Marysville School District No. 25’s Post

I would like to refute claims that are being spread online that I am somehow manipulating Board staff to keep them from putting a ceasefire resolution on the agenda that an imaginary majority of the board has asked to be agendized. These claims were repeated at the Board meeting last night during public comment. The truth is that the Board authorized its leadership (the president and vice-president) to issue the following statement, clarifying our collective position: https://lnkd.in/d5k7wqVA The US Constitution, Article 1 Section 8, specifies that "Congress shall have the power... to define and punish... offenses against the law of nations." At this very moment, we as citizens have a historic opportunity with ballots in every home in Oakland for an election to replace a Congresswoman who has served for 27 years, and a Senator who served for 31 years. At this point, it seems likely that the top two candidates in the race for Senator will be the two anti-ceasefire candidates. Any time spent *not* doing civic engagement on this election is a lost opportunity at a historic moment to influence our representatives on foreign policy issues. Folks, you’re targeting the wrong dude.

During our Community Chat on “Governance vs. Politics,” I was impressed not only by the empathy and support but also by the wisdom and pragmatic advice that community leaders offered each other. Here are their 5 Ways out of Division and Dysfunction. https://lnkd.in/gftCWPSm

What do John Bel Edwards, Roy Cooper, Laura Kelly and Andy Beshear have in common? They're all Democratic governors in states with Republican supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature. Edwards only has a month or so left before a Republican takes his place. Cooper is term-limited, so he'll be out in a year. Kelly and Beshear just got reelected, so they're set through 2026 but then term-limited. But the Republican supermajorities in the legislatures are likely to remain well past all of their terms, so it doesn't matter much that they are in office, nor will it matter much who replaces them. Yes, there are some small things they can do, but mostly they're in extremely weak positions. Meanwhile, Phil Scott in Vermont is the only Republican governor with a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature. (Nevada is close, as Dems have a supermajority in one house but not the other.) Republicans currently have complete control of 28 state legislatures, with supermajorities in at least 18 of them. There are also currently 26 Republican governors, soon to be 27 (Louisiana). And there are three states where a Democratic governor can't do much governing, and only one state the other way around. We need to fix this, but – IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO COMPLAIN!!! That's why I created the Good Neighbor Program, and am pushing hard to get it implemented. I am proud to say that Democratic leadership in my current home county (Frederick County, MD) is taking first steps to do so. If we can get another couple of thousand counties to get on board, we can get the job done. https://lnkd.in/eiZwr6cu

Impact is the heartbeat of the Sanford School of Public Policy. A new report showcases dozens of impactful examples—a testament to a century of shaping public policy for the better https://lnkd.in/enqiWPPd #Duke100

In the latest #AdvocateFirstgen blog, Dr. Tiffany Bellafant Steward explains how the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR)'s thirteen community colleges leverage their #FirstScholarsNetwork participation to eliminate barriers and foster an environment where all students can succeed. Read it at bit.ly/3TNKjgo.

Public-sector employees are used to seeing their workplaces in the spotlight or in the headlines. Too rarely is it to recognize excellence in the work they do. The Salute to Local Government is one day a year when we aim to change that. Join us!

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued decisions affecting the extent that service industries (think bakeries) and institutions of higher education can and cannot consider diversity in their operations. So many of the commentators have declared these decisions the apocalypse for efforts to achieve a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace to which people feel they truly belong.  But that is not true – and you should continue your efforts in the DEI sphere within your agencies and your communities. Please join Malobi Achike, Esq. and myself at the Charlotte Mecklenburg DEI conference in #Charlotte next month. We will review the SCOTUS decisions in everyday terms (even though we are both lawyers) and discuss the real life implications of these decisions. We will work with you during this interactive program to define practices consistent with the SCOTUS decisions and your DEI objectives, with a “best practices” perspective. This will include developing practices “consistent” with the doomsayers, as some declaring the apocalypse may be responsible for the very agencies you represent, and we want you to be able to successfully present your proposals to the powers-that-be without having to worry about legal analysis. Bring your questions, suggestions and anything else you can think of – the best is yet to come, and it will come from you. #publicsafety

From The Daily Signal: "In an explosive report by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, William Flanders analyzed data from Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction and revealed that the sudden tidal wave of new students displaced by the end of school choice would have overwhelmed the state’s public schools, severely compromising the quality of education available to Wisconsin students. For example, the Milwaukee Public Schools would have gone from a surplus of more than 20,000 seats to a deficit of more than 17,000—necessitating the immediate purchase or construction of at least 17 new school buildings. Likewise, to maintain its current student-teacher ratio, Milwaukee Public Schools would have needed to hire almost 2,400 additional teachers—a nearly 57% increase in its current teaching staff." https://lnkd.in/gWNws3X7 #wisconsin #schoolchoice #supremecourt #educationforall #educationreform #parentalchoice #parentalcontrol #studentsuccess #studentsfirst

In a newly published paper in Political Research Quarterly, the Center for Effective Lawmaking co-directors Craig Volden of the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Alan Wiseman of the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, and Andrew Clarke of Lafayette College examine how joining a party faction can impact a lawmaker’s effectiveness in #Congress: https://lnkd.in/e-SYmujR...

Today, the Oregon Department of Education listened to comments on its recent state legislation requiring #highschool students to take a course in #personalfinance for graduation. Two options are on the table: to require at least a semester-long course or to embed it in another course. According to the National Endowment for Financial Education Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), 88% of U.S. adults support stand-alone #financialeducation courses in high school and 80% of those surveyed also say they wish they had been required to take at least a full semester course. Americans broadly see the importance and need for this course. As part of my comments to the Oregon DOE today, I detailed that embedding in another course will dilute the standards and lead to inequitable opportunities for learning about personal finance. Further, integrating thoughtfully designed financial education should supersede makeshift solutions that ultimately transfer burdens onto educators. We must consult—and listen to—teachers to fully understand potential implementation challenges. Furthermore, investing in #teachertraining and #professionaldevelopment in financial education to empower educators with the material necessary for success. As states consider the implementation of their financial education course requirements, NEFE urges stand-alone offerings to provide fair and equitable access to financial education for all students. NEFE is available to provide research, resources and support for any state leadership working toward effective implementation. https://lnkd.in/euQFH2HX