Headlines
Segregation Fear Sinks Charter School
NH: What’s driving prison privatization?
FL: Horrors continue in privatized lockups – opinion
FL: State: Too Late for Prison Privatization
IN: Indiana Toll Road raises fees for some drivers

Segregation Fear Sinks Charter School
Nashville school officials have rejected a proposal to open a charter school in a middle-class part of the city, highlighting a broader national battle over efforts by operators of such publicly financed, privately run schools to expand into more affluent areas….But as the charter movement expands, and more middle-class parents become disenchanted with local public schools, charter operators have pushed to open schools in middle-income and suburban communities, triggering battles in such places as New Jersey and New York similar to that seen in Nashville. The share of low-income students in charter schools dropped to 51% in the 2009-10 school year from 62% in 2004-05, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Wall Street Journal

NH: What’s driving prison privatization?
…The generalized claim of cost savings has little or no support unless the intention is to provide even fewer services and substantially reduce conditions in the prisons… So, if cost saving is not the goal, what is going on? There is reason to suspect that there are those in the Legislature who wish to reduce the size of government regardless of the consequences and others who believe that the private sector can always do things more efficiently than the government can. In the case of prisons, New Hampshire should have learned by now that constitutional constraints impose standards that cannot be ignored. Those constraints do not permit reductions in staffing and conditions that are required to make the operation “profitable.” It defies logic to believe that an institution can be operated at cost plus profit for less than it can be operated at cost alone. Therefore, if cost saving and efficiency are the legislative goal, the search should be for a more efficient operating system rather than a new operator with a profit motive. That is especially true when the private operators have a track record of cutting corners which expose the state to liability. Concord Monitor

FL: Horrors continue in privatized lockups – opinion
Yet again, a judge has been tasked to sort through wrenching allegations of abuse and neglect and violence at a privatized juvenile lock-up. …[T]he allegations echo charges in a 2010 federal lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which claimed Thompson staffers “choked and slammed children head-first into concrete walls,” that the young inmates were chronically undernourished and that they were denied access to their attorneys. One kid claimed he had been sexually abused. (The 2010 lawsuit was settled and the records sealed.) It all sounds so familiar in the era of privatization. In a 1998 scandal at the Pahokee Youth Development Center, kids were subjected to a violent and abusive staff. Rehab and education programs were a joke. Classes were canceled, at one stretch, for 13 straight days. And a state monitor charged that the private penal outfit running the joint, Correctional Services Corp., was keeping kids locked up beyond their release date so the company could bill the state for the extra money. Miami Herald

FL: State: Too Late for Prison Privatization
A lawyer for the state urged an appellate court Wednesday to uphold a South Florida prison privatization plan although he conceded it’s too late to carry out before a budget provision authorizing the outsourcing expires Saturday. The three-judge panel also questioned Jonathan Glogau on whether his boss, Attorney General Pam Bondi, had the legal authority to appeal a trial judge’s decision saying the budget provision is unconstitutional after the Department of Corrections, the defendant in the case, declined to do so…Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford ruled in Tallahassee last year that the Republican-led Legislature violated the Florida Constitution by using the proviso instead of a stand-alone law to order the prison privatization. A separate privatization bill then was filed earlier this year, but it was narrowly defeated in the Senate. The Police Benevolent Association represented Florida’s correctional officers when Fulford ruled, but the guards voted in a new union, the Teamsters, in November despite the PBA’s courtroom victory. The Ledger

IN: Indiana Toll Road raises fees for some drivers
The cost of vehicles traveling on the Indiana Toll Road for vehicles without an I-Zoom transponder is going up starting Sunday. Private operator ITR Concession Inc. says tolls for all vehicle classes without the devices will go up an average of 3 percent. Motorists in cars and other two-axle vehicles using the I-Zoom will continue to pay the same toll they have since ITR Concession leased the roadway from the state in 2006. That discount ends in 2016. The full toll for cars and other two-axle vehicles running the length of the road will go up to $9.40 from its current $9. Indianapolis Star

Headlines
Public Universities See Familiar Fight at Virginia
Kucinich lends moral support to postal hunger strike
GA: A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private
NY: For City Parents, Frustration Over Rising Cost of Public School
VA: Va. approaches decision on privatizing sex offender program
NV: State mulls plan for toll road system
LA: Outsider shakes things up at Algiers charter schools

Public Universities See Familiar Fight at Virginia
The tumult at the University of Virginia — with the sudden ouster of President Teresa Sullivan on June 10, and the widespread anticipation that she will be reinstated on Tuesday — reflects a low-grade panic now spreading through much of public higher education…Across the nation, it has been a rocky year for public university presidents: Richard W. Lariviere, the president of the University of Oregon, was fired in November, despite strong faculty support, after pushing aggressively for more independence from the state. Amid similar strains — but voluntarily — Carolyn Martin left the University of Wisconsin to become president of the far smaller Amherst College. At the University of Illinois, a faculty mutiny helped spur President Michael Hogan’s resignation after less than two years on the job. And at the University of Texas this spring, there were rumblings that President Bill Powers was in danger after a clash with the board and the governor over his request for a tuition increase. “Each situation is a little different, but the trend is apparent,” said Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education. “The staggering reduction in financial support from the state puts a lot of pressure on campus. There’s increasing politicization of governance. And there are rising expectations that universities will transform themselves very quickly, if not overnight. Somehow, they’re supposed to achieve dramatic improvement in learning productivity and at the same time reduce costs by using educational technology.”  New York Times

Kucinich lends moral support to postal hunger strike
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) on Monday helped kick off a hunger strike of postal workers protesting what they say is an effort to privatize and dismantle the cash-strapped United States Postal Service. The strike — which includes 10 postal workers, union activists and supporters, but not Kucinich himself — is the latest in a long saga of efforts to reform the postal service as it faces a dim financial future. While lawmakers generally agree that postal reform is necessary, they disagree on the specifics. “Make no mistake about it, this is an effort to try to privatize even more postal services,” Kucinich said in reference to GOP efforts. The strikers focused on a requirement they say mandates that the postal service pre-fund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance, drawing scarce revenues the postal service needs to evolve. “The postal service has adapted to the change in the volume of mail,” said Jamie Partridge, a national coordinator of Communities and Postal Workers United. “That’s not what’s killing the postal service. Not the Internet. Not private competition. Not even the recession. It’s this prefunded mandate.” Kucinich argued that Republicans, by seeking to dismantle the postal service, compromise its effectiveness. That in turn allows conservative critics to point to it as an example of government waste and ineffectiveness, Kucinich said. Politico

