Brian

A dad, husband, and public education supporter. Small tent progressive/liberal.

Christina School District Citizen's Budget Oversight Committee member, who knows a bit about a lot when it comes to the convoluted mess that is education funding in the State of Delaware.

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Polls are Open

Filed in Education by on March 23, 2016 20 Comments
Polls are Open

In Christina, Brandywine, and Cape Henlopen School Districts the polls are now open for Super Referendum Wednesday. They will remain open until 8pm this evening.

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Accurate Education Funding Data is Hard to Come By, Unless You Know Where to Look

Filed in Education, Featured by on March 22, 2016 8 Comments
Accurate Education Funding Data is Hard to Come By, Unless You Know Where to Look

Non-special school Christina School District Expense Per Pupil from State & Local Funding Sources: $10,899.97. Christina School District Expense Per Pupil from Local Funding Sources (your property taxes, Christina residents): $5,001.31

And those are the actual numbers. Not some artificially inflated, skewed, misleading fuzzy math number those other guys are spewing.

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Ted Cruz’ Christian Glam Metal Past

Filed in National by on March 16, 2016 5 Comments
Ted Cruz’ Christian Glam Metal Past

I’ve never seen them appear together. He should totally don the Stryper outfit while campaigning.

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What Brought the No Votes to Christina? Part I

Filed in Delaware, Education by on March 14, 2016 13 Comments
What Brought the No Votes to Christina? Part I

A commenter on my previous post about supporting public education and “Super Referendum Wednesday” asked specifically about the Christina School District’s two failures last year and if there were any themes from no voters as to why they voted the way they did. Rather than answer it inline, I felt those themes deserved their own posts for visibility sake, That way the types of misinformation we have campaigned against for the last several years is put on display.

Yes, there are common themes among the no-voters that emerged from both elections, and they persist even today. Check out the CSDpavingtheway or Official District’s Facebook pages for proof. Better yet, read the comments on any article the News Journal posts about Christina on delawareonline.com, just be sure to have your eye bleach ready.

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Do You Support Public Education in Delaware?

Filed in Featured by on March 11, 2016 14 Comments
Do You Support Public Education in Delaware?

Christina has absolutely awesome programs. From the REACH program, to Gauger’s Business Professionals of America Team, to our outstanding arts programs, fantastic drama and performing arts programs, band and music programs, to Lego Robotics and Engineering clubs (YES! That’s a thing and makes me want to be in elementary school again!), career pathway programs like the new Forensic Science STEM program at Glasgow High School, Language Immersion programs to our amazing student athletes and budding philanthropists and advocates for those in need! These school programs are directly supported by operating funds raised through property taxes. And all of them depend on Christina’s operating referendum passing.

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The Donald’s Healthcare “Reform” “Plan”

Filed in National by on March 3, 2016 3 Comments
The Donald’s Healthcare “Reform” “Plan”

TL;DR- Repeal Obamacare, kick poor people off Medicaid, shift costs to states, do a bunch of stuff Obamacare did, keep doing other stuff already do, construct an illusion of “free markets” in an oligopoly, incentivize future mega-mergers for insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies in the “free market”, and block grant Medicare and Social Security.

The guy who Republicans are screaming is “not a Republican!” sounds a lot like, well, a Republican.

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Bernie’s Still the One

Filed in National by on March 1, 2016 11 Comments
Bernie’s Still the One

Bernie Sanders doesn’t embody what a 2016 mainstream Democrat is. He embodies what a 2016 mainstream Democrat should be and the support base that has been championing his messages is what the Democratic Party should be. And no, I don’t mean 70 year old Jewish guys from Brooklyn. I mean progressive. Democrats should be progressive and, dare I say, liberal. Sanders has started to bring the progressive core of the Democratic Party out of a decades long hibernation and he’s succeeding in getting the newly awoken to help wake up people sleeping next to them.

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White House considers Nevada Gov. Sandoval for Supreme Court | PBS NewsHour

Filed in National by on February 24, 2016 6 Comments
White House considers Nevada Gov. Sandoval for Supreme Court | PBS NewsHour

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/white-house-considers-nevada-gov-sandoval-for-supreme-court/ Trollbama? Trying hard not to lose it  my @$$ of at McConnell and the GOP if this is legit.

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A Literal “Yes” or “No” Question

Filed in Delaware by on February 18, 2016 16 Comments
A Literal “Yes” or “No” Question

If you’re like me, you know the law states the State Board of Education must vote yea or nay on WEIC as a whole package, as it is submitted by the Commission. No amendments, no language changes, just a straight yes or no, and they had to vote. If you’re like me, you may also remember that in January the State Board decided to not vote at all on the plan, as they were legally required to do, and handed it back to Tony Allen with their reasoning for not supporting it. Remember that part about having to vote? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.

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Representative Mike Ramone, Charter School Lobbyist

Filed in Delaware by on January 28, 2016 6 Comments
Representative Mike Ramone, Charter School Lobbyist

Mr. Ramone needs to read the regs pertaining to per student funding in public education. When a student moves from a District school to a Charter school, the tax money collected by the original district for spending on that student goes with the student to the charter. There is no fiscal “responsibility” borne by the Charter, the sending District is paying that child’s per-student expense. If Mr. Ramone doesn’t believe that, I have a $21 million charter bill Christina School District is paying this year for him to look at. Email me, Rep Ramone: brianstephan@gmail.com and I can help you understand how public schools are funded in this state.

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Bernie’s Healthcare Plan is Here

Filed in National by on January 18, 2016 6 Comments
Bernie’s Healthcare Plan is Here

Bernie’s plan will cost over $6 trillion less than the current health care system over the next ten years.

The United States currently spends $3 trillion on health care each year—nearly $10,000 per person. Reforming our health care system, simplifying our payment structure and incentivizing new ways to make sure patients are actually getting better health care will generate massive savings. This plan has been estimated to save the American people and businesses over $6 trillion over the next decade.

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A State of the Union to Remember

Filed in Delaware, Featured, National by on January 10, 2016 11 Comments
A State of the Union to Remember

I was essentially beyond words when Christy told me. Braeden’s been to the White House twice before, when he won in 2013 and when he was asked back to speak at the Kids’ State Dinner winners in 2014, and both trips were humbling and amazing, but this one is something else. To be asked to sit in a room with Congress, the Supreme Court justices, most of the president’s cabinet, and listen to one of the most important speeches the president can deliver, to be interviewed and featured by Time Magazine, to have your bio posted on the White House website, I don’t even know what to say. I couldn’t be more proud of Braeden and the ideas he’s come up with, the way he’s implemented them, and how he’s stuck with it for the last 3 years.

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The Obama Veto: Episode VIII

Filed in National, Science and Health by on January 8, 2016 3 Comments
The Obama Veto: Episode VIII

The next Republican Congress and President will, rather than make improvements and expand health insurance to all, repeal the Affordable Care act and fire 23 million Americans from their insurance policies, eliminating their financial ability to receive healthcare.

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