On this day, August 22, 2002, President George W. Bush proposed to end the government's "hands-off" policy in national forests and ease logging restrictions in fire-prone areas.
Also on this day, August 22, 2014, the State of Oregon filed a $200 million suit against Oracle Corp. and several executives over the company's role in creating the troubled website for the state's online health insurance exchange.
Also on this day, August 22, 2020, demonstrators faced off in Portland with the two sides -- one aligned with a "Back the Blue" rally and the other a Black Lives Matter counter-demonstration -- reportedly largely ignoring police warnings. Ultimately, Department of Homeland Security officers deemed the gatherings unlawful and moved through the plaza, forcing the crowd to disperse.
Let’s replace it with School Choice
Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown has made her intentions clear. The return to school this fall will not look normal. As stated in the
Governor’s July 16th press release: “As COVID-19 continues to spread across Oregon, it has become clear that school this fall will not look like a normal year. Many, if not most Oregon students are in districts that will focus on online distance learning or have a hybrid model of some online education and some in-person classroom time.â€
How long will it be before Oregon’s Governor creates another emergency on something else and schools will be cancelled again? By focusing on a distance learning and hybrid model Oregon’s Governor is leaving behind families that cannot afford tutors, private schools or full time daycare. Parents who can afford it will not subject their kids to the mercy of Oregon’s failing public school system.
For now, the best move for society is to re-open schools. Short of that, the best move for families who can afford to pay for a proper education, is to do so. Everyone else? Start advocating for schools to open or accept that your kids will fall behind rich kids. The problem is not underfunding of schools. It’s teachers’ unions and bad budgeting.
Perhaps another school closure (which is coming) will finally break the political stranglehold of teacher unions with their legal monopoly of K-12 education and give parents the choice over how their education tax dollars are spent. Parents need School Choice that gives the power to parents, who otherwise could not afford a better education for their kids, to choose a better school. Forcing kids to attend underperforming public schools is a very ignorant look at education as a whole. It is fiscally and ethically irresponsible to continue to fund district schools with declining enrollment and unions with money stolen from the families and children of Oregon. Why is school choice still out of reach for Oregon’s families?
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2020-07-18 13:18:45 | Last Update: 2020-07-18 13:18:56 |
