Bacon's Rebellion

  • Tuition, Room, Board and Fees Up 7% Next Year at Tech – Zero Cuts in Massive Administrative Overhead

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Letitia “Tish” Long

    by James C. Sherlock

    From The Roanoke Times

    Faced with inflationary pressures and state budget uncertainty, the school’s Board of Visitors voted unanimously to markup overall student costs by about 7%, increasing tuition and fees, plus room and board.

    It was not an easy decision, said Rector Tish Long.

    ”This is one of the most important and most difficult decisions that this board has had to make,’ Long said. ‘This is a very difficult decision, and we did and continue to take everyone’s comments into account.’

    Rector Long did not mention how easy it was to not cut administrative overhead:

    • No data required;
    • No difficult discussions;
    • No strained decisions;
    • No dispirited looks from the University President;
    • Let’s break for lunch. Early.

    Tech’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, who would be the one to recommend cuts, is enthusiastic about that school’s “Administrative Transformation” project.

    He notes that he has an Administrative and Professional (A/P) Faculty job architecture project underway. Alas, the obstacles include:

    Currently there are over 2,400 A/P faculty positions with over 1,800 unique titles. This lack of structure creates inconsistent pay and titling practices — which can unintentionally create pay equity issues — as well as makes it difficult to benchmark salaries to the external market.

    It makes it quite difficult to make cuts when the University COO has no idea what all those people do. (more…)

  • Donnybrook in South Hampton Roads

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) Photo Credit: Washington Post
    Sen. Lionell Spruill (D-Chesapeake). Photo credit: Newsweek

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    It had to get ugly, and it finally has.

    The premier party primary election this year will be the Democratic primary in Senate District 18 (Parts of Portsmouth and Chesapeake), featuring incumbents Louise Lucas and Lionel Spruill. Redistricting threw them into a newly-drawn district that includes about 71,000 of Spruill’s current constituents and 61,000 of Lucas’s constituents. Reportedly, party leaders tried to prevail upon both of them for one to move to a new district with no incumbent. Both refused. This has promised to be a donnybrook from the beginning.

    The recent flash point is the chairmanship of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. George Barker (D-Fairfax) is currently a co-chair and is running for re-election as well. (The other co-chair, Janet Howell [Fairfax] is retiring.) Barker has his own electoral worries. He is facing a strong primary challenger in a redrawn district that includes only a small portion of his old district. (more…)

  • Math SOLs Up First for New Superintendent Coons

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Figure 1. Average scores in numeracy for age 16-34 (bars) and age 16-24 (red dots): OECD PIAAC 2012. (From Goodman et al. 2015, Data © OECD 2012. Used with permission.)  Click for larger view.

    by Eric (Rick) Nelson

    In K-12 education, can Virginia lead the nation? If that’s the goal, in my view as a career educator, Dr. Lisa Coons is the best possible choice as our new state Superintendent. As Chief Academic Officer in Tennessee, the programs she guided to help teachers improve reading instruction are among the best in the nation.

    But in Virginia, challenge #1 is mathematics. The department Dr. Coons now leads is tentatively scheduled in June to submit to the state Board of Education a proposed revision of our K-12 math Standards of Learning (SOLs). Workforce math skills are vital for our nation’s prosperity and defense, but current standards, in both our state and nation, are failing to teach mathematics effectively.

    The evidence? On national standards, much of it can be found in the International Journal of Mathematics Education, among other places.

    • On a 2012 international test of numeracy skills for citizens aged 16 to 34, among 22 tested nations, the United States ranked dead last;
    • Since 2012? In national NAEP LTT testing in January 2020, before the U.S. arrival of Covid-19, math scores were lower than in 2012 for nearly every student group;
    • As noted by columnist George Will, “About 76,000 students each year receive from U.S. universities advanced degrees in engineering disciplines …. Of those graduates, about 43 percent are U.S. citizens….”;
    • Electrical engineering (EE) is an especially important field in the competitive world economy. Of EE doctorates awarded by U.S. universities, the proportion going to non-U.S. citizens rose from 62% in 2010 to 70% in 2019. Almost as many U.S. EE Ph.D.’s went to citizens of China as to U.S. citizens.

