Bacon's Rebellion

One of the more obscure laws to emerge from the 2007 General Assembly allows local school boards to work out deals with private schools to transport their students on the same buses. Predictably, this common-sense measure was opposed by the Virginia School Boards Association on the grounds that public money should not “subsidize” private education. (Don’t you love that attitude? What? Save money? Not if it means helping those stinkin’ private schools!) But, as the Daily Press observes in an editorial today, the idea makes a lot of sense.

Any time public school buses are driving with empty seats, those buses have unused capacity. If public school systems can generate revenue from filling those seats, it comes out ahead. As the DP writes:

John Sugg writes in Reason magazine that southern states are leading the way in doling out incentives to lure businesses:

Consider three deals finalized in 1995, all of them in North Carolina. This End Up, a furniture manufacturer, accepted $230,000 and other incentives from the state for a new plant near Fayetteville that would employ 200 people; then it closed a Raleigh plant that employed 150. Quaker Oats received $98,000 for a new 98-worker plant near Asheville; then it closed another North Carolina operation where 70 people worked. Seffi Industries took $300,000 and promised to create 300 new jobs. It not only failed to open a new plant or hire a single new person but a few months later went out of business altogether.
Trendy businesses—particularly technology firms—have the greatest leverage in demanding government subsidies. In February, for example, biofuel manufacturer Range Fuels, based on lit?tle more than its word that it could deliver a economically competitive product, was offered $6 million in state cash, a 97-acre tract in central Georgia, and a set of tax abatements. At best, the company will employ 70 people.

Other beneficiaries of business welfare in??clude low-tech factories in the mid-South; call centers in the Tampa Bay area; auto manufacturers in Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia; and biotech firms in Florida and North Carolina. Publicly financed sports stadiums are common across the nation, and the South is no exception. Tampa built Raymond James Stadium for the Buccaneers a decade ago as part of a deal that will divert $1 billion in taxpayer money to team owner Malcolm Glazer over 30 years. Glazer, in a style common to team owners, threatened to move the football team if he didn’t get a new stadium. To win voter approval for a bond issue to finance the project, city officials attached it to a referendum providing money to alleviate crowding in the city’s schools. The stadium was built long before most of the new schools.

My libertarian impulse is to look at such giveaways as just another example of graft, and Sugg goes on to make the argument that incentives can lead to corruption, though it is not exactly widespread (as far as I know).

The one example he cites that really got me, though, was the money chase for the NASCAR hall of fame. Virginia was in the thick of that race, too, with promises to give NASCAR millions of dollars (including a “large taxpayer investment”) if only they would locate the Hall in Henrico.

While the bid wasn’t accepted, the willingness of state and local government to toss around taxpayer funds for big business prizes still seems to be the preferred magic bullet in economic development. Sugg’s interviews people who say that it’s not the incentives that matter most, but the quality of the workforce, infrastructure and the general business climate. That’s where the attention (and the money) ought to be spent.

The Wren Cross controversy may be settled for now, but a growing number of William & Mary alumni are convinced that the cross episode is merely a symptom of a larger problem: President Gene Nichol. Seth Freedland at The Daily Press reports on a movement to pressure the Board of Visitors not to renew Nichols’ contract when it expires next summer.

The article quotes Victor K. Biebighauser, a ’75 alumnus and a steady 20-year contributor to the university who pulled the plug on his annual contributions after the cross caper. Though partially molified, he said he would not make up for his missed donation with any more money than usual. Another alumnus, Andrew McRoberts, Class of ’87, said he did not expect to resume contributing anytime soon.

Such dissatisfaction follows on the heels of an announcement by James W. McGlothlin that he would withdraw a $12 million donation. If Nichol can’t regain the confidence of alumni, W&M fund-raising efforts are doomed to falter. And when a university president can’t raise money, like University of Richmond President William Cooper, he won’t last long.

In the age of websites, blogs and e-mail, alumni can mobilize in protest against unpopular university administrators far more readily than in the past. No longer can a university president control the flow of information. As an example: Lance Kyle, class of ’89 and an Arlington resident, has e-mailed a copy of his letter to Rector Michael Powell denouncing Nichol, which I am re-publishing on this blog. (You can read the full text here.) Here’s a choice selection:

What is equally disturbing his how Nichol is demonstrating the same pattern at William & Mary as he did at Colorado and Chapel Hill. While Nichol was dean at Colorado, the law school fell 12 points … in the USN&WR rankings and almost lost its ABA accreditation while at Chapel Hill it fell 8 points. At both schools, the local papers were filled with op-eds by disgruntled alumni, students and taxpayers admonishing Nichol to “focus on building and managing the law school instead of his personal, radical agenda.” The same thing is happening at William & Mary and red flags are everywhere. The stakeholders are complaining while W&M falls further behind its peers in terms of applicant stats (SATs are flat and GPAs are falling) and fundraising growth not to mention the NACUBO endowment ratings. … All of this will translate into lower rankings and devalued diplomas.

