In an imperfect world, should teachers be armed?

David Hopkins

David Hopkins is superintendent at Clarksville.

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Let’s start with the question that gets people interested: Should teachers be armed?

But before continuing, let’s go over some important but less controversial background information. On July 3, the 18-member Arkansas School Safety Commission appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented its preliminary report to him. It includes 19 recommendations, including school safety and security teams, strategies for reporting suspicious behaviors, enhanced access to student mental health services, and anti-bullying programs.

Some of the 19 could lead to legislation or regulations, while some simply recommend best practices for schools to implement.

Here’s one of the big challenges. In a country with 55 million schoolchildren, school shootings statistically don’t happen that often. But when they do, they are national tragedies that shatter parental and community trust. So what resources should be devoted to that kind of threat? Because inevitably in this imperfect world, they’ll come at the expense of other priorities, including academics.

Unless … you use the same resources for both purposes. And that’s where we get into the question of arming staff members. Continue reading →

Student Council elections for grown-ups

Alabama, blue wave, school boards, Hixson, Breanne, red tide, judicial electionsBy Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

For most Arkansans, their first exposure to electoral politics comes in Student Council elections. This year’s election will be a lot like those in one way. In another, quite different.

It will be like Student Council elections in that voters will mostly mark the names of their “friends” – their party’s candidates.

There was a time when many voters proudly asserted that they voted for the candidate, not the party. Today, while more people call themselves “independents,” dwindling numbers actually vote that way. We may not outwardly identifying with a party, but we do inwardly, and that’s how we vote. Continue reading →

What Mister Rogers can teach us today

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Mister Rogers died in 2003, but one of the lessons he can still teach us is that you can believe passionately in something and not be a jerk about it.

Fred Rogers, the host of PBS’ “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” is the subject of the theatrical documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” It’s a revealing look at the man who was a part of so many childhoods. It turns out he really was that nice in real life.

But he also was driven by passion and belief. In one black-and-white clip, he said love was at the root of everything – “love or the lack of it.” An ordained Presbyterian minister, he believed television could be a tool to build up children, but instead much of it was shallow, wasteful and designed to mold them into consumers. He wanted something beyond pies-in-the-face humor. Continue reading →

No permanent ethics fix in part-time Legislature

Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Works, Jeremy Hutchinson, Mickey GatesBy Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, is an insurance agent who sits on the Insurance and Commerce Committee, so he’s able to offer insight and understanding when insurance legislation is considered. Also, he might be personally affected by it.

So which is more important: Expertise or objectivity? That’s a particularly tough question to answer in a part-time Legislature. Continue reading →

The $98.8 trillion hole

tax, taxes, debt, deficits, spending, trillion, State of the Union, deficit hawks, balanced budget amendment, Jonathan Bydlak, immigration, $98.8 triillionBy Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

A report last week offered two insights on the nation’s fiscal future: How big a hole we’re digging, and what it would take to stop.

Let’s start with the hole – one that will be $98.8 trillion deep only 30 years from now. That’s how big the government’s debt held by the public is projected to be by 2048, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO is the nonpartisan government agency that advises Congress regarding fiscal matters.

That “debt held by the public” figure refers to debt borrowed from others. It’s currently $15.45 trillion. The total national debt – $21.1 trillion at the moment – includes that figure plus the money the government has borrowed from itself.

How big are these numbers? The country’s population is about 328 million. Dividing that into $21.1 trillion equals about $66,000 for each American. Both numbers will rise unless something happens to make them stop.

Continue reading →