NAACP National Office joins the Arizona State Conference in condemning Arizona's new immigration law

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The NAACP issued the following statement regarding SB1070; a new law in Arizona that gives local law enforcement the right to arrest anyone they suspect is in the country illegally. Governor Jan Brewer signed SB1070 into Arizona law on Friday, April 23rd.

“The NAACP is outraged that in 2010, a sitting Governor would sign a law that empowers local law enforcement to legally use racial profiling to target entire communities. It is a violation of the respect for human rights that is the moral standard of our nation and it threatens the safety of us all as both immigrants and citizens will be fearful of reporting crimes to police. The law unwisely redirects the role of the Federal Immigration and Naturalization Department to local police officers diverting local resources from fighting crime to investigating undocumented people who might be in this country,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Governor Brewer’s signature on SB1070 is another attempt to roll the clock back on civil rights protections in this country.”

“The passage of SB1070 is an embarrassment to the equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution, and if we are not careful will leave a permanent stain on the United State’s reputation throughout the world. As an association that has fought for more than 100 years to ensure that basic rights and freedoms would be equally extended to all, it is disheartening to see the State of Arizona enact a law that tramples on the civil rights of Hispanic persons, and one that cannot be enforced without resorting to racial and ethnic profiling. We intend to use the full weight of our 2200 branches and units to ensure that this law is repealed and does not happen in other states across this nation,” stated NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock. “As a nation we must enact comprehensive immigration reform so people who are in this country without documentation will have a path to citizenship, and we look forward to working toward that goal with the President and Congress in the coming months.”

The proposed law requires state, county, and municipal employees to ascertain the immigration status of a person if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is unlawfully present in the U.S. It also subjects local governments and their personnel to lawsuits by any citizen who feels that the new law is not being enforced sufficiently. The law would impose a $500 fine, among other costs, and a misdemeanor charge leading to possible deportation for individuals who could not show proof of legal presence.

“The NAACP is deeply disappointed that Governor Brewer signed SB1070 into law. This new law effectively legalizes the incendiary practice of racial profiling and will adversely affect communities of color across Arizona. Moreover, it sets a dangerous precedent for other states to follow suit and pass similar discriminatory measures,” stated NAACP Washington Bureau Director and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy Hilary O. Shelton. “We look forward to working with other national civil rights groups, the U.S. Congress and President Obama to achieve comprehensive immigration reform so that racially and ethnically discriminatory laws like SB1070 are rendered irrelevant and useless.”

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NAACP supported bill creating a Blue-Ribbon Commission to review the Nation's Criminal Justice System is introduced in the U.S. House

If Passed, the new law would create a bi-partisan commission to evaluate every stage of the criminal justice process from initial contact, to sentencing, to the challenges facing those re-entering the community, and the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities in the system

The Issue: At every stage of the criminal justice process serious problems undermine basic tenets of fairness and equity, as well as the public's expectations for safety. Perhaps the most glaring problem inherent in today's system is the number of racial and ethnic minorities who are disproportionately treated more harshly and more often by our Nation's criminal justice system. At every stage of the criminal justice process - from initial contact to sentencing to the challenges facing those reentering the community after incarceration - racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the number of people stopped, arrested, tried, convicted and incarcerated.

While people may argue about the reasons behind it, few would disagree that extensive racial and ethnic disparities exist today in the American criminal justice system. These disparities are particularly true for African American men and boys, who are grossly overrepresented at every stage of the judicial process. Initial contacts with police officers are often driven by racial profiling and other racially tainted practices, and the disparities exist through the sentencing phase: African Americans routinely receive more jail time and harsher punishments. Although African Americans make up just over 12% of the national population, 42% of Americans currently on death row are African American. Nearly a million African Americans today are incarcerated in prisons and in jails, and unless there is a change, a black male born today has a one-in-three chance of going to prison in his lifetime. Furthermore, African American women have the highest rate of incarceration among women in our nation, a rate that is four times higher than that of White women.

This is not just a problem among African Americans or racial and ethnic minorities. Our nation has 5 percent of the world's population. We have 25 percent of the world's known prison population. We have an incarceration rate in the United States that is five times the incarceration rate in the rest of the world. The bottom line is that under our current criminal justice system too many people are being incarcerated and otherwise caught up in the criminal justice system and we still have too many Americans who do not feel safe in the homes or their communities. Furthermore, because of the disparities that result from our current system, entire communities within our country do not have confidence in the criminal justice system.

