[Vision2020] Vandalism blamed on politics

[Joe Campbell]

Luna more or less says "I'm not blaming anyone -- but it was likely liberals." 

Imagine if he was blaming someone!



On Feb 16, 2011, at 6:06 AM, "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> Courtesy of today's (February 16, 2011) Spokesman-Review.
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Vandalism blamed on politics
> Luna’s truck damaged amid debate over schools plan
> 
> BOISE – Vandals slashed two tires and spray-painted the truck of Idaho’s
> public schools chief as the furor over his proposed education reforms
> appeared to grow uglier.
> 
> Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna said he woke up early
> Tuesday and found the word “Luna” painted on the truck with a slash
> through the letters.
> 
> “I’m not pointing any fingers at any individuals or groups, but there’s no
> doubt in my mind” the vandalism involved the reforms, Luna told the
> Associated Press.
> 
> Nampa police were investigating and have not yet determined a motive or
> identified any suspects, Deputy Chief Craig Kingsbury said.
> 
> Luna’s sweeping overhaul calls for introducing merit pay and eliminating
> tenure for new teachers while expanding online courses. Idaho would
> increase class sizes to pay for a bulk of the reforms and cut about 770
> teaching positions as more courses are taught online.
> 
> Hearings on the education reforms were expected to continue Tuesday in the
> Idaho Senate, where the legislation was introduced earlier this month and
> is being reworked amid opposition from teachers, parents and some
> lawmakers.
> 
> Luna was heckled Tuesday morning after a live newscast in a downtown Boise
> coffee shop, and he said he filed a police report after an angry teacher
> went to his mother’s house over the weekend. Police were investigating but
> have not found any suspects.
> 
> Luna denounced organizers of the opposition to his reforms, saying e-mails
> have been sent out that included the home addresses and phone numbers of
> elected officials. Actions that resulted in someone going to his
> 71-year-old mother’s home amounted to “union thuggery,” he said.
> 
> The Idaho Education Association has denied sending any e-mails with home
> addresses or phone numbers.
> 
> “The IEA condemns vandalism and urges that anyone found to be responsible
> be prosecuted for their actions,” association President Sherri Wood said.
> “We do not resort to violence or harassment to solve problems.”
> 
> --------------------
> 
> Gov. Butch Otter and state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna call for
> civil discourse on school reform Tuesday, after Luna’s vehicle was
> vandalized the previous evening and Luna was heckled at a coffee shop and
> confronted by an angry teacher outside his mother’s house.
> 
> http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2011/02/16/cop_newotter16_t620.jpg
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
> 
> - Unknown
> 
> 
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