GA: A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private
Cities across the United States have dabbled for years with various levels of privatization, but few have taken the idea as far as Sandy Springs, Ga…Applying for a business license? Speak to a woman with Severn Trent, a multinational company based in Coventry, England. Want to build a new deck on your house? Chat with an employee of Collaborative Consulting, based in Burlington, Mass. Need a word with people who oversee trash collection? That would be the URS Corporation, based in San Francisco.  Even the city’s court, which is in session on this May afternoon, next to the revenue division, is handled by a private company, the Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, Calif. The company’s staff is in charge of all administrative work, though the judge, Lawrence Young, is essentially a legal temp, paid a flat rate of $100 an hour. “I think of it as being a baby judge,” says Mr. Young, who spends most of his time drafting trusts as a lawyer in a private practice, “because we don’t have to deal with the terrible things that you find in Superior Court.” With public employee unions under attack in states like Wisconsin, and with cities across the country looking to trim budgets, behold a town built almost entirely on a series of public-private partnerships — a system that leaders around here refer to, simply, as “the model.”  New York Times

NY: For City Parents, Frustration Over Rising Cost of Public School
Despite the long-held ideal that public education should be free, parents in New York City are finding themselves paying for an increasing number of things, like class trips and basic supplies. New York Times

VA: Va. approaches decision on privatizing sex offender program
The nation’s second-largest private prison company says it expects Virginia to make a decision by next month on its bid to expand and operate the.state’s detention facility for sexually violent predators who have completed their prison terms…The detention and treatment of sex offenders represents a growing business opportunity for GEO and its competitors, who hope to score lucrative contracts from state officials looking to keep predators off the streets. The American Independent

NV: State mulls plan for toll road system
Allowing a toll road system in Nevada got a cool reception from the state Board of Transportation on Monday. Gov. Brian Sandoval said the state must look at all possibilities for paying for future road construction, but he and other board members said they wanted to see more financial details. A proposal for toll roads was rejected by the 2011 Legislature. The state uses gasoline and special fuel taxes and federal funds to pay for the road building. The state Transportation Department outlined a proposal from a Florida company called ACS to design, build and maintain improvements such as added lanes in Clark County on Interstate 15 from Sahara Avenue to Rancho Drive at an estimated cost of $400-$500 million. The company would be able to add toll roads but there would still be free lanes. Las Vegas Sun

LA: Outsider shakes things up at Algiers charter schools
Give Aamir Raza this: He’s aware of what a fearful reputation he’s getting. Having taken the reins at one of the city’s biggest charter school operators — the Algiers Charter Schools Association, a group that runs eight schools on the West Bank with more than 5,000 students — Raza has gone about turning the organization inside out. In less than four weeks on the job he has fired central office staff, informed the group’s high-performing principals that they’ll be reassigned to lower-performing schools, stumbled into a legal skirmish with the School Board and inspired protest from community members…What people are making Raza out to be is a hatchet man — an outsider from New York in a town that is wary of outsiders, to say nothing of outsiders who start ordering around some of the city’s most widely respected school leaders. He seems to have been unprepared for the political realities of Algiers.  The Times-Picayune

Headlines
Private prisons lobby for harsher sentences
Broke cities sell naming rights
Ravitch: Will school choice kill public education?
NY: Companies shortchanged preschool special ed: Audit
CA: California fumbling commitment to higher education – editorial
PA: Liquor privatization goes back on the shelf
WA: Wash. faces new lawsuit on liquor privatization

Private prisons lobby for harsher sentences
If you’re looking for one of the reasons why the United States imprisons more people — by miles — than any other nation, you can look to the development of private prisons as a means of making some people rich. Those people spend millions of dollars to lobby elected officials to do two things: Convert government-run prisons to private prisons, and lock up more people for longer periods of time. Because that makes them even richer. A new study by the Justice Policy Institute reaches exactly that conclusion and documents it thoroughly. Trial by Fire

Broke cities sell naming rights
Many governmental entities across the nation are looking at new money-raising strategies to keep from cutting services….Such marketing schemes have long been used by sports teams and some arts organizations. But now, straphangers in Philadelphia buy fare cards blazoned with ads for McDonald’s and ride the Broad Street Line to AT&T Station (formerly Pattison Station), where the turnstiles bear the company’s familiar blue and white globe.  New York Times

Ravitch: Will school choice kill public education?
A reader posted a comment that I think is profound. The more that people begin to see education as a consumer choice, the more they will be unwilling to pay for other people’s children. And if they have no children in school, then they have no reason to underwrite other people’s private choices. The basic compact that public education creates is this: The public is responsible for the education of the children of the state, the district, the community. We all benefit when other people’s children are educated. It is our responsibility as citizens to support a high-quality public education, even if we don’t have children in the public schools. But once the concept of private choice becomes dominant, then the sense of communal responsibility is dissolved. Each of us is then given permission to think of what is best for me, not what is best for we. Washington Post

NY: Companies shortchanged preschool special ed: Audit
A New York State audit of private contractors who provide one-on-one instruction, speech or physical therapy showed some misused thousands of dollars in government funds….This money was intended to give our most vulnerable children the services they needed,” Mr. DiNapoli said. “Instead, the money was used for contractors to landscape their second homes or for no-show jobs. Special-needs kids were shortchanged by contractors that had figured out how to game the system.” More than 60,000 toddlers with physical, learning, developmental and other disabilities are served by the pre-K special education program across the state each year. Private contractors provide classes in special schools, one-on-one instruction in homes or neighborhood nursery schools, and a variety of treatments like speech, physical or occupational therapy.  New York Times

CA: California fumbling commitment to higher education – editorial
It’s deeply disheartening, but not surprising, to hear that some of the University of California’s graduate schools in business and management are awaiting approval to transform themselves into privately financed institutions. As the state of California continues to defund its once-proud public university system, it makes sense for UC to look elsewhere for support. It’s also part of a national trend, as dramatic budget cuts have left prestigious universities like the University of Virginia (around 6 percent state funding) and the University of Michigan (around 7 percent) public in name only. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association reports that 2011 state and local support per public university student was at the lowest level in the 25 years that they’ve been keeping data. But none of this makes the news any better for the future of California’s public education system…Unfortunately, privatizing more and more university operations doesn’t guarantee lower tuition, either. In addition to being in direct opposition to the mission of public universities – which are, after all, meant to be “public” – privatization increases the likelihood that a public university will charge students close to what they would pay at a private one. That’s no way to build a well-educated workforce for the future. San Francisco Chronicle

PA: Liquor privatization goes back on the shelf
Union opposition, new language to deal with beer and local enforcement procedures and its last-minute debut contributed to the failure of a bill to privatize state liquor stores. Gov. Tom Corbett and House Majority Leader Mike Turzai plan to try again in the fall, though political analysts say that, realistically, legislators will be loath to vote on a controversial bill before the November election and might push it to next year.  Tribune-Review

WA: Wash. faces new lawsuit on liquor privatization
Supporters of an initiative that privatized liquor sales in Washington state have filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s rules for implementing it, claiming that liquor regulators circumvented the measure by arbitrarily restricting wholesale distribution and pricing of wine and spirits. The case marks the latest in a series of lawsuits over how Washington regulates spirits: The state had tightly controlled the distribution and sale of liquor since the end of Prohibition in the 1930s, until voters approved an initiative last fall kicking it out of the business. Seattle Times

