Jackson Jambalaya

Nancy Loome of The Parents' Campaign writes in the letters to the editor section of today's Clarion Ledger in opposition to virtual charter schools.

And also in the Clarion Ledger, Claiborne Barksdale writes a column opposing virtual charter schools.

Kingfish already exposed the connection between the two.

So today, Senator Blount offers an amendment to strip the virtual charter school component from the bill. But guess what? Senator Blount is (or was in 2010) an employee of Parents for Public Schools.

Nice when you need to lobby a legislator to already have him (or at least had him in 2010) on your payroll.

What'd we end up with? Nothing useful?

Blount and PPS are attached at the hip.

No surprise he'll do what he can to maintain the status quo.

Blount is no reformer.

State Superintendent of Education Tom Burnham bragged about cutting costs just a couple of days ago.

"The efforts to improve the department's efficiency have not been limited to personnel, Burnham said. The cost of operating the virtual school network was cut from about $2.4 million to about $600,000 through contract renegotiations, said John Gilbert, director of education accountability and a certified public accountant.

It appears the education bureaucracy does not want virtual charter schools to compete with their own network.

They cut Virtual Schools, but increase reliance on Webinars for training of personnel to claim savings.

Technology, such as using webinars for training, has helped with a reduction in in-state travel, Burnham said.

Makes.no.sense.

The state has a contract with Connections Academy for $600,000 annually which provides free online education to public schools students. MBJ

Lobbyist for Connections Academy: Quentin Whitwell

Not saying QW had anything to do with the amendment. Just getting all the players in the program.

So are charters going to be allowed for ALL districts, of just for the failing districts?

This has been in the works for a while. Mississippi had its own virtual school, supported with technology funding from AT&T. When the lobbying efforts for this bill began, Mississippi Virtual Public School was no longer operated by the state dept. of ed. It was taken over by Connections Academy. Rumors at the time claimed that shifting MVPS away from Dept. of Ed. was all tied to the charter school business. Can someone make sense of this?

This has been in the works for a while. Mississippi had its own virtual school, supported with technology funding from AT&T. When the lobbying efforts for this bill began, Mississippi Virtual Public School was no longer operated by the state dept. of ed. It was taken over by Connections Academy. Rumors at the time claimed that shifting MVPS away from Dept. of Ed. was all tied to the charter school business. Can someone make sense of this?

Blount = poor education for children

Smells fishy, as in Dead Fish. More watering down of Education. Makes political sense to shift
$$$ from one column to another.

Fuzzy Math/Temporary relief.

Sen. Blount offered the amendment, which was approved by a free vote. He didn't force it through. You all sound like a bunch of automatons, not caring about the merits of the issue. I agree with what the Senate did. Children should not grow up in bubbles.

Show me the money.

You all sound like a bunch of automatons, not caring about the merits of the issue.

People are freely expressing their opinions Burke. Your inability to comprehend that fact leads me to wonder if you actually did grow up in a bubble.

Using your logic you are either a Blount apologist, a Democrat or both.

Burke,

Care to explain the reliance on cutting expenses through technology, but not when it leads to increasing our children's education and access to it?

This would appear to me as money being spent on children. That is who we are talking about, unless you are on the sides of the administrators seeking to expand their pot-o-gold.

The esteemed Senator has not worked for PPS since 2010.

Of course, they can always twist the stats to define "underperforming".

JPS is only on academic watch. They only graduate half their boys four years after they start ninth grade but probably are not considered underperforming.

Let us outside of Education in Mississippi leave all in place as Educators want, keep the status quo, do the same and continue a downward spiral of uneducated graduates, or non graduates because of quitting or let's try Charter schools and hopefully improve. Educators in this State have done nothing but complain when they should have been closing school districts and combining funds to educate. Keep doing things the same way and you will probably get the same results.

What Senator Blount took out is only half the story. The other half is what Senator Wiggins put in - preK!

Wiggins' amendment is the back door to public school preK. Now, follow that money!

David Blount's long time connection to Parents for Public Schools -- both as a parent while in the employ of Eric Clark and afterwards as employee -- and that group's opposition to any education reform beyond shaking down the taxpaying public for more money is beyond dispute.

Kangaroo; how you claim webinars have no value as a cost saver? I've participated in them for over a decade as well as conducting them over many state lines. Much more cost efficient than bringing everybody in to a casino venue for four days of drinking, heavy breakfasts, sport-friggin' and hangovers.

We spend plenty on Education. The fault in adaquecy falls in many areas, but when you have high school daycares with crime, drugs, attitudes, guards, etc the money will not cure these types of things. We are certifying generations of illiterates. Home is where it starts, and there is no discipling or parenting. I have some suggestions on how to rectify that, but the parents and teachers would be sued or reported to DHS.

Billions wasted on ED-uuu KAYAAAATION.

Has anyone one else been tempted to post a comment about being "Crazy as a Loon" ?

Shadow, that is my point, they will laud the learning via the Internet as cost savings while killing off the idea of rural Virtual Schooling.

There is still only one law degree you can get online and it is only recognized in California. ;) But, go figure, they still charge full-time sitting in a classroom prices.

Kudos to 4:01. Brice Wiggins sounds like a liberal when he talks about early childhood education. Who is he working for?

Of course, none of us ever learned any of life's lessons on the playground or by competing with our peers in the classroom and on the field.

And, we all see how well mannered and civilized public discourse is in virtual reality. Why learn debating skills when you can hurl insults?

And, won't hacking tests be fun? Given the school a different kind of virus should be amusing as well. And, I'll bet changing grades will be the new " cool".

Do none of you ever talk to young people?