The word I have thought about this week is "Respect". This word is often misused or totally eliminated in our current vocabulary. We often times feel no respect for anyone who does not think the way we do, but that is so wrong. The current resident of the White House is working very hard to eliminate free speech, but we cannot allow this to happen. This will only happen if we continue to find fault at every turn in the road.
Soon elections will begin in the Federation from NFRW to the Divisions. How can we vote for anyone who shows disrespect for their opponent. We need leaders not combatants, we need women who love this Federation and those whom they will work with.
Do we have members leaving the Federation due to lack of respect for their time and energy? Have unkind words been stated causing a member to question if this is how they wish to spend their time and energy? Do you make new and old members know how they are important to our Federation? Do we have leaders who command and not lead? No one person is more important than another. I am so proud of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors who serve CFRW with love and determination to be the best they can be. It is fun we can disagree on issues, but we do have respect for each other and value our different opinions.
We also need as many members of the Federation to join in supporting the special election of Senate District 16.
His campaign is looking for volunteers to phone bank and walk precincts in the district to break the Democrats 2/3 super majority stronghold!
If you'd like to volunteer or help in any way possible, please RSVP to Julie Griffiths (559) 213-2240 or Ben Berquam (559) 618-1109
More info visit: vidakforsenate.com We need to be ready to make phone calls and walk precincts, if possible. This is our opportunity to take one more State Senate Seat for the Republicans. Location is the Central Valley.
Thank you for the honor or being able to serve you.
YOU ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST
ONE TEAM, ONE PURPOSE, ONE GOAL
May Our Father in Heaven bless you always,
Carol Hadley
CFRW President
BUSINESSMEN AND BUREAUCRATS CAPTURE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS
May 1, 2013
By: Camille Giglio, CFRW Legislative Analyst
(The CFRW Voting Body has not yet taken positions on these two bills, so there is currently no official CFRW position. However, we are working toward an official position as soon as possible. Thank you.)
"The question before us is whether...we accept bureaucrats choosing careers for our children and directing our economy, or whether liberty will remain our children's future."
Sen. Michele Bachmann, Fed Ed in Minnesota Classrooms
California senate bill 421 and senate bill 594 are two very important education bills quietly making their way through the California State Legislature. If passed they will put the finishing touches on the total re-make of the educational system and its funding in California.
The origins of the concept of using the schools as mere training centers for future workers began with the passage, in 1965, of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA. It was strengthened when President Bush the First, promoted America 2000, expanded when Clinton and Gore changed the name from America 2000 to Goals 2000. Then Goals 2000 eventually became No Child Left Behind and is now bearing its bitter fruit with Obama's Race To The Top agenda which appears to incorporate all of the above with the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
SB 421 and SB 594 were both heard in the Senate Education Committee composed of 7 Democrats and two Republicans and passed through to the Senate Appropriations Committee. We were listed as the only Opponents on SB 421.
SB 421 by Sen. Ed Hernandez, (D), entitled Pupil Instruction: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, authorizes the aggressive promotion of the IB education program headquartered in Geneva Switzerland and recognized by the United Nations and its global policy.
California with IB courses offered in certain high schools is second only to Florida which has about 144 such schools. This high school diploma program is designed for students who have shown special talents toward the math and science agenda desperately sought by educators and corporations.
This IB program supersedes the regular high school curriculum with its (expensive) testing and diploma offerings. Currently the testing fees are being paid with federal tax dollars or private, business sector partnerships. Seldom paid by parents.
It is a very expensive program. Watchdog Wire put out a report on the costs of the IB Program. The report states that there are, as of February, 2013, 1,403 IB schools in America. 91% are paid with public dollars which pays for re-training facilitators, travel expenses, etc. which costs about $8,000 per teacher. (there is also a bill in Sacramento that would authorize funding for teacher training.) HYPERLINK "http://www.watchdogwire.com" www.watchdogwire.com.
SB 421 declares that schools certified by the Swiss based IB Program will be authorized to issue special Diplomas for this 2 year program which will supplants the current regular high school Diploma. Thus it would create a two-tiered Diploma system. The reason offered by the author and his sponsors, the IB World Schools, is that the program is so rigorous that it is not possible for the IB student to adhere to the normal high school course.
Translated this means that the students will not be given a general academic education, but will be taught to the demands of the training for the job. Goodbye California and U.S. history, goodbye english grammar and composition, goodbye several other worthwhile-to- the-student's-intellectual-development courses.
It authorizes incorporation of the School-to-Work or Career Technical education agenda into the IB program which is little more than using the school system to prepare the student for the jobs market upon graduation.
It further creates a strong tie between education and workforce development Boards and Councils through the strengthening of Workforce development Centers, partnered with the school system. The result is the business-like merger of the schools supplying their students to the corporate world and its workforce demands.
And, lastly, it sets up a grant program, with California education dollars, for students within the federal poverty income level and/or free lunch programs. This is an attempt at recruitment of students to enter this very expensive program which just might be required to be offered at every high school.
Teacher Union lobbyists, non-profit religious and community groups are crying that schools don't have enough money to educate the students, but placing programs like this next to the regular courses will bankrupt the system. The taxpaying citizen whose hard earned dollars support the schools never hears about that aspect of costs.
Our legislators will, therefore, be voting to superimpose the educational agenda headquartered in Switzerland and directed from Switzerland (there is now a branch office in Bethesda, Md) on our local and state school districts and Superintendents making the education of our California children subservient to global education and workforce desires.
Parents, well they are not a part of this plan. If a problem develops both the teacher and/or the parents are required to direct their concerns to Switzerland.
