Constrained Katie notes that teacher union officials are criticizing Governor Schwarzenegger's plan for higher "combat pay" for teachers willing to teach in tough schools in tough terms:
"Does [Schwarzenegger] think teachers are whores - that you have to pay them more to do this?" asked Steve Blazak, a spokesman for United Teachers Los Angeles.
I thought that was a little over the top. But (via Reason's Hit and Run blog) it turns out they've found a way around this in Oregon: unlike California, they ban ex-prostitutes from teaching.
A handful of times in the last few years, the members of the Oregon commission charged with determining who will get a license to teach in the state's public schools have found themselves faced with an application from a former prostitute.But under state law, commissioners have had to turn down the applications, regardless of any potentially mitigating circumstances.
Unlike in the neighboring states of California, Nevada, Idaho and Washington, in Oregon, it doesn't matter if the prostitution conviction came at a tender age, if the woman herself was a victim of sexual abuse or forced into prostitution, or if she has since managed to right herself and her life.
This says something, but I'm not sure what.
![[The Blogger and His Dog]](/ps/images/me_with_barney.jpg)
