Archive for January, 2008
You may recall our recent report — Our Legacy of Neglect — that examined the condition of the Longfellow Bridge and the condition of our state’s assets.
MSNBC has done an enterprising bit of reporting on national bridge inspection standards and come up with some shocking results — massive numbers of bridges go uninspected for more than two years at a time (the absolute maximum recommended time between inspections).
The good news is that Massachusetts has none of these bridges, although some other states (Illinois, Arizona) look pretty shabby.
Sadly, we are still in the top 3 for structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges (at more than 50%) but we have improved by .6% in a year!
Finally, if you have immediate concerns, you can map your route to work and find out the condition of the bridges along the way.
Additional Info — The FHWA thinks the state should spend more on maintenance and bridge safety. See the FHWA letter here.
January 31st, 2008
To make my bias plain, I’m a regular commuter rail user and a big fan.
That said, Tuesday’s Globe had some dispiriting news about the newest commuter line — Greenbush. Its getting roughly 2700 riders per day (or around 1350 round-trip passengers) but a quarter of those are from another form of public transit — the commuter boat out of Hingham.
So, we paid $500m+ to get about a thousand people a ride into the city (that’s a cool $500,000 per person). To be fair, the line may become more popular as time goes on, but this is not an encouraging sign.
Looking back at the planning documents (see pg. 19 of this document), the seeds of this problem were actually quite clear. It forecast over 11,000 new riders on the train (a number significantly higher than 2,700 for those of you without strong math skills) but only 4,700 “net” new public transit riders. The implication being that 6,300 riders would be pulled off other forms of public transportation. Wish someone had questioned that earlier.
January 30th, 2008
A friend on Friday mentioned her visit to infamous Gravina Island. Ah, Gravina Island, you ask. Pray tell, where is that?
You may recall a certain Bridge To Nowhere. You may also remember that at the end of the summer Governor Palin from her perch in the fair capital city, Juneau (yes, that is the capital), decided not to push for the construction of the BTN, thereby putting the $200+ million to use on other highways and bridges in the Last Frontier State.
You may also recall that the BTN was to have run from the balmy (for Alaska) city of Ketchikan (pop. 8,000) to Gravina Island (home to 50 permanent residents).
What I did not know was that the ferry ride is not only frequent (every 15 minutes) but also takes only about 5-10 minutes.
Sort of reminds one that instead of spending $1.4 billion on the South Coast rail link, one could use bus service to get it done. The only problem is that, well, the buses would be as empty as the trains… Have the ridership estimates changed since the Supplemental DEIR submitted to MEPA?
There has to be a better way to get this done.
January 30th, 2008
Steve Barr has become a lightning rod for many in LA and now also in NYC (and here infecting UFT chief Randi Weingarten) as he works with the State University of New York to open up a Green Dot school in the South Bronx.
What union opponents (and it is not everyone) don’t seem to get about Green Dot schools is that the formula is very attractive to many teachers. Especially younger teachers, many of whom would otherwise leave the teaching profession.
Attractive? Why? Site-based management means teachers and principals have authority over 80-90 cents of each budget dollar, over curricula, and over work rules. As a result, decisions are made closer to the student and are more relevant to student needs, so the work of the teacher becomes less bureaucratic and more meaningful (though, let’s be clear, sometimes with longer days).
All of the above is also true of site-based management reforms in Edmonton, Alberta and back home here in Barnstable, Mass. (see 1, 2, and 3), as well as charters and pilot schools.
Interesting item to look into: Green Dot is said to keep its admin expenses to 6 percent of its total operating budget for its network of schools, and so it pays thousands more annually to teachers, even though the schools receive less in per-pupil reimbursements.
January 29th, 2008
Wrap Gov. Patrick’s proposal to overhaul public education governance in whatever rhetoric you want, at its core, his plan is about taking control of the Board of Education.
His plan, simply put, is to give the Urban Superintendents, Mass Association of Superintendents, the Mass Association of School Committees and the Mass Teachers Association what they have been clamoring for the past decade. Reminder to all: These are all a really nice bunch of well-meaning people who never forget to mention the children when they talk about their own interests, which are control, control, control and, hmm, control… in that order.
They’ve had enough of the pressure to change business as usual. That pressure comes from the state’s accountability system, competition from charters, teacher testing and state curriculum frameworks, which ensure that we are serious about teaching kids what is needed to access a liberal arts education.
The bête noire here is the Board. It has ensured, gulp, reform. And its independence from politics has meant, gulp, gulp, that these groups were unable to stall reform and ultimately kill it.
At the start of the 90s, both political parties and lots of business executives saw the wisdom of securing the Board’s independence and the reforms mentioned above. Experience has proven them right.
