[Vision2020] MSD Pay and Tenure--a reply

[Dale Courtney]

> You wrote: "I will continue to press this point until the liberals
> acknowledge what the rest of us have known all along -- this isn't
*really*
> about educating children."
> Dale, you are not pressing any point. You are parroting statistics. This
> proves nothing. You want statistics I will give you some. Moscow ranks
> second in spending but also ranks second in the state for educational
> achievement.

If this is true, it is *very* scary -- because MSD students' composite
average scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Tests of
Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) decreased by 28.2% in the last 10 years.

Again, we've increased spending from $12.7M in FY92 to $21.3M in FY01;
student numbers have declined in that period by 325 (13%), and the scores
also went down by 28.2% -- now *that's* a good return on our investment!

Only someone fixed on a statist educational system could argue for such
spending and results.

Best,
Dale Courtney
Moscow, Idaho