Before we look to cut classroom teachers, and increase class sizes, how about looking at the administrative structure of Vermont’s school districts?  The superitendents and school boards certainly aren’t going to come up with this idea on their own.

How much money would be saved in salaries for supertintendents, business managers, staff, office rental, etc.?  How much human energy could be redirected?  Are the students really benefitting from these very small supervisory unions, or do they exist mostly because of inertia, local tradition, pride and ego?  

Below are 20 supervisory unions with less than 1,000 students each (smaller than many high schools).  I’m not talking about closing schools at this point, but with the state picking up an increasing large portion of the tab, I do think we need to consider consolidating these districts and/or merging with neighbors that aren’t much bigger:

Essex North (Canaan)            242

Battenkill Valley (Arlington) 342

Blue Mountain (Wells River) 435

Rutland Windsor (Ludlow) 440

Rivendell (Fairlee)        500

Essex Caledonia (Concord) 590

Windsor Northwest (Bethel/Roch) 615

Washington Northeast (Cabot) 638

Grand Isle                662

Rutland Southwest (Poultney) 663

Caledonia Central (Danville) 673

St. Johnsbury           705

Orange North (Williamstown) 740

Winooski                747

Washington South (Northfield)   781

Windham Southwest (Wilmington) 786

Orange Windsor (Chelsea) 899

Bennington Rutland (Manchester) 945

Montpelier                968

Orange Southwest (Hardwick/Crafts) 998

The 5 largest SU’s are:

Chittenden East        2848

Orleans Essex North 2953

Southwest Vermont 3268

Burlington        3533

Chittenden South 4291

Five tons of unexploded Israeli bombs stored in the Gaza Strip under Hamas police guard have been stolen, U.N. officials said Tuesday.

. . .

Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner told The Associated Press that the explosives were probably taken by Hamas. He said Israel had been informed by the U.N. about the missing ordnance.

(UN: 5 tons of bombs stolen under Hamas guard, Yahoo News, 02/17/09)

Simple answer: stop dropping them on the Palestinians. If Hamas has retrieved these weapons and put the bombs to their own use … well … that’s the epitome of “fair play”.

Yeah … we’re still a torture nation, and in other ways it seems cheney/bush policies are still full steam ahead too.

Former Bush Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove has a new president urging Congress not to force him to testify next week.

President Barack Obama.

In a court brief quietly filed Monday, Michael Hertz, Obama’s acting assistant attorney general, said it was necessary to delay an effort to force Rove to be deposed in a congressional investigation into the firing of nine US Attorneys and the alleged political prosecution of a former Alabama governor.

. . .

“The president is very sympathetic to those who want to find out what happened,” [Obama White House Counsel] Craig told The Washington Post. “But he is also mindful as president of the United States not to do anything that would undermine or weaken the institution of the presidency. So, for that reason, he is urging both sides of this to settle.”

(Obama, not Bush, now seeking delay of Rove deposition, Raw Story, 02/17/09)

Not that long ago, back in the days when change appeared to mean “something different, new and better”

In 2007, while in the Senate, Obama rebuked Bush’s White House as “the most secretive in modern history,” which aimed “to hide its abuse of our justice system.”

Responding to a Bush claim of executive privilege, he said, “By continuing to act as the most secretive White House in modern history, the Bush Administration has once again placed itself above the law in order to hide its abuse of our justice system from the American people. On the first day of an Obama Administration, we will launch the most sweeping ethics reform in history to shed sunlight on the decisions made by government and put the interests of the American people at the center of every decision that’s made.”

(ibid)

Okay, let’s keep score: Wall Street is still getting huge bailouts at the expense of Main Street. The failed Republican mantra of “cut taxes, cut taxes” has been carried over into the stimulus bill. The war in Afghanistan is being expanded, and the the occupation of Iraq is continuing unabated. Torture and extra-ordinary renditions are going to continue.