This latter plan of including potential drop-out students is not an authorized or recognized segment of the international IB Program. IB was designed as a recruitment tool to draw off the student with high IQ and quick learning potential. It was not meant to be an equal opportunity "level the playing field" catch-all for all intellectual levels of students. California is going to try and change this bringing the IB program into harmony with the "California Dreamin" social justice mantra.
Senate Bill 594, Darrell Steinberg, (D), Career Pathways Investment, sets up the system whereby, in California, these Career Pathway educational programs will be paid for with California tax dollars and public offered bonds.
"Pathways" is another one of those words that carries red flags with it.
(It doesn't matter what they call the program, school-to-work, S.T.E.M, IB or AP, or career pathways, they all end up doing the same thing - creating the international, world system of education, preparing a student to be assigned by the federally controlled workforce development entities, anywhere on the globe or the local community, to work at a job designed by the government, foreign or otherwise.)
If the Workforce Development councils determine that x number of future workers will be needed for certain industries, i.e. health care, forestry, transportation, whatever the government thought of the moment decides, then that's what the school's education program will focus on and that's the area of education that will get the funding.
Along with the changes in curriculum will come a need to hire and train more employees to meet the needs of this program. There is a serious question of just how many students have actually graduated under this program in the schools where it is currently being offered.
SB 594 by Steinberg, creates the State Career Pathways State Investment Committee which will negotiate a partnership with business entities to enter into Workforce Development Bond agreements to fund and provide training for the school IB, STW, STEM programs creating partnerships with school districts, community college districts or a consortium of those entities.
"Steinberg's agenda has some serious constitutional issues, for corporate bond funding for schools raises the constitutional question re: taxation with representation. What he is proposing is outright corporate buying of public schools without local property owners whose taxes and bond issues fund those schools. Property tax payers do not pay taxes exclusively to provide workers for corporate interests." Education Public Policy issues analyst, M. Thompson.
Both of these bills are scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee. This committee does not accept opposition or support letters and focuses only on the finances involved and how the state will either pay for this new law or obtain the funding from other sources.
However, your local state Senator should receive the benefit of your concerns over these bills. Here is a listing of the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Kevin DeLeon, (D-L.A.) Chair, phone 916-651-4022, fax 916-327-8817.
Mimi Walters, (R-Orange/Laguna Hills)V.Chair,916-651-4037.
fax 916-445-9754.
Ted Gaines, (R-11 No. Cal counties) 916-651-4001, fax 916-324-2680.
Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo & Sta Clara) 916-651-4013, fax 916-324-0283.
Richard Lara, (D-L.A.) 916-651-4033,fax 916-327-9113.
Alex Padilla, (D-Van Nuys) 916-651-4020, Fax 916-324-6645.
Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacto) 916-651-4006, Fax 916-323-2263.
end notes:
Sen. Michele Bachmann, entitled: Fed Ed in Minnesota Classrooms; Smaller Learning Communities Preparing Workers for a State Planned Economy,...The entire 2003 6 page published article can be accessed by googling the title of the article.
Ed Source. Kathryn Baron, Bonds would fund business investment in schools under Steinberg proposal, April 30, 2013.
International Baccalaureate (IB) Unraveled, Debra K Niwa.
Learning about Propositions
By: Claire Sirchia Plotner, CFRW Legislative Analyst
A citizen, Dr. John Randolph Haynes, who was concerned about the bribery and corruption at the state level, started a grassroots campaign to introduce a statewide initiative and referendum process. He attempted to reform Sacramento and bring rational government into California when it became apparent that graft was the business standard in Sacramento. Concerned citizens established the Lincoln-Roosevelt League of Republican Clubs in May of 1907. Their candidates won election and started state reform as well as the primary process in California. The result was the election of Gov. Hiram Johnson, a Liberal Republican, who implemented the initiative and referendum process, i.e. direct democracy, in California. That was 1911. (Initiative and Referendum Institute USC).
Since then 1,759 ballot measures were submitted, 360 were placed on the ballot and 122 were approved. Historically, less than 10% of attempted ballot measures make it into law.
Ballot measures are either recalls, referendum or initiatives. Citizens may initiative any of these processes through the Secretary of State’s Office. The cost to start the procedure is $200.00. California citizens can write it or receive assistance from the Secretary’s office for ballot language. See the Secretary of Sate’s website for details.
Referendums: by the citizens - reject recently passed laws or parts of laws that were voted on by the Legislative and Executive branches in Sacramento. Any California citizen may challenge or approve statues with the exception of taxes. Citizens have ninety days from the enactment of a bill to request and receive title and summary from the Attorney General, gather signatures (504,760 valid) and file the petition. A simple majority of the electorate must approve.
Referendums placed on the ballot by the legislature have the effect of becoming constitutional law if passed by a simple majority.
Initiatives: Initiatives are ballot measures introduced by citizens. There are two types, Constitutional and standard:
A constitutional initiative requires 807,616 valid signatures to qualify. Constitutional initiatives are the most secure as they cannot be overturned except by a very complicated process.
Standard initiatives require 504,760 signatures and cannot be overturned by a simple majority vote in Sacramento.
In summary, ballot measures are recalls, referendum or initiatives. Propositions are created by citizens are either recalls, referendums to reject laws passed in Sacramento or initiatives to create law. Propositions by the government are referendum to turn a standard law into a constitutional amendment.
All California constitutional laws cannot be overturned easily. A referendum and a constitutional convention are necessary.
We are proud to be part of the California Federation of Republican Women (CFRW), and the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), the largest women’s political volunteer organization in the nation. When you join Humboldt Republican Women, Federated, you're joining forces with women throughout the state and across the nation, women who share your ideals and your goals for our country.
