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Charter Schools Flourish; In Other News, Earth Continues to Revolve Around Sun

Posted on January 27, 2009May 5, 2026 by Sarah Brodsky

To some opponents of charter schools, a proliferation of charters in your city is almost as bad as a natural disaster. So what happens when charter school growth follows a disaster in quick succession? Chaos, right? Not according to this editorial in the Times-Picayune (thanks to Edspresso for the link):

Just as encouraging is the finding that scores jumped from 2007 to 2008 within all school types, including campuses run by the Recovery School District, the Orleans Parish School Board and dozens of independently run charter schools.

[…] the quality of education New Orleans’ children are getting is improving. And for the first time, parents have numerous educational choices.

This diminishes the credibility of those who predict imminent doom and gloom with the opening of each new charter. As the editorial points out, it’s not possible to prove that charters directly caused the rising test scores and other positive developments in the New Orleans education market. But it conclusively shows that progress is possible even with a bunch of new charters in town — and charters don’t have to mean the end of life as we know it.

Can Missouri Catch Up to France?

Posted on January 27, 2009May 5, 2026 by Sarah Brodsky

Combest links to this article in the Fulton Sun about a proposed nuclear reactor. The General Assembly is considering AmerenUE’s plan to add on to the Callaway Nuclear Plant. What I liked best about the article was that in addition to summarizing the usual arguments for and against, it points out that nuclear energy is a success in countries that don’t impose so many political barriers to its use:

France has more than 60 nuclear power plants that generate more than 80 percent of its electrical power. France also is the world’s largest exporter of electrical power, sending 18 percent of its production to other nations.

We’ve followed in France’s footsteps by establishing an official language; it would be a good idea to emulate their openness to energy innovation, too.

SMI In the Springfield Business Journal

Posted on January 27, 2009May 5, 2026 by David Stokes

The Springfield Business-Journal ran a nice article about my occupational licensing study and some reactions to it. I think it’s a great article, and I thank Jeremy for his interest in the subject.

Like any good journalist, the reporter got quotes from all sides of the debate. And, man, did he ever get some good quotes from the supporters of licensing (all emphasis below is added):

“The licensing process is a must,” said Detwiler, who along with fellow state-certified massage therapist Stephanie Lansdown run The Neuromuscular Clinic, which opened Nov. 15 in Springfield. “If you don’t know what you’re doing and say that you do, you could really do some harm to somebody.”

Clearly, this person has never tried to pick someone up at a bar.

“If we did the same work in San Diego, it would be a lot more expensive,” Detwiler said.

“I think it’s more about where you are. I don’t think the licensing would really have an effect on price.“

Believe it or not, we actually considered the issues of cost-of-living. The therapist is right that it matters, but wrong when he or she says that it explains the difference between Wichita and Springfield. The two cities have a very comparable cost-of-living, and Wichita’s is actually slightly higher. The main reason a massage session is $10 more in Springfield than Wichita is licensing, not costs of living.

I’ll finish with one quote that shows progress being made:

He added that the National Council of Architecture Review Boards has in recent years made it easier for architects licensed in one state to get licensed in others.

That is one way for the harmful effects of licensing to be reduced, and I applaud the architects for making it happen.

Second State

Posted on January 26, 2009May 5, 2026 by Sarah Brodsky

Check out this article in the Columbia Missourian about Missouri government’s use of the website Second Life:

Avatars can make their way through the flowering dogwoods, stop to view a spinning Missouri state seal overhead and browse displays about information technology opportunities and facts about the state.

I wonder whether they can eat official Missouri dessert ice cream cones, catch official Missouri invertebrate crayfish, and dance the square dance, the official folk dance of the state of Missouri. (I don’t know, because I’m not on Second Life!)

The Information Technology Services Division has already hired someone they recruited on Second Life. In the virtual world, he was a kitten. The article doesn’t say what he turned out to be in real life.

And state involvement in this online community goes even further:

In November 2008, the Missouri Government Island was established. A plan is under way to use virtual construction machinery, even bulldozers, to make the island the shape of Missouri. This will become home to several state government entities.

“We understand that we are the only state to go out and obtain our own island,” Grecian said.

Now, I don’t want to be overly critical of this because it sounds like expenditures on the project have been negligible so far. But there’s a fine line between staying ahead of the pack when other states are too conservative in taking advantage of new technology, and going off the deep end. If other states aren’t buying islands, that’s probably because states just don’t need their own virtual islands. And there are lots of options for state agencies to use social networking — for example, through Facebook pages — to get in touch with people in more direct ways. I thought the whole idea of using online networking was to avoid the bulldozers and stuff you need in real life. If you have to create a virtual MoDot in order to recruit people on Second Life, how is that an improvement over planet Earth?