The National Criminal Justice Act has been introduced in the Senate (S.714) and House (H.R. 5143) to create a national commission with an 18-month timeline to examine and review the myriad of problems that exist in our current criminal justice system. In doing so, the Commission would also be charged with looking at how we have arrived at this convoluted mess, how many of our problems are interrelated and often feed off of one another, and how we can correct a system that is badly in need of a new course. On January 21, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved of S. 714 by a strong bipartisan margin: the legislation is now awaiting action by the full Senate.

THE NAACP STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT, S. 714 / H.R. 5143

CLICK HERE FOR THE ACTION WE NEED YOU TO TAKE!

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Arizona SB1070 Immigration bill: "Show us your Dom Pas!"

posted by Kevin Myles and Donna Pearson

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For most of the 20th Century, South Africa employed a system of Apartheid; a grotesque and brutal system that rightfully earned the contempt of the world. Black people in South Africa were required to carry a "Pass Book" or Dom Pas at all times while traveling in "White" South Africa to prove that they were there legitimately. If they were not able to produce their documents on demand, then they would be arrested and banished to an undeveloped rural area.

Incredibly, the Arizona State Legislature has hearkened back to that shameful period with it's own Dom Pas policy. Persons suspected of being an illegal immigrant may now be asked, without a warrant, to produce documents to prove that they are here legally. If they are not able to produce these documents, they are subject to arrest and will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

This essentially means that all persons of Hispanic origin, or who speak with a Spanish accent, must carry their "documents" at all times while traveling so as to satisfy the suspicions of others, or risk arrest and detention. This bill is a gross over-reaction to the issue of illegal immigration and it imbrues our national character. It must not stand...

But we actually don’t have to look overseas to find references for carrying pieces of paper to prove ones legal status. First consider the African American slave. Even if you were “born free” or had been made so through other means, you still had to be able to prove your freedom whenever called upon. In Illinois if you couldn’t produce a “Certificate of Freedom” you could be beaten and thrown out of the state. Even if you could produce it, you were denied the right to vote or sit on juries. Sounds eerily like Arizona.

Just like Mexican Americans and Latinos, you could work here and die for this country, but you were denied civil and political freedoms. I say this because they too were brought here by “circumstances”. From 1942 to 1967 we wanted every unskilled Mexican American we could convince to cross the border. Bracero brought over 1 MILLION Mexicans to work in the agricultural fields and railroads of this country after being forced OUT of their country hundreds of years earlier. Remember César Chávez? Only when they began to organize and fight for their rights did America decide they needed to return home. The similarities of slavery and our current immigration situation are striking.

What is the best way to deny someone the ability to fully participate?

1. Deny them an education – Check
2. Deny them the ability to participate in the decision making process – Check
3. Deny them the ability to get an economic foothold by keeping them in low paying jobs – Check

How many times DOES history have to repeat itself?

ARTICLE 8. ENFORCEMENT OF IMMIGRATION LAWS
11-1051. Cooperation and assistance in enforcement of immigration laws; indemnification

A. NO OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE MAY ADOPT A POLICY THAT LIMITS OR RESTRICTS THE ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS TO LESS THAN THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY FEDERAL LAW.

B. FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE PERSON'S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c).

C. IF AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES IS CONVICTED OF A VIOLATION OF STATE OR LOCAL LAW, ON DISCHARGE FROM IMPRISONMENT OR ASSESSMENT OF ANY FINE THAT IS IMPOSED, THE ALIEN SHALL BE TRANSFERRED IMMEDIATELY TO THE CUSTODY OF THE UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OR THE UNITED STATES CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION.

D. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY MAY SECURELY TRANSPORT AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES AND WHO IS IN THE AGENCY'S CUSTODY TO A FEDERAL FACILITY IN THIS STATE OR TO ANY OTHER POINT OF TRANSFER INTO FEDERAL CUSTODY THAT IS OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.

E. A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, WITHOUT A WARRANT, MAY ARREST A PERSON IF THE OFFICER HAS PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THE PERSON HAS COMMITTED ANY PUBLIC OFFENSE THAT MAKES THE PERSON REMOVABLE FROM THE UNITED STATES.

F. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN FEDERAL LAW, OFFICIALS OR AGENCIES OF THIS STATE AND COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS AND OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THIS STATE MAY NOT BE PROHIBITED OR IN ANY WAY BE RESTRICTED FROM SENDING, RECEIVING OR MAINTAINING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF ANY INDIVIDUAL OR EXCHANGING THAT INFORMATION WITH ANY OTHER FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY FOR THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL PURPOSES:

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On the life and passing of Dr. Dorothy Height

Born 2 years before women were granted the right to vote, Dr. Dorothy Height was an eyewitness to and a key participant in nearly a century of change. An advisor to Presidents, a champion of Womens equality, and a towering figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Height was, as some have described her, the Godmother of the Movement.

She was a Past President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a Past President of the National Council for Negro Women, a consultant on African affairs to the Secretary of State, the President's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped, and the President's Committee on the Status of Women. She was also the founder of the National Black Family Reunion, an Executive Committee member of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, an NAACP Spingarn Award Winner, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Dr. Height dedicated her life to ensuring that our generation and our children would have better lives. She stood on every battlefield, and helped us mark every milestone...

Dr. Height, for all that you gave and sacrificed on our behalf, for all that you've accomplished and for all you wished and worked towards, we are eternally grateful.  We love you, we thank you, and we cherish your memory. On this day Dr. Height, we mourn your passing, and celebrate your home-going...

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The Last Sermon of Pastor Benjamin Hooks

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The NAACP and Google partner to merge technology and social advocacy

A team comprised of the NAACP executive leadership, communications, policy, and field organizing staff, traveled to Google Headquarters (known as the Googleplex) in Mountainview California to discuss new ideas, applets, and initiatives to merge the power of technology with the NAACP's historic mission of social advocacy. Over the two day trip, the NAACP team met with various engineers and project managers to discuss how Google technology could be used or modified to amplify our efforts.

Our team was met on-site by David Drummond, Google's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, and Harry Wingo, DC Policy Counsel for Google. The NAACP team consisted of National President Benjamin Jealous, COO Roger Vann, Director of Unit Capacity Rev Gill Ford, National Field Director Stephanie Brown, Congressional Analyst Carol Kaplan, Senior Manager for Law Enforcement Accountability Dr. Niaz Kasravi, Director of IT Jacob Frimpong, Director of New Media Eric Wingerter, Kansas State Conference President Kevin Myles, Audrey Lamyssaire, Eric Oliver, Carmen Berkley, Jamaa Bickley-King, Curtis Johnson, Adam Lee, and Aba Tyus.

One of the very exciting initiatives we discussed was the development of a tool that would plot the type of data and information the NAACP receives (and has received) through our data collection applet. This tool would allow us to graphically display incidents of racial profiling, discrimination, and police misconduct on an animated timeline; which would give us the ability to easily spot trends and identify areas in need of concentrated reforms. The tool would also greatly assist in Unit's advocacy efforts because it takes what would otherwise be seen as hundreds of scattered anecdotal reports and compiles them in an easily understood and visually compelling display.

We also discussed various uses and potential applications of Google apps such as Google Voice, Docs, Profiles, Sites, and Wave. Over the coming months, we look forward to rolling out new National and Local initiatives from this effort...

(Top photo: NAACP Leadership team with Harry Wingo at the Googleplex.  Bottom Photo: The NAACP Communications team with NAACP President Ben Jealous, Google Senior VP David Drummond and Google Policy Counsel Harry Wingo)

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Wichita NAACP Statement on the recent drive by shooting death near 18th and Chatauqua

A few moments ago, I received a call from City Councilwoman and NAACP Vice President Lavonta Williams, informing me of a drive by shooting that took place yesterday near 18th and Chatauqua. I am currently out of town but I felt it was important that we not wait, but rather that we speak to this tragic issue and to those who have been affected.

I speak on behalf of the Wichita Branch NAACP as an organization and myself personally when I say that we mourn the loss of life, and offer our prayers to the family. But we most also condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the senseless and reckless cycle of violence that has plagued our community for too long and has yet claimed another life. Equally tragic as the shooting itself was that fact that the act was witnessed by a group of small children who were outside playing in the neighborhood.

As an activist, and someone who volunteers between 25 and 30 hours per week to serve this community which I deeply love, I find myself racked with anger at those whose selfishness and disregard for human life threatens to destroy the very fabric of our community. You are robbing the childhood away from our children.

