News

The loss of the public good – Robert B. Reich. “Privatize” means “Pay for it yourself.” The practical consequence of this in an economy whose wealth and income are now more concentrated than at any time in the past 90 years is to make high-quality public goods available to fewer and fewer. In fact, much of what’s called “public” is increasingly a private good paid for by users — ever-higher tolls on public highways and public bridges, higher tuitions at so-called public universities, higher admission fees at public parks and public museums. Baltimore Sun

PA: Federal laws may bar bid by PA charter schools to get extra $150 million from public schools. Federal laws and regulations could save Pennsylvania school districts from having to turn over as much as $150 million that charter schools say they are owed. Charter schools have filed 231 requests to Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration, seeking to change the charter school funding formula to give them a share of the federal money school districts receive.  Allentown Morning Call

PA: Are Philly Public Schools Destined For Failure?  Philadelphia is borrowing $50 million to open schools this fall, a temporary fix for an increasingly worrisome funding problem. Meanwhile, GOP Gov. Tom Corbett is intent on destroying the teachers’ union. Has the district begun a death march? Huffington Post

KS: Administration defends child support privatization….The email Hensley received was from a DCF employee who said the child support division was doomed by understaffing and unnecessary bureaucratic changes. Freed said the division has “hired relatively few staff over the last nine months, knowing that privatization would be happening and wanting to reduce the layoffs,” but added that the division “has historically been overstaffed and inefficient.” “CSS was not set up to fail,” Freed said. “It was already failing, and we are trying to fix it.” Topeka Capital Journal

FL: Districts pushing back against state effort to privatize virtual school. The Palm Beach County School Board plans today to urge state lawmakers to repeal a new funding approach that slashed dollars for the state-run Florida Virtual School, spawning wholesale teacher layoffs from the program just as a new school year begins. The demand from county officials is part of rising push-back across the state over what critics say is the latest bid to further privatize public education by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature.  Palm Beach Post

 

News

Towns Try to Take Back Water Systems. Water fights are simmering in small towns across the country this summer, as rate increases irk residents and spur local governments to try to take over privately owned water systems. Municipalities in Massachusetts, California and Texas have recently filed lawsuits or set ballot measures in a bid to gain control of their water systems. Private firms have defended their rate increases, saying they have had to spend money to improve the infrastructure and are entitled to make a profit. Wall Street Journal ($)

LA: Audit shows privatization of mental health services in Louisiana increased costs. Bobby Jindal’s privatization of mental health and addictive disorder treatment programs has created confusion and added costs for the local human services districts that provide the care, according to an audit released Monday. NOLA.com           

KS: Changes to privatize Kansas child support system raises questions about process, contracts. Private contractors are preparing to take over operations of the Kansas child support system from a state agency even as questions remain about how the contracts were awarded.,,,, Contracts were awarded in June on a competitive bid process, though Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka says one contractor seemed to have an inside connection to landing the contracts.  The Republic

NY: Pushing Privatized “Partnership” Agenda at New York City’s Public Parks — Part 3. Recently, in a rather long interview with the New York Observer, former NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said that during his ten-year tenure overseeing our city’s public spaces and recreation areas, Mayor Michael Bloomberg never told him to seek out “public-private partnerships” to help fund maintenance and activities at New York City parks. He told the reporter that “the [Bloomberg] administration encouraged us to be creative.” Huffington Post

NAFTA Superhighway: Private operators vie for I-69 in Indiana. P3s don’t merely contract a private firm to build the road like most procurements, the corporations gain complete operational control over the public’s highways and, usually, the power to tax by setting toll rates. San Antonio Express

News

OR: Liquor theft soars in Washington after privatization, but remains low in Oregon. A sudden, dramatic rise in liquor thefts in Washington could be seen as collateral damage from the state’s recent move to privatization — part of the cost of changing to a free market model. Or, the hike in booze-stealing could be read as a cautionary tale for Oregon, where voters may get asked to end our distinction as the lone West Coast state with a government monopoly on liquor sales.  OregonLive.com