Headlines
Prisons, privatization, patronage – Op ed
NJ: Dems seek new reports on NJ halfway houses
CA: Saving Calif. state parks: The end of public funding?
VA: New meeting set on fate of UVA president
TX: Texas A&M awards contract to privatize services

Prisons, privatization, patronage – Op ed
The halfway houses from hell in New Jersey are part of a broader pattern in which essential functions of government are being both privatized and degraded…But if you think about it even for a minute, you realize that the one thing the companies that make up the prison-industrial complex — companies like Community Education or the private-prison giant Corrections Corporation of America — are definitely not doing is competing in a free market. They are, instead, living off government contracts. There isn’t any market here, and there is, therefore, no reason to expect any magical gains in efficiency.  And, sure enough, despite many promises that prison privatization will lead to big cost savings, such savings — as a comprehensive study by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, concluded — “have simply not materialized.” To the extent that private prison operators do manage to save money, they do so through “reductions in staffing patterns, fringe benefits, and other labor-related costs.”  New York Times

NJ: Dems seek new reports on NJ halfway houses
Lawmakers called for stricter oversight of the system of prisoner re-entry centers, saying new requirements would lead to “better safety for our communities.” The plan came in response to articles published this week in The New York Times that examined the privately run system, which has beds for roughly 3,500 state inmates and parolees. The articles detailed unchecked violence, gang activity, drug use and hundreds of escapes from the facilities every year. Democratic lawmakers called for the Corrections Department to issue quarterly reports describing conditions inside the halfway houses, including the number of inmates, the number of escapes, incidences of violence and disciplinary measures taken.  New York Times

CA: Saving Calif. state parks: The end of public funding?
On July 1, 15 California state parks are slated to be closed permanently to the public — the first such closures in the state’s history. They’re the victim of budget cuts in a state with a $16 billion shortfall. …With 135 square miles of spectacular wilderness in the Diablo mountain range, Coe Park is considered one of the Bay Area’s greatest secrets. Its namesake, Henry Coe, was a cattle rancher whose land became a state park in 1958. The park will stay open for at least three years, thanks largely to the generosity of one man: an avid hiker and wealthy businessman named Dan McCranie…Getting the state off the hook for funding parks may also set into motion a slippery slope, says Rob Reich, who is a co-director of Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. [Individual philanthropists] set into motion this dynamic … where suddenly we’re not acting collaboratively or collectively as a public. … And suddenly we don’t have a civic sphere anymore … We don’t have an ‘us.’ We have a bunch of ‘I’s’. On one level, Reich says, McCranie’s donation makes a sweeping philanthropic statement. But Reich is also troubled by the questions it raises: What about parks in areas that don’t have a lot of money? Who saves them? And what about donors who attach all kinds of strings to their gifts? And does private philanthropy replace the common good? NPR

VA: New meeting set on fate of UVA president
The campaign for the reinstatement of Teresa Sullivan as the University of Virginia’s president took a giant step forward on Thursday as the governing Board of Visitors scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday to consider “possible changes in the terms of employment of the president,” the university announced. Since the board forced Dr. Sullivan to resign June 10, the campus has been in tumult, with thousands of faculty members, alumni and students urging that she be reinstated. Although the board voted 12 to 1 on Monday night to appoint Carl Zeithaml as interim president, the calls to return Dr. Sullivan to her job have only grown louder.  New York Times

TX: Texas A&M awards contract to privatize services
Texas A&M University on Thursday announced hiring a private company to run its campus dining, landscaping and building maintenance and cleaning services in a deal officials say is worth about $260 million in cash and savings for the school over the next decade…Sharp’s call to privatize food and other services had created some worries that hundreds of jobs at the A&M system’s flagship campus would be in jeopardy. But Sharp said the company has agreed to keep current workers in their jobs and match their current salaries and benefits. Star-Telegram

Headlines
Charter schools fall short on disabled
Public workers face continued layoffs, hurting the recovery
Debit cards on campus – editorial
The U-Va. mess: Sign of the (bad) times
PA: Liquor sales privatization fails again; new effort planned in fall
IL: New venture fund to focus on education reform
FL: Anti-toll-road activists in uproar over Florida fee hikes
MI: Bus drivers and custodians temporarily stall privatization
MI: Detroit Free Press overlooks guest writer’s ties to right-wing activists
CT: Union protests Norwalk’s trash outsourcing
NC: Environmental group will likely sue to stop toll road
NC: Perdue staffers altered letters on toll road projects
DC: School voucher program supporters strike deal with White House

Charter schools fall short on disabled
A new government report shows that charter schools are not enrolling as many special-ed students as traditional public schools, despite laws mandating that charters take almost every disabled student seeking to enroll….Critics have contended that charter schools refuse to enroll special-ed students, or push them out once enrolled, to save money or boost schoolwide test scores. Charter-school operators and supporters say their enrollment numbers are lower partly because many parents of special-needs children choose to enroll in traditional schools that often are more experienced providing such services, or in private schools that can give those students individualized attention. In addition, charters in some states don’t have access to regional cooperatives, which school districts join to provide costly special-ed services. And charter schools, on average, receive 20% less funding than traditional schools under some state funding formulas. The Wall Street Journal

Public workers face continued layoffs, hurting the recovery
Companies have been slowly adding workers for more than two years. But pink slips are still going out in a crucial area: government.  In California, the governor is threatening to eliminate 15,000 state jobs. When school begins in Cleveland this fall, more than 500 teachers probably will be out of work. And in Trenton — which has already cut a third of its police force, hundreds of school district employees and at least 150 other public workers — the only way the city will forestall the loss of 60 more firefighters is if a federal grant comes through. Government payrolls grew in the early part of the recovery, largely because of federal stimulus measures. But since its postrecession peak in April 2009 (not counting temporary Census hiring), the public sector has shrunk by 657,000 jobs. The losses appeared to be tapering off earlier this year, but have accelerated for the last three months, creating the single biggest drag on the recovery in many areas.  The New York Times

Debit cards on campus – editorial
Given the history of shady dealings between banks and colleges, Congress needs to take a hard look at the increasingly common practice of schools contracting with banks to disburse financial aid dollars to students…Debit cards have received less federal oversight. And, according to a study by the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, an advocacy organization, nearly 900 colleges and universities have card relationships with banks or other financial institutions, some of which manage student aid disbursements by turning student IDs into debit cards. Some schools save money by outsourcing administrative costs. Others receive payments from the banks..Senator Durbin and Representative George Miller, a Democrat of California, have asked the inspector general of the Department of Education to determine whether the arrangements hurt students or violate federal regulations. They criticized the banks for what they described as “aggressive and misleading marketing” to students and for charging hidden fees that could lead students to quickly deplete their aid accounts. The New York Times

