Tuesday, February 26, 2019
As I write this, teachers in Oakland, California, are out on strike for the fourth day. Some charter school teachers are organizing a sick-out to join the district teachers.
In Los Angeles, teachers went on strike in January, ending with a contract agreement with the district. A small group of charter school teachers joined them on the picket lines.
Charter teachers joining a school district strike should put a scare into the privatization/"education reform" crowd. Here's something even scarier. Last December, unionized teachers from a Chicago charter network held the nation's first charter school strike. The teachers succeeded in getting a pay raise, lowering class sizes and granting undocumented students sanctuary.
Then this month, 200 teachers at another Chicago charter school chain were out on strike for two weeks.
Led by the Chicago Teachers Union, striking charter educators staged a camera-ready civil disobedience campaign that filled downtown sidewalks with loud protests, blocked access to a Loop office tower used by CICS board President Laura Thonn and crowded outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office for a Valentine’s Day card writing campaign.The new contract will include "pay raises, class-size limits, one week of paid parental leave and shorter work schedules."
The strikes are the visible tip of the charter school unionization iceberg. Many other charters have unionized teachers who regularly engage in collective bargaining with their charter organizations.
It's a privatizer's nightmare.
Tags: Charter schools , Unions , Strikes , Chicago Teachers Union , Arizona schools , education , students , teachers , Image
When Gov. Doug Ducey released his multimillion dollar budget proposal last week, he included $56 million in subsidies for day care, saying it would make such care more affordable for low-income families and expand its reach to about 29,000 children.
“We’re going to move from the back of the pack to right in the middle, and then we’re also going to let about 5,000 other children have these subsidies that don’t have them today,” said Christina Corieri, the governor’s senior policy adviser.
The state pays subsidies to day care centers to cover part of a child’s tuition, allowing qualifying families to choose a government-funded center. But the subsidies have stagnated even as day care costs have risen. The budget injection is meant to narrow the gap.
Families sometimes are forced to walk away from a day care center when the subsidy program doesn’t provide enough financial help, a day care administrator said.
“It’s hard. As soon as they walk in, we know we are going to have to have the talk,” said Kelly McCready, administrator of Kreative Kampus in central Phoenix.
Without the option of licensed day care providers, she said, some parents rely on friends, family members or acquaintances – who aren’t trained – to watch their children, or the parents are forced to reduce working hours to care for their child.
“We’re taking away the opportunity for them to choose – to choose what’s best for their family,” McCready said.
The state last adjusted funding in 2000, giving care centers an average of $350 per child. But as employee salaries and other costs of running a day care facility escalated, so did families’ share of the bill.
In 2014, Arizona families paid an average day care cost of $9,437 a year, according to an Economic Policy Institute report that says high-quality child care is financially out of reach for most families.
McCready said day care owners and managers sometimes will try to make ends meet without asking families to pay the overage, but that goodwill strains those businesses’ resources.
“Working and living in the early-childhood industry, there’s so much passion and willingness to give that extra 10 percent to make up for not quite enough,” McCready said.
Ducey’s plan for the $56 million is to put half of the money toward lowering fees families have to pay by an average of $100 and the other half toward adding 5,100 children to the program. That would bring the number of eligible children to 29,000, according to Corieri, Ducey’s adviser.
“We are not supplementing parents in any way,” McCready said. We are just supporting them, so having relationships with the families, with the children, we can then support here through the day what those families need.”
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
Tags: childcare , day care , funding , subsidies , low income families , students , children , Gov. Doug Ducey , legislation , Image
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Spring Ikebana Floral Festival. Enjoy dozens of signature floral compositions and flower arrangement styles in one of Japan's cherished art forms during the Spring 2019 Ikebana Floral Festival. The festival runs from Tuesday, Feb. 19 through Friday, March 1. $15 for admission. Yume Japanese Gardens of Tucson. 2130 N Alvernon Way. Details here.
STRFKR. A show that is described as a non-stop dance party, these Billboard Top 200 artists are coming to the Rialto Theatre. See them along with Shy Boys. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $22 to $33. Details here.
