Larry Lee

The Republican Supermajority Cut-and-Paste Education Revelation

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee The legislative supermajority in Montgomery would have us believe that when they conjure up education policy like the Alabama Accountability Act or the charter school bill they retreat to a darkened room with their Ouija board and magically re-appear with ideas they alone thought up. But evidence increasingly shows this … Continued

Larry Lee

September 14, 2015

Opinion

I Weep for Alabama

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee It has been 49 years since I got my degree at Auburn University. I’ve spent 47 of those years in Alabama. Considering my roots, this does not seem odd or unusual to me. My ancestors have been here for nearly 200 years. Three great-grandfathers served in the Civil War. One … Continued

Larry Lee

August 31, 2015

Groups Ask Bentley to Reconsider Brown Appointment

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter Most people in Alabama stopped on the street at random probably couldn’t name two current members of the Alabama State School Board; but Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R)’s appointment of attorney Matt Brown (R) to the Board has earned a shocking amount of vitriol within Baldwin County and the … Continued

Brandon Moseley

July 23, 2015

Opinion

Thank God and Greyhound

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee It has now been 45 years since country singer Roy Clark came across the airwaves with Thank God and Greyhound She’s Gone. But the song’s title came immediately to mind recently when the Alabama legislature packed their bags and rode off into the sunset bringing down the curtain on the … Continued

Larry Lee

July 9, 2015

Opinion

Failing Students with AAA

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee New information from the Department of Revenue shows at least $4 million that should have gone to the Education Trust Fund in 2014 went instead, to pay tuition for students already enrolled in private schools. While the law was intended to help “failing schools” and their students, more than … Continued

Larry Lee

June 25, 2015

Opinion

Accountability Smoke and Mirrors

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee A new summary of activity in 2014 under the Alabama Accountability Act offers more evidence that the promise the legislation would help students in poorly-performing schools was more smoke and mirrors than anything else. The summary is posted on the Alabama Department of Revenue website. Nor does it support the … Continued

Larry Lee

June 11, 2015

Opinion

Teachers do that

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee In all the great commotion that is a major part of public education these days (such as bloggers and writers like me who feel compelled to support public schools instead of demonize them, legions of bureaucrats tucked in their cubbyholes staring all day at a computer screen, administrators who scurry … Continued

Larry Lee

May 28, 2015

Opinion

Democracy Under Attack

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee Slowly but surely our legislative leadership is nibbling away at the very foundation of how Alabama government has worked for nearly 200 years. Like this great country itself, Alabama is a democracy. By definition democracy is “a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people … Continued

Larry Lee

May 20, 2015

Opinion

Education Money Runs Out before Need

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee Debbie Deavours has spent 33 years in the Fayette County school system, the last eight as principal at Berry Elementary in the little town of Berry with its 1,250 people. Debbie has 300 students in pre-K-6. Some 65 percent of whom get free and reduced lunches. And as is often … Continued

Larry Lee

May 14, 2015

Opinion

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

EDUCATION MATTERS By Larry Lee It was just a little snippet of news. Just a few hundred words. And while few Alabamians probably saw it, it should have made headlines on the front page of every state newspaper and been the lead story on every TV news cast. Because it was another glaring example of … Continued

Larry Lee

April 30, 2015