    Many of these “best and brightest” from around the globe stay in the U.S. and contribute disproportionately to our economy. But one wonders: how long will U.S. taxpayers support higher education their children are not being prepared to enter? (more…)

  • Conservative Snowflakes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Delicate snowflakes aren’t found only on college campuses. Some conservatives in Virginia, it seems, are just as prone to melting down and suppressing images and ideas they don’t like.

    It appears that “multiple parents” have approached Patrick County Supervisor Denise Stirewalt with concerns about reading materials their children are being exposed to in school. What are we talking about? Inappropriate sexual content? Profanity? Suicide? Race war? Genocide? No, we’re talking about Norse mythology stories.

    “One instance involved a third-grade student who was having nightmares as a result of a story he had read in class. The story was a single Student Reader, Unit 6, titled ‘Gods, Giants, and Dwarves,’” reports the Martinsville Bulletin. The story has been removed from the curriculum.

    Good grief!

    I don’t know for a fact that the parents who complained are politically or culturally conservative, but Patrick County is a very conservative and Christian community. And I don’t know how graphic the material was that the child found so disturbing. But with those caveats, I feel moved to issue a warning: conservatives, don’t adopt the pathological traits of the left! Don’t become snowflakes! Don’t coddle your children! Cultivate the virtues of courage, resilience, and determination. (more…)

  • RVA History: Merging Manchester

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Jon Baliles

    I often joke with people when I am asked about Manchester that it was an independent city until 1910 when they merged with Richmond — and they have probably regretted it ever since.

    Em Holter has a nice piece in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about the merger of the city nicknamed “Dogtown” that is worth the read.

    On the day of the vote in 1910, pro-merger pamphlets were distributed that promised lower taxes, better infrastructure, and free passage into Virginia’s capital city (no more toll on the bridge). Opponents cautioned that annexation would mean increased taxes and inferior services. History can certainly be ironic. (more…)

  • Virginia Democrats in the House of Representatives Vote Against Their Own Daughters

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    USA Women’s National Team 2019

    by James C. Sherlock

    Abigail Spanberger, (D) Va. – Voted against protections for girls and women in sports

    Every Virginia Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against a bill to amend Title IX to prohibit biological boys and men from competing against biological girls and women in K-12 and college sports.

    Voting nay: Donald Beyer, Gerald Connolly, Jennifer McClellan, Bobby Scott, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton.

    H.R. 734 Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 amends Title IX (“on the basis of sex”) by stating that the term “sex” in athletics shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

    Jennifer McClellan (D) Va. – Voted against protections for girls and women in sports

    The consequences of a no vote. H.R. 734 protects the dreams and hard work of girls who wish to play college sports.

    The ones who got up early and stayed late training for their sport. The ones whose parents ferried them to practice and games on weekends.

    It protects girls and young women in contact sports such as soccer and field hockey from inevitable injury from bigger, stronger, faster men.

    Indeed, it protects their ability to participate.

    It prevents the biological male who never won a medal from deciding — no hormones or surgery required — he is female to mount the platform and be awarded the gold. To break records set by girls and women.

    To get rich with the new NIL rule in college sports and richer yet in women’s professional sports.

    Everyone who thinks that won’t happen, raise your hand. (more…)

  • RVA 5×5: Valet Parking

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Jon Baliles

    There was a lot of talk and coverage this week about the City of Richmond’s Planning Commission unanimously approving the removal of parking minimums citywide with the full City Council expected to take the matter up at its meeting Monday night.

    The ordinance as written would allow developers to decide how much parking to include in new developments anywhere in the city — or if they need to include any parking at all to serve the development. For decades, the city-required developments to also provide a certain number of off-street parking spaces based on the size of development, the number of dwelling units, type of use, or total floor area.

