Category: School levy

Bullwhip Economics: Pubic versus Private Sector (The Lakota School System)

It has been an interesting debate over this last month regarding the Lakota School Levy, and what has emerged is a philosophic difference. There is a portion of the population that is either working for the public sector in some form or another, or there are people who don’t. Among those that don’t there are some that wish they did, because the benefits are so good.

For a guy like me though I would never want a public sector job. The idea of being paid by the tax payer is an abomination that cuts to my core beliefs of self-reliance.

When my Whip Trick to Save America did so well at the start of the No Levy Campaign, I received a lot of requests to make another video using my bullwhips to explain some of the complicated budget issues that center around public versus private sector jobs.

Most of the video my wife and lovely assistant holds targets in her mouth while I cut them out explaining how it relates to the economics of public versus private sector jobs.

At the end of the video I do more whip work in slow motion while Scott Sloan of WLW Radio reads the Lakota Teachers Contract to a member of the Pro Levy Group. The discussion is valuable because it helps put the mindset of public sector sympathizers into the proper framework.

They are a fascinating species these public sector oriented employees. The bottom line is it’s easy to spend money that isn’t yours. Public officials have been over spending for a long time, which has made public jobs too lucrative, actually putting our country on the verge of bankruptcy. So now we have to fix it. And fixing it starts with local issues like school levies, and city government. I hope this video inspires everyone to pay attention to the small stuff, and to vote on November 2nd, 2010.

Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

The Power of the Big One. Scott Sloan reads the Lakota Teacher Contract.

700 WLW has long been a beacon of truth in the Tri-State. Every half hour on the hour they broadcast the news as it changes and migrates throughout the day. And in between those news casts they discuss the tough issues. When a major storm strikes and tornados litter the sky seeking to destroy everything in their path, The Big One is the station everyone turns to until the storms pass. When snow threatens to cover us all with white death, The Big One is there. So it is with the same vigilance that another storm is threatening us all, an avalanche of an education system in Ohio that is crumbling under its own weight, and only one powerhouse of media has the guts to explain the situation.

A couple of the personalities of that great station Scott Sloan and Darryl Parks have valiantly stood against the forces of power that seek to propel the planned agendas of special interest and the relationship to the big business of education. But before I provide you with the very powerful clip of Scott Sloan reading the Lakota Teachers Contract on the air the reader here needs some background on the situation.  (The Scott Sloan reading is at the bottom of this post)

The State of Ohio Supreme Court case of March 24, 1997.

Section 2, Article VI of the Ohio Constitution requires the state to provide and fund a system of public education and includes an explicit directive to the General Assembly:

“The general assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the State.”

And with that statement, the State Supreme Court found the current funding system being used by the State of Ohio as unconstitutional. The directive was then given to the state to properly fund all of education in the state of Ohio within the constitutional provisions.

Since 1997, nothing of any substantiality has been attempted in Columbus however, completely ignoring the Supreme Court decision. Instead, special interests have dug in and divided and conquered each school district with chaos, driving the per pupil education rate to such an extent that it makes it impossible for state legislators to attempt to tackle the problem. After all, in order to live by the state constitution, Hocking County, Ohio would need to receive the same type of funding as Butler County, Ohio. And in order to do that the cost per educated pupil would have to be determined.

The result was that from 2002 to 2010, in the Lakota School District in Butler County, Ohio for instance, the average salary of a teacher went up from $48,000 per year to a staggering $62,000 per year in just an eight year span. Other districts across Ohio have seen the same type of increase.

What is the result of this sudden jolt of salary increases? The cost per pupil in the State of Ohio was right around $6,500 in 1999 and is now just over $10,000. Since most education budgets occupy around 80% of the education expenditures, the cost per pupil is directly attached to teacher salaries and benefits.

In the State of Ohio the average teacher salary is roughly $55,000. Lakota is at $62,000. And the cost per pupil is directly connected to those wages. So what has happened is since wages have expanded nationwide for the teaching profession due to the diligent efforts of the NEA and the OEA teacher unions, along with others, the State of Ohio legislature is completely unable to determine what the cost per pupil is for teaching children, because many of them seek endorsement of the powerful unions, and therefore won’t touch the subject.

