Was it paranoia or just plain old garden variety stupidity?

The Washington Education Association and its local subsidiaries wound up killing a $13.2 million grant that could have gone a long way to help high school students taking advanced placement courses in science, math and English.

And why would the union do that?

Because it didn't like that the grant money would be paid directly to teachers, based - in part - on how well the students scored on exams.

Like a dog marking it's territory, the union sprayed the bureaucratic bushes and hid behind the guise of collective bargaining.

Other teacher unions in other states managed to reach an agreement for the grant money, but not here.

Nope, here we've got self-centered, self-absorbed, protect-their-turf union officials.

They'd rather duck the issue of merit pay.

They'd rather help hang students out to academically dry because of union concerns about tying teacher pay to test scores.

So the WEA was willing to kiss off a $13.2 million dollar grant.

It seems to me that the union's paranoia and its stupidity came into play on this one.

Big time.