Writes Kyle elsewhere: “W&M desperately needed a superstar fundraiser but instead got a failed politician who is saddling the school with meaningless expenses.”

I don’t know how fair these charges are but they are serious — and they are being heard. Clearly Nichol has aroused the alumni, and the antagonism appears to be growing. Let us hope that he doesn’t wind up destroying this eminent institution as a result.

On May 3, 2007, the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN) will honor individuals and organizations within the Commonwealth who have set themselves apart as leaders in conservation and sustainability. The event, which will include a performance by the Capitol Steps, will take place at the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond. The evening will begin with a reception for sponsors and awardees at 5:30, followed by the awards presentation at 7:00 and Capitol Steps performance at 7:30.

Richard Cizik, nationally known evangelical leader, will be honored with the award for Individual Leadership within the Faith Community on the Issue of Global Warming & Sustainability. Cizik will make brief remarks about his work raising the profile of global climate change within the faith community.

For ticket information, click here.

College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol has stirred up a good deal of controversy at Virginia’s oldest university. The Wrenn Cross episode was only the most visible of his antics. (See “Nichol Bound for Duke?” for a satirical take on his brief but tempestuous tenure there, with links to documentation of less widely publicized flaps.)

Now comes another brouhaha that has already gained national attention on conservative talk radio. Reserve Officer Training Corps students are asking W&M to give them full credit for the military science courses they take, rather than limiting to six the number of credits that can be counted towards graduation. The student senate unanimously voted to give ROTC courses full credit, that all credits earned count to the 120 needed to graduate, and that the changes be made retroactive. But President Gene Nichol, reports Matt Pinsker, a sophomore who is leading the effort, “has not responded to any requests for a meeting to discuss the issue.”

The United States is at war; some 4,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, one of America’s leading universities extends credit for “Art 327: Hand-building Ceramics” and “Kinesiology 130: Adventure Games” but curtails the credits ROTC students earn for studying military science four hours a week in the classroom and engaging in physical education for three hours a week.

When I was going through the University of Virginia at the tail end of the Vietnam War, students protested in front of the Navy ROTC building. Today, students at W&M are protesting in favor of ROTC. How the wheel turns…

I don’t know what role, if any, Nichol played in putting W&M’s rules into place. But he can certainly play a role in changing them –and making the College more hospitable to the patriotic young men and women who want to serve their country and, in all likelihood, risk spilling their blood in a distant land when they graduate.

For details of this brewing controversy, see this report in the Daily Press, and this story in the Flat Hat, the college newspaper.

Update: I hear from Mr. Pinsker that President Nichol has agreed to an appointment “later this month.”

There are no words to describe the enormity of this morning’s tragedy at Virginia Tech, so I won’t even try. But if there any Hokie readers out there, please know that the thoughts and prayers of every Virginian are with the staff, students, parents and everyone else in the Virginia Tech community right now.

Darragh Johnson’s did does a nice job in today’s front page WaPo story on the insight of children. (“Fear of Climate Change Scares – and Inspires – Kids, Fears About Environment Pushing Kids to Act – Some to Therapy.”)

I recall well that it was Columbia’s Bryant Woods Elementary School students who inspired the adults in our Thicket Lane Cluster to start and maintain a recycling program in the early 70s. They also led in the observance of, and deepened the meaning of Earth Day.

In our column, “All Aboard” this week we note that Patrick Kane’s “Boom Town” class exercises in Reston elementary schools over the past 20 years have demonstrated the ability of fourth graders to do a better job of planning functional settlement patterns than groups of adults or professionals.

Norman Leahy did a great job of putting his finger on the need for Fundamental Change in schools and in education in his Blog post “School’s Out Forever” last Thursday. Our program for Fundamental Change in education outlined The Shape of the Future would accommodate many of the ideas put forward in the comments for flexible schooling. The revenue flow to support Dooryard preschool, Cluster lower elementary, Neighborhood upper elementary plus and Village high and Community continuing education could be allocated to accommodate mixed ages, work and learn, service and learn and other approaches that match student needs.