To my young brothers: There is no excuse for what you're doing. I know you tell me, "man, you don't understand..."; but that's simply not true. I do understand... it's you who seemingly do not. You don't seem to understand that in a world of infinite possibilities, failure is a choice. Each of you has a god-given potential that  is too often wasted on get rich quick schemes, "hustling", drugs, excuses, and violence... It is shameful and indefensible and it must stop...

When I get back to Wichita, I plan to sit down with brother David Gilkey, Pastor Michael Tyson, and others who are committed to ending this cycle of violence to develop some new strategies for reaching these youth. If you are interested in joining in this effort, we'll be posting updates and meeting info on our Facebook page... You can join the Wichita NAACP Facebook group by clicking the applet in the upper right section of this page...

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Civil Rights Champion and Former NAACP Executive Director Dr. Benjamin Hooks has passed away...

Posted from: The Herald-Mail

Benjamin L. Hooks, a champion of minorities and the poor who as executive director of the NAACP increased the group’s stature, has died. He was 85.

State Rep. Ulysses Jones, a member of the church where Hooks was pastor, said Hooks died early Thursday at his home, following a long illness.

Hooks became executive director of the NAACP in 1977, taking over a group that was $1 million in debt and shrunk to 200,000 members from nearly a half-million in the 1950s and 1960s. He pledged to increase enrollment and raise money for the organization.

“Black Americans are not defeated,” he told Ebony magazine soon after his induction. “The civil rights movement is not dead. If anyone thinks that we are going to stop agitating, they had better think again. If anyone thinks that we are going to stop litigating, they had better close the courts. If anyone thinks that we are not going to demonstrate and protest, they had better roll up the sidewalks.”

By the time he ended his position as executive director in 1992, the group rebounded, with membership growing by several hundred thousand. Toward this, he created community radiothons to make the public more aware of activities by local NAACP branches and boost membership.

“He came in at a time the NAACP was struggling and gave it a strong foundation. He brought dignity and strong leadership to the organization,” Jones said.

Hooks also created an initiative that expanded employment opportunities for blacks in Major League Baseball and launched a program where corporations participated in economic development projects in black communities.

“The nation best remembers Benjamin Hooks as the leader of the NAACP,” President George W. Bush said in 2007 when he presented Hooks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. “Dr. Hooks was a calm yet forceful voice for fairness, opportunity and personal responsibility. He never tired or faltered in demanding that our nation live up to its founding ideals of liberty and equality.”

Nearly two decades earlier, Hooks pleaded with Bush’s father, then-President George H.W. Bush, for action on a string of gasoline bomb attacks in the South that killed in December 1989 a federal judge in Alabama and a black civil rights lawyer in Savannah, Ga.

The same month, another bomb was intercepted at an NAACP office in Jacksonville, Fla. and an Atlanta television station received a letter threatening more attacks on judges, attorneys and NAACP leaders.

“We believe that this latest incident is an effort to intimidate our association, to strike fear in our hearts,” he said at the time. “It will not succeed. We intend to go about our business, but we will most certainly be taking precautions.”

Walter Leroy Moody, now 75, was convicted of the killings and other charges in 1997 and remains on Alabama’s death row.

Hooks’ inspiration to fight social injustice and bigotry stemmed from his experience of guarding Italian prisoners of war while serving overseas in the Army during World War II — foreign prisoners were allowed to eat in “for whites only” restaurants while he was barred from them.

When no law school in the South would admit him, he used the GI bill to attend DePaul University in Chicago, where he earned a law degree in 1948. He later opened his own law practice in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn.

“At that time you were insulted by law clerks, excluded from white bar associations and when I was in court, I was lucky to be called ’Ben,”’ he once said in an interview with Jet magazine. “Usually it was just ’boy.”’

In 1965 he was appointed to a newly created seat on the Tennessee Criminal Court, making him the first black judge since Reconstruction in a state trial court anywhere in the South.

“It was a national story for a black in the Deep South to be nominated for a judgeship,” he said years later.

President Richard Nixon nominated Hooks to the Federal Communications Commission in 1972. He was its first black commissioner, serving for five years before resigning to lead the NAACP.

