Latest Poll Shows Major Measures Without Strong Support

From the Times, a reporter that the latest Elway poll shows, same-sex marriage, tax limits, charter schools and pot legalization are ahead but only one - Tim Eyman's - is over 50%.

“Because support typically fades as the campaign goes on, a ballot measure needs to be polling at 60 percent or better at the start of the summer to still have a majority in November,” Elway wrote.

Elway’s poll showed I-1240, which authorizes publicly funded charter schools, led by 46 percent to 37 percent. Charter school measures have lost three times previously, in in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

That leaves 17% of voters undecided.  


The poll surveyed 405 registered voters from July 18 through July 22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

It's not money that will decide the charter vote; it's education on an education issue. 

It's telling the full and complete truth about charters and, very specifically, about this initiative.

It doing a cost-benefit analysis - what will public education in Washington state get and lose bringing in charters.  

I think it's fair that some might think the idea of charters valid but read the initiative.  It is neither modest nor reasonable and need the hard, cold light of day shone in the vague and - in the case of the trigger petition - dangerous places.

Comments

dan dempsey said…
Speaking of the coming elections the race for SPI finds be considering none of the above.

One race I am very interested in is the Supreme Court position#2 with Scott Stafne as a candidate, more on that below.

State Supreme Court sets next steps in school suit

SEATTLE – The Washington Supreme Court on Wednesday gave another win to the coalition that sued the state over the way it pays for basic education.

In a follow-up to its January ruling, the court said the coalition of school districts, parents, teachers and community groups will get a chance to critique the Legislature's reports on its progress toward meeting the goal of fully paying for basic education.

In the two-page order signed by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, the court also set specific deadlines for filing those reports, which must show "real and measurable" progress toward achieving full compliance with the Constitution.

The order left open the possibility of further action. It also set a firm deadline of 2018 to fix the way the state pays for education in Washington.

{{Wow only 5 more years of violating the constitution.}}

================

I highly recommend and urge you to vote for Scott Stafne for Supreme Court. I have seen Scott fight for parents with regard to school closures and student assignments. I have seen Scott insist over and over again that courts follow legislative statutes.
Currently he is working to help people stay in their homes in face of inappropriate foreclosures.

Scott did an enormous amount of free work in trying to make the SPS more accountable to the public.

We need Scott on the Supreme Court. Please mark your ballot right now. Vote for Scott Stafne for Position 2.

If you want to learn more about Scott this is a link to his election web site: http://stafneforjustice.com/

If you want to get a feel for how Scott thinks, read his blog: http://scottstafne.com/
EmeraldCityLifer said…
It's not worth the 17% chance that a charter school yields positive results to risk not only that they could be worse, but the chance of scandal.

Here's the latest from a Philadelphia charter that was previously praised for raising test scores:

http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-24/news/32828937_1_charter-school-planet-abacus-ad-prima

Here's an excerpt of the article:

A charter school mogul was charged today in a multimillion-dollar fraud case by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Dorothy June Hairston Brown, who received accolades for students' test scores and gained notoriety for collecting large salaries and suing parents who questioned her actions, was indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.

Brown, 75, and four executives from her charter schools, were charged with defrauding three charter schools of more than $6.5 million in taxpayer funds.

U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger announced that a federal grand jury had returned a 62-count indictment against Brown and four of her trusted employees.
"This indictment in this case alleges that June Brown and her four co-conspirators used the charter school system to engage in rampant fraud and obstruction," Memeger said during an afternoon news conference. "My office will continue to vigorously investigate and pursue those charter school operators who defraud the taxpayers and deprive our children of funds for their education."

He was joined at the announcement by FBI Special l Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos and Steven Anderson, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General for the Mid-Atlantic region. Agents from both federal agencies were involved in the years-long investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Kyriakakis that led to the indictments.

"The bottom line is running a charter school does not give you a license to steal," Venizelos said.
Unknown said…
"The bottom line is running a charter school does not give you a license to steal," Venizelos said.

Yeah Right ... So how many more of these scammers are yet to be caught "Stealing without a License"?
Nick Esparza said…
Instead of complaining that the yes on charter schools has more money, why don't we argue an opposition instead of a thesis about it. This is not a research paper. This is an argument. Have a valid reason behind the whys. Why are the charter schools bad? Some people have valid arguments and facts. Dan Dempsey is one example. He has a well thought out reason with valid facts. I really don't think that Melissa’s arguments are going defeat the initiative. She has no valid argument, it just goes in circles. As they say in politics you have to have money to run a campaign. And I am no fan of charter schools. I for one think that public education is important and should not be sold to the highest bidder. The yes people are using inability to close achievement gap and not done a good job. Because they have no accountability for mismanaged funds. The people from this blog always say lets move on and no fixes. We are getting no place with the same argument hoping for results. The answer is we need to get rid of the incompetent people and clean house. Before they bring down the school district like the roman empire. This whole argument for the ap kids and gifted is not helping to close the achievement gap. They have everything already. The people whom get the short end of the stick are the special ed kids. I guess my challenge is to Melissa and her followers is to raise money, do ads, make YouTube videos, and radio ads. Make your viewpoints known. Have valid arguments and get them out to the public.

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Seattle School Board Meeting, Wednesday, September 18,2024