PA: Despite Increased Income from Liquor Sales in Pennsylvania, Privatization Still a Priority. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board reported revenue near $2.2 billion for fiscal year 2012-2013, a 4.5 percent increase over the previous year. In addition, contributions to various state agencies and the general fund exceeded a record-setting $660 million dollars. Still, this news doesn’t sway Gov. Tom Corbett, who remains a proponent of privatizing the state’s liquor system. A plan from House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny), and supported by Corbett, calls for the state to close its more than 600 Wine & Spirits Stores and then issue 1,600 licenses to sell wine and distilled spirits.  90.5 WESA           

TX: TxDot moving toward toll roads. The issue is an internal rule change TXDot is requesting. It would essentially allow them to do what the Legislature refused to let them do this past session. And that is to enter into unlimited numbers of so-called public-private partnerships, where a private company builds a toll road, and collects the revenue. “These public/private partnerships is where they sell of our roads to these, mostly foreign, private companies,” says Terri Hall, President of the grassroots group Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, or TURF. “And the first foreign-owned toll road in Texas that opened is not even getting half the traffic that was projected.” But the most outrageous part is, if the toll revenue doesn’t meet its target, the state guarantees the difference. That would come from the Highway Fund, which is already strapped. “It basically puts all Texas taxpayers on the hook to pay back these private toll operators,” Hall declared. KETK           

TX: Kaufman County Sheriff halts negotiation to privatize jail due to lack of employee guarantees. Commissioners hope to save approximately $1 million annually by privatizing the county jail. Sheriff Byrnes agreed to investigate the possible cost savings but only with the stipulation that “the current jail staff be protected as relates to their employment status and benefits.” …. On August 12, 2013, Commissioner Vrzalik placed an item on the Commissioners’ Court consent agenda without the employee protection clause which was subsequently passed. According to Byrnes, “This was a deliberate act to sabotage the jail privatization efforts on the part of Commissioner Vrzalik.” Byrnes concluded by stating, “Therefore, all efforts and/or negotiations to privatize the Kaufman County Jail are halted.”   inForney.com

WI: Exodus of top Milwaukee bus drivers feared under Texas-based manager. Transit employees fear their pension plan could be dissolved if Milwaukee County awards the transportation contract to MV Transportation, a for-profit company based in Texas. About 21% of the more than 1,000 employees of the transit system will be eligible to retire by year’s end, according to a transit system spokesman. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

IL: Chicago Mayor hopes warning is ticket to deterring illegal use of disabled parking cheats. The abuses have cost Chicago taxpayers millions of dollars in reimbursements to Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the private company running metered parking citywide under the meter-privatization deal championed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley. The deal requires City Hall to reimburse the company for free parking provided to drivers displaying disability placards or plates. Those payments have soared to a total of nearly $55 million since the company began running the meter system in 2009 and started to sharply raise meter rates. Chicago Sun-Times

DE: Deal to keep Dole at Port of Wilmington is hailed. The Diamond State Port Corp., which runs the port for the state, has made several price concessions to Dole, and Delaware has agreed to make capital improvements at the port that would benefit Dole, including $34 million assigned to the port over a three-year period. That would pay for buying two cranes and renovating cold-storage warehouses. That expenditure had been up in the air while the state considered bringing in a private company to lease, improve and manage the port. Earlier this year, the state put that effort on hold after the leading bidder, Kinder Morgan, suspended its bid amid community opposition. Delawareonline.com

WA: State mulls privatizing websites, printing. Washington state government is belatedly wrapping up a review of services for possible privatization and could make its biggest decision so far – whether to farm out state printing – as early as this week. The decision would follow the state’s conclusion last week that it can’t save money by contracting with a private courier service to deliver interoffice mail to far-flung locations. State employees will keep that work. TheNewsTribune.com

Helium Reserve Faces Shutdown. When Congress returns to Washington next month, it will have just weeks to prevent a shortage of helium that could deal a blow to a range of industries. Unless Congress acts to wind it down more gradually, the Federal Helium Reserve, which supplies more than one-third of the world’s crude helium, will shut down on Oct. 8…. Congress has been working to privatize the nation’s helium system since 1996, when lawmakers agreed to start paying off the $1.3 billion debt the government accumulated to buy helium in earlier decades from private companies that were extracting helium from natural gas.  Wall Street Journal

 

