(Deseret News)"The State Board of Education cannot refuse to talk to us," said Senate President John L. Valentine, R-Orem, following a meeting Tuesday afternoon of top-level legislative bosses — the Executive Appropriations Committee.But GOP legislative leaders decided to try to carry a big stick and talk softly to the 15-member, independently elected state school board, Valentine said. That decision came in a private meeting between Senate and House Republican leaders before the Executive Appropriations hearing, causing a public meeting to start 90 minutes late."
It looks like they can refuse to talk to you President Valentine, and for good reason. Not only has Republican leadership brought this voucher curse on the people of Utah at an inappropriate time, but they have also become jealous of their power, and cannot be trusted with the public education system in Utah. Thank goodness we reelected Chairman Burningham, a true public education hero.
8 comments:
I don't find sulking to be all that heroic. Neither do I find bureaucratic turf wars to be a step towards real progress.
We would be better served if Mr Burningham followed the admonishment of the governor for the legislature and the state education bureaucracy to move past the voucher rancor and cooperatively address the myriad of other issues facing the education establishment in this state.
If anyone's actions are worthy of the epithet "educrat", Chairman Burningham's childish refusal to meet with legislators is.
Other than that, I think the chairman has done a fantastic job in a state that has provided such little resources for so many years.
Have a nice day
Green Jello,
Naw...I think you may be judging Kim Burningham without all the facts. Sending a representative to this discussion who could not actually speak for the board wouldn't have accomplished anything. The committee was also aware IN ADVANCE of them asking that Kim would be out of town. They're just making political hay and trying to discredit a true educational hero (and a former Republican legislator, I might add).
I listened to the proceedings and holy cow King Stephenson was on another one of his authoritarian power trips. He was so full of himself it was embarrassing. The dialogue between Stephenson and the AG folks was typical Mutual Appreciation Society poppycock. I'll write more later.
But for now I'm outta' here - on my way to Maui (never been but should be a blast).
Chairman Burningham is a hero. He and the other elected members made a wise decision to not implement vouchers even when the attorney-general gave them the incorrect opinion to do so. Their wise decision was later vindicated by the supreme court.
If anyone is guilty of causing political turf wars it has been republican legislative leadership, the governor, and the attorney-general.
You use words like sulking and childish to describe Chairman Burningham, and yet it is once again republican leadership who are better represented by these tags.
As Mr. Miller stated legislative leadership has become jealous of their power and this is even more evident by their desire to change the school board into a partisan race, and to take away the board's right to elect their own leadership. Maybe they should pass legislation that allows the governor the opportunity to pick the speaker and senate president as well.
Gerrymandering Utah's district lines, vouchers, under funding Utah's public schools for over two decades, not to mention the private, closed doors" meetings have proved that it is time for Utah to elect less republicans and more democrats to elected office.
Thanks for pointing out that Chairman Burningham has done a great job, but I cannot concur with your statements that he is sulking or childish. The board's decision to not implement vouchers has been vindicated, and I think it is wise for the board to wait awhile before they put up with any further manipulation, or bullying from republican leadership.
While the state board won a great moral victory….they lost the war today.
Wait till next session – the law will be changed to politize the board.
Let’s face it, members of the board had nothing to loose today because they know that there days are numbered. - things will be very different come July 1 next year.
Anon - that's a sad commentary on supermajority politics. We'll see - societies don't endure bullying forever, no matter how bleak it may seem.
I fully agree that Chairman Burningham was 100% right to refuse to implement vouchers (the Ag and the Legislature was 100% wrong to try and push for HB164 implementation after the referendum vote was on. What strikes me as childish is the refusal to meet with legislators after the issue is already settled by the Supreme Court of the state.
If I am missing facts let me know Craig, but from my understanding I the meeting was to clarify interactions between the Board, the AG, and the legislature (something quite necessary judging from the three parties' pre-Supreme Court decision interactions.
Point is, it strikes me as nothing more than bureaucratic positioning to refuse to meet with fellow elected officials especially after the Board's position was vindicated by the high court of the land.
The principal fact at hand is that Kim Burningham is out of town and the committee knew this in advance of even asking him to attend. Kim is one of the least cowardly people I've ever met. Utah's supermajority legislature is, quite frankly, nuts, and to not bow down to their arrogance requires serious moxie.
Now a bit more unsolicited commentary :-)
Man you should have listened to the proceedings today. They were clearly trying to punish and belittle the state board. Sen. Stephenson is as much to blame as anyone in the history of Utah politics for stirring the pot and misrepresenting the facts through his subtle and not-so-subtle commentary. He blatantly stated today that he will change whatever laws are necessary to bring USOE's lawyers under the AG's iron rule.
I'm serious when I say that folks like Sen. Stephenson and the hard-line authoritarianism of the ultra-far-right causes more damage in this state than any other single force. This is a very different strain from the purely fiscal conservative right which I actually have a lot of respect for as long as they're not pushing the whole Social Darwinist thing.
Actually to get an intriguing sense of the difference between the authoritarian right and the fiscal right, take a look at politicalcompass.org. Fascinating stuff!
Craig.
I agree that the behavior of the AG and some (not all) legislators in pushing voucher bill HB174 after the referendum vote was certified was dispicible.
I didn't here the proceedings, but if the meeting was another authoritarian smackdown due the Board's refusal to cave over HB174, as you say, than I gladly concede my earlier criticism. It angered me when the AG and certain members of the Leg. used that bullying before the Supreme Court decision, and it is even more unacceptable now.
I hold to my support of vouchers as funding mechanism, but it has been disappointing to watch power brokers weaken their position by acting as childish, if not more childish, than I accused Chairman Burningham of acting.
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