The U-Va. mess: Sign of the (bad) times
The debacle at the University of Virginia over the secretive ousting of the school’s first female president is more than a tale about how one school’s governing board can blunder. It is a sign of these unfortunate times in public education at all levels…Many of the efforts to get state legislatures to pass reform packages that include the reduction or elimination of teacher tenure, evaluation systems that link teachers’ jobs to student test scores, and more, have been done in secret. For example, a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, an organization of nearly 2,000 conservative state legislators, worked in secret for years to promote privatization and corporate interests in education and other areas of American society. At the center of the modern school reform movement is the philosophy that public schools should be treated not as civic institutions but rather as corporate entities. That the interim leader is Zeithaml, whose speciality is in the field of “strategic management” speaks volumes about the direction the board wants the school to go. Another central characteristic of school reform is the role of teachers: They don’t have one, at least when it comes to making decisions. Teachers have been scapegoated for many of the problems facing public schools, and their voice has been ignored in the education policy debate. Washington Post

PA: Liquor sales privatization fails again; new effort planned in fall
Efforts in the state House of Representatives to privatize the sale of wine and spirits in Pennsylvania have been called off for the summer, with the proposal’s main sponsor saying that he plans to try again this fall with help from the governor. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, said after this morning’s closed-door budget meeting that supporters “have more work to do” before a proposal will again see debate. Pittsburgh Post Gazette

IL: New venture fund to focus on education reform
A new venture fund devoted to education reform efforts in Chicago’s public schools is being proposed by a group of civic leaders under the Chicago Council on Global Affairs…But even as the group, which includes Sonya Anderson of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, Paul Bauerschmidt of CME Group and Gillian Darlow, a principal at the Civic Consulting Alliance, announced the proposed $10 million nonprofit at a downtown event Tuesday at the InterContinental Chicago hotel, the Chicago Teachers Union passed out leaflets outside the hotel protesting the venture. Critics of reform efforts in Chicago say many of the well-funded initiatives to fix CPS involve opening more privately run charter schools and closing down the district’s traditional neighborhood schools. “Venture philanthropy is a slow road to privatization,” CTU President Karen Lewis said in a news release. “Right now, CPS is a revolving door of people peddling expensive, disruptive and ineffective privatization and so-called reform. If we are going to improve our schools it should be with educators and the CTU, not venture capitalists and those who are only out to make a profit.” Chicago Tribune

FL: Anti-toll-road activists in uproar over Florida fee hikes
That sound dinging across the state this Sunday isn’t just the litany of SunPass sensors going off on the Turnpike. It’s the fists of outraged drivers pinging off the ceiling. Tolls on all state roads will rise by 25 percent this weekend — from $1 to $1.25 — sparking road-fee fury throughout Florida. But that doesn’t mean all drivers are taking the hike sitting down. In fact, a growing insurgency is targeting the agencies raiding drivers’ wallets across the Sunshine State. Advocates such as Carlos Garcia, cofounder of the watchdog group Roll Back Tolls, argue that toll agencies discourage investment in public transit and create a de facto tax on drivers. “If we all added up the money that we paid on tolls, there’d be a lynch mob,” Garcia says. Garcia’s group focuses its ire on the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX). Although tolls on county roads such as the Snapper Creek and Dolphin expressways won’t rise this week, he says Dade’s drivers still pay almost twice as much per mile as cars traveling state-run highways. …Problem is, Garcia argues, MDX has been too successful. Fueled by billions in bonds on Wall Street, the agency’s sole focus is on building ever more toll roads in Dade. In its first year, it took only $20 million from local drivers; last year, it was $121 million. There are dozens of MDX projects, aimed at increasing the number of tollable roads. Miami New Times

MI: Bus drivers and custodians temporarily stall privatization
Bus drivers and custodians battled for their jobs at the Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools board meeting on Monday night. About 70 parents, residents, custodians and bus drivers spent six hours at a high-tension board meeting, which brought one board member to tears, discussing whether or not the district should privatize custodial and transportation staff. After picketing outside of the Galesburg-Augusta High School before the meeting, more than a dozen people stood at the podium during the board meeting to stress the importance of keeping local employees, who they said know and care for the children, in the driver’s seat of school buses. They argued that workers contracted from a privatize company would not be able to maintain the safety, relationships or trust the current staff provides. MLive.com

MI: Detroit Free Press overlooks guest writer’s ties to right-wing activists
In a June 19 Detroit Free Press opinion piece, guest writer Gary Wolfram advocated for the privatization of Michigan’s prison system. The Free Press editors provided a rather innocuous description of Wolfram’s credentials: “Gary Wolfram is the William Simon Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Hillsdale College.” An honest description of Wolfram, however, would also note that he is an adjunct scholar at the right-wing Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the “largest conservative state-level policy think-tank in the nation.” While the Free Press has in the past identified Mackinac connections to their contributors, Wolfram’s affiliation appears to have been overlooked. Media Matters

CT: Union protests Norwalk’s trash outsourcing
City garbage haulers, their union leaders and three Common Council members protested outside City Hall on Tuesday afternoon the city’s plan to outsource garbage collection….The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2405, which represents Norwalk DPW employees, including sanitation workers, was invited to submit a bid but did not, said Larry Dorman, spokesman for AFSCME Council 4. “Workers who have done a great job collecting refuse for the city are being told that they may bid against a private company or private companies to keep their own jobs,” Dorman said. “We find it morally unacceptable to be asked to bid on our own jobs. We’ve declined to do so and we’re here to say we’re going to keep fighting.” The Hour

NC: Environmental group will likely sue to stop toll road
The decades-long push for a toll road through Gaston County faces funding hurdles, but that might not be the biggest obstacle blocking the highway. Legal troubles appear to be waiting on deck and about to jump into the passing lane. The Southern Environmental Law Center, which has already succeeded in challenging a Union County toll project in court, is ramping up its pressure on the Garden Parkway. And state leaders have acknowledged funding for the controversial venture won’t be necessary for another year, as it is likely to be mired in legal trouble in the coming months. Gaston Gazette

NC: Perdue staffers altered letters on toll road projects
Gov. Bev Perdue’s staff drafted a pair of false letters last week in an effort to start the flow of money for two major toll road projects that transportation officials say won’t be ready for state funding until 2014, according to documents obtained by The (Raleigh) News & Observer. The documents indicate that Perdue herself was involved in the issue, which concerns a budget debate over $63 million in start-up money for the Garden Parkway, a highway project near Charlotte, and a planned bridge to the northern Outer Banks known as the Mid-Currituck Bridge. Charlotte Observer

DC: School voucher program supporters strike deal with White House
Congressional backers of the District’s private school vouchers said Monday that they had struck a deal with the Obama administration to keep money and students flowing into the controversial program. Washington Post

Headlines
PA: Liquor store privatization bill sputters in House
NJ: Christie orders stepped-up inspections by state of halfway houses
NC: Privatizing I-77 tolls could reduce drive options
FL: Connected company muscled state agency out of Internet contract
FL: Transportation secretary: Tolls are road to Florida’s future
VA: Leadership drama consumes U-Va.
When ALEC takes over your town – opinion