News

KS: Child Support Services On Schedule For Privatization. Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Phyllis Gilmore announced Thursday, efforts to privatize Kansas Child Support Services (CSS) are on schedule… In June, DCF announced the vendors who will perform full-service child support activities for all 31 judicial districts in Kansas. WIBW

IA: Union leader: Branstad needs to ‘man up’ on home. The labor union that represents many Iowa state employees is calling on Gov. Terry Branstad to “man up,” take responsibility for the Iowa Juvenile Home and immediately accept offers of free training for workers at the facility. Branstad said this week he is considering privatizing the home, noting that Iowa’s privately run residential facilities “do a better of job” of caring for troubled youth. In response to that suggestion, Danny Homan of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said Thursday that privatization would further diminish public control and oversight that is already lacking at the home. Des Moines Register

IL: Activists Want An Immediate End To Illinois’ Medicaid Privatization. Activists with the Alliance for Community Services protested at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ (HFS) Chicago office Thursday morning demanding that the state immediately end its $76 million contract with a private, for-profit company hired to “scrub” the Medicaid rolls. Progress Illinois

NY: Funding Plan for Public Housing Draws Flak. New York wants to offset federal cuts by leasing complexes’ parking lots, ballfields to builders of market-rate apartments.  Wall Street Journal ($)

OK: Lloyd Snow: Top 10 reasons Oklahoma public schools are in a fix. I think Diane Ravitch gets it right in her latest book “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.” She says the only crisis in public education is the one ginned up by government bureaucrats, major foundations and an odd coalition of elitists and commercial hustlers who have made inflated claims about the virtues of vouchers, charter schools, virtual schools, standardized testing, merit pay, etc. They insist that poverty has no correlation to low academic achievement and that overhauling our entire system along business lines is the way to go.  Tulsa World

News

For Disaster Preparedness: Pack A Library Card? Across the country, in places like Louisiana and Oklahoma, libraries have served as crucial hubs for information and help in the aftermath of hurricanes and tornadoes. And federal emergency planners have noticed. “The Federal Emergency Management Agency classified libraries as an essential service — like one of the things that would get early funding so that communities could recover,” says Jessamyn West, a librarian in Vermont and a moderator of the popular blog MetaFilter. “People are finding in the wake of the natural disasters that we’ve seen — lots and lots of flooding and hurricanes and storms and tornadoes — that getting the library up and running with Internet connectivity or air conditioning or clean bathrooms or a place that you can plug in your phone really has benefit to a community that’s in a recovery situation,” she adds.  NPR

The Architect of School Reform Who Turned Against It. This spring, she helped found the Network for Public Education to fight high-stakes testing and what she calls the privatization of public schools…. Ravitch presents Reign of Error as an overture to dialogue with opponents, but her subtitle suggests otherwise: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools. Her tour of the research is littered with bumper-sticker slogans—she indicts, for example, the “Walmartization of American education”—likely to put off the unconverted. The book reads like a campaign manual against “corporate reformers.” The first half challenges the claims of their movement; the second offers Ravitch’s alternative agenda. Her prescriptions include universal pre-K, smaller class sizes, better teacher training, and more measures to reduce poverty and school segregation. The Atlantic

Wildlife group criticizes new commissioner over statements about about public wildlife on private land. To some of the 5,000 members of the Montana Wildlife Federation, however, the idea of paying a landowner to allow hunters to remove elk and deer from their property smacks of privatizing public wildlife…. The privatization of public wildlife has been an ongoing debate for decades. In 1842, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling set the common law foundation for the principle that wildlife resources are owned by no one, to be held in trust by the government for the benefit of present and future generations. Helena Independent Record

More Corporations Drop Off ALEC’s Conference Brochure. An examination of the promotional brochure for the Chicago meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals that the meeting — where corporate lobbyists secretly vote as equals with legislators on model bills at ALEC task force meetings — has fewer corporate sponsors willing to tell the public they bankroll ALEC’s operations. This news comes in the aftermath of 48 corporations and six non-profits leaving ALEC after the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) connected the dots between “Stand Your Ground” legislation and ALEC, and coalition of organizations pressed for corporations to stop funding ALEC. PR Watch

