Citizen Tom

This post continues a thread establish here, PHILOSOPHICAL CONFUSION OVER ENDS AND MEANS.  The subject of this post is Education.  With respect to the Education Issue, which candidates are asking us to believe the end justifies the means?  That is, are the means proposed by the candidates coherent with the desired end.

Governor

• Creigh Deeds (D)
• Bob McDonnell (R)

Creigh Deeds Education Issues page (here) focuses on a expansion of a PreK program and increasing teacher pay.   His website provides a “plan” that adds up to a laundry list of promises.  These plans include students loans.  Deeds would also provide loan forgiveness for those students who make the “right” educational choices.  Boiled down, what Deeds promises is increased spending.  Is that realistic during a severe recession?  Will spending increases improve educational quality?

Similarly, Bob McDonnell provides his own laundry lists (here and here).  However, in addition to increased education spending, McDonnell proposes potentially significant changes.  McDonnell favors school choice.  In particular, McDonnell favors charter schools.  McDonnell favors:

• Establishing alternative methods of approval for charter school applicants, denied at the local level, or participating in a school district that has unaccredited or partially accredited public schools.
• Developing the Virginia Educational Opportunity Advisory Panel, composed of experts from across the country and with experience at the local, state and federal level to review and offer advice and guidance in the authorization of charter school applications.

Because the application process provides too high a hurdle, Virginia has few charter schools.  McDonnell proposes to make the charter school application process achievable.  Undoubtedly, this will spark resistance from teacher’s unions.  Nonetheless, the Washington Post has embraced his ideas (see Other Views below).

Appropriate means test:  Both candidates provide a slew of meaningless promises.  Both candidates propose education spending as means to increase tax revenues.  That says more about the naivete of the electorate than it does about the economic wisdom of these candidates.   Neither observes our education system has become a socialist monopoly that soaks up money.  Neither observes how such a system fails to serve as the appropriate means for educating the citizens of a democratic capitalist state.

To some degree both candidates emphasize the ends over the means.   Nonetheless, McDonnell provides more details.  He explains what he thinks are the problems and what he wants to do.  Moreover, his charter school proposals are realistic.  If implemented, McDonnell’s proposals would empower parents.

Recommendation on Education:  Vote Bob McDonnell.  Only McDonnell suggests a more customer oriented educational system.  Because charter schools are designed to serve the needs of students not politicians, what McDonnell proposes more appropriately serves the desired end.

Lieutenant Governor

• Jody Wagner (D)
• Bill Bolling (R)

Jody Wagner solutions emphasize PreK and more money (see here).  She speaks about her experience including that as the Secretary of Finance and borrowing money (bonds for higher ed).

Bill Bolling provides his promises in a short, to the point, bullet format (here).  While this may not seem like much, it has one important virtue.  The bullets are specific so Bolling’s positions are relatively unambiguous.

Appropriate means test:  Neither candidate for lieutenant governor departs appreciably from the position of the senior candidate on their ticket.  In addition to supporting charter schools, Bolling provides tax credits for parents who choose to send their children to private, parochial or home schools. Bolling also supports initiatives which would improve the quality of public school teachers.

• Incentive pay for teachers teaching in high demand specialties and in high risk school districts
• Merit pay to reward our best teachers and make certain that teacher compensation is tied to performance
• Eliminating teacher tenure

Recommendation on Education:  Vote Bill Bolling.

Attorney General

• Stephen Shannon (D)
• Ken Cuccinelli (R)

One would not expect Education to be a major issue for the Attorney General.  However, Ken Cuccinelli would be the exception.  Cuccinelli advocates parental rights.  He also uses a bullet format. Under Parental Rights, Cuccinelli includes the following as part of his record.

• I have a strong record of supporting school choice in education.
• In 2007, I voted to give local school boards the authority to allow private schools to use public school buses (as is done in 27 other states).
• In 2003, I drafted, co-sponsored, and helped pass a law that requires the consent of parents when a minor daughter seeks an abortion in Virginia. This law was passed despite the objections of Governor Mark Warner.

Appropriate means test:  Cuccinelli’s record clearly shows he believes parents, not government, should be the primary authorities in the education of children.

Recommendation on Education:  Vote Ken Cuccinelli.

House of Delegates, 13th District

• John Bell (D)
• Bob Marshall (R)

John Bell uses a bullet format on his Education page.  By doing so he makes it obvious that he can only provide a few specifics.  He apparently is for PreK and spending more money.  He opposes the No Child Left Behind Act.   He thinks we can “save” money by getting more money from the Federal Government.  Bell apparently forgets it makes little difference it make to the taxpayer whether he is taxed by the Virginia Commonwealth or the Federal Government.

Bob Marshall’s Education Issues page both gives his positions and his accomplishments.  Marshall helped Governor George Allen establish the “Standards of Learning.”  In addition, he lists laws he sponsored that provide school administrators guidance on the subjects of bullying, steroid use, and character education as accomplishments.

What is more important is the fact Marshall is a fierce advocate for parental rights and school choice.  If Bob McDonnell wins election, McDonnell will need Marshall’s help to win the battle for stronger parental rights and school choice laws.

Appropriate means test:  Bell provides an incoherent laundry list.  He proposes improvements without any particular overall plan.  Marshall makes it clear he favors school choice and why.

Recommendation on Education:  Vote Bob Marshall.

Other Views

While the education issue is being discussed by the candidates, the subject has yet to catch fire.  This is only July.  So there are only a scattering of posts.  Here is a sample.

Tertium Quids (here) and right-wing liberal (here) discuss the Washington Post’s endorsement of McDonnell’s plans for school choice.

The Augusta Free Press (here) provides an editorial lauding Deeds education and transportation initiatives.

Today Creigh Deeds announced his economic plan which includes education initiatives.  Vivian J. Paige provides sources (here).

I’m Surrounded by Idiots takes the Jody Wagner to task for her math (here).

The big news today is an unexpected endorsement.  Politico describes the event.

The co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, Sheila Crump Johnson, endorsed Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell on Monday.

“We need bold and innovative leadership to move our state forward, and that’s why I’ve chosen to support Bob McDonnell for governor,” said Johnson, a Democrat, during remarks in Richmond, Va. “He has shown me that he has the right vision and the executive leadership skills that will guide Virginia through these challenging times.”  (continued here)

This contrasts strongly with Creigh Deeds’ response to an invitation that he received earlier this month.

President Obama came calling in Virginia today, hosting a forum on health care at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale. Gov. Tim Kaine was on stage for a portion of the event, and tons of Virginia Democratic luminaries were in the crowd, from Sen. Mark Warner to U.S. Reps Gerry Connolly, Bobby Scott and Jim Moran.

But Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds was not around. Was he invited?

Deeds says yes. In an interview this afternoon, Deeds said he would have liked to be at the health care forum but had already agreed to address secondary school principals in Williamsburg this morning and then had other appointments in the Hampton Roads area.

It might have been a bit of a convenient scheduling conflict.  (here)

Supposedly, Deeds wants to avoid being tied to the national Democratic Party.  If so, Deeds will also have to avoid his strongest advocate for turning out the Black vote in Virginia.  Thus Deeds appears to be positioning himself between a rock and a hard place.