Few reforms have done more to make the commonwealth a great place for children to grow up than these two initiatives. In 1993, Massachusetts barely made the top 10 in national assessments. Today, the commonwealth not only leads the nation in student performance, but our rate of improvement is unparalleled among high-performing states.
Instead of caving to special interests, the Governor should keep his eye on the state’s weakest area: urban schools. Charter schools, pilots schools, METCO, vocational-technical schools and university partnerships have proven effective in addressing this issue.
But this is about politics pure and simple. Why don’t you send the Governor your views on this? More importantly, send the Senate President and the Speaker of the House your views.
January 28th, 2008
I am visiting my mom, who is really nice. Hard to believe, huh? Apple falls far from the tree in this case. We are enjoying a coffee and leafing through Roxbury Prep Charter School (a public middle school) annual report.
First, how many district schools provide an annual report as clear as the one distributed by the Roxbury Prep Charter School? How many focus as clearly on results? On values? Harumph.
The MCAS results are important and inspiring. Consider the following comparisons on the Math portion of the MCAS:
- Boston District students are proficient in the following percentages for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders: 29, 26 and 27 percent, respectively. (Not a good trend line, for the math-phobic.)
- Massachusetts District students: 52, 46, and 45. (Trending down again.)
- RoxPrep: 76, 72, and 94. (Yay! On 8th grade math, RoxPrep outperformed every school in the Commonwealth. Yes, including Wayland, Wellesley and Weston, and even Boston Latin.)
On the English portion of the MCAS:
- Boston District: 39, 49 and 55 percent. (Improving but…)
- Massachusetts District: 67, 69, and 75. (Improving but…)
- RoxPrep: 67, 86, and 92. (Improving very nicely.)
The student body is entirely students of color. From the annual report: “Most live in single-parent households and 62 percent of students qualify for either free or reduced-price lunch.”
As much as that impressed Mother Dearest, who as an immigrant holding a GED, is still smarter than all of her gown-wearing offspring (I mean that figuratively, as in Ph.Ds…, no, I mean, really…), it was the strong values of the school (only some of which are here) and also its strong enrichment program that impressed her. Contact the school for a copy of the report–it is inspiring.
While you’re at it, contact Mayor Menino and ask him why he does not support an expansion of “chahtahs”. If you don’t mind, cc me on the email (jstergios@pioneerinstitute.org).
January 27th, 2008
Almost exactly a year ago, one sage wondered if Governor Patrick would fulfill the promise of candidate Patrick. Since then, Pioneer has welcomed the Governor to our annual Better Government Competition and been heartened by many of his initiatives.
So what’s in store for year two? Glad you asked - here’s Pioneer’s take on this year’s proposed budget.
Just as historians judge Presidents by their performance during wartime, we’re about to learn how our Governor responds to economic uncertainty. As Pioneer’s release makes clear, we’re pulling for him, but we wonder if he’s reading the same bad news as the rest of us.
January 24th, 2008
This is a long one. But if you like following the money, it is pretty interesting. A friend passed on an analysis of the National Education Association’s financial disclosure report for 2006-7. And you wonder why certain special interests support higher taxes and government largesse to the non-profit sector. As you read this list of advocacy groups who received funding from the NEA, remember that Pioneer takes no money from government sources and therefore can be objective about how to improve government. We don’t take your money via government and that’s why we ask for your support.