This is not good … and I don’t care that we’ve finally got a President who doesn’t have to be photographed with a book in an attempt to convince a skeptical nation the prez can read.

Clearly it’s the in thing with the cool kids these days to have a Burlington mayoral candidates debate (or “forum”), and GMD is nothing if not cool (and we know who the cool kids we wanna be seen with are, like Democracy for America):

Event Date: Feb 26, 2009

Event Time: 7:00 PM EST

Venue Name: Sapa Coffee and Tea

Address: 9 Center Street

City: Burlington

Potholes. Disc golf. A dome over Burlington. There’s a lot to think about when deciding who should be the next mayor of Burlington and you’ve probably got a lot of questions you want to ask.

Well, if you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers… or, at least, a mayoral candidate forum in which you can ask your questions.

That’s right, Burlington DFA and Green Mountain Daily, Vermont’s finest political blog, are co-hosting a mayoral candidate forum to get you the answers to your question. Three candidates — Bob Kiss, Andy Montroll and Dan Smith — have already confirmed, so we hope to see you there!

7:00 p.m. – Doors open / mix and mingle

7:15 p.m. – Forum question and answer period

8:00 p.m. – Mix and mingle

8:30 p.m. – Wrap up

…and here I thought it was Haik calling us the “finest” of his own accord. Ah, well.

Details on what to expect. Live blogging? Streaming? Yes to one, maybe to the other… stay tuned.

Time for another look at the Legislative hopper to see what bills have been introduced. The bill drafting deadline has passed, although there are undoubtedly plenty of bills in the drafting process. As of today there are 233 House bills introduced and 93 Senate bills. No surprise there: we always see more bills in the House than in the Senate. After all, there are five times as many House members.

So let's take a look at what's pending. As always, the fact that a bill has been introduced is no guarantee that it will ever see the light of day in a committee or on the floor.

 H. 97–No idling of motor vehicles. You know how many miles per gallon you get while you're idling? That's right: zero. YOU also stink up the atmosphere and make people sick.

 H. 140–Elimination of the preexisting condition exclusion for Catamount Health. We've periodically been critical of Catamount Health around here, mainly for what it could have been than for what it is, but we can't deny that for some people it provides vital health coverage. One problem is that they exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, which means that people who need care the most might not be able to get it. This bill would fix that problem.

H. 145–Composting.  This bill's getting a first look in House Fish & Wildlife Thursday morning. It proposes to exempt small composting operations from Act 250 review.

H. 161–Clean energy financing.  This is a creative proposal that will alow municipalities to bond for energy efficiency projects for local homes and businesses, and then recoup the investment by an assessment on the properties that get the improvements. 

H. 177–The Snelling Surcharge. Once upon a time we had a governor who recognized that in troubled financial times the state might need to increase taxes on people who could afford to pay, and lo, that governor was a Republican. This bill would follow the wise counsel of Governor Snelling by adopting an income tax surcharge to help meet the state's critical budgetary needs. The Douglas tax plan? “Read my lips. No new taxes.”

I’m not a lawyer. I don’t play one on TV and I didn’t spend the night in a Holiday Inn Express. Maybe a real lawyer can explain the thinking behind this element of the proposed sex offender law moving through House Judiciary:

Another provision calls for DNA samples to be taken from all people charged with a felony if the court determines that there’s probable cause to believe that the person is guilty.

So, are we to infer that there are some people arrested for felonies without “probable cause?” Or is the working phrase a brand new animal: “probable cause to believe?” Is a DNA sample then proof positive that the supposedly impartial court has already decided I’m likely guilty before my trial has even begun? So much for presumption of innocence, eh?

At least my appeal is all set up. Everybody’s will be. What a nice idea for a cash-strapped judicial system.

President Obama signed the $787,000,000,000 economic stimulus bill today! Like our economy, our democracy needs stimulating too. Events like DemocracyFest help keep activists educated and motivated to make a difference in our country and communities, even during non-election years when some activists may otherwise feel un-stimulated.

