We're Not So Jolly About Common Core Clark - Vote NO For Clark Jolley For State Treasurer

Clark Jolley at the Jeb Bush, Foundation for Education Excellence National Summit on Education Reform in Boston, MA with former Oklahoma State Board of Education member Amy Ford. 

Clark Jolley was the lead author of the bill that adopted Obama-pushed Common Core State Standards throughout Oklahoma.

Sadly, Clark Jolley and ROPE have never been famous friends.

It all started in 2010, when he authored SB2033 with Coffee, Jolley, Ford, Rice and Leftwich of the Senate.  This bill was created as a vehicle by which to apply for federal Race To The Top funds.  The bill is 34 pages and codified into law the Teacher Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System (a nightmare that Senator Adam Pugh tried to put an end to last year in a bill that was 'committee'd to death'), the Race To The Top Commission, The Common Core State Standards Initiative, and failing school intervention program - three of the four aspects of the Obama Administration's Race To The Top grant paid for with ARRA funds.

So, there's that.  

In fact, I STILL can't consider any Republican in the legislature who signed on to OBAMA's education plan a real Republican - including Clark Jolley.

There is more - so much more - but to post all of that here would more than likely cause some kind of catatonic state from which the reader might not recover.  Let me simply say this; Blogspot has an excellent 'search' function.  I highly suggest - before casting a vote for Clark Jolley for anything - you search his name on the ROPE blog.  There are dozens of entries from which to choose where we've dissected and discussed legislation created by Senator Jolley and his cronies that we simply could not - AS SMALL GOVERNMENT REPUBLICANS - support.

The blog from which this picture was taken, "Oklahoma Legislative Education Leaders Take Advantage of Free Boston Trip Sponsored By Jeb Bush Foundation", most probably says it all, however.  

In closing - and yes I am closing, as I feel my point should have been made solidly with the opening line - I do want to copy and paste an encounter we had with Senator Jolley (originally posted here) while we were lobbying against Common Core.

During 2011, there was a bill of Senator Jolley's (SB264) with which we had issue.  It was advertised as a deregulation bill for schools, but there were an additional number of components - including a reference to the SLDS (State Longitudinal Database System) we didn't like - and we didn't want it passed.  Unfortunately, we found it late in its legislative cycle - after it was going back to the House a second time.  

Three of us were walking the halls talking to Representatives, sharing our concerns about the bill, when Clark Jolley strides by us at a ferocious clip, points a finger at us and says, "I want to see you in my office" and marches off.  We felt as though we were to follow, so we shrugged our shoulders at one another not knowing what was going on, and followed dutifully. 

Senator Jolley strode into his office directly behind his desk, told us to sit down, sat down himself and immediately launched into a very thorough berating, replete with pointed finger.  Now, mind you, one of us was actually a constituent of the Senator and NONE of us on the ROPE board are paid in any way - we are all mothers, housewives (and business owners) who take it upon ourselves to study the legislative process and become involved.  This fact, however, did not stop Senator Jolley from taking the time to tell us exactly how the cow ate the cabbage.  

We were NOT to go around behind his back, he explained vociferously.  If we had a problem with one of HIS bills, we needed to come to him first and not let him hear about it from someone else.  He wanted to make sure HIS bills get passed and he would work with us but he was not going to have us going around him taking matters into our own hands.

I have NEVER been such a combination of flabbergasted, annoyed and angry all at the same time.  I thought Senators were supposed to be public SERVANTS.  At one point I finally decided I'd had enough and told him that we weren't paid lobbyists and didn't know the system inside and out - heck one of us was even a constituent - we were simply doing what we felt was right.  It didn't require a lecture.

I have never forgotten that incident...

True public "SERVANTS" don't behave like Clark Jolley.

PS:  Todd Russ was always kind to us, listened, and more importantly voted YES to repeal Common Core from Oklahoma law.  I'll be voting for Russ.

Jenni White, Education Director