a state of the art building. The new Uranium Processing Facility will be just as impressive with design work well underway. Both facilities allow the U.S. Department of Energy to close down old buildings that date back to the Manhattan Project. With the HEUMF and UPF in place, Y-12 will be far more efficient with operations not only more secure, but centralized in one place instead of being spread out over several locations. [Read more…]

Public education reforms to be discussed at League meeting Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jerry Winters, retired chief lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association, will discuss the challenges facing public schools, with an emphasis on corporate “reforms,” during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday, a press release said.

Winters will be the featured speaker at the meeting, which starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. His presentation is titled “Surviving the Attacks on Public Education.” [Read more…]