And with all this knowledge known and in print for all to see, newspapers cower away from such data in search of an easy headline. And television can’t seem to see behind the children that the powerful interests in education cower behind. There is only one place in Ohio that has the guts to tackle this issue for the complicated monster it truly is:

The Big One, 700 WLW

And with that, I present one of the most powerful moments of radio that I can remember in my lifetime. Scott Sloan actually took the time to go through over 160 pages of Lakota Teacher Contract in order to present the facts on the air to a group of Pro Levy supporters. To do such a thing required hours of preparation. Most people with much more at stake won’t read the contract because it’s too difficult, and that is how we all end up scammed, because people are reluctant to do the work. But Scott did the work and read it on the air. And for that, many people owe him a tremendous debt.

Click to listen:

Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

A Financial Crises Just Doesn’t Happen, Lakota Should Have Seen It.

A financial crisis is not something that just happens. There are many factors that have led to the situation at Lakota. Below are two of the big ones. In short, the reason that the group against the levy has emerged is in response to the irresponsibility shown first at the state level, and second at our obligation to bring the costs down before we consider funding at the level the state is insisting on.

The first part of the problem with the funding of Lakota Schools comes from the fact that the state cut funding to our district. How did we get to this financial crisis?

This is a chart of how the state government distributed funding across the state. As Mike said, he’s right, Lakota is viewed as a wealthy district, and the plan was to send the administrators back to the community even though we all pay our taxes to the state already.

Here Mike Taylor announces the second part of why there is a problem. At the end of this video, he talks about the amount of money that teachers make. He clearly believes what he’s saying.

He’s been a part of education for so long, he can’t relate to what life is like outside of education. “They don’t make enough for the job they do.” He points to other districts, and says the wages are on par. Just because it’s broken everywhere doesn’t mean we will fund a broken system in our own district. So because the wages have migrated into the ranges they currently are, and because the state won’t support the structure, if it is left to the local community, we are going to insist that the costs be reduced to something we can properly fund. That is our answer to the state.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Pro Lakota Group Threaten WLW Radio

Pro Lakota Group Threaten WLW Radio

In the video below Pam Perrino and others of the Pro Lakota Levy campaign threaten WLW radio for putting me on the air during the last week of September, 2010. Their goal seems to be to shut down all resistance to their proposed tax increase of the Lakota School Levy. Pam had in fact been on the previous week after Dan and I did our show. But she still harassed the radio station for putting us on the air making false claims and legal threats. This video is a bit long, but worth listening to. At the end, I found the clip where she had in fact been on the previous week, right after Dan and I left the station.

I find it appalling that Pam participated in this activity. Being against this school levy, we have every right to express our views on the No Lakota Levy side. But the Pro Side shows their arrogance in this display and threats of boycotting the station, its methods like this which have created the situation that all of education is in. The threats and intimidation create one sided debates, and over the years have allowed for the imbalance we are witnessing.

The people against this levy that I know want to see the costs of education brought down to sustainable levels. We don’t care what other schools are doing. We’re not going to play the game anymore. And these irritating displays by angry mothers and teachers are not acceptable. Nobody in their right mind would want to spend money on this type of mentality.
It’s a shame that we’re all guilty of throwing money at people like this just to shut them up.

And on top of this activity, every single yard sign the No Levy Group put out were stolen over the first weekend of October. Again, the mentality is an attempt to eliminate the opposition. This is not how elections are supposed to be conducted. One would expect this kind of behavior in places like Cuba, Iran, or North Korea. Not in West Chester, Ohio!

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

The One Nation Rally Comedy Show

The One Nation Rally

Is this mainstream America? It looked like an episode of South Park to me, compare them below.







Who are these people?

This is what progressives have in mind for the United States?  What planet did these people come from?

I took particular notice that the Ohio Education Association was promoting the event as well. And people wonder why I think Teacher’s Unions should be illegal in government positions. They openly endorse this strange mentality.

And what is Ed Schultz talking about here?

And again, when people wonder why we need education reform; listen to how much he talks about public education. Who in the world wants these types of ideas in our schools? I don’t. I’m a conservative, and I’m certainly not evil. And you bet we want to change this country away from what people like you have turned it to under our sleepy eyes.  Who makes the jobs, Ed? 

The good thing in all this is that hardly anybody showed up to this rally considering all the power that was behind it. That is because like the ambition in socialist governments is reflected in union membership, where a majority of the people functions like they are half asleep. They get their dander up when they want something, but once their needs are met, the go back to sleep like a baby sucking on the bottle. And that is what happened at The One Nation Rally.  And with over 200 union organizations busing their members in, and a month’s notice, this is all that showed up.  And the one’s that did were mostly asleep.

