Education

View Relevant 2012 Video:

Clair speaking against the Amendment to HB 2184 in the AZ Senate Ed Committee, along with others. In spite of their testimony, the GOP Senators voted with the GOP  Leadership for the Amended Bill, as directed by Sen. President Biggs and, of course Gov. Ducey– you can’t do the  will of the people by taking orders from the GOP Leadership in AZ or DC!  This hearing was long before Clair decided not to support Sen. Ward for Federal Office and this is one of many State Ed issues that helped him decide not to support anyone who runs who’s already doing the Bidding of GOP & Lobbyists.

• US Department of Education* Legislation must be submitted by a coalition of Senators to close the Department of Education overtime, sending the job back to the states and communities where the Schools are. The Deptartment of Ed has as of mid-2016 nearly 5,000 employees and a budget of about $73 billion which has grown almost 20% in just 6 years, however if Pres. Elect Trump freezes all hiring for his first term could be closed with no effect on the Economy or Unemployment whatsoever. There is no  constitutional authority for the federal government to be in the business of education. We also know the new program  being introduced into Americas’ Schools by the Federal Government called Common Core is going to lead to more Federal Intrusion, such as gathering of Data and more, while once again using the Taxpayers Monies to bribe states to accept  and promote it.

• Restore to citizens the ability to decide what’s best for their children, in Our State, County, City or Township. This includes all public schools–district and charter–which should be regulated by the individual states, while we must have Local School Districts corroborate with the Local Educators, Parents, Citizens and Voters to set Standards and Systems in coordination with state legislators–who have the ultimate responsibility for the public school system under the AZ State Constitution–that will lead to the best decisions for our children. We must once again be the responsible persons in the Education of Our Children, not the Federal Government. We must adhere to the US Constitution and reclaim our 9th & 10th Amendment Rights if we plan to be a Free People!

• Education: Improve the Future- I come from the private business community, over the years, I’ve spoken with federal, local and statewide elected officials concerning this issue. They all agree we need to fix the system. But we haven’t seen any real action! I realize some say we need to implement a program that would actually allow the monies sent to a state to follow the pupil no matter what type of school; Public (Private or Charter), Private, Home School, etc. However, even though I agree with the monies following the pupil since they are paid by the parent, my goal is to eliminate the federal system all together, having the Citizens in each State make that decision through their local state government not from DC. This will restore our system of education to our children to truly prepare them for a brighter future! It will also help our teachers receive better pay and incentive to focus on education. Lastly, it will help US to shrink the size of State Government by no longer filling out the forms required just to manage the Federal Mandates, with over 100 separate programs that come with strings at a cost of from 10% to 25% to administer. So, even though there’s an influx of monies from the Federal Government to the States, the Cost of implementing the mandates adds to a states debts and grows its size larger– plus allowing the Federal Government control over states as well!

• College Education and the Cost– We must revamp the entire system when it comes to student  loans. For example, anyone applying for a loan must first be shown the availability of securing a position that will  allow paying the debt upon receiving a degree, and if the odds of gainful employment in a specific field are slim-to-none, no loan will be granted.  We must also begin to give college credits to those who chose to enter to gain a degree who  already have relevant life and/or work experience, so as not to waist their time or the teachers’ time in areas they already have training. Just give them credits for knowledge already acquired. These and other improvements, such as more online education, are needed at all levels.

• Here’s another dilemma in recent developments: The massive racial data base Obama is establishing, meaning the reauthorized ESSA ( Every Student Succeeds Act ) arising from the reconciliation of HR 5 and S 1177 (now ESSA), and the details of Obama’s “comprehensive” database, data collection included in the ESSA–( Every Student Succeeds Act )— I don’t believe anyone could write effective legislation at State level to stop this. At present, the only way for any State to prevent collection of private data collection (in the area of education) is to refuse all federal education-related grants and monies — including school lunch, Title I, vocational grants, etc. If a State accepts any federal dollars under ESSA, it will override all state legislation enacted to prevent the collection of private data—which both HR 5 and S 1177 require. AZ GOP Senator McCain and GOP Congressmen voted in favor of these bills. If this analysis is an accurate reflection of what reality will be after ESEA, as the reauthorized ESSA ( Every Student Succeeds Act ), old state legislation to stop data gathering will be ineffective. Click and Read Article… We’ve been betrayed at both the Federal and State Levels by those we elected to Protect US and Our Children! So it’s now up to US to do it for them! Check the Illegal Alien Counter for yourself and see just how many Illegals are in the Country which adds to the Cost of Education and Time spent by a teacher with your children. Read Link

• One more issue that has been settled–with Trump winning the Presidency–is Illegal Immigration and the  costs to AZ and to Education (not only in Dollars but also in over crowded class rooms), time spent with non-English  speaking pupils is time not spent with your child and a drain to the economy in general.

Take a look at the video and see just how many Dollars Float out and how many people float into the system. Then, ask the question: Does AZ have the Rights retained by We the People in the several States, to run our Educational system without Federal Interference as laid-out in the US Constitution?  (We must also remember not to support AZ Legislators who passed the legislation putting Prop 123 on the Ballot to Raid the AZ Land Trust fund, and these monies stolen from Future Pupils in the Arizona School system didn’t end up in the Teachers’ pay once again! Just more false promises of AZ Politicians in AZ’S Own Political Swamp and it’s Time to Drain It as well as DC’s) Watch Video: Immigration Counters

In Closing Election Cycles are Critical for the Nation as to whether we sink deeper into a Socialistic Nation or Restore Ourselves to a True Republic form of Government. The choices are clear, never support anyone who votes against or compromises the US Constitution and Our Freedoms and believe that’s actually what most of us are hoping  for and the GOP power brokers are afraid of: (Drain All Political Swamps ).

*God Bless You All; Clair Van Steenwyk 

Originally posted by Clair 9/11/2011 Updated 11/10/2016