The National Education Association awarded Gov. Beshear with its 2011 America’s Greatest Education Governor Award. But was this award for supporting teachers unions or outstanding achievement in Kentucky’s education performance?

“Gov. Beshear has shown unwavering support for Kentucky’s students and educators,” said Dennis Van Roekel, president of the NEA. “He championed quality preschool programs – one of the best investments our country can make – as well as raising the dropout age in Kentucky to 18. And in the midst of budget cuts, he fought to preserve resources for K-12 education and the Commonwealth’s students and classrooms. He has repeatedly stood strong for Kentucky’s students and schools.”

Oops. A spin error not acknowledged in the NEA’s statement is that Beshear’s attempt to raise the dropout age to 18 — based on an emotional but fact-less appeal – didn’t even pass the legislature.

But he did stand steadfast to protect the status quo approaches that are failing Kentucky’s students across the state and ranking in the bottom half nationally.

The education spin is great, but the real results are terrible:

-Kentucky’s proficiency rates are in shambles and in question.

-Kentucky graduation rates are also in question. Heck, after all these years, we’re still being told that an accurate count cannot be obtained until 2012.

Just how important is it to improve the system and increase real graduation rates if it is not important enough to find a way to count who drops out? Current rates have been delayed so it should be interesting to see if this is to allow time to get the spin game polished for more bad news.

-Kentucky students’ transition to jobs or college also reflects problems.

-The governor’s support for Kentucky’s ploy to spin site-based councils as the same as charter schools in the Race-to-the-Top applications sank like a rock, costing Kentucky $200 million in federal education-stimulus funding. In fact, he should have earned a spot in the Pinocchio Hall of Fame for that one.

When you get past the press-release spin, it would be incredulous to believe that Beshear earned the award based on Kentucky’s education results.

But no one questions his relentless support for the teachers union and not upsetting the existing power structure in support of educators – not kids.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the greatest educator governor of all?

Kentucky has no check and balance on union influence. Kentucky elected officials ask: “Captain, may I?’ before upsetting powerful union bosses.

Kentucky unions excel at telling legislators and public servants “NO” on needed reforms in trying times. Examples:

• No education funding awarded to Kentucky in the Race to the Top competition because of the fight over charter schools.

• No school choice legislation.
• No eliminating prevailing-wage mandates that neuter competition for state projects by dictating union wages and classifications.
• No right-to-work legislation giving workers a choice on whether to pay union dues or not.
• No needed reforms of underfunded — and unsustainable — public-sector pensions and benefits.

Kentucky is not alone.

It is no secret that unions work hard with members’ dues to elect legislators, school board members and taxpayer-paid managers who support their agenda. They play to the predominant public servants’ “its all about what’s best for me” mentality. Smart! It’s a win-win, totally compatible power play.

Leaders in other states are stepping up to address needed checks and balances on union influence because they can’t push it off on someone else anymore.

Soon, Kentucky leaders will be part of the few that still check their brains at the door and ask the unions what they should do so “everyone gets along.”

When you’re broke, you’re broke. It’s tough to spin that.

Maybe its time to break some glass for Kentucky’s taxpayers and kids.

The media reports that a doctor is providing medical excuses for public employees protesting in Wisconsin. It doesn’t seem to bother her:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipqEzJpeqis]

In the private sector a person would be terminated for falsifying time card information. Government auditors would penalize a government contractor if employees falsified time card information and defrauded the government.

What would Kentucky leaders do if they saw a person on video and that person claimed sick leave on their time card? What about the extra expense of spending more money to provide a substitute worker?

What do Kentucky union leaders think about falsifying time care information?

What about the ethics this demonstrates to our young people?

There should be no exemptions for union or public sector employees. Everyone should stand equal at the foot of the law.

One thing’s for sure: this doctor’s actions should have consequences.

New Jersey has serious pension funding problems. So does Kentucky.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is proposing sweeping reforms. Kentucky Gov. Steve Besehar says problems will work themselves out in 15 to 18 years.

If Beshear is wrong, then solutions like bankruptcy, constitutional amendments and new laws surface. These offer good options for the governor, though, since they allow him to avoid making any tough decisions and punt — just like he did in his last budget submission and on his promised “efficiency” study.

Even New Jersey lawmakers who also hold union membership know that current public-pension policies are unsustainable.

Listen to Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, who also is an Ironworkers International Union member, compare private and public approaches to pensions:

- There could be a connection between funding for public pensions and lack of work in the private sector!
- People who run for office don’t want to say “no” to a lot of people!
- In the private sector, you can’t negotiate for something if there isn’t money to pay for it!

The House Education Committee passed House Bill 225 that prohibits 16- and 17-year-old students from dropping out of school.

That’s okay, but here’s the rest of the story:

- No homework was done to estimate the bill’s cost.

- No homework was done to estimate the bill’s savings.

- No solid numbers were provided on how many 16- and 17-year-olds drop out each year.

There were great emotional arguments and pleas for innovation to address this problem through more new technical and alternative programs.

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said he can’t get a good count on dropouts until 2013! That must be spin for “we neither have a key performance indicator on dropouts nor do we want to know.”

I’ll bet any entrepreneur in the commonwealth could provide the leadership to get the numbers… now. Here’s how it would happen:

- Provide clear instructions.

- Direct each school district to use pencils, paper and the telephone to provide a number each week to the commissioner.

- Create a spreadsheet that will document weekly and cumulative statistics for each school, district and the state system.

- Act on the information.

High-performance organizations do such things when they want to win performance excellence awards.

It’s ironic that the leaders in the education committee meeting talked about raising expectations to keep 16- and 17-year-olds in school when their own personal expectations on understanding the cost, benefit and impact are so low. But words are easy…actions always speak louder.

They demonstrated great examples of “groupthink” and “it’s not my job” to get facts or measurements and offered a real negative lesson in leadership for all of our kids. They also set a new low for leading by example that said you don’t need facts to justify anything in Kentucky education- just emotions and empty words.

What a sorry example of leadership and not taking ownership.

Truly embarrassing! Our children deserve better.