The Republican Party is fulfilling an electoral mandate. No mention is made of the fact that parents who enroll their children in private schools must pay twice, once in the form of taxation, the other in tuition. Nor is there the least thought given to private sector job losses which are, ho-hum......snore.... par for the course. It is when the government sheds jobs that Mr. Fleischauer enters the fray. Decatur must reduce the number of teachers due to declining enrollment, but, the readership may rest in the secure knowledge the Decatur Daily will in some convoluted way manage to work the recent sequester into the equation, and, teacher rage at the citizenry will grow. Teachers are seething at the public and have undertaken clandestine efforts to thwart their neighbors, (see comments yesterday from "Decatur High" in the article, "School leaders say legislation will hurt; Bentley says he'll make it law." The mere suggestion of an educational alternative is met with anger. An explanation of public anger with the school system is roundly condemned as an unjustified tantrum, only public school teachers have the answers for our children. There is no contrition, no regret for organizing against friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens, no hint of remorse for injecting the nightmarish Democrat Party social agenda including condoms, homosexual tolerance, and birth control pills into the academic arena, and, certainly no understanding during periods of economic contraction when all but they are forced to bear the fiscal burden. And now, they threaten us. The teachers are indeed angry with the overwhelming majority of the electorate, and, like all dissatisfied unions, desire insidiously to inflict pain through private school enrollment, no doubt for our own good, sneering at the public, plotting their revenge. Such are the teachers in the Decatur City School system. The fury unleashed by teachers in the comment section yesterday is but another frightening example of that which is fueling public sentiment, and yet, the teachers press on. If they fail in the aforementioned clandestine plot, most citizens fully expect to be treated to acts of vandalism, goaded on by the Decatur Daily. Those citizens who have lived their lives in the area would never have believed that one day the citizenry would live in fear of a profession so long respected. The notion that teachers would scheme against the polity would have been laughable. The citizenry had better prepare as teacher fury knows no measure. They intend to hurt us all........ to teach us a lesson, of course.

Eric, you must believe that all money belongs to the government for them to allocate. Remember, the government takes, it doesn't earn.

In the not too distant past, teachers, like police officers, were our friends, and could be counted on to conform to local standards. They realized that in America, sovereignty rested with the citizenry, not the U.S. Department of Education. Over time, however, the federal government immunized them from parental and community oversight. By organizing against management, in this case the local polity, teachers secured for themselves complete autonomy. Soon, the school leaders would simply issue pronouncements to the powerless populace and any semblance of cooperation with the community vanished, along with respect and public support. Comments such as, "You elected these fools, now live with them!," or "You made your bed, now lie in it!," exhibit a marked departure from the past and display little inclination toward cooperation with friends, neighbors, and the greater citizenry. Astoundingly, teachers' unions in all fifty states joined with the Democrat Party and began to introduce a horrific social agenda removing prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance and supplanting them with lessons and discussion on the social events of the day including sexual education, abortion, divorce, and homosexual tolerance rather than mathematics, language, and science, regardless of parental desire to the contrary. During periods of economic contraction, teachers threatened to strike against the state's parents and their children. A generation later, as the children matured into so-called "low information voters" imbued with drone-like ambition for sexual and environmental causes, and, unable to name the state's lieutenant governor, alarmed parents and citizens began to espouse their displeasure, but, the very mention of these terrible Democrat Party themes invited, (as late as yesterday), accusations of racism or other extreme aspects of humanity. Gradually, with fear for their children, the electorate turned away from the Democrat Party, and, by extension, the local system, sparking teacher anger. Chants of, "You don't know what you are talking about!," or, "How can you possibly know what to do in a modern classroom filled with today's children?," and other forms of arrogance, the clear implication being only public school teachers are qualified to make educational decisions for our children. The will of the electorate, brought into sharp focus with the Republican majority in 2010, did nothing to change teacher opinion on cooperation, and, instead, was used as a catalyst to unleash teacher fury at public determination. Newspaper comment sections, including the Decatur Daily's, overflowed with teachers spewing the most horrifying invective, threatening educational terror, and using the language of educationalist arson. It is no small wonder the public is frightened. Beginning with Mr. Nichols' disagreement and running the gamut of fear to yesterday's unsettling announcement of clandestine endeavors intending to thwart public effort, it is clear the teachers plan to conduct a reign of educational terror against us. Perhaps the time has come for teachers to.......... learn a lesson.

To those like "Angie K" and "Decatur High," and, to a lesser degree, Ed Nichols, the community makes a formal request. We know all too well that you are angry, but, please do not hurt us, we beg you. Further, we beseech you, please do not hurt our children, our most precious gifts. We humbly ask that you find room in your hearts for our will, and, that you expunge your souls of vengeful malice for us, your neighbors and friends. It is with the utmost concern for what we believe is right for our children that we timidly and fearfully request a small measure of cooperation rather than resistance. We pray that you might bestow your benevolence upon us and assist us, your brethren, in the coming transition. We have been terrorized for years by your horrific agenda, the loss of cooperation, and unlearned children to the point that we now seek your mercy. Please, have mercy upon us.

Otis,

First of all, paragraphs are your friend. It's difficult to read through your drivel, so I don't. Secondly, the only ones getting hurt from this deal are the children.

And please don't pray for me, ever. I don't want any part of the God you believe in, for it's not the one I know. My God tells people to do unto others and to help the less fortunate. Your God is of the conservative propaganda machine that makes people such as yourself think they are in the right as long as they package their godawful agenda with an "amen."