PA: Liquor store privatization bill sputters in House
A plan to sell off the state’s roughly 600 wine and spirits stores has the support of the governor, but it’s still stalling in the House. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai said his bill’s not dead, but he won’t say whether the votes are there to pass it. …Barry McCowin of Harrisburg said he’d like the state to sell off its wine and spirits stores, but he’s not holding his breath.Not this year. It’s going to drag out, I tell you, because if I had to bet on it, I wouldn’t think so, because that’s revenue for the state,” said McCowin.  Another Harrisburg resident, Khalif Omar, runs a barbershop near a state liquor store. Omar is no fan of privatization. “We were just talking about that in the barbershop, as far as being privately owned.  Privately owned, that means more children are going to have underage drinking. There’s not going to be state control over it no more,” said Omar. The bill comes with requirements to keep alcohol out of the hands of underage people. Critics have said privatization would result in job losses for those who work in state stores, and deny the state a source of dependable income. Essential Radio

NJ: Christie orders stepped-up inspections by state of halfway houses
Gov. Chris Christie ordered new inspections on Monday of New Jersey’s large, privately run halfway houses, saying his administration would ensure that the system operated “effectively and safely.” …The system has existed since the 1990s, and state regulation has long been lax — The Times found that the halfway houses, many of which are as large as prisons, have been plagued by violence, drugs, gangs and escapes. Mr. Christie, a Republican, has deep ties to the company that dominates the halfway-house industry in New Jersey and across the country, Community Education Centers. His close friend and political adviser William J. Palatucci is a senior executive of the company, and Mr. Christie has often visited and praised its facilities…At least 181 inmates and parolees escaped halfway-house custody in the first five months of 2012 — a 35 percent decline when compared with a similar period in 2009, before Mr. Christie took office. Roughly 5,100 people have escaped since 2005, The Times found. New York Times

NC: Privatizing I-77 tolls could reduce drive options
Funding road construction with future toll lane revenues is becoming the norm. Drivers can choose to pay the toll or deal with congestion.  But if the free lane is less of a choice, some drivers worry they could be taken for a ride. “Horrible at five o’clock, from five to seven,” said Laurin Lindley, who lives in Huntersville. For her and other residents, Interstate 77 is the lifeline when traveling north or south. …The 2011 plan called for expanding I-77 to include a toll in the middle lane traveling in both directions to Cornelius. The new 2012 proposal calls for two hot lanes in each direction and then expanding that project beyond the Catawba Avenue exit with one toll lane going all the way to Mooresville. “It will force people if they want to get home,” said Charlotte City Councilwoman Claire Fallon, “because you only have two regular lanes.” Fallon believes the fewer free lanes will be congested, pushing people to pay.  Fox Charlotte

FL: Connected company muscled state agency out of Internet contract
In 2009, with more than a quarter of all Floridians without broadband access to the Internet at home, state officials lined up to get some of the $7 billion in federal stimulus money to finance state-based programs to increase access. Enter Connected Nation, a little known but well connected Washington-based company. It won the Florida contract to use $2.5 million to map the broadband gaps for use by policy makers and telecommunications companies. A year later, when the state won a second grant for $6.3 million to extend the broadband efforts, Connected Nation, a non-profit company, believed it had signed up to be part of a public-private partnership with the state that entitled the firm to a no-bid shot at that money too….Now, the broadband mapping contract negotiations are behind schedule; the federal government has warned the state that it could lose what’s left of the grant and Florida’s broadband expansion efforts lag behind many other states. “It’s distracted and kept us from doing as much as we might have done,’’ said Bill Price, director of Broadband Services for the state. Miami Herald

FL: Transportation secretary: Tolls are road to Florida’s future
The secretary says he understands resistance, but the concept works elsewhere…Prasad said an expansion of toll facilities is a fact of life because other funding sources are drying up…Prasad has been advocating for increased tolling facilities since Gov. Rick Scott named him the state’s transportation chief last year. He is pushing ahead with plans to toll portions of Interstate 4 in Orlando, interstates 275 and 75 in Tampa and extend the existing toll facilities on Interstate 95 in Miami into Broward County. All of those tolls will be new lanes, with the existing lanes remaining free. The idea that people would willingly take a toll lane when a free one is available may not make much sense to the average Jacksonville resident.  The Florida Times Union

VA: Leadership drama consumes U-Va.
A week of chaos set off by the removal of University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan led to a showdown Monday on the historic Grounds between the ousted leader and the governing board, which named an interim replacement.  Washington Post

When ALEC takes over your town – opinion
…The state has named a budget commission to grapple with Woonsocket’s money woes. Ultimately, though, a receiver may have to be appointed — which is to say, a person not beholden to the voters, who would nonetheless have the power to abrogate union contracts and do whatever else he or she deems necessary to erase the deficit. Incredibly, the two Woonsocket legislators have pushed for a receiver, despite the pain that it would likely bring their city. Or maybe it’s not so incredible. It turns out that one of them, Jon Brien, is also on the national board of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Although ALEC is probably best known for its support of the Stand Your Ground law in Florida, the conservative group has a very clear agenda for dealing with state budgets. It wants to shrink them. Although Brien has denied that he is applying the ALEC philosophy to his small city, it looks, in fact, as if that’s exactly what he is doing. It’s not pretty. New York Times

June 18, 2012

News summaries
U.S. mayors support parents seizing control of schools
Hundreds of mayors from across the United States this weekend called for new laws letting parents seize control of low-performing public schools and fire the teachers, oust the administrators or turn the schools over to private management. Reuters

Maude Barlow: Don’t award PepsiCo for privatizing water
As activists from around the globe are convening at the Rio +20 conference to protect our common resources from private interests, the Stockholm International Water Institute’s decision to award PepsiCo for its water efficiency is a cruel irony. PepsiCo has inflicted massive harm on vital community water resources around the globe. This award validates and aids that activity, further justifying PepsiCo’s PR efforts to spin itself as “green.”  Huffington Post

VA: What happens when universities are run by robber barons
In the 21st century, robber barons try to usurp control of established public universities to impose their will via comical management jargon and massive application of ego and hubris. At least that’s what’s been happening at one of the oldest public universities in the United States—Thomas Jefferson’s dream come true, the University of Virginia. On Thursday night, a hedge fund billionaire, self-styled intellectual, “radical moderate,” philanthropist, former Goldman Sachs partner, and general bon vivant named Peter Kiernan resigned abruptly from the foundation board of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He had embarrassed himself by writing an email claiming to have engineered the dismissal of the university president, Teresa Sullivan, ousted by a surprise vote a few days earlier. The events at UVA raise important questions about the future of higher education, the soul of the academic project, and the way we fund important public services. Slate