“Hooks’ career as a Federal Communications Commissioner did change the organization,” according to the 1995 book, ’Commissioners of the FCC.’ “He regarded the minorities and the poor as his constituency.”

At the FCC, he addressed the lack of minority leadership in media and persuaded the commission to propose a new rule requiring TV and radio stations to be offered publicly before they could be sold. Minority employment in broadcasting grew from 3 percent to 15 percent during his tenure.

He later was the chairman of the board of directors of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and helped create The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis.

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Governor Bob McDonnell rejoins Virginians to celebrate the "Shared History" of the Confederacy

Just yesterday, an article was posted on Salon.com that talked about the hundreds of missing graves, and many more unmarked, incorrectly marked, or group marked graves of Black Civil War era Soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Just last month, the Texas Department of Education approved a new set of Social Studies Standards which minimize the role and significance of the civil rights movement, relegate celebrated African American historical figures like WEB DuBois and Ida B Wells to "Muckracker" status, and distort through omission America's real and sordid history on Race. So I guess it is only fitting that now Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has declared April to be Confederate History Month.

His proclamation stated in part:

"it is important for all Virginians to reflect upon our Commonwealth’s shared history, to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War, and to recognize how our history has led to our present"

Yet, Governor McDonnell did not see fit to even mention the whole Slavery thingy that was kinda at the center of the whole damn thing. When asked why he would issue a proclaimation that talked about honoring our "shared history" while at the same time neglecting to mention anything about the 'Peculiar Institution' of Slavery, Governor McDonnell stated that in his proclamation he chose to focus on the issues that he thought were "significant for Virginia".

Significant huh? Well, how about this for significance...

The Confederate Army fought, bled, and died, to defend what they believed to be their God-given right to keep my Grandmother's Grandmother locked in chains. Imprisoned against her will; to be raped, tortured, burned, or whipped, to have her children torn away and sold, or worse... Confederate Soldiers fought, bled, and died, to defend what they believed to be their God-given right, to take men like my Grandfather's Grandfather and work them in hot fields like beasts of burden, starve them, whip them, maim them, destroy their families, rape their wives and their children, and even kill them with absolute impunity. Millions of Africans; worked for generations without pay, forbidden to learn to read or write, forbidden to practice their own religions, forbidden to speak their own languages, transmit their own culture, forbidden even to pass on their own names. Now we walk around as Johnson's, Washington's, Smith's, Davis's, and even Myles's, named for the very people and families responsible...And the Confederate Army went to War to declare that within their States, they should be allowed to do this to my Grandmother's Grandparents, and that the Federal Government should simply mind it's own business.  - Well -

For what its worth: Governor Bob McDonnell can go to Hell... For this detestable "celebration" of hatred, evil, and ignorance, I have nothing but contempt.

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Kansas Attorney General will NOT file suit over Health Care Reform

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six stated today that he won't join colleagues in other states in challenging the new federal health care law because he believes their lawsuit has little chance of success.

Attorney General Six's announcement drew immediate criticism from conservative opponents to Health Care Reform. The Republican controlled Legislature still could order Six to challenge the law, and a resolution requiring a challenge has been introduced in the House. Also, Six's decision is likely to be an issue as he runs for election this year.

But Six said the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government broad powers to regulate interstate commerce. He also dismissed arguments that the law is unconstitutional because of its changes in Medicaid. Finally, he said, there's no need for Kansas to challenge the law because other states already are.

"Our review did not reveal any constitutional defects, and thus it would not be legally or fiscally responsible to pursue this litigation," Six said in a statement. "I will continue to make decisions based on the law, not in response to political pressure."

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Kansas Republican who'd urged Six to get involved, called his decision "extremely disappointing."

However, a spokesman for Governor Parkinson stated, "Governor Parkinson supports Attorney General Six's analysis and appreciates that he made this decision based on a sound legal analysis and not the politics of the moment."

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Growing the Gap: Kansas' proposed education funding plan undermines urban and rural districts

I had always believed that the term "Undermining" was a colloquialism; a term that had come to represent the act of secretly working against the interest of others. That is until last year when I took a trip to Treece, Kansas and had the opportunity to see and understand that 'Undermining' is a real process with potentially dangerous consequences. My guides on the trip, Denny and Ella Johnston, walked me to the edge of what appeared to be a small pond. As we stood there on the waterfront, Denny explained to me how horizontal mine shafts had been drilled beneath homes, neighborhoods and businesses, weakening the ground. The residents at that time, had all been lead to believe that this was all perfectly safe and necessary, and that they could rest assured that there was no danger and they would suffer no ill-effects. For many years, those promises held true; these areas, though under-mined, appeared perfectly normal and life continued on as usual. But soon they all learned that given just enough rain and the right set of conditions, the mine shafts beneath them would flood and expand. Then suddenly, the ground gave way, and what used to be a neighborhood now became a sinkhole...