I would like to thank the people who put the rally on, I laughed hard for 4 solid hours at the display of comedy that was presented. Not at the effort of the participants, but at the level of seriousness for which it was presented against the background of what is truly occurring.

The 8/28 Rally much more reflected my view points.  And it is nice to know that the people that went to that still represent sanity and American virtue.

Below, the 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally

You see all you progressive minded people out there, and this was reflected in the One Nation Rally,  you have about as many fans for your cause as the WNBA does.  And this rally reminded me of this Family Guy episode. 

That’s what the crowd sounded like during Ed’s speech, which was the most energized of the day. Thanks guys, that was funny stuff.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Why Fight the Lakota School Levy????????????????????????????

One thing about this Anti-Levy stuff is you sometimes need to take a minute and remember why you’re in the fight to begin with.  After all, with the mudslinging that goes on, it is easy to let the ideas jumble together.  Well, I just received a letter from a very nice couple with kids in the school system that is against this school levy.  It is difficult to not feel some compassion for their position, but they captured many of the themes that get completely smashed in a contentious election like the one we have in the Lakota Levy, Issue 2 of 2010. 

So I am putting the letter down here to share their words with others on both sides so everyone can remember what is truly at stake.  Their names are removed by request, particularly since they have children in the school system and fear retaliation.  And it is in such words that I find new ambition to unravel the tangled web that has snared all such good people in the sticky grip of political monstrosity.     

____________________________________________________________________________________

Subject: We want to help!
 
My husband and I have been Liberty Township residents for 15 years. We have two children attending Lakota Schools; one is a freshman, one is in the 6th grade. Our small family of four survives, (in Liberty Township mind you! The “I have everything” capital of the world) on little more than the “Starting” salary of a Lakota teacher.
 
We read the teachers salaries last night.  I pride myself in being a very articulate person, however, I find myself strangely unable to find words that adequately express how that information makes us feel.  Knowing they are taking away from our children, but protecting those salaries. 
 
You couldn’t be more correct in saying this levy isn’t needed for the children.  If ANY of this was about the children, they wouldn’t be making the cuts they are making.  They would be asking the teachers to revise their compensation packages.  Every single cut will take something away from the children.  Every one of them. Even when they cut the teaching staff, they are taking away from the children!  But the teachers will continue to receive pay raises through it all?!?!  It simply doesn’t make sense.  We love Lakota and we believe the teachers deserve a decent wage, but it’s crunch time.  If the very people who ARE Lakota won’t protect Lakota, how can they ask us to?  Is there not even one teacher with a conscience?
 
I don’t believe I have EVER been so outraged.  What I do believe is that if more Lakota residents knew about these salaries, to say NOTHING of their benefits or their pensions, the levy would crash and burn.
 
I’m sorry, but we have no money.  We don’t have any extra.  We don’t really have what we need to pay our bills right now.  There is no more to give to any one.  Not to the levy.  Not even to your group.  But we do want to help.  Please tell us what we can do.  We have arms and legs and phones and voices.  Please tell us what we can do.  We truly want to help.

Sincerely,

_________________________________________________________________________

 I put a budget idea here.  It’s not a painless plan, but one that I think helps the most people.  But one way or the other, something must be done at the local level to help those living in the district, so they can support the school with more than money. 

 

Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

www.overmanwarrior.com

Lakota Budget Plan

Photograph taken by:    Pulsejournal.com (The Pulse Journal) Cox Ohio Publishing

 

So many people have written me, or asked me what my, or the NoLakotaLevy people suggest Lakota do about their budget situation.  I prepared the below response to a person that wrote me at NoLakotLevy.com and contacted me through the email there.   This is my plan, and can’t speak for everyone in the NoLakotaLevy group fully.  Now when reading this, keep in mind, I believe that union membership should be illegal in government positions, and teachers are government positions.  They are payed with tax payer funds, and therefore should not be able to participate in a union. 

Union membership is fine for private business if the product they make can be supported with the revenue they produce.  I know people in the film business that are part of a very powerful union in the Screen Actors Guild.  Writers for film are a part of the Writers Guild.  But those activities are supported with ticket sales at the box office, and more and more often, films are made outside of Hollywood in places like British Columbia, and Austrialia to avoid many of the high cost of union work.  So even in paradise, the union model is in trouble. 