Compared to stimulating the economy, stimulating democracy is a bargain at only $55 (just $55, no extra zeros!) for a full event ticket to the 6th Annual DemocracyFest, July 17th-19th in Burlington, VT! http://www.DemocracyFest.net

EVENT TICKETS

Full Event Tickets include:

– All trainings, entertainment, and speakers on Saturday and Sunday.

– Dinner on Saturday.

– Breakfast on Sunday.

– Semi-Guided Tour of Burlington and Welcome Party on Friday.

– Children under 14 free with adult ticket purchase.

– Free parking, or transportation to and from Burlington Airport.

– Priceless interaction with activists from across the nation.

Single Day Ticketsare also available.

SPEAKERS, TRAINERS, AND ENTERTAINERS

Speakers and trainers include:

– Gov. Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont and DNC Chair

– SOS. Deb Markowitz, Vermont Secretary of State

– Rep. David Zuckerman, Vermont State Representative

– Charlie Grapski, Citizen Rights Activist

– Sheryl Rapee-Adams, Deputy Field Director for VT Freedom to Marry

– Dan DeWalt, Safe & Renewable Energy Activist

– Alan Dechert, Executive Director of the Open Voting Consortium

– Dr. Deb Richter, Universal Health Care Activist

Entertainers include:

– Bobby Kendes, guitarist and vocals for The Peace, folk music with a hip-hop flair.

– Subway Serenade, political-folk music straight from the New York Subways.

– Rebecca Pedula, soulful contemporary folk with a blues streak.

New speakers, trainers and entertainers are listed on our website as they are confirmed. If you are interested in being a presenter or performer, please contact us at info@democracyfest.net

SPONSORSHIPS

Sponsors of this year’s event include Democracy for Vermont, Latinos for America, Green Mountain Mailer, Brain Arcade Design Studio, VT Freedom to Marry, Vermont Gay Guide, VT Progressive Party and the Sheraton Hotel.

If your business or organization would like to sponsor this year’s DemocracyFest, we have very affordable sponsorship levels with a variety of benefits including free event tickets, tabling space and more! We also greatly appreciate personal contributions to support the event.

Sponsorship costs and benefits are listed on our website at http://www.DemocracyFest.net

LODGING

On site lodging is available at the Sheraton Hotel for the reduced rate of only $99 per night, for rooms up to 3 days before or 3 days after the event (based on availability)! Reserve your lodging online by calling 1-802-865-6600 to make your reservation. You must say you are with the DemocracyFest group to get the reduced rate. Lodging at the reduced rate is limited, so make your reservation today!

The DemocracyFest Team,

David, Denise, Ellen, Jessica, Laurie and Quintus

http://www.DemocracyFest.net

• Montroll prevails. Amidst all the accusations and counter-accusations, Burlington’s Finance Board has unanimously shelved the charge of conflict-of-interest against mayoral candidate and city councilor Andy Montroll, according to a release from the Montroll campaign. This would be the same Board made up of Montroll, two of his opponents in the mayor’s race, and the guy who made the accusation in the press to begin with, drawing charges of improper politicization. I admit, I was kinda hoping they’d all recuse themselves and leave the decision up to the one guy left. That woulda been funny.
• Heathen State. We’re all going to hell, I suppose. According to the Catholic Review, Vermont is the least religious state in the nation. The party will be at JD’s house and Jack is buying the drinks.
• Curious how Vermont is going to fare from the just-signed stimulus package? According to yer government, the estimated amount of jobs to be generated by the new initiatives is 8000. That’s a pretty big number for li’l ol’ us. If the projections (which even they admit contain some leaps of faith) hold true, the stimulus will immediately start to level off the rate of job losses and reverse the trend in the fourth quarter of this year. Hoo-boy, wish I had some confidence in that.