PA: EDITORIAL: Privatizing Pennsylvania Lottery looks like a gamble. The core of this controversy is a quest for more money: Why settle for state-produced golden lottery eggs when the private sector promises platinum? Why? Because privately run state lotteries in the U.S. are in their infancy. And the results are mixed. The Express Times

IL: Two Companies Vie for Midway. The possible privatization of Midway Airport is a touchy subject, in part because so many people feel the privatization of city parking meters a few years ago was a big mistake….Emanuel has also said that he would only be interested in a 40-year lease, rather than a 99-year lease like the parking meter and Skyway leases. Profit-sharing for taxpayers and a customer bill of rights would also be part of any deal, Emanuel said.  Southwest News-Herald

CA: L.A.’s School-Takeover Battle. There is a quiet war being waged in the Los Angeles public school system. On one side: Parent Revolution, an advocacy group that helps parents enact the state’s controversial parent trigger law, which gives parents the power to turn their childrens’ schools into charter schools or replace the staff if enough parents support the overhaul. On the other: much of the state’s educational establishment, and the staffs of schools threatened by the trigger law.  Daily Beast

 

News

WA: State sells off former liquor distribution center for $23.4 million. Washington state’s privatization of its Prohibition-era liquor distribution business turned another major corner this month. TheNewsTribune.com

MI: Detroit Schools Start Door-to-Door Campaign to Win Back Students. As Detroit Public Schools pushes a new back-to-school marketing plan to try to reverse its enrollment and budget decline, the district must try to draw back kids from dozens of districts and nearly every charter school in the tri-county region…. The competition for students has heated up in the past decade with Detroit parents enrolling in suburban districts that offer school choice programs while more charter schools offer more options. Detroit Free Press

OH: Lawmakers argue true success of Kasich’s JobsOhio. Gov. John Kasich’s privatized development agency, JobsOhio, is under more scrutiny amidst new legislation….Ohio Democrats cite out-of-state jobs, tax payer contributions to the site despite privatization and a lack of transparency for the reason behind the move to “invoke rule 29” (The Dayton Daily News first reported that JobsOhio used $1.35 million in taxpayer money for an ad campaign). The Ohio News Network reported that Rep. John Carney asked Republican Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder to “invoke rule 29.” This would create a bipartisan committee to investigate JobsOhio.  Putnam County Sentinel

IL: Just months after closing 50 schools, Chicago issues RFP for more charter schools. Without fanfare, the district posted an official “request for proposals” to its website Monday that invites charter schools to apply to open shop in what the school district has identified as priority neighborhoods—large swaths of the Southwest and Northwest sides. Those heavily Latino areas have struggled with overcrowded schools. The district wants what it’s calling “next generation” charter schools, which could combine online and traditional teaching. It also wants proposals for arts integration charter schools and dual language charters.  WBEZ

IL: EDITORIAL: Slow down airport privatization effort. The rush to privatization for Gary/Chicago International Airport has some potential bidders wondering why the rush. It’s a good question, especially with so much up in the air.  nwitimes.com

IA: Branstad says privatizing Iowa Juvenile Home management should be considered. Gov. Terry Branstad says privately run agencies appear to “do a better job” than the state when it comes to caring for troubled children. DesMoinesRegister.com

NJ: Hamilton residents wary of township’s move to privatize Bromley Neighborhood. The township’s move to privatize operations of the Bromley Neighborhood Service Center is raising questions from the local civic association and others about whether an outside group will be responsive to the community’s needs.  The Times of Trenton

CA: From Save the Post Office. The USPS plans to sell Berkeley’s historic main post office. On Saturday, August 10th, people met to rally and march in protest and to support those who have been camping out at the post office since July 27th. This is not a local issue but one arm of the struggle against privatization and the global fight for economic justice.  Berkeley Daily Planet

Are Public Schools Headed for a Wall Street-style Crash? In New York, a new rating system resulted in 70 percent of city students failing the new tests, earning the kind of tabloid headlines usually reserved for a politician’s sex scandal or a natural disaster. “Rotten to the score,” blared the New York Daily News. Fans of corporate education reform hail this as the tough love needed to force even tougher changes to the public school system despite the fact that privately owned charter schools fared just as badly. Huffington Post

