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Thursday: Standing Room Only
posted at 2007-03-29 22:16 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
SOS: "Save Our Seats"?
Supporters of a proposal to roll back the school calendar law packed into the House Education Committee meeting this morning, ensuring that the "Save our Summers" lobby wouldn't be allowed into the room.
More than 200 school administrators, parents, and other supporters were on hand to witness the vote, which went very much their way. By a three to one margin, the committee approved H359, a bill that would effectively gut the 2004 school start date law by practically guaranteeing an exemption to any school board that wants one. But don't call it a repeal, sponsor Larry Bell (D-Sampson) says. It's about "restoring flexibility."
Even some of those who voted for it voiced concern about "calendar creep," one of the factors that got the ball rolling for the 2004 vote. Back then, a lot of parents and teachers were angry at local school officials they said were starting school earlier every year. In some cases, that date had rolled back into July. Jerry Dockham (R-Davidson) said he hopes the school boards got the message.
But others said the 2004 bill was a mistake, and not an innocent one, either. House Approps chair Doug Yongue (D-Scotland) reminded the crowd that the original bill had been routed around the Education committee, not through it. Yongue said the start date bill "smelled funny," politically speaking. Larry Bell said it was the work of the tourism lobby, and he wasn't the only one. But even those who didn't want to speculate about motives, like Watauga Dem Cullie Tarleton, said tourism shouldn't be dictating educational policy.
Not that the opponents were silent, of course. Brunswick Repub. Bonner Stiller said teachers want longer summers so they can take second jobs to supplement their meager income. (And he used to be a teacher, so he has the street cred to say it.)
And then there's Curtis Blackwood (R-Union), who delivered a bewildering four-minute dissertation on boredom, Steve Jobs, and how Jewish people are better with language than our kids. No, I 'm not joking. You can hear the whole thing here. It was the kind of speech that makes you wonder what the man had for breakfast. But in a nutshell, Blackwell's point was that American creativity requires that kids have enough time off to get thoroughly bored.
What's next?
Good question. If it passes the House Tuesday (and it might, just), it still has to make it through the Senate. Pro Tem Marc Basnight (who represents a tourism dependent area, by the way) told school administrators today he's adamantly opposed to letting schools start whenever they want to. But he also said there's no consensus within his caucus, so the bill's likely to get its day in committee. No telling whether it'll make it out.
Same Day Registration
A bill that would allow same day registration for early voters passed its third reading in the House today, despite another attempt by the GOP to derail it. Just like yesterday, there was no shortage of hyperbole or racial tension on the chamber floor.
Wake Dem Linda Coleman said the GOP's proposal to require photo ID at the polls was reminiscent of the water guns and poll dogs of the pre-Voting Rights Act era. Harnett Repub. David Lewis pointed out that House Dems had no problem last year requiring a photo ID to buy Sudafed. Alamance Repub. Cary Allred asked why Dems always had to "play the race card." But Durham Dem Mickey Michaux stood up to say he was around in the days when discrimination and intimidation at the polls was real and not all that unusual.
In the end, the SDR bill passed easily. It's headed for the Senate, along with two other proposals that passed with nary a whimper - one to move up the minimum age for kindergartners, and another to let schools add American Sign Language to their foreign language curriculum.
Latino Lobbying
Anti-illegal immigration group ALIPAC is going after El Pueblo. In response to yesterday's story that Pueblo plans to raise its lobbying profile, ALIPAC's Bill Gheen sent out this release today, saying his group will file a complaint with the IRS. Gheen says because El Pueblo is a 501c3, lobbying is off-limits.
Special Provision Hit List, part 2
Now that the House has voted to get rid of the chiropractors' co-pay provision, some folks are looking for other targets. The latest nominee? H1259, by Durham Dem Paul Luebke, would repeal a budget provision by Senator Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) that gives graduates of the NC School of Math and Science free tuition in the UNC system. Hagan believes the scholarships will help stem the state's math and science brain drain. Luebke isn't convinced, and he thinks the idea ought to be debated in open committee.
Will it fly? Well, pulling scholarships is NEVER a popular move, but the House is in a hanging mood these days when it comes to budget provisions. So stay tuned.
Ten Years After...
Action for Children released a new study today about the effects of the Leandro decision, 10 years after the first court decision on the case. Not surprisingly, it seems NC still has a long, long way to go. You can find the full report here.
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