Progressive Breakfast: Low-Income School Districts Need More, But Many Are Starved Instead

MORNING MESSAGE

Isaiah J. Poole
Low-Income School Districts Need More, But Many Are Starved Instead
Fairness in school funding is “the sleeper civil rights issue of our time,” says Leadership Conference on Civil Rights president Wade Henderson. But it’s clear from a new report by the Education Law Center that this issue comes with a loud alarm: In many states around the country, the children who need the most support in order to succeed in school are actually getting the least. Not only have states been generally slow to restore the cuts to public school funding that they made during the 2007-2008 economic downturn, but there are often extreme disparities between the per pupil spending in wealthy school districts and low-income districts.

House Yet To Set Fast Track Vote

Uncertainty around fast track vote. Roll Call: “Backers of ‘fast-track’ legislation in both parties have enough confidence … to talk about a possible vote later this week. But enough uncertainty remains that Republican leaders haven’t yet added the bill … to this week’s floor schedule … Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told lawmakers last week the House would be in session this Friday, possibly into the afternoon, and to ‘adjust travel plans accordingly.'”
Politico adds: “Republicans have set their sights on holding a vote late this week but are holding back from scheduling a specific time until Democrats can shore up support.”
One more Dem in “yes” column. The Hill: “Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) on Monday became the 19th House Democrat to say she would back fast-track trade authority for President Obama … Obama could need as many as two dozen House Democrats.”
California Dems holding out. Politico: “…only one of the delegation’s 39 Democrats, Ami Bera, says he plans to vote for the trade promotion authority bill … the handful of California members who remain on the fence could provide the margin of victory or defeat … [Gov. Jerry] Brown has not commented on either
Big anti-fast track ad buy. Politico: “The Coalition to Stop Fast Track announced Monday that labor leaders, including the AFL-CIO, will buy TV ads in congressional districts nationwide where Democrats have announced intentions to vote for or are still deciding whether to support [fast track.]”
Protest planned today at Pelosi’s SF office. The Hill: “While Pelosi has raised objections to parts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being negotiated between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, she hasn’t taken a public position on it … Tuesday’s rally, organized by the opposition group CREDO Action, MoveOn.org Civic Action, Democracy for America, Daily Kos, Fight for the Future, an area Sierra Club chapter and 10 other liberal groups is part of a broader effort to pressure the Democratic leader to oppose the trade measure. “
Phone lines burning up. Politico: “Labor leaders have also blitzed the phone lines of roughly a dozen lawmakers who are still on the fence, with promises to pull support during primary and general election campaigns if lawmakers vote ‘yes’ on fast track.”

Corinthian 100 Win

Education Department forgives Corinthian student loan debts. NYT: “In a move against what he called ‘the ethics of payday lending’ in higher education, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Monday that the Education Department would forgive the federal loans of tens of thousands of students who attended Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit college company that closed and filed for bankruptcy last month, amid widespread charges of fraud. Mr. Duncan also said the department planned to develop a process to allow any student — whether from Corinthian or elsewhere — to be forgiven their loans if they had been defrauded by their colleges.”
OurFuture.org FLASHBACK from March 16: “The Corinthian story is certainly an unjust one. These strikers have raised issues that go to the heart of our nation’s entire student debt crisis. That crisis affects 41 million Americans, who hold an estimated $1.3 trillion in debt … We can demand that the government release all student debt borrowers from their obligations.”

Clinton Considers Wall Street Speech

Wall Street worried over what she might say. Politico: “…some on Wall Street think powerful populist pitches from O’Malley and Sanders … could force Clinton to come out harder on issues including breaking up the nation’s largest banks, imposing a financial transaction tax, putting individual bankers in jail [and] cracking down on executive pay … The fear comes as Clinton is planning a series of policy speeches in the coming weeks — including one possibly dedicated to Wall Street reform — after a big announcement rally this Saturday in New York City, home of the financial industry.”
Scott Walker losing support in WI. Politico: “… the Legislature’s budget committee eased Walker’s cuts to the University of Wisconsin System after previously stopping his $127 million hit to public schools … it is somewhat odd to see a likely presidential candidate who has pinned much of his candidacy on the fights he’s won back home suffering loss after loss on his latest set of budget priorities.”

KY Gov Moves On Minimum Wage

Kentucky raises minimum wage for state employees. NYT: “Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky signed an executive order on Monday raising the hourly minimum wage for certain state employees to $10.10 … The executive order comes as efforts in the Kentucky legislature to raise the minimum wage for all employees statewide to $10.10 an hour have stalled.”
Labor optimistic it can unionize McDonald’s. W. Post: “…instead of having elections in individual restaurants, the SEIU started filing complaints with the National Labor Relations Board every time franchisees retaliated against workers for organizing at McDonald’s … Last December, the NLRB’s general counsel decided to group all those cases together as a test for whether McDonald’s should in fact be liable for the actions of its franchisees. If the SEIU prevails, McDonald’s could count as a single employer for the purposes of a union election.”

GOP Change On Climate Change?

Republican businessman organizes $175M campaign to transform his party on climate. Politico: “On Tuesday, [Jay] Faison … will unveil the first stage of his ClearPath campaign, including spending $40 million through 2016 to persuade moderates and conservatives to join the fight against climate change — but relying on market-based principles rather than government mandates.”
Polling shows Republicans receptive to clean energy proposals, says James Dozier in Roll Call oped: “…Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions commissioned a field survey, conducted by TargetPoint Consulting, of Republican primary voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina … Nearly half of South Carolina voters and 57 percent of New Hampshire voters favor the federal government taking steps to reduce emissions that cause global climate change. And 67 percent of New Hampshire millennials support actions by the federal government to limit carbon emissions; in South Carolina, that number is 57 percent.”

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