    The end goal is to allow developers to determine how much parking to provide in their developments and if they don’t have to provide expensive parking, they will then increase the supply of needed housing units. The city recently declared a “housing crisis,” and the need for more housing across the entire region is urgent. The proposal is one of the recommendations from the Richmond 300 master plan, which is in favor of less “auto-centric” zoning and more in favor of denser and more walkable mixed-use neighborhoods.
    (more…)

  • New York Times “DEI” Article Prompts Questions About Ryan’s Views

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Bert Ellis. Photo credit: New York Times

    by James A. Bacon

    Kudos to Stephanie Saul for her front-page article in The New York Times this morning. She quotes Bert Ellis and me accurately and in context in an impressively even-handed account of the brewing controversy over Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Virginia.

    Followers of Bacon’s Rebellion will find that the article, which explores DEI issues at UVa through the prism of Ellis’ appointment to the Board of Visitors, covers familiar ground. However, it does contain nuggets of news, mainly by putting UVa President Jim Ryan and other university officials on the record on issues about which they have been largely silent so far.

    Most astonishing are the quotes from Ryan, who comes across as totally clueless about the aims of his critics.

    James E. Ryan, the university’s president, said he believes the majority of alumni feel the way he does — that diversity is desirable and needed.

    “I haven’t heard anyone say we should have a community that is monolithic, unfair and unwelcoming,” he said in an interview.

    Mr. Ryan said he wonders about the motives of the critics.

    “Whether this is an effort to focus on the aspects of D.E.I. that seem to threaten academic freedom and push toward ideological conformity, or whether it’s an effort to turn back the clock to 1965 — it’s hard to know,” he said in an interview.

    (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    From The Bull Elephant

  • Restoring Trust in Institutions

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Created by Microsoft Image Creator

    by Matt Hurt

    Over the last several years, it has become widely accepted that trust in our institutions has declined. Ultra-tribalism has infected almost every aspect of public discourse, which has certainly enriched the war chests of our politicians on both sides of the aisle. On April 20, 2023, the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) provided a wonderful example of how this trend can be reversed.

    The VBOE has been in the process of updating Virginia’s history Standards of Learning for over two years. Unfortunately, history is the subject which has become targeted by different political/ideological factions.  Some argued that certain versions of the standards were intended to promote a specific ideology.  Others argued that other versions attempted to whitewash history. This work has drawn fire from both progressives and conservatives, and it is doubtful that either side will be satisfied with the end result. (more…)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

  • Fourth Circuit Gives Standing to Parents Suing Loudoun County Schools over First Amendment Violations

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Ian Serotkin
    LCPS School Board Chair, Defendant

    by James C. Sherlock

    In a win for freedom of speech, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond overturned a finding by a federal district judge that Loudoun parents did not have standing to sue the School Board for infringement of First Amendment rights.

    The parents alleged a bias reporting system instituted by Loudoun County Public Schools “chilled their children from exercising their free speech rights.”

    The ruling:

    … the parents plausibly allege that implementing the new reporting system chilled their children’s speech to support their First Amendment claims. So, we vacate the district court’s order dismissing those claims and remand for those claims to be considered on the merits.

    I suspect the new trial and appeals will find even the current, revised LCPS policy on reporting to be intended to chill protected speech. (more…)

  • VMI Disguises DEI Contract

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    By Jake Spivey

    In late fall 2021, Virginia Military Institute’s Board of Visitors and its newly installed superintendent were still reeling from the state investigator’s specious report condemning the Institute’s cultural climate. Resolving to quiet a mostly nameless and unidentifiable assortment of individuals criticizing VMI, the Board submitted through the state’s contracting website a request for proposals (RFP), for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consultation and training services. The solicitation sought companies that could help VMI “intentionally strengthen its commitment and work around DEI to aid the Institute in achieving Inclusive Excellence Plan goals and objectives.” The to-be-hired firm would provide VMI’s leadership a way to “institute DEI activities” for VMI’s leadership, faculty, full-time staff, and the 1,600 member Corps of Cadets. The RFP outlined requirements and described services that, no doubt in the minds of VMI’s leadership, would correct deficiencies neither the Commonwealth nor the investigative team had factually identified or documented in the June 1, 2021 report.