In sports, there is a players union, and those unions have pushed up the price of a professional athlete to a cost that many of us bulk at.  Yet we can decide to support those athletes or not with the price of a ticket, or the purchase of a jersey. 

But government work is completley funded with tax payer money, and therefore no voting can take place.  The tax payer becomes the consumer without an option.  So when a teachers union is a part of a school system, it stands in the way of choice.  So my strategy below would be the advice I’d give any professional organization strangled by such a process.  My focus is on saving all the jobs at Lakota, particularly the 130 teachers and staff that are on the chopping block established by the retiring Superintendent, and preserving the great tradition at Lakota of being an excellent school. 

But this plan is aggressive, and would require a boldness that does not exist within the school system, otherwise, they would not be in the situation they are currently in.  It is unfortunate that the job falls on the community to help the school system understand how to solve their problems.  But I present this plan to all those who would care to read it, and may contain within themselves the valor to do what is right for not only the teachers, but the rest of the community. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

When it is reported that there is a financial crises within our local school system, it is important to study the situation.

When you sit down and look at the overall problem like a businessman would, without emotion, without politics, just the facts, you see quickly that the school system has around 78% of their resources tied up in wages and benefits.  So if you need to get that budget under control, you don’t tackle the very small costs that make up the remaining 22%, which is where busing falls.  Busing is really one of the minor costs and is something that should be addressed after you’ve tackled the issues making up the 78%.  There is only one reason to tackle busing first and that is to inconvenience parents so they vote for a levy out of their own needs. You start with wages and benefits so you can have the most impact quickly. 

  1. The first thing to deal with is the way the contract is organized with the employees.  You have to give the union credit that they created an environment for their members where they have been able to obtain wages that are above the standard for public sector positions.  The average wage for a teacher at Lakota in 2002/2003 was around $48,000.  Now, in 2010, it’s $62,000.  So they’ve more than outpaced inflation and cost of living. It should be noted that the aggressive position of the union such as what happened in April of this year, a federal mediator had to be called to bring the parties together between the board and the union.  That type of behavior has created a budget that is not sustainable over the long term as more and more tenured teachers and administrators move into the upper pay ranges. So the wages need to be brought down to a level that is more reflective of the community that is funding the budget.  If they took a 30% reduction, they could raise $27 million dollars immediately.  And the wages would still be considered good when compared to the private sector. 
  2. The other thing you look at is whether or not you need so many administrators, councilors, media professionals, and those types of positions, where many are making over $65,000 per year.  You would not cut low tenured teachers that are not making as much money, the ones making $35,000 to $45,000, and are full of ambition.  Those are the teachers you want to keep.  They are typically cheaper, and tend to statistically get the best results per employee. 
  3. As the new contract is established, the pay rates need to be established that the low end entry level pay scale is $35,000, and the top pay for an educator is $65,000.  If a teacher wants to pursue higher degrees such as a masters, or doctorate, of course they could reach that top scale faster, but could not exceed it unless they moved into administration.
  4. For administration positions, the cap should be set at $110,000.  That figure is reached by looking at what Mike Taylor is currently making which is $147,000 and reducing that figure by 30%, which is how much above average education positions are currently established at.  That would put the current superintendant at $103,000 and still provide some room for increases in supplemental years.   
  5. Taking these measures would do two things.  First the teachers and superintendants that are in education for just the money and security would leave and take positions at other schools.  This would allow us to hire ambitious personnel that is truly in education for the right reasons, and that is putting kids first.  And in turn we would pay them well, but fairly.  And they’d have the benefit of working for a good school system in a nice community where the parents care for the kids they are sending to the school.  Such a teaching environment is a benefit believe it or not and would allow us to attract the best teachers that are truly in teaching for the children.  The second thing this does is it shows that Lakota has the leadership to set up a sustainable model that the State of Ohio can copy for all the other schools in the state and finally solve its unconstitutional property tax funding model that has been broken for half a century.  Until a school system takes these steps and is the first to do so, the status quo will bankrupt our funding system.  If the choice of the union would be to strike then replacement staff could immediately be hired to replace those participating in the strike, and our wage level could be fixed quickly.  But shutting down the school system or declining the level of education is not an option. 

