Missouri teacher files lawsuit against Sinquefield's teacher tenure amendment

No one has ever really bought into the idea that retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield is not behind the proposed Constitutional Amendment that would eliminate teacher tenure in Missouri, as well as force school districts to pay (or fire) teachers on the basis of poorly-written standardized tests (especially since the lawyer who normally handles his dirty work is the one who filed the initiative petition). Now Sinquefield's efforts to buy the state of Missourii and reshape it into his own twisted vision will be challenged in court.

(From Missouri National Education Association)

Today (Friday) Chris Guinther, a teacher on leave serving as President of the Missouri NEA, filed suit in Cole County Circuit Court against Rex Sinquefield’s proposed Constitutional Amendment that would radically alter student evaluation and school funding.

“Billionaire Rex Sinquefield views children as pawns to be used and discarded as part of his continued extreme attacks on working families and their public schools. We have seen the real Rex Sinquefield and his hostility towards children, parents and teachers in our public schools whose work he related to a Ku Klux Klan conspiracy. He is plainly out of step with Missouri values,” said Guinther.

Guinther is referring to a presentation at Lindenwood University where Sinquefield made called public schools a KKK conspiracy and demonstrated a lack of understanding of how student and teacher evaluations currently function in Missouri. The video can be found here: http://youtu.be/w1z4OYxjOjg

Guinther continued, “It’s time for Missouri to think bigger, invest in our kids and give them the resources they need to achieve their personal best. That starts with well-trained experienced teachers. Rex Sinquefield’s proposed Amendment would force schools to waste over one-billion dollars teaching children to fill in small dots on a standardized score sheet. That is not the way forward.”

Attorney Charles Hatfield of the firm Stinson, Morrison and Hecker, represents Guinther. Among other items the suit alleges that ballot summary is fundamentally flawed and the Auditor’s fiscal note fails to properly disclose the billions of dollars in cost the initiative will have.