The Republican Party weighs in against the public good
The Thursday, February 15th Spokesman carried an article by Elena Perrywhich opened with this sentence:
Spokane-area school superintendents are scratching their heads after voters showed sinking disinterest [sic] in funding schools in Tuesday’s special election.
In past years school districts in Spokane County tended to pass both levies and bonds with upwards of 65% of the votes (at least in the large districts). This year all five bond proposals put to the voters by five school districts, Spokane, Cheney, West Valley, Deer Park, and Riverside, fell short of the 60% of the votes necessary to pass.
I fail to see why school superintendents were “scratching their heads.” The reason is plain. For decades (at least) public education has been considered a non-partisan public good. After all, having a well-educated, literate, and numerate citizenry and work force benefits everyone. Moreover, the population of Spokane County is increasing. The need to expand and maintain school facilities is clear. We elect public servants to the school boards to make sure the public schools are working well—and when those elected public servants study the needs of their district we used to take their requests seriously and vote accordingly.
But not this year. This year for the first time opposition to the passage of school levies and bonds was taken on as a partisan issue by the extremists who are the leaders of the Republican Party.
From Elena Perry and Nick Gibson’s Spokesman article the prior day, February 14th, the day after the election [the bold is mine]:
Citing increasing school budgets and “terrible” state test scores, the Spokane County Republican Party urged voters to vote down ballot items in Spokane, Central Valley and Mead school districts. Leading up to Election Day, the group sent out texts to over 30,000 “likely Republican” residents with outstanding ballots in these areas.
“We’re not against funding schools, we’re against the way schools are funded,” said Rob Linebarger, chair of the candidates and marketing committee with the party.
Schools’ budgets are top-heavy, Linebarger said, and direct too much funding toward administrator’s salaries rather than being spent to reduce class sizes and on materials for classrooms.
Really? Top heavy? Bull. Next paragraph from the same article:
In Spokane Public Schools, 4.8% of their general fund budget goes toward central administration. In Central Valley, it’s 4.6%.
Besides that, one must ask what makes Mr. Linebarger think that the solution to “terrible” state test scores is less financial support? And why, considering student enrollment and inflation, does he rail against “increasing school budgets?” Local Republican leaders are anxious to couch their opposition to the public good in terms like “fiscal responsibility.” MJ Bolt, chair of SpokaneGOP, suggests that it really isn’t the local Republican Party’s partisan meddling, but the “economic climate” that was responsible for the bond failures. Don’t believe her.
Remember that Rob Linebarger made his name in local politics by disrupting meetings of the Central Valley School Board during the pandemic on an anti-mask, anti-vaccine-mandate, Covid conspiracy theorist agenda. He pressed on with a legally baseless attempt to recall moderate members of the Board, an attempt that cost the Central Valley School District $175,000 in attorney’s fees—and tied up part of Spokane County’s Superior Court for nearly a year. You can read more of the details and follow the links here. Mr. Linebarger is now the “9B District Leader”and, as noted above, serves as “chair of the candidates and marketing committee” for the Spokane County Republican Party (aka the “SpokaneGOP”). Apparently the Spokane GOP’s “marketing” under Mr. Linebarger includes politicizing and undermining the funding for public schools.
The total votes cast even in the largest district, Spokane Public Schools, is only around 45,000. With Mr. Linebarger injecting 30,000 partisan text messages pretending to fiscal authority, advocating against school funding, and stimulating negative turnout, no one should need to “scratch their head.” The leadership of the Republican Party has been pushing an anti-tax, anti-government agenda for decades even while it has advocated for public funding of private schools. Now Republican operatives are branching out with a partisan denial of the common good of public schools—a common good that has been the bedrock of American values since the Civil War (see P.S.).
It’s time to push back.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry
P.S. Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t recognize the modern day Republican Party. It was Lincoln who supported the establishment of the great American land-grant universities, citing education as an essential public good for the betterment of the nation. The modern-day extremist Republican partisan agenda opposing public school funding would have Lincoln rolling over in his grave.