The key is Fundamental Change. When the “professionals” got hold of the Columbia schools that are part of the Howard County “system” the original insights and innovation went out the window as we document in The Shape of the Future.

EMR

The April 16, 2007, edition of the Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine has been published. Visit the e-zine here. Never miss a single issue, subscribe here and get the latest edition e-mailed to you free.

Here are this week’s columns and features:

Honoring Hallowed Ground
Cate Wyatt is reinventing the economy of Virginia’s northern piedmont. The Journey Through Hallowed Ground weaves together heritage tourism, sustainable agriculture, landscape preservation and Main Street renewal.
by James A. Bacon

Rule of Law
Jamestown 2007 is taking Virginia back to basics.
by Doug Koelemay

All Aboard!
An above-ground version of METRO rail can work in Tysons Corner. But it will take two things: Public Way Rights and a Pyramid development strategy.
by EM Risse

Call for a “Roads Blueprint”
Between the new taxes just enacted and financing by the private sector, Virginia should have ample funds to keep traffic congestion under control. The trick is crafting a plan and sticking to it.
by Michael Thompson

Legislative Tyranny
Speaker Bill Howell and AG Bob McDonnell circumvented the Virginia Constitution by passing the 2007 transportation bill in defiance of the multiple object rule.
by Phil Rodokanakis

I Think We Should See Other People
Libertarians have lost patience with big-government Republicans. But it’s not clear where they’d feel more welcome.
by Norman Leahy

Road to Ruin: Auto Busters
Arlington County’s population is growing but traffic congestion isn’t. What makes the difference? Five Metro stations, smart land use and control over local streets and roads.
by Robert L. Burke

Nice & Curious Questions
Ties that Bind: Virginia’s Sister Cities
by Edwin S. Clay III and Patricia Bangs

My old friend Veritatus has submitted another satire in the form of a news story from Durham, N.C.

Nichol to be Recruited by Duke’s Group of 88

Durham, NC—In the wake of the dismissal of rape charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players, Duke’s Group of 88 professors are regrouping to continue their struggle against racism, mysogyny and privilege. Their plans include recruiting College of William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol, who would resign his position in Williamsburg, Va., and join the Duke faculty as Dean of Inconsequential and Politically Correct Studies.

The fact that Attorney General Roy Cooper after three months of investigation could find no evidence of wrong-doing on the part of the former players, leaves the Group undaunted and reenergized to take up their cause to spread their brand of mindless political correctness to every corner of the Duke campus. Their success to date in cowing the Duke administration and board has given them a taste of victory and capitalist blood.

Soon after allegations of rape and other crimes surfaced in the spring of 2006, 88 members of the faculty and 16 Duke departments and programs denounced the lacrosse players in a public statement asserting that something “happened” to the accuser. The Group committed themselves to “turning up the volume” and thanked the campus protesters who branded the players “rapists” while distributing “wanted” posters around campus. The Group promised that their crusade “won’t end with what the police or the courts say.”

“Gene Nichol will be a perfect 89th member of our group,” confirmed Professor of Empathy Studies Y.R. Feelings. He’s got it all in one package. Feelings went on to identify some of Nichol’s major accomplishments while at the helm of William and Mary. These include:

1) A campus-wide email condemning the cowardice of those who had released into the public domain the name of a woman who had accused a male student of rape. The male student whose name was prominently featured in the media was bounced out of William and Mary. Later the county prosecutor dropped all charges.

2) A running media battle over the failure of the local voter registrar to allow students from other states to register to vote in Williamsburg, VA, home of William and Mary. Apparently the misguided registrar thought that students, in order to register, should declare full Virginia citizenship by paying Virginia state and local taxes and registering their cars in Virginia. The flap died down when it became clear that these new Virginia residents would be entitled to in-state tuition and thereby seriously deplete the William and Mary revenue budget.

3) Removal of the cross from the almost 300-year-old campus chapel in a move to be more sympathetic to persons of other faiths who might be offended by the chapel’s cross. Voices raised in protest largely went unheard by Nichol though the cross will now be displayed in a glass case as an inconvenient relic.

“If we get Nichol, this will be a twofer,” stated B.E. Stronger Duke Professor of Self-Esteem Studies. “This guy Nichol is the grand guru of political correctness, and he’s a china shop bull who can be counted on to create controversy where there is none.”

The Group also is counting on Nichol to deal with the considerable embarrassment of the Duke Chapel, possibly converting it to an indoor practice field for lacrosse.