Corporate Sponsorship of US Schools

[Fire Walk With Me]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=2&u=/ap/20050420/ap_on_re_us/no_child_left_behind

This Yahoo story on Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. rejecting the No Child Left Behind act caused me to link to his site.. I've been worrying about the NCLB act as being a misdirection into insufficient funding for schools, and corporations being the chosen "solution" to the problem Bush is causing.

Lo and behold...

http://www.utah.gov/governor/education.html

At the bottom of this page, reads:

"Public/Private Partnerships
Partnerships between public education and the business community are beneficial and should be strengthened as a potential source of revenue. The private sector has developed and continues to develop practices and methods applicable to education, which can be shared with educators and parents."

I hope that we're talking about local hardware stores donating jerseys for the sports teams. Not that Wall Mart is eating local hardware stores alive. I'm sure that would be happy to continue contributing to the welfare of schools.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. We have been doing this business sponsoring stuff

for many years now. In fact, ten years ago, every school in my district was directed to find a local business partner.

It has actually been a very successful venture for several schools where I have worked. An airline was a sponsor at one school and they sent tutors to work with kids and also planted a garden on the school grounds. A bank helped every 5th grader at a nearby school open up a savings account. We have a Power Lunch program at my school where once a month employees at nearby businesses come and read to classes at lunch. The furniture store on the corner donated gently used teachers' desks and bookcases for every room in our school. The Kiwanis club buys dictionaries for every 3rd, 4th and 5th grader every year at several school in our district. We are having a bicycle rodeo next weekend and one of our business partners is helping us buy a bike helmet for every kid who comes.

Business partnerships are terrific. :bounce:

For many years now I have been advocating mandatory business/school partnerships for businesses that get TIF financing. That is when local property tax bills are forgiven as an incentive for businesses to locate in 'depressed' areas. Since property taxes are the main source of local revenue for schools, schools get screwed when TIF financing is offered to businesses. Asking those businesses to give time and resources to schools is a fair trade off, IMO.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. Relieved to hear it

Sounds like a good community sense of spirit and involvement.

You'll let us know if the new baseball caps say "Exxon", right? :-)

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. So far that hasn't happened

where I work. But I do understand your fear.

[funflower]

11. biz partners

There's a difference between a school finding a business partner and a corporation buying a school district (or a state board of ed).


He who pays the piper calls the tune.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. And how many corporations can afford

to buy a school district? And why would they want to? It's not exactly a profitable business.

[funflower]

13. Oh fer cryin' out loud

I don't mean it literally.

I do think the big biz world is far too interested in running the schools - and making money off of them.

Nothing against your local hardware store buying baseball caps.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. I guess I don't see

a big windfall for any corporation. A few years ago, our district gave a sinful amount of money to Sylvan to run a tutoring program. After a year, Sylvan opted out. It was too expensive for them to stay involved.

[funflower]

15. It's not one corporation

It's those national rep-owned business roundtables and orgs like that who have had a lot to do w/ bringing us NCLB. They have a vision of the purpose of education that I, for one, do not share.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. What orgs are those?

NCLB came out of the US Dept of Ed and Congress. And few people realize the teachers unions were involved as well. I never heard about any businesses involved.

[Nikki Stone 1]

3. I've been worried about this myself

And it is a real threat. With so much else bing privatized.

[Hippo_Tron]

5. Good for Huntsman

I wonder how many of these dark red state officials don't actually reject the Bush agenda but just won't affiliate themselves with the dems because they can't get elected.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. Good point. How to organize them, even among themselves?

[Hippo_Tron]

8. Well we're not going to change any minds on social issues

But there's no question that many GOP voters and officials, even those who consider themselves "conservative", are uneasy about a lot of Bush's economic agenda. Ultimately what this comes down to is wedge issue politics. How can we (they) polarize the country into the US vs THEM camp with more in the US camp. What the GOP has very effectively managed to do is get more people solidly into their camp because the Democrats are so bad on social issues. What we need to make the GOP do is WORK for those votes. If winning Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, etc. means yelling gay marriage and abortion louder than the other guy, then that's fine, the GOP can win those states, then. But what we need to do is make those voters at least look at our platform so that the GOP will have to spend money in states that they usually win if they want to keep those voters solidly in their column. And perhaps just as importantly, it will make them take an even farther right wing stance on social issues that may play well in Utah but might be so far right that it will turn off swing voters in Ohio.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. BushCo is showing such an extreme side

that when it comes to issues such as educating children, more and more people will find themselves identifying more with Democrats than Bush (although as stated earlier, they would not end up voting Democratic).

It is however, a good sign and a positive point. We don't have to all vote the same to agree on what Bush is causing to be, the important issues (the future of the country) etc.

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. It's not just the red states. Arnold has been trying to force it on CA

http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/04/1731397.php

On April 8, he officially backed off from his highly unpopular plan to privatize the state's school pension fund (for a year, but it's a victory nonetheless).

He had fired four people who were against him.

http://www.cadem.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fvLRK7O3E&b=190090&ct=428423

Bullying at it's finest, at all levels of the administration. Outing CIA agents, trying to force bad choices for UN "Envoy", it's of course all to divide and conquer, to smash and grab.

And as everything requires equalisation, it has a built-in rallying effect.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. Add Texas and Connecticut

Noted on michaelmoore.com:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0419/p01s02-uspo.html