________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT August 19, 2002 Vol. 2, No. 33 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence. Libby Sternberg, executive director: MAILTO:LSternberg@aol.com NEWS & ANALYSIS... MAN FACES 32 YEARS IN JAIL FOR SCHOOL CHOICE A Sudbury father, Kenneth Levine, faces up to 32 years in jail and fines up to $36,000 for claims that he set up a false residence in Castleton in order to send his two girls to school there, according to news reports. Concerned that some Otter Valley Union High School students were going to "get" his daughters if they went there, Levine rented a room in Castleton, registered to vote there, rented a post office box in the town and enrolled his daughters in the Castleton Village School. For this, he was charged for setting up a false residence and giving false testimony to the Castleton Board of Civil authority, according to a Rutland Herald article by Seth Harkness. He has pleaded innocent to the charges. He claims he rented the room in Castleton because he could not afford the tuition at Castleton Village School. Levine is a public school teacher in Wells.  VT NEA IN THE TOP FIFTH ON LOBBYING EXPENDITURES The Vermont NEA is in the top fifth of lobbyists with the most expenditures for this calendar year. According to the Secretary of State's web site, 344 lobbyists are listed. Of those, 69 reported expenditures greater than $20,000. The Vermont NEA was among them, with expenditures of $42,000. Five lobbyists spent $100,000 or more. Forty-nine spent between $20,000 and $50,000. Lobbyists spending approximately the same amount as the Vermont NEA included the following: Vermont Trial Lawyers ($46,000), Vermont Wholesale Beverages ($43,000), Vermont Medical Society ($42,000), Vermont Farm Bureau ($46,000), Vermont Grocers ($40,000), Pfizer ($42,000), Railroad Association of Vermont ($41,000), and Bristol-Myers Squibb ($45,000).  VOTING REPORT CARD AVAILABLE Want to see how your legislators voted on school choice and other issues? The Ethan Allen Institute has complied a "Vermont Voter's Report Card" that lists legislators' votes on everything from school choice to business issues. For a copy, write EAI at eai@ethanallen.org. The Report will soon be posted on the Institute's web site (http://www.ethanallen.org).  WHAT ABOUT THOSE BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS? Critics of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) like to point out that 19 "Blue Ribbon" schools were designated as "needing improvement" under the new law. The "Blue Ribbon" program is a federal project that awards the "Blue Ribbon" distinction to schools that are excelling in certain areas. How can schools excel and need improvement at the same time? Because previously the Blue Ribbon judging process focused on process and not results. Not surprisingly, the federal government is revamping the "Blue Ribbon" program. According to the Center for Education Reform, under the old program schools were evaluated on subjective measures such as "school organization and structure," the vitality of a school's "professional community" and "school, family, and community partnerships." "Buried deep in the process," CER reports, "evaluators took a glance at 'indicators of success.' " Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced several weeks ago that the Blue Ribbon Schools program will be revamped to "reward schools based on achievement results, not process."  *    *    * COMMENTARY... PARENTS AND SCHOOLS Burlington Free Press Editorial (reprinted with permission)  Sunday, August 18, 2002 A Vermont father faces decades in prison and a huge fine because he wanted to give his daughters the best education possible. Kenneth Levine, a Sudbury resident, appeared in a Rutland court last week on charges that he falsely enrolled his daughters in the neighboring Castleton Village School and lied about it to officials. A 45-year-old, second-grade teacher at Wells Village School, Levine said he transferred his children because he felt that educators at the girls' assigned school, Otter Valley Union High School, could not ensure their safety. "They had been threatened," he said. "They didn't feel comfortable." According to law enforcement officials, in the fall of 2000 Levine leased a room in Castleton, registered to vote, rented a postal box and placed his children in the village school. Officials say Levine never stayed at the apartment and lied about his residency when questioned by the Castleton Board of Civil Authority. Castleton Police Chief Gary Boutin said Levine was trying to avoid out-of-district tuition for his daughters and it cost Castleton taxpayers $16,000 to educate the girls. All told, the counts against Levine carry a maximum $36,000 fine and 32 years behind bars. Although Levine must be held legally accountable for his actions, his story dramatizes how desperate some Vermont parents are to find the right school for their children -- and how state law frustrates that fundamental parental desire. To enroll children in another district in Vermont, parents must pay a tuition fee of about $5,500 to the new school. If families don't have the money -- as Levine claimed was his situation -- tough luck. Again, nothing justifies illegal conduct. But Levine's daughters could become poster girls for the growing public school choice movement in Vermont. Rather than be forced either to pony up big bucks for out-of-district tuition or endure what they believe is an inferior local school, parents should have the freedom to enroll their children in whatever public school -- space permitting -- they felt best served the family. Under a measure approved by the Vermont House last session, parents would be able to take most of the state per pupil block grant and pick the public school they wished they children to attend. Such a choice-driven system would force schools to be exceptionally responsive to parents or risk losing state dollars and student bodies. School choice is vigorously opposed by the state educational establishment, which wants local districts to retain their geographical monopoly over public education -- even if the schools are failing students who could thrive in the next town over. Many educators and school boards are especially loathe to give parents significant power over the school purse, partly for fear that competitive pressures on schools to meet parental expectations would make educators' lives more difficult. It's much easier to corral students within a district boundary, ignore criticism and tell upset parents to lump it -- or cough up around five-grand for the kid to go elsewhere. Most parents recognize that every child is different and has an individual learning style. Parents should be able to match their children with the public school most likely to help the youngsters succeed. But Vermont parents don't have that right -- and that's a crime.  *    *    * DO YOU ENJOY THE VER? For more than a year, Vermonters for Better Education has been publishing the Vermont Education Report and emailing it to our subscribers, providing you with information you can't get elsewhere in the Vermont media about a topic of great importance to the life of the state. Show your support of the VER by making a donation to VBE today! Mail contributions to: VBE, 170 Church Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701.  The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact LSternberg@aol.com for more information.

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