Blaming the Achievement Gap on Anything but the Schools

Posted on January 26, 2009May 5, 2026 by Sarah Brodsky

The explanations that are being given to justify the black-white achievement gap in suburban school districts are disturbing:

When affluent districts show a similar achievement gap, the usual excuses given don’t seem to apply. Students in Clayton, Webster, Parkway, would all come from home environment not associated with poverty. Perhaps, it is a matter of “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

That’s a comment from “taxpayer” on today’s Post-Dispatch article about the achievement gap.

Any reasonable person would agree that skin color alone has no effect on a person’s desire to learn and succeed. If the gap persists even in affluent districts, you have to conclude that that there is some socioeconomic difference between the black and white students — perhaps because minority families are making sacrifices to move to the better districts — or that the schools are not educating everyone equally.

I’m amazed at how reluctant people are to criticize public schools, to the point where they resort to blatant racism rather than admit that public schools systematically produce worse outcomes for some students.

Very Important Study From East-West Gateway Council of Governments

Posted on January 26, 2009May 5, 2026 by David Stokes

I urge everyone to read this study from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments about the ludicrous economic development policies that the St. Louis area has been pursuing during the past decades. The Post-Dispatch had a major article about it over the weekend. People at the Show-Me Institute, including me, have been raising issues like this for some time, but it is great to see EWG’s proof in the pudding. I will return to this issue after I have had time to read the entire study.

There Is a Market for Everything

Posted on January 26, 2009May 5, 2026 by David Stokes

For most men, beer and sports go well with just about anything. That is the basic business plan of Knockouts barbershop in St. Joseph. Guys can go in, have a beer, get a haircut from an attractive young lady, and watch TV. Of course, the state can’t possibly allow something like this to go on without intervention of some type. So, now there is an investigation into whether or not Knockouts needs a liquor license — because, you know, God forbid the government not get its cut.

Mr. Schler, the acting state liquor and tobacco supervisor, said any salon requiring a purchase in order to obtain a complimentary drink is indirectly selling alcohol.

“You’re getting a haircut and alcohol all in one monetary consideration. It’s all a package,” he said. “You cannot get the drink without the money. So, it’s not actually free.”

I am pretty sure that at some point in the future, the government will try to license Super Bowl parties at your house. Because, you know, somebody has to pay for the television in the first place — so it’s not actually free. Speaking of guys who love beer and sports, thanks Combest for the link.

School District Spending on Drinks, Among Other Things

Posted on January 25, 2009May 5, 2026 by Sarah Brodsky

I was intrigued when I saw this headline on Combest: “Lawmaker seeks to cut alcohol tab for school staffers.” Are education officials given some kind of allotment to spend on alcohol, which is being cut? No, but it turns out that at least one district has a problem with employees buying alcohol on the taxpayers’ dime:

The audit, available on the district Web site, flags $4,513 in confirmed alcoholic beverage purchases, including 14 pitchers of beer charged in one evening and as many as 46 alcoholic beverages split between two administrators on one other occasion.

And, in response, a state representative wants Missouri law to forbid the practice.

I’m sympathetic to this attempt to curb egregious spending, but I don’t think it will even make a ripple in the ocean of district wastefulness. The same audit revealed unwarranted purchases of items like sunglasses and flowers. We can’t write a separate law for each of these things: “No buying sunglasses … no buying this … no buying that …”

And if the state gives districts more incentive to conserve — for example, less money to begin with, or the threat of competition — there wouldn’t be a need for all those express prohibitions.

Talk to Me, Sarge

Posted on January 23, 2009May 5, 2026 by David Stokes

The reactions have been swift to the decision by the incoming governor’s administration to halt a contract with Motorola that would have led to installation of a statewide emergency communications system allowing different public safety departments to talk to each other during emergencies. This is of great interest to me, because I actually did an extremely small amount of work on this project at the request of the Department of Public Safety. (So small, in fact, that I was unaware the contract with Motorola had been signed until I read on Combest that it had been canceled.)

If this halting of the contract is merely part of the new administration’s review of everything, than it is not a big deal. It is understandable that a new administration will want to take a look at pending projects, especially during tough financial times. But the fact that times are tough also makes it more important than ever to get the best deal, and when a well-known company like Motorola comes in with a bid that is significantly below the estimated cost, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to address an important need for a very reasonable price.

I am confident the governor’s administration will see the benefits of partnering with Motorola to give public safety officers the tools they need during emergencies.

P.S. — The work I did only involved gathering information about the involvement of public-private partnerships in emergency communications around the world, and forwarding it to the Department of Public Safety. It was a great deal of fun, and — just to be clear — the state did not pay us anything for the work. We don’t do contract work for anyone, or accept government money for anything.

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