Sitemap - 2020 - Public Enemy Number 1

Drafting education workers into combat -- without war games, with very little equipment, with slashed funding, and with no real leadership above the school level

Fighting "for" is harder than fighting "against." That's why we do it; and that's why we're winning. Join us.

In-person early voting is upon us -- here's where and how to do it

Countries that opened schools successfully used staggered starts. And they had much lower virus levels.

The path to sustainable in-person schooling runs through slow, careful build up -- not a Big Bang

The Townsend position: offer e-learning to everyone; stagger in-person start to carefully, slowly provide in-person services to the neediest kids

We are voting for Billy. Let us tell you why.

Billy's powerful record and vision for racial justice, peace, and empowerment

Health officials cannot be less courageous than school workers, who cannot be less protected than health care workers

Share the School Board debate, Will Harrell, Chairman of Lakeland First and founder of Citizens for Polk Education

Watch the debate with my opponent; and let's give a Civics lesson to Jack Harrell and Jeff Chamberlain

Dominance ritual: the state government's insane political gambit has handed school staff great power -- if they use it.

We are the shoe: the strange referendum on what political business always said it wanted

Transparency and trust matter more than ever in the COVID era, especially for schools

Limited in-person school starts July 8 for some rising 4th graders; so let's see if we can make masks work

What is your voting plan for Aug. 18? If it's vote-by-mail, ask for your ballot NOW.

A Polk schools reopening/COVID Q&A from a proudly active board member

The state has no "plan" but more testing for reopening schools; so we have to ask and answer foundational questions ourselves

What can Lakeland/Polk do? Single-member districts and geographic school choice would be a start.

Lying won't help anybody's life; and it won't beat us. Try having some ideas instead.

Melony Bell's give-back-half position on the FRS heist hints at a veto. Now ask her if she wants a veto.

Will the board chair/superintendent allow your elected school board to vote to demand a veto of Melony Bell's $9 million FRS heist

The euthanasia archipelago and the graduations: I will proudly wear a mandatory mask for the sake of both

Rescind the FRS heist: Rep. Bell/Gov. DeSantis, give back the $9 million you took from Polk's children, paras, bus drivers, nutrition workers, custodians, and experienced teachers

The FSBA rises: a strong, important document on re-opening schools shows it can be a force for advocacy

Governing by dominance ritual: we're all Richard Corcoran's kid; and we can't afford to forget it

The expendable soldiers of the 1918 pandemic call out to the expendable soldiers of 2020

In the era of COVID, a passive School Board is dangerous

I won't fire any educator or cut any pay or steal any pension. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell will have to do that.

Our educators have built a humanity wall. Celebrate it. Keep it standing strong.

My opponent would like to opt out of thinking ahead; but that makes for bad governing

The DeSantis vs. Corcoran/Jeb K-12 civil war, part 1: real schools and serious governing are the key to "reopening the economy," whatever that means

Dear Gov. DeSantis and education leaders: bail out kids, educators, and human connection; not Big Test and JebWorld

Heroes in the age of the grifters

The survival of our communities -- from hospitals to school systems to family businesses -- is a political choice.

The humanity wall: distance learning, voluntary heroism, and the longstanding American plague

We're all "The Martian" now: problems, assets, and empathy

Wishful normalcy and paralysis is panic: the ground is shifting beneath our feet. We must think systemically and long-term now.

The odd case of A'kelynn's Angels: the Pre-K closed because of state oversight; FTC voucher school still collecting checks for at least 134 Step Up for Students kids

Term limits for Tuthills, part 2: ...and Kirtleys and Levesques and Goffs and the Florida Education Deep State

Term limits for Tuthills, part 1: confront unelected power with real world referenda

FSA rule changes; reading endorsements; and defying the Supernova of edu-words that consume all clarity, reason, and children

FSA practice tests -- and the difference between your elected School Board and unelected district leadership

HB 7079: How Richard Corcoran and Kelli Stargel plan to blackmail 2 million kids and parents into giving up the choice of public schools

Respect all choices: how Florida's "turnaround" fraud drives Florida's voucher fraud. End both.

"Step Up for Students" endangers good voucher schools far more than any reporter, lawmaker, or corporation

The pointy end of the sword: from the Starbucks Rebellion to the Red Weekend, Polk County is leading. And so am I.

The Red Weekend, part 2: the comedy and tragedy of Melonygate -- and your leadership class

The Red Weekend, part 1: the great and happy re-branding of Polk County

We. Are. Polk: deepest pride; fact-finding; and the public's need to converse with its Silent 4 board members

A transformative 36 hours. Updating and analyzing the "collaborative" threats made to teachers and staff.

Richard Corcoran just fired Lisa Miller, Florida's best ESE advocate. Why? Because he's a bad person with power.

The Red Monday "strike" and the collective bargaining rejection: the teacher party begins to demonstrate its power