Nevada, USA Volume 15 Number 43 JUNE 28, 2018 the PENNY PRESS,JUNE 28, 2018 PAGE 2
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Penny Press Nevada, USA Volume 15 Number 43 JUNE 28, 2018 THE PENNY PRESS,JUNE 28, 2018 PAGE 2 www.pennypressnv.com The Penny Press is published weekly by Penny Credits: Far West Radio LLC All Contents © Penny Press 2018 Publisher and Editor: Contributing Editors: Fred Weinberg Floyd Brown Al Thomas Letters to the Editor are encouraged. They should be Press emailed to: [email protected] No unsigned or Doug French Robert Ringer Logotype unverifiable letters will be printed. Pointedlymad John Getter Pat Choate licensed from: Ron Knecht Byron Bergeron 775-461-1515 Rich Gast Penny Press NEVADA USA 16 PAGES VOLUME 15 NUMBER 43 JUNE 28, 2018 Preserving That Bureaucracy By ROBERT FELLNER charter schools has soared in recent Carolyn Edwards. $770 million from its budget since Special to the Penny Press years. And that’s what happens when 2009.” But rather than celebrating the a bureaucracy that values its budget In reality, CCSD’s budget is up As famed economist Ludwig fact that more children are finally over student well-being is tasked nearly $300 million from 2009; the Von Mises observed many years able to attend a school that better with providing education — tax alleged cuts are government-speak ago, the first priority of any serves their needs, CCSD plans to dollars get spent trying to keep for a smaller than desired increase. bureaucracy will always be self- hire a marketer to discourage others children trapped in a failing system, CCSD even went so far as to from doing the same (“CCSD just to protect CCSD’s bottom-line. impugn its own self-reported data Commentary creates new job to keep students out Viewing students as funding when it threatened to paint the of charter schools,” The Las Vegas mechanisms is certainly the most district in a negative light. Review-Journal, May 25). destructive example of CCSD’s Every two years, the U.S. The move is particularly galling bureaucratic mindset, but it is far Department of Education surveys preservation. given CCSD’s constant complaints from the only one. schools across the nation on a While defenders of government- regarding teacher shortages and Despite being a public agency variety of metrics, including each run schools have largely succeeded overcrowded classrooms — both of funded by tax dollars, and thus district’s rate of “chronic teacher in obscuring this fact from the which would seem to be alleviated obligated to provide accurate absenteeism” — defined as teachers public, the Clark County School by having fewer students to teach. information, CCSD routinely who missed 11 or more days of District (CCSD) is doing its very So what gives? deceives the public when seeking regular classroom instruction that best to remind us of just how valid Because fewer students mean to advance its own interests. year. Mises’ insight remains. fewer dollars from the state, CCSD In an April press release asking In late 2016, CCSD’s chronic Because CCSD has failed so created the position “to raise money for more tax dollars, for example, teacher absenteeism rate of more many students, for so long, the for the district by bringing children CCSD Trustees falsely claimed than 50 percent was highlighted number of students transferring to back in,” according to Trustee that the district has “cut more than Continued on page4 The Conservative Weekly Voice Of Nevada RON KNECHT PAGE 5 Inside: Penny Wisdom ROBERT BRADLEY PAGE 6 I am very impassioned and dis- ROBERT RINGER PAGE 7 traught over the situation with Let's Treat Drug children separated from their fam- DOUG FRENCH PAGE 9 ilies at the border, but I went way too far. It was wrong and I should FRED WEINBERG PAGE 10 Cartels Like ISIS not have done it. I immediately regretted it and sincerely apologize ROBERT ROMANO PAGE 11 to the family for what I said and CHUCK MUTH PAGE 14 See Editorial Page 6 any hurt my words have caused. —Peter Fonda THE PENNY PRESS,JUNE 28, 2018 PAGE 4 CCSD Dollars Should NOT Go To Public Relations Continued from page 3 in a Washington Post story on the then-current 2013-14 school year guidelines. data. CCSD chief student achievement officer Mike Barton reportedly And since these guidelines have been in place since the survey’s responded to the data by declaring that, “I don’t want for one minute for inception, why was there no mention of the alleged data problems when people to think that we are ignoring this. This is something that we want speaking to the Washington Post in 2016? to make sure improves.” An inquiry seeking to understand CCSD’s dramatic change in tone, Barton’s desire to remedy the problem was justified; as research has and whether they had in fact failed to follow the federal government’s shown that such high rates of teacher absenteeism seriously harm student reporting guidelines — as their statement suggested — went unanswered. learning. Nevadans rightfully