PA: Greens stand against sale of Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW)
The City Committee of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) has taken a firm stand against the sale of Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW). Green Party leaders say that Mayor Michael Nutter has failed to make his case in favor of selling PGW to the highest bidder. Green Party Watch

NJ: Willi Horton’s revenge
…Cut to 2012. A long front-page story runs in the New York Times on Sunday about a halfway house program in New Jersey from which no fewer than 5,100 inmates have escaped since 2005, including 1,300 since Republican Governor Chris Christie took office. These are not the halfway houses you think of — small, homelike places where prisoners can adjust slowly to a return to society. These are gigantic human warehouses, apparently, indistinguishable from prisons except for less security. The Times has several Willie-Horton-like stories of prisoners just walking away from these facilities, or from job-release programs connected to them, and resuming their careers of murder and mayhem. In keeping with current fashion, the halfway houses are privately managed, most by a firm called Community Education. Christie, apparently so blinded by ideology (privatization is good; state government is bad) that he can’t see the obvious, has praised Community Education as “representing the very best of the human spirit.” Christie has actually been a paid and registered lobbyist for Community Education. A close pal is a senior vice president of the company. A son-in-law of Community Education’s CEO was hired in 2010 as an “executive assistant” in the governor’s office. Bloomberg

NJ: Englewood schools’ outsourcing plan has other districts watching
Englewood’s plan to save $2 million by outsourcing school secretaries and teaching assistants has reverberated throughout North Jersey, where education leaders are closely watching the district to see how it handles strong community and union opposition. The city schools, which first privatized custodians 20 years ago, are seen as a bellwether for a rising tide of privatization as administrators grapple with ever-increasing costs for health care, pensions and special education at the same time state and federal funding is falling. The outcome in Englewood, a 3,000-student district made up largely of black and Hispanic students, could signal the fate of hundreds of school employees throughout the region in coming years. NorthJersey.com

CA: Calif seeks private fix for public parks
California is close to finalizing bids from private companies to take over day-to-day operations of six state parks, including Brannan Island here, in an unprecedented step by the state to prevent mass park closures after stiff budget cuts. On Monday, the state expects to finish its first corporate agreement, under which American Land & Leisure Co. would take over operations of three state parks for five years, the California Department of Parks and Recreation said. Three other state parks also are slated for private management, which covers running all concessions, visitor services, security and parks’ legal liabilities. Wall Street Journal ($)

NH: NH to privatize ENTIRE prison system
The state of New Hampshire may not only be moving toward privatizing its entire prison system, but it is also partially privatizing the process involved in making the decision. So far, NH has had to deal with the worst bunch of teahadists that we’ve ever seen. Legislatively we’re right up there with Arizona, Florida and Wisconsin as far as bad politics. The only saving grace is that we have a democratic (albeit a bluedog) governor to stop this extreme legislation. But now we’re going to be the first to privatize the ENTIRE prison population.  Daily Kos

Headlines
NY: Fracking research and the money that flows to it
FL: Faced with budget crunch, Hernando County will study privatizing utilities
PA: Push to privatize Pa. liquor losing steam?
PA: Audio: Privatization of public transit
WA: Audio: Privatizing parks
NH: NH seeks ‘over the shoulder’ consultant in prison privatization decision
NJ: For some E-ZPass Big Brother is already here
Public-sector issues erupt in presidential campaign

NY: Fracking research and the money that flows to it
…But some faculty members have questioned why the new research entity, the Shale Resources and Society Institute, was created this spring without consultation with the faculty senate or before putting an advisory board in place. “Our mission as a public institution is to protect the public interest,” said Martha McCluskey, a law professor and member of the faculty senate executive committee. “We should make sure that our research efforts don’t look like industry public relations efforts.” Nancy L. Zimpher, the chancellor of the SUNY system, has asked the university to respond to the criticisms of the study, which a public accountability group says includes skewed data and the reuse of previously published material without proper attribution. New York Times

FL: Faced with budget crunch, Hernando County will study privatizing utilities
..On Tuesday, Commissioner Dave Russell dropped a bombshell when he suggested that it was time for the county to analyze the marketability of one of the county’s largest services — its water and wastewater utility. “We have an asset in the Hernando County Utilities Department that is pretty significant when you look at it,” Russell said. “There are a lot of questions that need some answers.” His fellow commissioners nodded in agreement…As Russell explained after the meeting, the Utilities Department at one point last fall had $212 million in assets compared to just $63 million in debt. “That’s 3-to-1,” Russell said. “As a businessman, that makes my ears perk up.” TampaBay.com

PA: Push to privatize Pa. liquor losing steam?
The legislative pulse of a measure to privatize Pennsylvania’s state-run liquor stores went as flat Tuesday as the head on a stale beer. The House adjourned with no discussion, let alone a vote, on the much-talked-about proposal to get the state out of the wine and liquor business. This after debating the issue for more than three hours Monday, with the expectation that discussions would resume Tuesday — leaving many to question whether the measure was dying for lack of support.  The proposal’s key sponsor, House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny), could not be reached for comment after the House adjourned. Earlier in the day, Turzai spokesman Steve Miskin insisted that the measure had enough votes to move forward. Philadelphia Inquirer

PA: Audio: Privatization of public transit
Is privatization exactly what we need to keep mass transit viable in Allegheny County? The conversation continues. House Bill 10 will allow for private companies to begin operating bus routes in Allegheny County. Essential Public Radio

WA: Audio: Privatizing parks
Paving Public Parks: A few decades ago, the federal government started a program aimed at helping state and local governments fund public parks. Today, one of those parks is a hotel. Developers are converting another to an upscale private resort. And yet another nearly wound up as a beachfront McDonalds. Investigative reporter Robert McClure joins us to tell the story of a promise broken. KUOW,org

NH: NH seeks ‘over the shoulder’ consultant in prison privatization decision
The state of New Hampshire may not only be moving toward privatizing its entire prison system, but it is also partially privatizing the process involved in making the decision. June 5 was the deadline for a private prison consulting firm to respond to a request for proposal for a firm that can look “over the shoulder” (in the RFP’s words) of state officials from two departments as they sift through as many as 20 binders of documents and some 900 drawings submitted by four vendors who are seeking to operate the state’s prison system. That weeding-out process should take from July 11 to Sept. 30. If a bid is approved by Gov. John Lynch and the Executive Council, New Hampshire would become the only state to turn its entire prison system over to a private company. New Hampshire Business Review

NJ: For some E-ZPass Big Brother is already here
Caught without change on the Garden State Parkway, Pat Arias thought she’d appeal to the toll collector at Bergen toll plaza, but the toll booth was closed. “They only had exact toll lanes and E-ZPass,” said the North Bergen reader who was driving her son’s car. “I don’t want to get him in trouble, so how do I get in touch with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to pay the toll?” It’s a common source of confusion – and it could get even more confusing next July when the toll collectors’ contract expires and electronic billing may take over. Not everyone is thrilled. NJ.com