The [NEA] nearly tripled its contributions [to advocacy groups] from the previous fiscal year. The expenditures include a host of payments connected with ballot initiatives in both November 2006 and the first eight months of 2007. They range from $2.3 million to Citizens for Education, who campaigned in favor of a school funding initiative in Michigan, down to several smaller grants to groups such as Rainbow/PUSH, FairTest, Amnesty International, Sierra Club and Human Rights Campaign. Here is an alphabetic list of the recipients of NEA’s largesse, with relevant web links:
ACORN - $218,452
American Council on Education - $10,000
American Library Association - $5,000
American Rights at Work - $5,000
Americans United for Change - $350,000
Amnesty International - $7,500
Arizona Minimum Wage Coalition - $28,000
Arizona State University Office for Research & Sponsored Projects Administration - $250,000
Asian American Justice Center - $5,000
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund - $6,000
Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies - $5,000
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance - $5,000
Bloggerpower.org - $10,000
Business and Professional Women/USA - $5,000
Campaign for America’s Future - $40,000
CAP Charitable Foundation - $5,000
Celebrate ME - $50,000
Center for Community Change - $25,000
Center for Equity and Biliteracy Education Research - $8,000
Center for Law and Education - $50,000
Center for Policy Alternatives - $10,000
Center for Teaching Quality - $277,485
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association - $81,500
Children’s Defense Fund - $10,000
The Citizenship Project - $25,000
Citizens for Education - $2,316,000
Citizens United to Protect Our Public Safety, Schools and Communities - $550,000
Citizens Who Support Maine’s Public Schools - $195,000
Coloradans for Excellent Schools - $792,000
Coloradans for a Fair Minimum Wage - $20,000
Coloradans for Responsible Reform - $50,000
Committee for Education Funding - $18,902
Committee to Protect Our Children’s Legacy - $560,000
Communities for Quality Education - $273,000
Communities United to Strengthen America - $150,000
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. - $40,000
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute - $90,825
Conserving Arizona’s Future - $50,000
Creating Arizona’s Future - $425,000
Democratic GAIN - $10,000
Democratic Leadership Council - $40,150
East Meadow Jewish Center - $5,000
Economic Policy Institute - $150,000
Educational Testing Service - $21,134
Everybody Wins DC - $8,000
FairTest - $35,000
Ford’s Theatre - $10,000
Funniest Celebrity in Washington - $10,000
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - $6,000
Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network - $130,000
Give Missourians A Raise - $200,000
Give Nevada A Raise - $25,000
Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice - $300,000
Harvard Labor and Worklife Program - $5,000
Harvard University Office for Sponsored Research - $50,000
Healthy Schools Network - $5,000
Human Rights Campaign - $15,000
Invest In Our Kids’ Education - $720,000
James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy - $15,000
Japanese American Citizens League - $5,000
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies - $15,000
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement - $15,000
Latina Initiative - $25,000
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights - $15,000
League of Rural Voters - $15,000
League of United Latin American Citizens - $5,000
Learning First Alliance - $54,240
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund - $15,300
NAACP - $56,500
National Alliance of Black School Educators - $11,000
National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education - $5,500
National Association for Bilingual Education - $5,000
National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans - $5,000
National Association of Hispanic Journalists - $5,000
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund - $10,000
National Association of Legislative and Political Specialists for Education - $14,021
National Baptist Voice - $15,450
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards - $8,000
National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training - $10,000
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation - $10,000
National Conference of Black Mayors - $10,000
National Conference of State Legislatures - $42,275
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education - $348,585
National Council of La Raza - $14,700
National Hispanic Media Coalition - $5,000
National League of Cities - $40,000
National Partnership for Women and Families - $5,000
National Parent Teachers Association - $5,000
National Public Pension Coalition - $135,000
National Staff Development Council - $70,500
National Urban League - $10,180
National Women’s Law Center - $10,000
Nebraskans Against 423 - $500,000
Nebraskans for the Good Life - $250,000
Not In Montana - $310,000
Ohioans for a Fair Minimum Wage - $680,000
Organizations Concerned About Rural Education - $5,000
Partnership for 21st Century Skills - $55,803
People for the American Way - $275,000
Project New West - $86,000
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition - $10,000
Rebuild America’s Schools - $20,000
Second District Religious, Educational Charitable Development Project - $5,000
SEIU - $15,000
Sierra Club - $50,000
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center - $5,000
Southern Christian Leadership Conference - $12,771
Task Force Foundation - $10,000
Teachers Count - $50,000
U.S. Action - $100,000
U.S. Fund for UNICEF - $7,500
Vote Early Denver - $25,000
Women’s Campaign Forum - $15,000
Women’s Voices Women Vote - $75,000
Workers Independent News Service - $5,000
Working America - $150,000
January 22nd, 2008
In today’s Metro, Mayor Menino is asked why the Hynes Center can’t be put to more productive use. In his reply, the Mayor says:
…friends at the Hynes tell me in 2007, the center generated $10.1 million in revenue — the highest in the history of the building….
Ten Point One Million Dollars! 175,000 square feet of state-owned prime real estate that, in its best year ever (no inflation adjustment, please) barely makes $10 million! I bet there are a bunch of stores in the Pru mall that make that kind of money, and they pay taxes too.
Imagine what another 175,000 square feet worth of clothing stores - or donut shops, or sports bars - could earn on Boylston Street!
Actually, I’m going to stop right here. Follow this line of reasoning too far and where will we end up? The Hynes Memorial Casino, of course.
January 16th, 2008
We are sometimes so focused on what doesn’t work, that we sometimes miss the small successes. Here’s to the Dracut police force, which, as reported in this morning’s Lowell Sun, reduced sick-time use in 2007 by 54%. In fact, the total of 155.25 sick days used in 2007 is down from 497 used in 2005, a 69% reduction. Chief Richardson and his officers are to be commended for recognizing the strain that high absenteeism places on a force’s fiscal and human resources and for making it a departmental priority.
January 16th, 2008
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