We say it's about time somebody did attack those "rights," which have too often stood in the way of ensuring quality education in our public schools.
Unfortunately, the legislature is unlikely to stage that attack; its Democratic members are mostly in the pocket of the teachers' unions.
The Patrick administration won't be of much help, either. In typical fashion, it appears to have shot itself in the foot with the revelation this week that Secretary of Education Paul Reville pushed for approval of a Gloucester charter school purely to further the political prospects of this education-reform package.
If lawmakers needed an excuse to vote down this bill, Reville has just handed it to them.
The grateful teachers' unions will, as they always do, reward those legislators with hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions and independent expenditures, to help them get re-elected next year. After all, that's the kind of jackpot they really care about.
Related:
Roast pork, State of flux, Ménage-à-trashed?, More 
- Roast pork
Back in January, Governor Deval Patrick declared a "season of significant government reform" on Beacon Hill.
- State of flux
A few weeks ago, the state legislature headed into its winter break with what might be called a flurry of inactivity.
- Ménage-à-trashed?
In the hothouse of this past month’s same-sex-marriage battle, the State House’s top three leaders emerged as surprisingly cozy bedfellows.
- Power hungry?
It’s remarkable how dramatically the state’s political leadership has changed since the most recent Constitutional Convention.
- No side bets
Opponents of legalized gaming in Massachusetts are celebrating the death this past week of Governor Deval Patrick’s bill to license casinos, which was crushed by a seemingly decisive margin of more than two-to-one.
- Missing in action
Good-government advocates often breathe a sigh of relief when the legislature quits Beacon Hill.
- Patrick's latest train wreck
There is no doubt that Governor Deval Patrick had — and has — much better ideas about reforming and restructuring the state's transportation infrastructure — including the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority — than the legislature.
- Grading the cabinet
As we watch President Barack Obama replace the federal government's old, unpopular, Republican department heads with fresh, bright talent, it's hard not to think back two years, to the start of Governor Deval Patrick's first term as governor of Massachusetts.
- Deval Patrick is on a second-term winning streak, and casinos might be the next payoff
Last summer, when Deval Patrick's veto killed a gaming bill in the final days of the legislative session, many thought he had badly damaged himself politically. He was, after all, the one who had pushed for casinos in Massachusetts almost from the day he entered office.
- In the wake of the latest corruption scandal, let's just torch the offending chamber
Burning Down the House
- It's a reasonable bet that gaming could once again gridlock Beacon Hill
Gaming bills have plagued the last two legislative sessions on Beacon Hill.
- Less
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The Editorial Page
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