Tags: things to do , fun in general , Tucson fun , local events , Tucson events , Tuesday , Image
With a wealth of indie rock/dance party hits in their arsenal, their live set is rumored to be “a sweat drenched laser soaked affair.” STRFKR will “Open Your Eyes” at the Rialto Theatre. Self-proclaimed “landlocked surf outfit” Shy Boys open the show. Details here.
Before this guitarist’s guitarist discovered BB King, Tinsley Ellis’ ears were captivated by the roar of the British Invasion and “tied to the whipping post” by Southern rockers. At 191 Toole. Details here.
Tags: music , where to rock , live shows , Tucson , concerts , Tuesday , Image
Monday, February 25, 2019
On Saturday U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who is also Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, unveiled a proposal that would stop all future mining projects near the Grand Canyon.
Building off former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's 20-year moratorium on new mining claims over about 1 million acres of public land that sit north and south of the Grand Canyon, Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, wants to make the mining ban permanent through legislation.
The bill, called the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, has been introduced by Grijalva in the past, but could see success this year in the House with a new Democratic majority. As chair, Grijalva will have primary jurisdiction over his own bill during the legislative process.
If passed, the bill would remove the acres in question from the jurisdiction of the Mining Law of 1872 and the Mineral Leasing Act, which means that no new claims could be made for "locatable" minerals (gold, silver, copper, uranium and other precious metals) and no new leases could be made for "leasable" minerals (oil, gas, coal and phosphate), according to a press release from Grijalva's office. Existing claims within the area would remain, but owners would have to demonstrate that their claim is still profitable and they intend to conduct mining operations.
This move is endorsed by several Indigenous communities in Arizona, including Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai and Hualapai members, who have spoken out about the harmful effects mining has on the environment and their quality of life. In the past, uranium mines have sickened and killed tribal members who live near the Grand Canyon.
Just last week, the Arizona Republic reported that uranium ore, improperly stored in three paint buckets on the floor of a Grand Canyon museum building, put thousands of park visitors, including young children, at risk of radiation exposure.
Grijalva is expected to formally introduce the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act in the House tomorrow, which is the 100-year anniversary of the Grand Canyon National Park's establishment.
Tags: Grijalva , Chair , Natural Resources Committee , Grand Canyon , Mining , Ban , Moratorium , Radiation , Uranium , Mines , Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act , Image
The latest chapter in what's been a long and turbulent 12 months for Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller took another turn on Monday.
Miller will reportedly be subpoenaed to testify in a federal trial, according to Yahoo! Sports. Miller will be joined by current LSU coach Will Wade at the trial, which will be held on April 22.
The development comes less than a month after longtime Miller assistant coach Mark Phelps was suspended by the University because of an undisclosed academic manner. Former assistant Emanuel 'Book' Richardson has pled guilty to federal bribery charges as well.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Joe Pasternack, who served as an assistant coach under Sean Miller before taking the head coaching role at California-Santa Barbara, is also alleged to have been a middleman between former sports agent Christian Dawkins, who is facing federal charges, and Miller.
Read the full Yahoo! Sports report here, and stay tuned for future developments in the case at TucsonWeekly.com.
Tags: sports , UA basketball , Sean Miller , Wildcats , trial , subpoena , coach , UA , Will Wade , Mark Phelps , Emanuel Book Richardson , Joe Pasternack , Image
- Donny, five months old, male
Visit Donny at HSSA Main Campus at 635 W. Roger Rd. or call 520-327-6088, ext, 173 to learn more.
Tags: adoptable animal , adoptable pet , cat , kitten , Donny , cute , pet , friend , family , Humane Society , HSSA , adopt , Image
While there are no more blue light specials happening, a good majority of the inventory is already sold, and it's basically abandoned already, this is your last chance to take a stroll through the aisles and hang out at the (now closed) Little Caesar's within.
And if you're feeling extra nostalgic, you can even purchase the store's sales racks, display cases and furniture. Truly everything must go!
Tags: Kmart , last store , last week , closing , shutting down , final sale , everything must go , Image