Public-sector issues erupt in presidential campaign
In the wake of organized labor’s defeat in Wisconsin last Tuesday, the role of government and the clout of public sector unions are emerging as major issues in the presidential campaign. President Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney both found themselves over the weekend explaining comments they made involving the public sector…Meanwhile, labor unions attacked Romney for what one called his disdainful attitude toward the middle class when the former Massachusetts governor said of the president, “He wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.” Stateline

Headlines
LA: Out-state standardized tests firms reap millions
PA: Liquor privatization could harm state’s health record – commentary
TX: A&M privatization effort wins over skeptics
VA: The privatization of Virginia’s roads – editorial
OK: Oklahoma park bought and paid for
OH: Privatizing student newspapers
Private vs. Public Facilities, Is it cost effective and safe?
Public universities reach a tipping point

LA: Out-state standardized tests firms reap millions
The Louisiana Department of Education is spending more than $132.9 million with two out-of-state companies for standardized tests. The department has 70 current contracts worth more than $1 million each. That adds up to $282 million, more than half of which goes to contractors outside of Louisiana. The volume of contracts awarded by the DOE doesn’t sit well with the state’s treasurer, while the flow of funds to out-of-state companies concerns several past and present Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members. Treasurer John Kennedy says he believes the education department is “right at the top of the list” when it comes to departments that “abuse” contracts. But long-term efforts at education reform and accountability legislation are the driving forces behind some of the largest contracts between the DOE and at least two out-of-state firms. The News Star

PA: Liquor privatization could harm state’s health record – commentary
As Pennsylvania moves toward easing access to alcohol to raise revenue for the commonwealth and lower prices for consumers, much of the discussion has focused on the financial aspects of privatizing liquor licenses and on individual freedom of choice. Little has been said about the health effects of these proposed changes…Pennsylvania has the lowest alcohol-related mortality rate in the United States.
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, we calculated alcohol-related death rates for all states during the last eight years. Pennsylvania’s rate was 3.7 per 100,000 people; Alaska’s rate was the highest at 19.5 per 100,000. Many factors might contribute to the low rate of alcohol-related deaths in Pennsylvania, but one key factor is the state’s longstanding alcohol policy. Though it is seen as restrictive, it provides a societal incentive to consume moderate amounts of alcohol by decreasing its easy accessibility. Among other things, it allows for limited hours of operation and close monitoring of purchases and price structure. Studies have shown that where alcohol is more available — where there are long hours of operation, low alcohol taxes or low prices for alcoholic beverages — there are higher rates of alcohol-related fatal traffic accidents, drunken-driving offenses, cirrhosis of the liver and alcohol-related assaults. PennLive.com

TX: A&M privatization effort wins over skeptics
Members of a Texas A&M committee charged with examining the controversial plan to privatize the university’s dining services jobs were won over to the plan by promises of massive amounts of additional revenue and employee protections, interviews with the committee members indicate…The chair of the dining services committee, Rex Janne, executive director of the university’s purchasing services, said that projection did not come from the committee, and wasn’t part of its purview. Another committee member, John Stallone, the university’s Faculty Senate speaker, said that projection could be confusing or misleading to some. Both Janne and Stallone supported the committee’s recommendation to move forward with outsourcing plans…Three companies had been in the running. The current university dining operation also was allowed to submit a bid. It did not make the final cut. A&M System Chancellor John Sharp, the head of the entire 11-university system and the chief proponent of the much-criticized privatization effort, declined an interview request for this story.  The Eagle

VA: The privatization of Virginia’s roads – editorial
When it comes to solving transportation problems across the commonwealth, Gov. Bob McDonnell appears ready to abandon Virginia’s paralyzed legislature and partner exclusively with the private sector.
That is, perhaps, the best explanation behind his administration’s reliance on the state’s Public-Private Transportation Act to refurbish, expand or build much of the infrastructure critical to the free flow of goods and people in Hampton Roads. It overcomes a generation of frustration with a legislature that simply turns its back on reality. But it also requires turning Virginia’s public highway system – built by the people of this commonwealth over generations – into a private business…The big news was a proposal to transform lanes reserved for high-occupancy vehicles on Interstate 64 into high-occupancy toll lanes.
..McDonnell touted the funding arrangement in a news release, noting this “is a very exciting time for Virginia business and transportation.”  If by business he means E-ZPass and the private contractors who’ll work on those roads, and the financial consortia that will operate them and reap billions in profits, then by all means, yes, it is. But it certainly is not an exciting time to be a commuter or a small-business owner who relies on the roads. It’s not an exciting time to be a commuter or small-business owner who will be forced to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars each year because his legislators won’t raise the gas tax by a few pennies to actually pay for the roads all Virginians need.  The Virginian-Pilot

OK: Oklahoma park bought and paid for
…For the developer, Pointe Vista Development, L.L.C, it was a rich score. The company plans to build a $500-million-plus gated retreat of condos, hotels, fancy homes and golf courses. Restaurants, swimming pools, a gym and a spa are going in. The developers are getting tax incentives to do it, too. Four years later the replacement park is still not built, even as the last state park cabins are slated for demolition. The Lake Texoma case illustrates how states can disregard their legal obligations to federally protected parkland. As InvestigateWest has reported, the National Park Service, which is responsible for overseeing the conversion program, does not have adequate controls in place to ensure that parks that receive federal grants comply with the law. Investigate West

OH: Privatizing student newspapers
The Lantern, the student newspaper at Ohio State University, announced this week that Gannett will take over its business and advertising divisions under a three-year contract. Gannett’s Media Network of Central Ohio (MNCO) will pay Ohio State’s College of Arts and Sciences, which houses the student paper, about $28,000 each month (adding up to a grand total of $838,500) for unfettered access to the university’s 53,000 students — and for all the ad revenue it can muster. It’s a less dramatic entrée than Gannett’s other moves in the market, in which two of the company’s local Sunshine State papers purchased nearby student operations; in August 2006, the Tallahassee Democrat bought the FSView & Florida Flambeau at Florida State University, and six months later Florida Today bought the Central Florida Future at the University of Central Florida. Both student papers were independent from their respective universities…But David Swartzlander, president of the College Media Association, whose members are advisers to student media organizations, said the move has generated considerable discussion among newspaper advisers who are wondering whether this has implications for the future of student journalism generally. Inside Higher Ed

Private vs. Public Facilities, Is it cost effective and safe?
A study by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the cost-savings promised by private prisons “have simply not materialized.” Some research has concluded that for-profit prisons cost more than public prisons. Furthermore, cost estimates from privatization advocates may be misleading, because private facilities often refuse to accept inmates that cost the most to house. A 2001 study concluded that a pattern of sending less expensive inmates to privately-run facilities artificially inflated cost savings. A 2005 study found that Arizona’s public facilities were seven times more likely to house violent offenders and three times more likely to house those convicted of more serious offenses. Evidence suggests that lower staff levels and training at private facilities may lead to increases in incidences of violence and escapes. A nationwide study found that assaults on guards by inmates were 49 percent more frequent in private prisons than in government-run prisons. The same study revealed that assaults on fellow inmates were 65 percent more frequent in private prison (Austin, Conventry, 2001). After an complete analysis on private vs. public run correctional facilities, one may come to the conclusion that private run facilities are no more cost saving effective or safer than a state run facility. We must ask ourselves, is any monetary amount worth the lives of one of our own? The statistics are there, this profession is tough enough, we should take pride of it and not risk the lives of our bravest officers just to attempt to save the state a couple of dollars.  Corrections.com

