So the ceremonial signing of the property tax cap happened today in Pleasantville, NY. I mention the location because I like the irony of linking this law to the movie Pleasantville which pleasantly tried to teach that personal repression can create larger political oppression and very ugly situations. I wonder how long it will take […]

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is pushing through a set of education reforms that are based on unsupported claims and hand-picked evidence, an independent group says. Here’s a link to a lengthy review of the Bush’s claims, calling his conclusions either cherry-picked or out-and-out false. Be aware that a number of groups are pushing the […]

Here’s all the facts you could ever want about funding in our country, courtesy of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) speech on June 27 at the U.S. Senate. Mr. President, this is a pivotal moment in the history of our country. In the coming days and weeks, decisions will be made about our national budget that […]

It’s always great to get out and meet local leaders, and today came with an opportunity to meet many new local presidents gathered at NYSUT for educational workshops. I was at a NYSUT Communications Department booth with two of my colleagues when I met a husband-and-wife team — both new local local presidents, at different […]

The work NYSUT and its members are doing this week is exhausting! Today features in-depth workshops on health insurance, how defined benefit pension plans stabilize the economy and what is going on with the economics of education in this state. And those are just the early morning sessions! There’s a full agenda the rest of […]

An interactive program to train 30,000 high school educators in suicide prevention is being offered by New York’s Office of Mental Health. Since depression and other illnesses often begin in the teen years, early treatment can make a huge impact. The online training, which launches July 1, is being provided by OMH through Kognito Interactive […]

Watch live streaming video from fairportcsd at livestream.com If you were not lucky enough to attend a high school graduation ceremony this June, here’s 2 1/2 hours of the Fairport graduation ceremony. Fairport is just one of the many great schools across our state. The ceremony celebrates success, diversity, and even failure. I’m keeping this […]

NYSUT offers a week of training to new local leaders every other year. Good timing that it starts Monday, eh? We also have dozens of members being trained as presenters for Education Learning Trust courses for the whole week. Then, political action coordinators come to the Capital Region midweek to get the latest. Even better […]

Here’s the link to a video that exposes the lies about Social Security. You are being lied to, repeatedly. And it’s all being funded by multi-billionaires who have a lot to gain by privatizing Social Security. Don’t let it happen. Learn the facts and expose the truth. Write letters to your local newspapers. Comment on […]

What a Friday. There’s a 144-page omnibus bill to go through. On a handheld device it is really slow. So far none of it looks like good news. It seems all the bad in the 0 percent tax cap went through. One bit of good news, a bill passed both houses that all school districts […]