School Competition Breeds Success

Let's push Repeal of Triborough Amendment, push Charter Schools & Parent Vouchers for choosing schools. The current government monopoly with teacher union control is unsustainable. Financing with income tax instead of property tax is not the answer, since the same open-checkbook mentality will rule.

We need many elementary schools and high schools in an area including public, private, and parochial schools to compete with each other as there is competition among public and private colleges. At the college level, parents and students have access to loans and Pell grants to allow students to choose competitively where they want to go for education.

Competition promotes Excellence.

Monopolies promote Decay (Remember old AT&T phone monopoly with very little innovation in phone technology for years.........now with phone competition, ie. Apple, Blackberry, AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, we have marvelous new phone technology.

We should stop holding back our children with a monopolistic public school system.....Open up education with vouchers and charter schools. 

Kingston Schools - A touch of the Soviet Union

We Kingston citizens do feel like we are living in the former Soviet Union.  Albany politicians will not move School Board elections to November's election day, but insist on keeping the elections in May when only teachers' Friends and Family can easily vote. This May school board election day keeps most good candidates from considering a run for school board.  Also, Albany politicians refuse to repeal the Triborough Amendment which allows Automatic Step Pay Raises for Teachers to continue to accumulated EVEN after the teachers' contract has expired.  Also, in Kingston, it is unthinkable to let a principal to sit home for 2.5 years for a quarter of a million dollars.  Do you agree with my Soviet Union analogy?

City of Kingston has problems. Here is one solution.

Let's be specific.  Cut the Kingston Fire Dept. budget in half from $8 Million to $4 Million over 3 years by using paid Firemen to drive the fire trucks and volunteers to ride the trucks.  Look at what a wonderful Volunteer Fire Dept. the Town of Ulster has in Ulster Hose.  There is no shortage of volunteer firemen and women at Ulster Hose, because these volunteers are welcomed and appreciated by the Town of Ulster.  To the Kingston Common Council, Let's get to work on this idea.

Solution to Failing Education

Problem Stated - Our Public Schools are Failing.  Our new teacher college graduates are sitting home unemployed or are working in Hannaford, etc.  Here is the solution.  Get rid of the Federal Dept.of Education.  Get rid of teacher's unions.  Hire many, many new young teachers at lower starting pay.  Our new teachers will work for less pay, since they have a calling to teach young people, not to make a lot of money.  Set up classrooms whereever possible, with one teacher and maximum of 10 students per class.  Forget about Large Taj Mahal Learning buildings and Learning communities.  One teacher, 10 students, lower pay, strict oversight of teaching programs by caring and sincere principals, who will evaluate and pay teachers according to the children's progress.
All in Favor.........Say Aye.