- The reach of Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is wide. Case in point: his guest commentary on the influence of union interests in the current LAUSD school board race. (LA School Report/The 74, 2/28/17)
- Speaking of union interests, the Rep reports in a glass-half-full kind of way that nearly all actions relating to the Louisville teachers union strike have been “concluded” in one way or another…except for that one grievance and that one court case still pending. Oh, and those three teachers still suspended for deleting files before heading to the picket lines. (Canton Repository, 2/26/17) Union reps, lawyers, and negotiators from districts around Stark County say that they are doing everything they can to avoid a repeat in their districts of the ugliness and division experienced before, during, and after the Louisville strike. (Canton Repository, 2/26/17) Unfortunately, that spirit appears not have wafted outside the county borders, as the current, deteriorating relationship between union and board in Brecksville-Broadview Heights bears a strong resemblance to that in Louisville. Hopefully the incoming mediator will do better here than he did – initially – in Louisville. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/28/17)
- Finally, we conclude this downer of a clips collection with a cautionary tale of why school districts should probably be content to be the 800 pound “default” gorilla of the education world without attempting to draw too much attention to themselves. The superintendent of Hamilton City Schools in the Miami Valley is in hot water with private school parents and leaders for attempting to recruit private school families into the district fold with a letter that was seen as unduly harsh in its assessment of the quality of said private schools as compared to his own. (Middletown Journal-News, 3/1/17)