 

This plan would allow us to bring our budget under control, sort out the truly good from the truly selfish, and would improve our performance in virtually all aspects.  To not do this plan or one very similar to it is not acceptable, and will only substantiate the decline of service that is immanent.  The term union members and leaders use to identify people not of their membership that work for the school system, is “scab.”  Such terms do not belong on the tongues of those involved in education and they need to remove their philosophy from our funding obligations.  We will need individuals willing to put the community first because such individuals will be needed to work in the school system in the near future, and the community will need to support them, when the union leadership attempts to bring pain to our district.   

The goal of these measures is to find out the true heart of the employees.  And at the same time, to reduce the cost to the overall budget.  It is the least painful way to accomplish this task giving those who are unhappy with the situation a chance to leave without causing damage to the community.  And would allow us to retain the most loyal and dedicated staff for our school system.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Lakota Levy…….But Wait, We Just Did This!

Levy Part 2, but wait, didn’t we just do this?
What short memories everyone has. It was just April when a lot of this was happening.  So lets go back and look at the events of 2010 that led up to this second attempt.  Some of the videos below have the embedding turned off, so they are links that you’ll have to click on to watch.  The point of this is to study where we came from so we can see where we’re going. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkQ4M2DRVEA&feature=channel
We just had a Federal Mediator coming in to help resolve a contract dispute, over pay raises and benefits. Now I’ve written a lot about Lakota’s budget being top heavy. And even though everyone knew the situation as early as April, the Union had still stiffened up to get everything they could, aware that there was a Levy coming.
While I was on the radio during the last weekend of September, Darryl Parks pressed me on that issue.

During the last levy we put up a fight. But that was only in May of this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhcNq0ZbnDs&feature=channel

But what the Pro Lakota people didn’t comprehend was that the Anti-Levy people were deeper than just a group of developers. It was a wide range of people with all different backgrounds that shared a common idea that the spending was out of control, and they remembered the events of the last levy attempt in 2005. And they didn’t appreciate the misleading statistics.

The May levy was contentious, and it was defeated handedly. After the vote I personally went to a board meeting to see how the board dealt with the issue. After all, I had read that Mike Taylor the night of the vote realizing that the levy would be defeated announced that the issue would be put back on the ballot. What I witnessed confirmed my thoughts of all the waste. I left the meeting feeling sorry for Joan Powell. I don’t believe that she or the rest of the board are bad people. They are just short sighted because they are part of a broken system.
But to avoid making the public angry, they waited till July to make the formal announcement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P32s291N3L8&feature=related
And then they announced the cuts.

Yet nobody within the school system sees the problem with their budget. So they stick to the formula issued from Columbus. And immediately the press falls into place and just does their part to help the school system without pressing for any hard questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjbAdlGWOs0&feature=related

And with all the energy spent nobody discusses the two main issues, first that their operating budget is set too high.
The other issue is that the State of Ohio cut funds to our district, and they did so with an unconstitutional formula. And nobody wants to tackle that because it’s too hard and too big.

This is the funding model by the current governor.  See anything wrong with it?  Look where the money is going. 

So while everyone puts their energy into short term pains and gains, the union not wanting to budge.  The administrators just wanting to keep the status quo, the parents just want to keep their property values, and maintain what they thought they were getting as far as education in the community when they moved here, the real trouble gets over-looked and given a free pass.  And the media has helped make that happen. 

The Lakota School System is being crushed by an inflated funding model, and if the state won’t fund it, it’s not possible for residents to pay twice, once to the State and again to the community.  The system was broken before the state made this move in cutting back the funding.  And now, the issue needs to go back to the state to be fixed with a constitutional resolution once and for all.  And passing this levy will not make that happen. 

It’s a shame that so many important figures in this chess game, the kids, the parents, the administrators, the school board, the teachers, the union leadership, the residents find themselves in a cage fight when the real target is sitting in the press box pushing the buttons. 

It would be my advice to everyone to keep your eyes on the larger issues.  If you hang onto the status quo, you only buy a little time before the next major collapse.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

WLW on Saturday, September 25th

My appearance on the Darryl Parks show on Saturday September 25, 2010 is at the end of this article.  But first a few notes:

I woke up on Saturday morning to an onslaught of email.  One of the emails is a couple of links to articles where the Ohio Education Association is stepping in and doing some damage control of issues occurring in Southwestern Ohio.  

Two of the issues were the appearance of our No Lakota Levy group on WLW radio on Monday.  The other was the bill board campaign against wasteful education spending. 

