The Teacher’s Union That Stole Christmas

The Weekly Standard has an excellent new article in its latest issue that reports on the discouraging story of the Washington D.C. teachers union that is rushing headlong toward destroying the successful and popular federally-funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP).

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The program has helped many disadvantaged D.C. are kids get a better and safer education than they would have gotten in the violence plagued public schools system. But Democratic lawmakers in Congress have continually announced their lack of support for the voucher plan despite the inner city kids that have benefited from it all. And, as the Standard reports, the D.C. teachers unions are ecstatic to see these kids losing their opportunities for a better education.

One group that won’t be bemoaning the voucher programs’ end is the teachers’ unions. This spring National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel bluntly reminded Senators that “opposition to vouchers is a top priority for NEA,” and warned them that the NEA would be paying keen attention to how they vote on vouchers. “The National Education Association strongly opposes any extension of the District of Columbia private school voucher (’DC Opportunity Scholarship’) program,” Van Roekel wrote in a March 5, 2009 letter. “We expect that Members of Congress who support public education, and whom we have supported, will stand firm against any proposal to extend the pilot program. Actions associated with these issues WILL be included in the NEA Legislative Report Card for the 111th Congress.”

Kids? Who cares? It’s all about power for the teachers unions. You see, vouchers programs means satellite schools, private schools and charter schools. It means private educators getting that all important federal money and it means that the unions are left with a smaller portion of the largess pie. And unions don’t want to share ANY of those federal freebies even if it does mean a better education for the kids. So, as we see all across the country, teachers unions are once again saying “screw the stupid kids, just gimmie the cash”!