Headlines
Why the US is destroying its education system – Chris Hedges
AZ: Legislation would allow public schools to end free lunches
CA: Gov’s advisory council on privatization holds first meeting
FL: Water rights shift in Florida could foreshadow debates to come
FL: Graham blasts water ‘privatization’
FL: Senate bill would allow privatization to be secret   
FL: Editorial: Our take on: Private privatizing
DE: Women’s league urges privatization of water

News summaries
Why the US is destroying its education system – Chris Hedges
A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind. It prizes test scores above critical thinking and literacy. It celebrates rote vocational training and the singular, amoral skill of making money. It churns out stunted human products, lacking the capacity and vocabulary to challenge the assumptions and structures of the corporate state. It funnels them into a caste system of drones and systems managers. It transforms a democratic state into a feudal system of corporate masters and serfs…Passing bubble tests celebrates and rewards a peculiar form of analytical intelligence. This kind of intelligence is prized by money managers and corporations. They don’t want employees to ask uncomfortable questions or examine existing structures and assumptions. They want them to serve the system. These tests produce men and women who are just literate and numerate enough to perform basic functions and service jobs. The tests elevate those with the financial means to prepare for them. They reward those who obey the rules, memorize the formulas and pay deference to authority. Rebels, artists, independent thinkers, eccentrics and iconoclasts—those who march to the beat of their own drum—are weeded out. Truth Dig

AZ: Legislation would allow public schools to end free lunches
A Senate panel led by an East Valley lawmaker agreed Tuesday to let schools opt out of the federal program to offer free and reduced-price lunches for needy students…Crandall said some districts, particularly those with only a small percentage of eligible children, may decide to continue to offer the free or discounted meals, but on their own terms, and with local taxpayers picking up the tab. But he said that, in some cases, schools may scrap the program entirely, meaning that children who want the service will have to transfer to other schools that still offer it. The move drew fire from Jennifer Loredo, lobbyist for the Arizona Education Association. “For a lot of students that we have out here in the state, the school lunch program that they are provided is the only quality meal that they get,” she told members of the Senate Education Committee. But the panel voted to approve SB 1060 on a 6-1 vote, with only Sen. David Schapira, D-Tempe, opposed. The measure now goes to the full Senate. East Valley Tribune

CA: Gov’s advisory council on privatization holds first meeting
The Governor’s Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation today held its first meeting, hearing presentations about successful public-private partnerships created in the state of Indiana…Council members heard presentations by Cris Johnston, deputy chief of staff to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, and Stephen Goldsmith, the former mayor of Indianapolis. Both have extensive experience in executing successful public-private partnerships. Sacramento Bee

FL: Water rights shift in Florida could foreshadow debates to come
Who owns recycled water? Florida environmentalists are wary about a move toward privatization of the state’s supply. As states get more creative with scarce water resources, that debate could be among the first of many across the United States. Stateline

FL: Graham blasts water ‘privatization’
Former US Sen. Bob Graham cautioned lawmakers and environmentalists this morning that “privatizing” state waters would cause “considerable damage” to the Everglades and cause Floridians to lose control of thousands of acres of wetlands…The first (HB 639) would allow utilities to have permanent ownership of water they have used and treated. The other (HB 1103) would change the definition of the “high water line” that determines where private property ends and state-owned waters begin. Critics, including Graham, say the measure would cause the state to lose hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands after years of litigation determining what the water line means.Palm Beach Post

FL: Senate bill would allow privatization to be secret   
A Senate committee will consider a bill that would allow lawmakers to secretly privatize or outsource state agency functions. The bill essentially means that an agency would not have to report its privatization of a program or service until after the contract is signed. Open government advocates say the bill would keep the public in the dark about the costs of outsourcing government services. But proponents counter that the measure requires any privatization deal to first offer “a substantial savings” to the state. Also being considered is a related bill (PCB 7172) on the privatization of correctional facilities. Miami Herald

FL: Editorial: Our take on: Private privatizing
…[P]lans to privatize programs or outsource operations, like any other significant policy shifts, will of course be fully disclosed first and subjected to a full and open debate before they go forward — right? Not if the Legislature passes a bill up for consideration today before the Senate Rules Committee. The measure would let state agencies conceal their privatizing or outsourcing plans until — and this comes straight out of the bill — “after the contract for the privatization and outsourcing has been executed.” In other words, after it’s a done deal. This bill mocks any notion of government transparency and accountability. It’s especially offensive in Florida, where open government is both a tradition and a constitutional right. Some legislative leaders might still be feeling burned from the firestorm they created last year when they passed a plan, later blocked by a state circuit judge, to privatize 29 state prisons in South Florida. Too bad. If a plan for privatization or outsourcing can’t stand up to public scrutiny before it’s implemented, it’s probably not worth pursuing, anyway. Legislators need to kill this bill. Orlando Sentinel

DE: Women’s league urges privatization of water
The League of Women Voters of Sussex County held a public forum entitled “Who Owns Your Water and Water Services: Should You Be Concerned?” in which a panel discussed how water and sewage treatment are operated in Sussex County. The forum was the first of a four-part series held by the organization on the privatization of public services…”We’ve actually talked to a couple different communities about possibly moving in that direction,” he said. “We would definitely entertain more of the public water. It’s just a matter of whether we can be competitive with the private guys.” DelmarvaNow