________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT September 16, 2002 Vol. 2, No. 37 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  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... STATE BOARD TO CONSIDER SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICE PROVIDERS At Tuesday's State Board of Education meeting, members will decide whether to grant approval to several "supplemental service providers" as required by the new No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. According to the Act, schools designated as "needing improvement" must offer supplemental services such as special tutoring or before- or after-school programs to low-income students. The services need not be offered by public schools but can include faith-based organizations, private schools, nonprofit, for-profit and other agencies. The Vermont Department of Education received 33 applications in response to its RFP for service providers. Only five applications were not approved, according to materials to be considered by the Board. "In two cases, the services did not meet the requirements of the law that services be outside of school hours and supplemental to a student's regular school program" the board materials read. "In three cases, the services did not stand alone but required district management and support." The list of service providers to be considered is as follows: Shirley R. Bate Brainfuse Online Instruction Brain Gym: Eliza Bergeson M.Ed. Brain Gym: Creating Connections for Learning Brain Gym: Mega-Learning Systems Elluminate Lyndon Educational Alternative Resources Network, Inc. (LEARN) Northeast Kingdom Learning Services, Inc. The Princeton Review (Homeroom) The Princeton Review (Smarts Course) SMARTHINKING, INC. Sunrise Family Resource Center Tutor.com The Tutorial Center Approved with conditions D.D. Educational Enterprises Jean Howe Steven M. Moran Barre Supervisory Union #61 Chittenden East Supervisory Union #12 Burlington School District Essex-Caledonia Supervisory Union Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union North Country Schools/Orleans-Essex North Supervisory Union Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union Springfield School District Windham Northeast Supervisory Union Potential SU/District Approvals Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union Hartford School District Lamoille North Supervisory Union Milton Town School District Orange East Supervisory Union Orleans Central Supervisory Union Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union St. Johnsbury School District Rivendell Interstate School District Washington South Supervisory Union Windham Southeast Supervisory Union  THE TREASURER'S RACE AND EDUCATION REFORM The race for Vermont treasurer does not usually capture the interest of education reformers. After all, the treasurer's interaction with the education bureaucracy is minimal, and his or her influence on education policy is small to nonexistent. But this year's Democratic primary for treasurer held significant lessons for education reformers as well as candidates. As everyone knows by now, former state Auditor Ed Flanagan lost the Democratic primary for state treasurer to former state Senator Jeb Spaulding by a two-to-one margin. It was a rough campaign. As auditor, Flanagan cultivated the image of a fierce watch dog, a reputation he carried over into his campaigns where he sometimes used a bull-dog theme to make his point. It served him well. In 1998, he defeated the Republican candidate for auditor, James Dwinell, by 107,715 to 80,249 votes. Two years later, in 2000, Flanagan used his intense style to wage a tough primary campaign against former state Senator Jan Backus to win the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator. He won that one, too, but just barely - by fewer than 1,000 votes. However, it's important to note that Backus was no slouch. She herself had a reputation as a feisty campaigner from a primary in 1994 where she was a dark horse candidate against a better-funded Democratic contender for U.S. Senator. And after she knocked off that primary opponent, she waged a tough campaign against incumbent Sen. James Jeffords (then a Republican), ultimately garnering 40.5 percent of the vote to Jeffords's 50.3 percent. So Flanagan's defeat of Backus in the 2000 primary was an example of how aggressive he could be on the hustings. His no-holds-barred style plus his greater name recognition made him the one to bet on at the outset of the Flanagan/Spaulding primary. So what happened to turn the race in Spaulding's favor? Some might argue that Flanagan's best asset - his take-no-prisoners style of campaigning - turned into his worst fault in 2002. Being too aggressive can make voters sympathetic to the victim of the attacks. It can also raise the name recognition of an opponent who otherwise might have trouble getting his name in print and on the air in a second-tier race. Another possible factor in Flanagan's defeat could have been his defeat at the hands of Jeffords in 2000. After polishing off Backus in the primary, Flanagan lost to the soon-to-be-Independent Jeffords by a 65.5 percent to 25.4 percent margin that year. Perhaps the scent of "loser" still dogged Flanagan this year, and Democratic voters didn't want to take a