"Angie K," prayer aside, your anger is palpable. Even if there is no room in your heart for cooperation, please do not hurt us or our children.

Oh, spare me "Otis." People like you and your party have done more to hurt the children in this country than anyone. Were it left to you and your kind, the only education children would receive would consist of quoting bible verses (and taking them out of context).

Currently our schools, along with everything else in this state, are some of the most poorly ranked in the nation. (Thank God for Mississippi, huh?) How do you think they will fare with this new law in place? It certainly will do nothing to help the least advantaged among us - the ones whose parents that don't care.

If our governor and people such as you truly wanted to help these kids, there would be a push for more funding for after school programs, a push for more teachers in the classroom, and tutors for those that need it. But instead our governors brilliant solution is to abandon the most needy, while funneling money to private institutions that don't need (and shouldn't have) financing from our already strapped coffers.

And the only thing that angers me is the ignorance of people such as yourself.

"Angie K" I would remind you that the AEA and the Democrat Party have been wholly responsible for the state of our schools for the last 40, and, 139 years, and, during that reign, Alabama's ranking remained unchanged. It is for that very reason the electorate opted overwhelmingly for new leadership in 2010. Perhaps you are too young to remember, but, "More funding.....more programs......more teachers...... and tutors," has for decades been your rallying cry. You could argue, of course, that the reason for Alabama's perpetually low ranking is that adequate funding was never fully acquired, but, in arguing so, you would come face to face with an unpleasant question. If the AEA could not for four decades avail itself of the Democrat Party, is it not reasonable to assume that a change in leadership might be in order?

Alabama's continuously low rankings come down to one thing, poverty. When parents who have no education raise children, they place little or no emphasis on education and the cycle repeats itself. Plus, the influx of non-English speaking persons (legal and illegal) over the past 10-15 years brings an entirely different set of problems, for those children's parents are usually unable to help their kids with homework, even if they wanted to.

There is no easy solution to our problem, BUT what our republican politicians did is certainly not the answer. All this will do is allow many people to give their children a free, taxpayer funded private education, while the poorest of the poor (and in need of the most help) continue to struggle and lag behind in an underfunded system, while we funnel much needed money away from our public schools to private schools.

It's heartbreaking if you think about it. And private schools are allowed to discriminate and only admit who they want, so even if these children were able to go to a private school, they may not get in.

And what of the last 40 and 139 years? Kindly elaborate, the problems you listed have been with us for years. Are you suggesting that the overwhelming majority of the citizenry along with their elected representatives continue that which for forty years has, by your own admission, failed? That we listen to those charged with its failure and heed their advice? And that educational wisdom lies solely with public school teachers and the Democrat Party?

Poverty has been with this state since the Civil War, and no, I never said that the Democrats have all the answers, what I said was that this plan is certainly not the answer.

Since I am not a teacher and haven't attended anything other than college in the past 20 years, I can't tell you what goes on firsthand in the schools, but I know that leaving the poorest of the poor behind to falter with even less funding because the money has been diverted to private schools is yet another way republicans have made it clear that they do not care about the poor in this state.

What I have seen firsthand, however, is children living in poverty and indifferent parents that place no emphasis on the child's education because, "It's the schools job to teach them, not mine." (yes, I actually heard that statement from a parent before). If we as a state want to rise up out of the bottom of the pack it starts with making sure the children have equal access to quality teachers and programs to help them succeed in life, in spite of their home situation.

What a wonderful and thoughtful response. For what it is worth, while you have not won my agreement, you have earned my respect. Kind lady, if you would permit me to reply, it all comes down to a matter of faith, faith in government, or, faith in the free marketplace. Your supposition rests, it seems, on the premise that only the current private schools will be permitted for the sole purpose of racial or economic discrimination. I, for one, am optimistic that society has long since evolved from the Decatur Daily portrayal, and, that we could see phenomenal growth in private and charter schools to accommodate this new opportunity for all children. Imagine for a moment, that instead of one large new high school being constructed at taxpayer expense, several smaller ones suddenly appeared at no expense to the taxpayer, all competing for as many 80% tax credits as they could possibly acquire, mailing all parents advertising their services. And the best thing is: Tax credits know no economic standing or race! Given our government's track record, I am compelled to cast my lot with modern Decatur society and the free market, and, hope that the Decatur Daily, the Democrat Party, and the AEA are wrong. Otherwise, we are all condemned to the past.

If it comes down to faith, then I'm afraid we are doomed.

Private schools do not have to abide by the same standards as public schools, they can deny who they want for whatever reason they choose, and unfortunately many people have not evolved beyond the Jim Crow mentality of the past.

Again, I feel it is the poorest of the poor that will suffer the most from this. If you've ever ridden through many of our school districts at the time they let out, you see many children walking, how would these same children be able to get to a private school, even if they were allowed to go. The days of a two-parent, the dad brings home the bacon households are practically a thing of the past, and I see this being an issue as well as parents that want to send their kids to private school are unable to get them there. The answer to that would be to again dip into state coffers to supply buses, which again takes away from our public schools.

There's also the matter of lunches, uniforms, supplies, etc.. Who pays the private schools for these? Who will oversee the curriculum of the private schools to make sure that the students send there are learning everything they need to prepare themselves for the future?

I can honestly find nothing positive about this bill for anyone other than a select few. The main people who will profit are the private schools who will have an influx of money, with not much oversight to make sure it's spent wisely.

A fair point. What remains to be seen is whether the finished product is any better than is currently being produced by the public schools with massive oversight. Sadly, that is, on average, a very low bar. Hence, my optimism.