    Unfortunately, in its zeal to implement a contract for DEI consultation and training, VMI attempted to circumvent the Commonwealth’s procurement laws. A competing contractor, the Center for Applied Innovation, LLC (CAI), recognized a variety of inconsistencies regarding access to records as part of the proposal process. As alleged in court documents, VMI improperly awarded a “Notice of Intent” to award a contract to NewPoint Strategies, LLC (NewPoint). On March 18, 2022, CAI filed a formal protest in Rockbridge County Circuit Court alleging VMI had violated the state’s Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA). VMI denied it acted improperly, delivering a denial letter to the Court on March 28, 2022. It asked the Court to dismiss CAI’s lawsuit, claiming VMI was exempt from the state’s procurement laws. On July 14, 2022, Judge Christopher Russell listened to oral arguments from CAI’s attorneys and lawyers from the Office of the Attorney General, Christopher Bernhardt and Patrick O’Leary, who represented VMI. On August 3, 2022, in a surprise ruling, Judge Russell agreed with CAI and declined to dismiss the lawsuit. VMI appealed this decision, requesting the Court reconsider its original ruling. The Court did so, reversing its opinion. This action emboldened VMI to surreptitiously continue pursuit of a DEI-services contract with NewPoint.
    (more…)

  • Washington State Appears Set to Legalize No Notification of Parents for Youth Gender Transition

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Washington State Senator Mark Lilas (D), sponsor of Senate Bill 5599 Supporting youth and young adults seeking protected health care services.

    by James C. Sherlock

    In another flashing sign of the apocalypse, Democrats in the Washington State legislature want the state to become a destination for runaway youth seeking gender transition as minors.

    They proudly point to a newly passed law as their party’s response to other states passing laws to prohibit transgender medical services to youth under the age of 18.

    Virginia progressives, envious, are temporarily disarmed from changing Virginia law.

    There will be work to do when they get back full control in Richmond.

    I have every confidence in their capability to catch up.

    Washington State is poised to legalize non-notification of parents of “youth seeking protected health services” if the kid runs away from home.  The law creates a new “compelling reason” to not notify parents of the location of a runaway child.

    The existing “compelling reason” in Washington law is an allegation of child abuse.

    The new law added as a “compelling reason” that the child is seeking gender transition.  If a child has runaway for that reason, no parental knowledge of the child’s intent to transition genders, much less parental abuse, even needs to be alleged.

    The bill passed on party line votes.

    Instead of notifying parents, the youth shelters and temporary foster homes will notify the state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).

    It gets worse.

    Wait until you read about Washington State’s Medicaid “services” to these kids.

    (more…)

  • Apologies Run One Way in Woke World

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Credit: Bing Image Creator

    by James A. Bacon

    The woke witch trials of the 21st century don’t burn their victims at the stake, but they still do immense harm.

    We previously told the story of how Morgan Bettinger, a 4th-year student who ran afoul of the University of Virginia’s social-justice warriors, was vilified on social media, investigated by university authorities, and required to perform social-justice-related community service to atone for supposed threats she never uttered.

    What we haven’t told before but can now thanks to a lawsuit asking for the expungement of disciplinary sanctions on Bettinger’s college record, is what it’s like for a student to endure the assaults of the Woke Mob.

    The question every UVA alumnus, student, parent, professor and member of the UVa community must ask is this: how can freedom of speech and expression thrive in an environment where students are treated this way?

    The lawsuit cites the following testimony Bettinger gave in a recorded interview with the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights. (more…)

Now Available

Book cover of 'Dust Mites: A Second American Revolution' by James A. Bacon, featuring astronauts planting a flag with a blue and white emblem on a lunar landscape, with Earth visible in the background.
For sale on Amazon.com

The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….

This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

About

Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.

Fund the Rebellion

Shake up the status quo! Your contributions will be used to pay for faster download speeds and grow readership. Make a one-time donation by credit card or contribute a small sum monthly.

Can’t wait until tomorrow

For your Bacon’s Rebellion fix?

Enter your email address to receive immediate notifications of new posts by email.

SUBSCRIBE

Search Bacon’s Rebellion

Categories

Archives

The Jefferson Council

Protecting Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy at the University of Virginia

Forgot Your Password?

Shoot me an email and I’ll generate a new password for you.

Latest