You've probably already heard the great news that the voucher bill is probably dead for the year. If you want more detail about how Representative Dunn (who is the poster boy politician for out-of-state organizations funded by billionaires who want to privatize public schools) dramatically teared up when he pulled his bill from consideration because he knew he did not have enough votes for it to pass, then click HERE to read the news.
Dunn, with tears in his eyes, claimed that anti-voucher people only called him about the money not about the kids. Um, we have to point out the elephant in the room: his campaign and lobbyists are getting paid big bucks, paying people to show up and speak about vouchers, giving away yellow scarves to anyone who will wear them. Meanwhile, parents and teachers (like us Momma Bears) were working for free to stop it. Money matters to who? This is for the kids.
Anyway, after Representative Dunn's crocodile tears, his quoting scripture, and his pull on people's heartstrings lamenting the poor kids in Memphis that he claims his vouchers would save (ironically, the same poor children he won't lift a finger to push for adequate funding for their starving public schools), he at last brought his 4 year-old voucher bill to the clerk's desk. (cue funeral dirge music)
From what we understand, the clerk's desk is a vast dark hole. Once a bill is placed upon it, only a vote from 50 Representatives can get it off the desk to be voted upon again with 24 hours notice. This is intriguing to us, this desk...
Does it become piled up with stuff people set upon it?
What happens if the clerk spills his coffee on it?
Can he pick the bill up and put it on another desk or does that take 50 votes, too?
Is the desk a big giant pile of stuck bills that stay stuck forever?
Or does he have a nice file cabinet to put these lame bills in?
What are the odds of bills stuck there ever getting out?
Perhaps the greatest question we have is...
Can we put the TNReady paper test on the clerk's desk, too? Please oh please???
Dunn, with tears in his eyes, claimed that anti-voucher people only called him about the money not about the kids. Um, we have to point out the elephant in the room: his campaign and lobbyists are getting paid big bucks, paying people to show up and speak about vouchers, giving away yellow scarves to anyone who will wear them. Meanwhile, parents and teachers (like us Momma Bears) were working for free to stop it. Money matters to who? This is for the kids.
Anyway, after Representative Dunn's crocodile tears, his quoting scripture, and his pull on people's heartstrings lamenting the poor kids in Memphis that he claims his vouchers would save (ironically, the same poor children he won't lift a finger to push for adequate funding for their starving public schools), he at last brought his 4 year-old voucher bill to the clerk's desk. (cue funeral dirge music)
From what we understand, the clerk's desk is a vast dark hole. Once a bill is placed upon it, only a vote from 50 Representatives can get it off the desk to be voted upon again with 24 hours notice. This is intriguing to us, this desk...
Does it become piled up with stuff people set upon it?
What happens if the clerk spills his coffee on it?
Can he pick the bill up and put it on another desk or does that take 50 votes, too?
Is the desk a big giant pile of stuck bills that stay stuck forever?
Or does he have a nice file cabinet to put these lame bills in?
What are the odds of bills stuck there ever getting out?
Perhaps the greatest question we have is...
Can we put the TNReady paper test on the clerk's desk, too? Please oh please???
Before you throw a celebration party, know that this bill is not dead yet. We are watching to make sure it stays lost in the pile and not horse traded for something else. Representative Dunn is pretty sneaky and so are the many lobbyists in Nashville whose job is to get vouchers in TN. (Remember how the bill was rushed through committee when key members were absent?) So, we're happy the bill is stuck, but we're still very skeptical. Even after you cut the head of the snake off, it can still bite you. And there is always next year, the money flowing into campaigns to elect pro-voucher legislators has already started.
Speaking of money. We have heard that if you compile all the money spent on pushing vouchers over the past 4 years in TN (including the salaries of the lobbyists [lobbyists make big bucks, and there are a bunch of them], campaign contributions to politicians, PR, etc.) the grand total would be over $8 million.
$8 million spent to "help" 5000 potential voucher kids in Memphis? We can't help but imagine if that $8 million went to the current public schools of those students to implement smaller class sizes, to put more support staff in the buildings working with the students, and to providing support services to address the crippling poverty these kids face every day and will still face if they attended private schools on vouchers. Now THAT would really make a difference. Such a shame, such a shame.
Speaking of money. We have heard that if you compile all the money spent on pushing vouchers over the past 4 years in TN (including the salaries of the lobbyists [lobbyists make big bucks, and there are a bunch of them], campaign contributions to politicians, PR, etc.) the grand total would be over $8 million.
$8 million spent to "help" 5000 potential voucher kids in Memphis? We can't help but imagine if that $8 million went to the current public schools of those students to implement smaller class sizes, to put more support staff in the buildings working with the students, and to providing support services to address the crippling poverty these kids face every day and will still face if they attended private schools on vouchers. Now THAT would really make a difference. Such a shame, such a shame.
