Headlines
CA: Chancellor: Two-tiered system could privatize community colleges
NY: NYC mayor’s work on schools gets a backer
PA: House approves public-private partnership bill
PA: Protesters vent about budget cuts outside Corbett meeting
AZ: Brewer vetoes bill to expand voucher-like program for private schools
IL: Illinois Senate opposes privatization of detention centers
‎OH: Many OSU professors say they oppose plan to privatize parking

CA: Chancellor: Two-tiered system could privatize community colleges
…Starting this summer, Santa Monica College will offer new sections of popular courses for an average of $540 – four times as high as a regular section.  California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott says that two-tiered system raises fears of privatization. Scott: “When you create an extra course over here and you charge this very high amt of money, then obviously, you’re making it very difficult for the student who doesn’t have the economic means to take the course to get the course.” Scott also believes it violates the state’s education code.  So he’s asking the California Attorney General’s office about that – and a lawsuit could follow … to ensure the state’s other community colleges don’t try the same thing. Capital Public Radio News

NY: NYC mayor’s work on schools gets a backer
..StudentsFirstNY, an offshoot of a national organization hatched by former Washington, D.C., schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, is designed as a political counterweight to teachers’ unions, organizers said in announcing the group Wednesday…Indeed, the United Federation of Teachers has been framing Mr. Bloomberg’s tenure in City Hall as a lost decade for education, and other groups already are trying to look beyond his term. After winning control of city schools in 2002, Mr. Bloomberg has pushed to close poor-performing schools, open charter schools and end teacher job protections…StudentsFirstNY intends to raise about $10 million a year for advertising, political contributions and other efforts, including lobbying and becoming involved in the 2013 mayoral race. Its formation was first reported by the New York Times. Micah Lasher will leave his post as the city’s Albany lobbyist to serve as the group’s executive director. Board members include Mr. Klein, who works for Wall Street Journal owner News Corp., Home Depot founder Ken Langone, Robin Hood Foundation founder Paul Tudor Jones, former Mayor Ed Koch and hedge fund manager Dan Loeb of Third Point LLC. The Wall Street Journal

PA: House approves public-private partnership bill
A bill that would authorize partnerships between the public and private sectors on transportation projects is on its way to the state Senate for its consideration.  The House voted 128 to 66 on Wednesday for the measure, touted as a way to help Pennsylvania address the yawning funding gap in its transportation funding needs. Public entities would retain ownership, but private concerns would build, operate or provide funding for the work. Backers say it would create jobs and stimulate business activity. Opponents predict it would take power away from elected officials. A similar bill is pending in the House since passing the Senate in December. WFMJ

PA: Protesters vent about budget cuts outside Corbett meeting
Roughly a dozen protesters lined up on the sidewalk in front of Orchards Restaurant when Gov. Tom Corbett came to Chambersburg Wednesday…Several concerns by protesters centered on education. Corbett’s budget proposal includes a 20 percent cut to the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education…The proposed budget also calls for deep reductions to Penn State, Pittsburgh and Temple universities. Corbett’s budget includes a possible 5 percent cut to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. PHEAA funds and administers student financial aid programs in the state.
“I just want to support people,” said Karen Ramsburg, a write-in candidate for Rep. Bill Shuster’s seat in Congress. “There are so many great causes right now. I heard this was in protest of Tom Corbett. I’m definitely protesting his spending cuts to higher education and the public school system. I think his plan is to bankrupt the public and higher education system so they can privatize it. Public Opinion

AZ: Brewer vetoes bill to expand voucher-like program for private schools
..Gov Brewer said she has been a strong supporter of “educational options” for children beyond the traditional public school system. And the governor pointed out she signed legislation earlier this year expanding the ability of Arizonans to divert money they would otherwise owe in income taxes to instead provide scholarships for students to attend private and parochial schools. “But we must also ensure that government is not artificially manipulated the market through state budget or tax policy in a manner that would make an otherwise viable option so unattractive that it undermines rational choice in a competitive market,” Brewer wrote…This new proposal would have greatly expanded the program to cover any child attending a school or in a school district that has been assigned a letter grade of D or F in its achievement level by the state Department of Education. Children identified as gifted also could get a voucher, as could a child of a member of the armed forces…Brewer said, though, there needs to be a balance, with the state having “a system of different educational settings to cater to the different ways in which our students learn.” “A well-equipped system with choice, competition and innovation — these are the keys to our educational system,” the governor wrote. “Local school districts, charter schools, home school, private and parochial schools all have an important role to play.”  East Valley Tribune

IL: Illinois Senate opposes privatization of detention centers
‎A private company has plans to build an immigration detention center in Crete, in the far south suburbs of Chicago. But the Illinois Senate has approved at would ban such facilities..Fred Tsao is with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, he says any time a detention center is built by a private company, the profit motive can have bad consequences for detainees and workers. TSAO: “They’ll spend less on medical care or they’ll spend less on food, or they’ll spend less on training or wages, or they’ll spend less on heating.” Tsao supports legislation that would require all detention centers in Illinois be state-run. He says the role of detaining people should be a government function. And Illinois already bars private companies from running prisons. The Corrections Corporation of America has proposed building a detention center in Crete. WUIS

OH: Many OSU professors say they oppose plan to privatize parking
‎Opposition continues to mount against a proposal by Ohio State University to lease its parking operation for up to half a century…Many students, faculty and staff say claims that the university will reap a financial windfall are disingenuous. They said Ohio State would get no money to invest in its core academic mission unless the school received substantially more money than currently hypothesized: say $800 million instead of $400 million. Even if the deal were financially advantageous, opponents worry a move would result in significant increases in parking fees and fines. They also are philosophically opposed to the idea of a private company profiting from what had been a break-even operation for the university. And they say if anyone should make money, it should be the university, not an outside company. Columbus Dispatch