Distressing things I hear in the news

It is well-known that Tucson is not a business-friendly environment, and in our recent election, the most business-friendly candidates were not elected to the City Council, in spite of the efforts of two men I enjoy listening to in the morning, Chris DeSimone and Joe Higgins. On their morning drive-time show, "Wake Up, Tucson!" (AM 1030, KVOI), they consistently expose the hostility of Tucson and Pima County government towards business, and did a particularly good job explaining the issues in regard to the recent election, as well as interviewing all the candidates.

In his first press conference this week as our new mayor, Jonathan Rothschild (pictured) made a sweeping statement about wanting to improve the business climate of Tucson, proving that he at least aware that this is a hot-button issue locally. He then turned right back around and stated that one of his goals is to convince the (mostly Reublican) legislature that it should not cut funds to "education."  He actually claimed that these expenditures are "good for business."

A few minutes later on the same news broadcast came a separate story with a quotation from Michael Block, founder of the highly succesful BASIS charter schools here in Arizona. Block was quoted as advocating that public schools follow the economic model of BASIS (Block has a Ph.D. in economics, by the way) in what he described as a "more business-like model." Examples he gave were flexible hiring practices based on enrollment numbers and retention of teachers based on student performance. Such practices are clearly supported by current school choice research.

Neither of those common sense business practices are honored in the establishment that Mayor Rothschild refers to as "education," to which he blindly advocates "more money." Without disgressing into party analysis, it is safe to say that the mayor realizes a powerful voting block that helped him get elected. Lost in this quid pro quo is any consideration of (1) good business sense - the folly of throwing good money after bad, and (2) what is best for children - as opposed to protecting the adutls who are currently failing to educate them properly.

Listening to the news would be much less distressing if I didn't know a thing or two about learning, schools, and business. Not to mention wisdom from God's Word:  "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"  (Proverbs 1:22)