 

 

News

Moody’s: Privatizing Mortgage Finance Will Cost Borrowers. If Congress shuts down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, borrowers likely will end up paying slightly higher mortgage rates. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, suggests that, as a result, typical borrowers could pay about $75 per month in extra interest payments—or about half a percentage point more—under the Senate proposal, and about $135 more under the House plan.  That could be the average on a conforming loan of about $200,000 with a 20 percent down payment. Realtor Mag

Where Education Is ‘Sold to the Highest Bidder’. The attack on the spirit of higher education is exemplified in the installation of former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a neoliberal archfiend of public schooling, as president of Purdue University. Truthdig

Fighting Back The Privatization Machine (VIDEO). America’s public education system has been under attack from corporations and Republicans for years, and the attacks have grown more and more intense over the last 24 months. Ring of Fire

AL: Selma city councilman wants to privatize public works dept. City records show it takes about a million dollars a year to run the public works department and thousands more on equipment repairs.  Earlier this year the city of Selma privatized the garbage service, and according to Williamson, no one lost their jobs. The same thing, he feels, could be done with public works.   WSFA

 

 

News

CA: Ambulances in San Diego are arriving late more often and getting away with it. The city’s private ambulance provider, Rural/Metro, is required under its contract to arrive within 12 minutes 90 percent of the time or face up to a $50,000 fine. Each call that exceeds 24 minutes is subject to a $5,000 fine. However, the ambulance provider was never fined for taking more than 34 minutes to get to the Soliz family’s home. Since 2011, a loophole in its contract has allowed the ambulance company to arrive late without penalty to more than 20,000 of the city’s most serious emergency 911 calls, according to documents obtained from the San Diego City Emergency Medical Services Department.  Over the same time period, Rural/Metro was exempted from hundreds of 24-minute-response-time violations, in some cases taking more than 40 minutes to respond to an emergency call, according to city EMS documents.  SDCityBeat

IN: Gary airport’s rush to privatize raises questions. The Gary/Chicago International Airport’s rush to privatize is raising red flags with some potential bidders, who wonder how a pact tying up prime airport real estate for 40 years can be concluded with so many issues outstanding. nwitimes.com

TX: Sheriff stands tall: Brown refuses jail privatization. Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown voiced his opposition of privatizing the Wayne McCollum Detention Center in front of a crowd of citizens that packed the e gallery during Thursday’s special commissioners court meeting. The county has been looking at the issue of private jail management for almost a year and received bids for this service from Community Education Centers and LaSalle Corrections. Waxahachie Daily Light

TX: Charter Schools in Churches a Focus of Praise, Concerns. While charter school advocates say the practice often reflects no more than smart budgeting, some educators and others question whether the schools receive the proper oversight to ensure that religious groups are not benefiting from taxpayer dollars.  Texas Tribune

CO: Privatization Too High a Price for Green Mountain Falls Public Safety –  Letter to editor. A private security company cannot provide our town with the quality of services that a police department can. How would a private security company provide the needed support and the professional law enforcement backup needed in case of an incident such as another fire or when crimes occur? A private security company would not be able to perform the statutory duties or the certifications necessary to keep the peace. And, we know we cannot call on the El Paso Sheriff’s Office every time there is an incident in Green Mountain Falls. As far as safety goes – would it be in the best interests for the Fire District Board to contract out for a private fire department? Just as in the case of our police department – absolutely not!  The Mountain Jackpot

When Charter Schools Are in Churches, Conflict Is in the Air. Because they are publicly financed, charter schools are required to teach secular, state-approved curriculums. When founded by a faith-based organization, they are also required to operate under a separate nonprofit entity. Because charter schools do not receive facilities financing from the state, a leasing agreement with a church, whose grounds often stand empty during weekdays, can be a cost-efficient arrangement for both parties. “It’s difficult to turn off the faucet of religion once it’s there, whether it’s in the shape of the building or the people who are running it,” said Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit advocacy group that has sued schools in Texas over this issue. “If you are a person of faith you say, ‘I am religious 24/7.’ It’s just really hard to turn religion off if you are as dedicated or as evangelical as many of these groups are.”  New York Times