The proposed school funding plan, offered by the Kansas House Education Budget Committee, is an act of undermining. It would undermine urban schools, low SES students and districts by weakening their foundations, with real and painful consequences that would occur over time.

The Kansas Legislature is now facing a $400,000,000.00 shortfall. A proposed 1 cent sales tax which would have significantly reduced the deficit and provided much needed funds for education was defeated. The legislature has deferred any further decisions on cuts and rescissions until the wrap-up session (Apr 28th), but the House Education Budget Committee has already submitted a plan to the Kansas Department of Education which would reduce the State Education budget by $172,000,000.00.

While I was and remain personally supportive of the 1 cent sales tax increase (I believe that the conservative dogma that "cutting taxes creates growth" and "raising taxes kills jobs" are gross oversimplifications so out of sync with our economic climate and reality as to be fiscally irresponsible), but I digress... I am not philosophically opposed to cutting the budget, but I am truly disturbed by who the committee singled out to bear the brunt of those cuts. Far from trimming the fat, the House Education Budget Committee has submitted a plan that would widen disparities between districts and schools by focusing their cuts on districts with high percentages of Urban and ESOL students and those supported by neighborhoods with low property values.

The proposed plan divides the proposed cuts in half. Half of the cuts (approximately $86,000,000.00) would come from eliminating the high enrollment (read: urban) weighting, and reducing the vocational, bilingual, and at-risk weighting factors. The other half (roughly $86,000,000.00) would be cut from supplemental State aid; the funds used to equal out per pupil spending disparities across the State resulting from differences in local property tax receipts.

The cuts are disguised and their impact is not immediately discernible because the plan proposes that districts could simply increase their local property taxes to mitigate the impact. But the proposed taxes would all necessarily be regressive, because the lower a district's property values, the more its funding will be cut, and the more their local property taxes would have to be raised to make up the difference. The poorest districts would face the most severe cuts and would require massive tax increases to ever even approach parity in per pupil spending. Local Property tax increases so large, that they could never be passed...

Some will argue that supplemental state aid is a give-away. They will argue that it is only fair to provide communities with the schools and educational resources that they pay for, and that it is not fair to use tax money for the purpose of achieving statewide equities in per-pupil spending. - They are wrong -

You can not have it both ways. You can not claim to be supporters of fairness, level playing fields, and individual merit, and yet defend a system that distributes educational resources in concordance with personal wealth. If access to high quality/high experienced teachers, labs, equipment, state of the art facilities, art and music programs, extracurricular activities, field trips and other supplementary learning opportunities, are scaled to the parents income, then we will have a system that is not fair, with playing fields that are not level, and one where accomplishment is not based solely upon individual merit, but rather a system tilted to reward and benefit the affluent. That is not a Public school system; that is a tax supported Private school system...

Here are some examples of the disparate impacts of this proposal

Required Mill Rate Increases to replace the cuts.

USD 502 - 15.52 mil    ~   USD 220 - 0.00 mil

USD 396 - 16.05 mil    ~   USD 328 - 0.00 mil

USD 470 - 17.22 mil    ~   USD 494 - 0.00 mil

USD 339 - 18.79 mil    ~   USD 424 - 0.00 mil

USD 357 - 19.18 mil    ~   USD 482 - 0.00 mil

USD 337 - 20.01 mil    ~   USD 209 - 0.00 mil

USD 504 - 21.63 mil    ~   USD 210 - 0.00 mil

USD 505 - 22.14 mil    ~   USD 203 - 0.00 mil

Get the picture?

In short, this proposal represents an unfair regressive tax scheme which will exacerbate disparities and shift the pain of this recession onto the backs of the working class, poor, urban, and minority communities. It is unbalanced, and it threatens to unbalance the quality of our children's education.

When the Legislature resumes on April 28th - URGE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE NO ON HOUSE BILL 2739

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