From Stark:
In this lengthy analysis for the Seattle Times, Andrew Garber reports on the newfound budget-cutting zeal of Gov. Chris Gregoire as she tries to close the state budget gap while arguing with fellow Democrats about what must be done.
Her comments on the education system are perhaps the most interesting. She complains that she added huge amounts of money to the education system but saw little or no results.
“I came in here determined to make the system work better,” Gregoire says. ” To invest more money. I put a lot more money into K-12. But then you sit there and say, ‘Why have I not been able to get the result I set out to achieve?’ ”
Later in the article, she accuses education interest groups of putting their own welfare ahead of students:
“No matter how hard you try to make change, there are always those who want to protect something or another,” she said. “I’ll use education because I think it’s a perfect example. Do they want to protect it because it’s right for the kids? Do they even think about whether it’s right for the kids?”
Apparently Queen Chrissie finally gets it that throwing money at a problem does not solve it.
Hallelujah!
“Gov. Gregoire has some sharp words for education system”
sharp???
sharp???
‘sharp’ is NOT a calming, soothing, non-partison term.
chrissie doesn’t ‘get it’…..wait till O hears about this!
Why do the republicans feel the need to be so demeaning towards our Governor.
I get the feeling it comes from men who can’t handle having a woman in charge in any situation.
Real control freak types.
I mean, “Queen Chrissie” and “Chrissie” and the like.
It’s just plain sexist and discredits any other point they ma have been trying to make.
Good for her for acknowledging and criticizing the problems in the education system and trying so hard to affect change.
Dumping money into the educational system and expecting it to benefit the student
is like dumping water onto a colander and expecting a drink.
Only in education’s case,
the sieve is called administrator.
citizen +1!
Worst..that’s just more of the new civility…..but yahoos like that just rag momma rag and I can’t help but think it’s because they probably spent a lot of time in the dunce corner after their third grade teacher smacked them with a ruler….and they never got over it…
Ciz…so good to see you in the funny pages…not being a “person who compliments just for the the attention”
To worstever:
As a staunch conservative (classical liberal as opposed to modern) and republican may I offer some perspective here.
1. Many of my ilk (at least with whom I associate) are starting to realize that the Governor’s work to cut the budget without additional taxes may be sincere, and to the extent this approach of hers is permanent, then hallelujah! We always hope that our political opponents will come around and see the light of day on things right? I mean that is true regardless of what side one is on.
2.Up until the Governors newfound desire to keep the State budget within limits, I had profound isues with her as many still do, and the change will be accepted slowly if it is genuine as a change of heart. To that extent, there will still be a lot of animosity towards her. So with that being said, there will be alot of bantering of nicknames such as Queen Christine and the like. That satire is a coping mechanism and has always been with us as part of the politcs in which we engage as Americans.
3. I would not consider Queen Christine and Queeny or Chrissy to be “sexist”. That is trying to have it both ways. Take our former resident for example. Was it sexist for a woman to refer to him as King George or Bushy or Georgy or Shrub or the even worse things he was called by women and men alike? Equal opportunity is just that. When someone steps up to a position of power, they have equal shot at having supporters and detractors.
Now I must clarify that I am not saying that name calling is desirable or ideal, but I am saying that it is a fact of life and I dont see the nicknames for the Governor (at least not the ones I have heard) as sexist, or even particularly mean contrasted with what other politcal figures have had.
4. I HAVE seen some attitude toward a woman in politics that I would label as sexist, and I wish to bring it to light here to illustrate how I understand sexism. In the last Presidential election, Former Governor Palin was the VP candidate for the GOP. I heard many men say that their problem with her is that she has very young kids including a handicapped baby, and could she handle being a mommy while doing the job of a VP. That floored me every time I heard it! Anybody ask that of the men in politics with kids, especially handicapped ones? NEVER. As a man, I have 4 kids under the age of 8 and nobody has ever inquired as my ability to carry out my profession and be a daddy at the same time. So while I have seen clear examples of sexist attitudes toward women in politics, I would not put the catcalling toward Gov Gregoire in that category.
One guys opinion.
I made some spelling and grammatical errors in my last post as I am wont to do when i type in a hurry. Anyone responding please do so to the substance of my comments and not to my limitation in achieving writing perfection. Thank you.
Thanks, I’ve always loved this board – right or wrong.
Well, you won’t find one note of disagreement from me on this. Let me be perfectly clear. I am far from a fan of Ms. Gregoire but her take on the problem, particularly with education, is spot on. It isn’t for “the children” and never has been “for the children”. It is for the adults to milk as much money out of the state and locals as possible while doing as little as possible doing it. You have to ask why it costs $12000.00 a year to educate a child in public schools when a private school does it for less than half that and graduates significantly more children instead of the dismal 40 to 50 percent public schools do.
The solution is simple Ms. Gregoire and could be implemented almost immediately with little legislation. School vouchers. Let the parents decide who teaches their children and forget about shoveling untold millions into a broken system run by unions for the benefit of unions. This we know: Every program known to man has been financed and tried by the state to fix this problem except the one that has proven to work in so many other places. Vouchers and private participation.
As for other budget problems, eliminate public sector unions. They are fraudulent and are breaking the fiscal back of the state. As of a few months ago state employee retirement and health insurance funds were underfunded by a total of 19 BILLION dollars! And it’s getting worse as I type. WE CAN”T AFFORD IT!
If Ms. Gregoire continues along her present line of thinking she’ll gain the respect of every state resident and business and will go down in history as the savior of Washington. Here’s hopin’.
There are a few reasons that public school require more money, probably the largest factor is supplying services to those with less income. I road the bus to school which costed my high school 1 million for all the bus routes in the district. Most private school just expect their students to get there, seeing as the parents are already shelling out lots of money for tuition it’s not that big of a deal.
As to the quality one of the most important differences in a students life is their parent’s ability to teach them, lower income families tend to have less time and resources to afford their children.
You draw the conclusion that inefficiency causes the differences in quality and cost. I would say the greater factor would be income. I went to one of the best public schools in Washington for High school. We had a graduation rate of 93% and college placement in four year universities of over half. This was not because we were a public school, but because most of the students who went there came from middle to upper income families.
I am not saying that public schools cannot be inefficient, however to say that the only solution and the best solution is privatization cheapens the argument.
While this is going on, she dines with VP Biden, in honor of Hu Jintao: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2011/01/rs-_seating.html
Her daughter was there too.