There was a lot said in these articles, but then again, not much of any real content which is normal for these types of things.  But here is a summary of the key points, and it is in these points that left me feeling completely confident that the position against school levies is absolutely needed.  And maybe we are about 15 years too late, but it’s better late than never I suppose. 

In the Cincinnati Enquirer there was an attempt to minimize the posting of several billboards around Cincinnati trying to bring to light the spending problems.  And the union attacked it with a predictable move, to minimize the activity as advocates for the Republican Party, and further commenting that these people only come out when there is a levy, and then they just go away when the levy situation passes. 

And then this article in the Hamilton Journal, told the whole story for me, everything I had been suspecting. 

Bonny McMurray of the Ohio Education Association gave the interview which was a series of questions and answers.  And for me, she said one of the most startling things I could have read.  She said in her article,

“It’s that many jobs in the current economy do not pay enough to sustain a middle class life,” she said.

In an ideal world, she said, there would be more employers with unions to ensure people earn a middle class wage and are entitled to benefits.”

Did she really say that?????

Bonnie spelled out the problem very clear. The No Levy people for the most part believe that unions have increased the cost of labor to where places like China and India are currently doing our work.

The Pro Levy people hold dear the idea that if there were more companies with unions, then more people would have the wages to support other union activity.

This is a fundamental philosophic difference.  Any right thinking human being can see that unions have driven up our labor costs in this country.  Yet, the warnings that many popular culture spokesmen are making that socialism and unions are deeply connected as a philosophy, look to be more true than fiction. 

In the defense of union positions they attacked the Republican Party, and attempted to minimize the commitment level of anyone that opposes them, as if they are somehow more caring because they are involved fulltime in political activity.  Funded completly by the tax payer I might add.   

Yet with all the retoric their whole philosophy is revealed in that simple statement.  And that’s what we’re dealing with.  If there were more unions, then more people would be able to afford the high cost of union business.  Where do they think the money comes from?  Check out the problems they are having in Europe.  We all know about Greece, but check out France now.   We at least still have elections here where we can bring things back under control.  It’s not too late for us…..yet.       

I had an invite to go onto WLW this morning.  I read all these articles and found myself eager to call Darryl to be a guest on his show.  Out of all the media out there, Darryl has not been afraid to tackle issues like this. 

It is a shame that bringing a political philosophy into education is even relevant.  But it is.  Unions have done that on their own.  They have attached their social goals to the sacred institution of education.  Now it’s up to those of us that have been sleeping, and blindly trusting our politicians to take the steps to fix things.  And it will be a difficult journey.  But it starts with the vote on November 2nd. 

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Rich Hoffman and Dave Varney Visit the Scott Sloan Show on WLW

It is with great pleasure that I present this pod cast of the Scott Sloan Show from September 20, 2010, in which I along with Dan Varney who is the treasurer of our NoLakotaLevy.com group, revealed a bomb of carefully hidden facts obscured by the smiling faces of Lakota’s PR efforts.  My daughter, Brooke came along to photograph in order to provide some background  images. 

It had been a busy week leading up to our invitation to be on Scott’s morning show. On Saturday Darryl Parks had read from my Lakota Blog on the Top Pay of the 432 Teachers at Lakota, which led to an invite to be on The Big One, Monday. It has been a relief to get some support from an aspect of the media that has given those of us against school levies a fair shake. In the past, newspapers, and television have sided without too much probing any situation where a school system asks for a levy. It is in this soft reporting that has created a system which actually threatens to bankrupt our entire education system, by letting powerful education influences run school budgets up to unsustainable amounts without the media to check them on it.

So it is with great thanks to Mr. Sloan, and to Mr. Parks for giving us a voice in a minefield of discontent. And the result was a powerful hour of radio that is compressed down to a half hour for your convenience. Basically what follows is our revelation that Lakota is asking for more money when they already have a budget that is just over 75% dedicated to wages and benefits, and it is their own mismanagement which allowed the budget to inflate to an unsustainable level.

But this is about more than just Lakota Schools. This is about tyranical government influence that is a gigantic presence in our own back yard, and if we don’t have the guts to do something about it whether at Lakota or any other school system in the United States, then we don’t have a right to demand change in the way government does business in any other fashion. If you don’t have the guts to stand up to something as easy to see as a school levy where excessive spending is so obvious, then you won’t have the backbone for the much harder problems that are facing this nation.
So with that, enjoy this groundbreaking podcast from people that understand what’s really at stake. And Scott Sloan gets it.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com