Public universities reach a tipping point
…The rate of decline in most states for funding their university systems is stunning. Currently, states are spending 20 percent less in inflation-adjusted dollars on higher education than a decade ago. According to the annual Grapevine study conducted by Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, state appropriations for higher education declined by 7.6 percent this past year — the largest annual decline in at least half a century. A five-year drop in state support has left funding levels for higher education lower in 29 states than it was in 2006-07. ..Today, public higher education seems to have reached that tipping point. Nowhere is that more apparent than in California, which accounts for one in seven dollars spent by the states on higher education nationally. This past year, the Legislature cut appropriations for all higher education by $1.5 billion, or almost 12 percent. The situation is so bad that California State University officials announced in March that they had decided to freeze enrollment at most of the system’s 23 campuses until the results of a November referendum on raising taxes are known. In the meantime, every applicant will be wait-listed. Usually about 70,000 students apply each spring; in the fall, it is 10 times that. If the referendum is defeated, enrollment will be cut by at least 20,000 students. Governing

Headlines
Senate panel approves cap on contractor pay
Companies lobby to set up red light cameras for revenue not public safety
Across the country, public-sector workers in fiscal, political bull’s-eye
CA: UCLA faculty approves controversial changes in MBA financing
LA: Teachers file state lawsuits challenging vouchers
LA: 5 ways Louisiana’s new voucher program spells disaster for public education
MI: U-M not considering privatizing parking service
TX: Texas toll road could have 85mph speed limit
FL: Time and money – editorial

Senate panel approves cap on contractor pay
Defense contractors could charge the government no more than the vice president earns — currently $230,700 — to pay most of their employees’ salaries, under a provision in the Defense authorization bill approved Tuesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Federal Times

Companies lobby to set up red light cameras for revenue not public safety
…Growing evidence that many privatized traffic companies use faulty information, including right-hand turns, to assign red light tickets has only added to the anger. As legislators confront the backlash, a self-interested partnership has formed to lobby against accountability methods for these cameras: police unions and for-profit red-light camera companies. In state after state, police unions and for-profit traffic camera companies have teamed up to defeat laws proposed to ensure that traffic policies are designed for public safety rather than to collect revenue. In Connecticut, police unions and traffic light companies opposed efforts to simply expand the length of yellow lights — despite studies showing that doing so would reduce red-light violations by 90 percent — in favor of increased for-profit red light cameras. In Florida last year, American Traffic Solutions, one of the largest for-profit camera corporations, hired 17 lobbyists to defeat a similar bill. The company circulated a letter signed by police chiefs, and worked closely with officials from the Florida Sheriff’s Association, a labor group, to pressure legislators. In California, a bill by State Sen. Joseph Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to ensure that traffic cameras can only be set up to promote public safety rather than collect revenue was opposed by the California Police Chiefs, a law enforcement labor union group. OpEdNews

Across the country, public-sector workers in fiscal, political bull’s-eye
From California to Pennsylvania, workers are facing efforts to sharply curtail the job security and benefits they have enjoyed for years, perks long viewed as compensation for the sometimes lower salaries in the public sector. Now, the perks that came with being a firefighter or a teacher have become a target, not only for conservative lawmakers but for Democrats under pressure to make deep cuts in government budgets. They’re facing efforts to sharply curtail the job security and benefits they have enjoyed for years. Washington Post

CA: UCLA faculty approves controversial changes in MBA financing
UCLA faculty leaders on Thursday narrowly approved a controversial plan to wean the campus’ signature MBA program off state funding and have it survive on tuition and donations. The vote was viewed by many around UC as an important turning point in how California’s public universities should respond to years of state budget cuts. Some said the proposed change at the Anderson School of Management’s full-time MBA program may start a trend, particularly among business and law schools that are able to charge high fees and have wealthy alumni to help support them. But critics said such a move would harm the public nature of the 10-campus UC system. Los Angeles Times

LA: Teachers file state lawsuits challenging vouchers
As expected, Louisiana’s largest teachers association, some of its local chapters, and four individual public school teachers have filed two state lawsuits challenging the primary portions of the sweeping education overhaul that Gov. Bobby Jindal signed in April. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers argues on several fronts that the courts should strike down tenure and other personnel changes, along with a statewide program that will use the public school-financing formula to finance private school tuition grants…Perhaps the most significant legal question in the cases concerns the voucher program. Mirroring the argument that teachers union leaders made during the recently concluded session, the voucher suit cites the constitutional passage concerning the school financing formula known as the Minimum Foundation Program.  The Times-Picayune

LA: 5 ways Louisiana’s new voucher program spells disaster for public education
This latest pet project of popular Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, called Louisiana Believes, is now regarded as the most extensive voucher system in the United States — out-privatizing even the state of Indiana, where nearly 60 percent of the state’s students are eligible for vouchers. By eroding caps on family income levels, and thereby providing voucher assistance to both low- and middle-income families, Indiana’s plan aimed to remake public education in the state more extensively than any voucher system in US history – until now.  Like Indiana’s program, Louisiana’s new voucher plan is so wide in scope that it could eventually cut the state’s public education funding in half. But in a number of crucial ways, the Louisiana model works even harder to destroy public education than Indiana’s program does. Alternet

MI: U-M not considering privatizing parking service
Ohio State University is the first large public university to accept bids on the privatization of its entire parking enterprise for a significant length of time. University of Michigan Director of Transportation Stephen Dolen told AnnArbor.com that U-M has not seriously considered privatizing its parking services. “People are just kind of interested in seeing what’s going on with OSU,” he said. “There’s probably all kinds of things people are considering in this day and age of state appropriations.” AnnArbor.com

TX: Texas toll road could have 85mph speed limit
A new toll road, running from San Antonio to Austin, is set to soon open. While that may not be surprising, especially in Texas, the speed drivers may be allowed to travel has people talking. KYTX

FL: Time and money – editorial
…While lawmakers have been forced to cut billions of dollars from education, health care and other vital programs, they have been loath to tackle sentencing reform and community-based alternatives to incarceration for fear of being branded “soft on crime.” Gov. Scott seems to believe that privatization is the answer to Florida’s soaring correctional costs. It is not. The answer, rather, is to reserve expensive cell space for only those dangerous inmates who really need to be locked away from society. In short, too many inmates are doing needless time and costing Florida taxpayers too much money. The Gainsville Sun