chance. Whatever the reasons for Flanagan's defeat, add this one to the pile: in the waning weeks of the campaign, Flanagan decided to make an issue out of Spaulding's prior support for school choice. Education reform insiders know that Spaulding has always been one of the few Democrats in the state willing to promote school choice legislation. As a state senator from Washington County, he sponsored charter school bills and a school choice bill that included private schools. Several years ago, he even sat on the same side with this writer at a debate on school choice against VT NEA president Angelo Dorta. Vermonters for Educational Choice, a lobbying organization with which this writer has been affiliated, even presented Spaulding with a "Legislator of the Year" award about five years ago for his support for school choice. Flanagan decided to exploit that support. Using what he obviously hoped was a trigger-word for negative reactions - "vouchers" - Flanagan claimed, loudly and often, that Spaulding supported vouchers. Not so, claimed Spaulding. Splitting hairs, he pointed out that his support for choice had not included religious schools and thus could not be considered voucher support. Choice supporters might disagree. But who can blame Spaulding for being afraid of having to wear the scarlet "v" when so many powerful forces within the Democratic fold (the teachers union comes to mind) oppose vouchers? He needn't have worried. Flanagan's harping on Spaulding's support for vouchers did not appear to win Flanagan any votes. This could be because Vermonters support school choice. Even hefty percentages of Democrats do. In 1999, Vermont Public Radio conducted a poll that asked this question: Should parents be allowed to use tax dollars to send their children to religious schools? Fifty-five percent of respondents said "yes." Of those who identified themselves as Republicans, 63 percent answered "yes." Of those who said they were independents, 52 percent answered "yes." And of those who identified themselves as Democrats, nearly 50 percent said "yes." So, of all the lessons to be learned from Flanagan's race, perhaps this is one: focusing a campaign on an anti-voucher message is a losing strategy, even in a Democratic primary in Vermont.  ROD PAIGE ON NCLB ACT U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige recently addressed the National Press Club, speaking about the No Child Left Behind Act. To listen to the presentation, go to: http://www.npr.org/programs/npc/020909.rpaige.html ELSEWHERE... WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL: September 9, 2002 (Reprinted with permission) In the coming-of-age classic "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," a lovable dad who lives on the wrong side of the tracks "borrows" an address in another neighborhood so that daughter Francie can go to a good school. Well, a Vermont dad who did that for his two daughters now faces as much as 32 years in jail. Kenneth Levine admits he rented a room and post-office box in the Vermont town of Castleton so that his two daughters could spend seventh grade at Castleton Village School. Now he's facing a variety of charges, including four felony counts, with Castleton's police chief saying it cost $16,100 to educate Mr. Levine's daughters. Mr. Levine's explanation is that he feared his daughters would be harassed, the way his son was, at the pubic school they were supposed to attend: Otter Valley Union High School. Ultimately the boy was expelled for bringing three knives to school (which he did not use); the Rutland Herald reports that some Otter Valley students said they would "get" his sisters when they came there. The school principal did not return our phone calls. But our sources say Otter Valley has had a rough reputation, and there have been incidents in the past: a well-publicized hazing, and another student expelled for bringing a loaded semi-automatic pistol to school. Now, we're not for fraud. Nor do we condone students bringing knives to school. But clearly the Levines had some legitimate safety concerns regarding their children, and it's worth noting that Mr. Levine resorted to setting up the Castleton residence only after the district denied his request to let the girls' tuition be transferred to another school. If Mr. Levine, a schoolteacher himself, had the money to pay the tuition costs at Castleton, there wouldn't be a problem. But that's the main issue with school choice today: You have to be rich to exercise it. All in all it strikes us that if public schools were more interested in responding to the needs of parents and children than in enforcing their monopolies, everyone would be happier except maybe the teachers unions. There's surely a crime up in Vermont, but we're not so sure it's Mr. Levine's. LEGAL DEFENSE FUND SET UP FOR SUDBURY FATHER The Sudbury father who faces up to 32 years in prison and a five-figure fine for enrolling his daughters in a Castleton school while his residency was in question has a legal defense fund now set up to help the family with attorney fees. The information is as follows: Levine Defense Fund c/o Marsh and Associates 62 Court Street Middlebury, Vermont 05753  *    *    * 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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