Future of high-speed passenger rail could ride on private investment. Gridlock in Washington over transportation funding could be an incentive for states and cities to look to private investors to help finance high-speed passenger train systems. Advocates of high-speed passenger rail see it as a remedy for urban traffic congestion that’s more reliable than air travel and environmentally beneficial because it takes cars off the road.  Press & Sun-Bulletin

News

Video: Protesters Condemn ALEC’s Push to Privatize Public Education. Six people were arrested Monday when protesters descended upon the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago to push back against the impending visit of ALEC. The Real News Network

NY: New York State Lags on Firing Workers Who Abuse Disabled Patients. A new law will force private providers to comply with the Freedom of Information Law, a critical step as the state continues to privatize much of the system. New York Times

NC: NC may approve up to 32 new charter schools. The State Board of Education agreed Thursday to consider opening up to 32 new charter schools in 2014….The state’s 129 charter schools receive taxpayer funding but are exempt from some of the regulations that traditional public schools must follow. They are also independent of the school districts in which they’re located. State legislators approved various changes this year, including lowering the number of certified teachers charter schools must have and creating a new advisory board for charter schools. News & Observer

IL: Bidders meet on Gary airport privatization. The event brought out more heavyhitters in the world of investment and infrastrucuture, including William Blair & Co., of Chicago; TIAA-CREF, of New York; BLOC Global Group, of Birmingham, Ala., a builder and investor; and Hastings Funds, based in Melbourne, Australia. Those were in addition to companies that signaled their interest last month in responding to a request for preliminary proposals from the airport. Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson told investors and others seated at five rows of tables in the airport administration building in the morning that her administration proclaimed a new day when it came into office last January. nwitimes.com

 

 

 

News

Sen. Carper Introduces Legislation to Virtually End the USPS. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) has moved the United States Postal Service (USPS) one big step closer to extinction this weekend by introducing his new Postal Reform Act (S. 1486). Carper, a longtime ally of wealthy corporate interests, intends to drive the stake into the heart of the world’s best Postal Service. His bill, on many levels, closely resembles Rep. Darrell Issa’s (D-Calif.) H.R. 2748, which passed out of a House committee 10 days ago on a party-line vote with only GOP support.  AFL-CIO Blog

NY: Charter schools and public schools equally showed poor testing performance. Dismal state test scores don’t discriminate between charter schools and traditional public schools. Charter schools performed better than their district school counterparts on some benchmarks — but not enough to separate themselves from the widespread drop in scores….The proliferation across the five boroughs of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed, have been a key component of Mayor Bloomberg’s education legacy. New York Daily News

IA: Group suggests privatizing Iowa Juvenile Home. Terry Branstad should consider privatizing the Iowa Juvenile Home and immediately order issuance of new rules that would minimize the home’s use of long-term isolation and physical restraints, a federally funded advocacy group says. Des Moines Register

PA: Amid privatization push, PA liquor stores thrive. Although there has been a push for privatization of liquor stores, Pennsylvania’s state-owned retailers are seeing record revenues. Philadelphia Business Journal

NJ: Paterson school district scraps outsourcing of 500 special education jobs.  Facing strong opposition, city education officials Tuesday night backed away from a proposal that could have cut more than 500 special education jobs through privatization. Some of the crowd at Tuesday night’s meeting. During a special meeting packed by more than 150 worried employees, Board of Education President Christopher Irving told the crowd that the district would retain all of its current personal aides, the 504 staff members who provide one-on-one care for students with special needs.  NorthJersey.com

VT: Gov Shumlin: Privatization of Vermont Veterans Home not necessary. Privatizing the cash-strapped Vermont Veterans Home is not necessary for the facility to become financially stable again, Gov. Peter Shumlin said Monday, ahead of an independent report on the home’s financial viability set to be presented to lawmakers on Thursday… The independent report to be revealed Thursday to the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Committee includes a look at “alternative governance structures” for the home. The Vermont State Employees Association, which represents more than 200 workers at the facility, feared that would lead to privatization, and perhaps a loss of state jobs. “Modest” changes to the home’s existing governance structure should stave off any privatization talks, according to Spaulding.   Brattleboro Reformer