expect that their education tax dollars will go Unfortunately, when the local news reported last month on the new towards student learning, not PR and marketing operations designed to 2015-16 data — which saw CCSD’s chronic teacher absenteeism rate rise protect a bureaucracy’s budget at student expense. to 59 percent, more than triple the rate found at the median school district In addition to continuing to promote charter schools, lawmakers nationwide — CCSD responded by issuing an inflammatory statement should immediately fund Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts, expand that sought to discredit the data as flawed. the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program and pursue reforms that put But because the data is self-reported, CCSD’s statement could only be parents — not bureaucrats and politicians — in charge of how educational true if the district had failed to follow the federal government’s reporting dollars are spent. Robert Fellner is the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s policy director. THE PENNY PRESS,JUNE 28, 2018 PAGE 5 Commentary: Ron Knecht & James Smack English skills. facility in both languages, who has are both decidedly 20th Century Spanish In this case, however, the been a great friend and volunteer. kids. translation could be secured at no She had expressed enthusiasm for Karyn and Lexi are, of course, Language cost to the state, and production and more such work, and the 24-page 21st Century kids. And the natural distribution at a very low cost to CAR is the ideal piece to translate. thing for them to do was to fire Controller’s our modest legislatively approved In addition, Ron had suggested up their computers and input the publishing budget. Moreover, the to his daughter Karyn that she English sentences and paragraphs CAR is one of our main vehicles do a half-time internship in the into an on-line translating program. Reports, Interns for promoting transparency and office to help translate, produce It returned the Spanish version of accountability about key fiscal and and distribute the document. Not the text, which they inserted into and Progress policy issues. So, it is an item with only would that introduce her to their document. which Nevada should reach out to the working world, but she would Bea noted that the girls’ A few months ago, we decided people. improve her Spanish and learn procedure allowed them to move the Controller’s Annual Report Also, we had some positive production and distribution skills. faster through the text than she (CAR) should be published in previous experience with a After considering the idea, Karyn could. She explained that she was Spanish, as well as English. Spanish-language document. So, if was enthusiastic about it. familiar with translation programs, As a rule, we think most governments want to make sensible When Karyn’s best friend Lexi but preferred the old school way government documents shouldn’t efforts in non-English publishing, heard about it, she asked if she because it produces a richer, more be rendered in languages other than this made a good test case. could join the team too. We agreed nuanced and accurate version. English. It’s expensive and difficult Three years ago, our first and got the three of them together However, not being stuck in her to do, and in most cases the social Controller’s Monthly Report, a four- with our production person and ways, she recognized the value value is not great when there are page document, was translated into a manager with strong bilingual of the material Lexi and Karyn public employees or friends and Spanish by Bea, a Mexican-born skills who had helped with the first were producing and suggested she relatives to help folks with limited American citizen with outstanding translation and agreed to help this would work from their translation, one. and improve it for the final-review Last week, they went to work. product. Great idea! Due to space constraints in our So, the girls initially may not be office, after the first day, Lexi and improving their Spanish as much Tips Of Our Cap Karyn worked at the Knecht home as hoped because they’re using the under the supervision of wife Kathy. software. However, they’ve made and When Ron was there to observe the a great contribution to the speed at work, he was impressed with the which the project will be finished. diligence and focus of the two girls In short, they’ve introduced a Bronx Cheers in their first working stint and with productivity gain to our system their productivity after minor initial by bringing in new technology for stumbles. automation. And it will leave them The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To: By the end of a week, they had time to concentrate on learning finished translating the first five Spanish as they compare Bea’s The United States Supreme Court for ruling that President Trump does indeed have the pages of a challenging document product to their own.