| Would have been difficult given that Betances was never in a Viet Cong prison because he never served in Viet Nam. Then-PUSD supe Percy Clark didn't vet the would-be vet's background before appointing Betances to run the district's DADS program. Oops. Betances is in jail in Orange County, having been extradited from Oregon, for two murders. His pre-trial hearing originally set for March 16 has been continued to June 29. Thanks as always to PUSD volunteer Rene Amy for staying on top of this one. Betances continues to be a poster child for the importance of parents and taxpayers insis- ting that our local school dist- ricts conduct thorough background checks on everyone who comes in contact with our kids. |
How's sunshine in your state? Ours here in Texas is under attack by only two school districts with proposed SB 889. Says open govern- ment attorney Bill Aleshire: "SB 889 sends a clear mes- sage to secretmon- gers in government: If you want to keep secrets from people, be inefficient in responding to open records requests, because then you can jack up the costs, even charge attorneys fees and slow staff time, so the costs are so high most citizens won't be able to afford to get therecords they want to see. |
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| h o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n -- o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . Copyright 1999-2007 Peyton Wolcott |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
AASA - American Association of School Administrators ASA - Association of School Administrators CSD - Consolidated School District DOE - Department of Education ES - Elementary School HS - High School ISD - Independent School District JHS - Junior High School MS - Middle School MSM - Mainstream media NSBA - National School Boards Association NSPRA - National School Public Relations Association PS - Public School(s) SBEC - State Board for Educator Certification SD - School District Sup't - Superintendent TAKS - Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills TASA - Texas Association of School Administrators TASB - Texas Association of School Boards TASBO - Texas Association of School Business Officials TEA - Texas Education Agency TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills USD - UnifiedUnited School District |
| GUIDE |
| FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of education issues vital to a republic. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., Chapter 1, Section 107 which states: the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright," the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use" you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
| QUOTES |
Separatists in India's north-eastern state of Manipur have shot six male teachers in the leg for allegedly helping students cheat in exams. Two women teachers were beaten with sticks for the same offence, the rebels of the Kanglei Yana Kan Lup group said. The teachers were abducted from their homes after an exam on Thursday. The rebels said the teachers took up to 5,000 rupees ($110) for helping students cheat and warned of further punishment if the cheating continued. The Kanglei Yana Kan Lup (KYKL) is one of many separatist groups fighting Indian administration in Manipur. It said it abducted the eight teachers from their homes in and around the state capital, Imphal, because of reports they had taken bribes. --By Subir Bhaumik - BBC |
| ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: Every attempt possible has been made to verify all sources and information. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately. Thank you. |
| Copyright 1999-2007 Peyton Wolcott |
My New Book PEYTON WOLCOTT |
| QUERY THE SUPE & THE PR GUY |
DATE FIRST
SENT: FEB. 14,
2006
RE-SENT 03/26/06
Dear
Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:
I'm hoping you can
clear something
up for me for my
book and website
regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as
there have been
not one but two
situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....
Regarding
special ed
teacher
Christine
Scarlett's
offering a date
with herself as
a grades
incentive
1. What rules/
guidelines do
you now have in
place to assure
that nothing like
this happens
again? Would
these be
administrative
changes or has
your board set
specific policies in
place for you to
follow in future?
2. Rumors of
an affair between
Scarlett and
Bradigan
persisted for
several months.
You have stated
that you have no
idea such an
affair was going
on. Do you feel
the fact that you
are commuting
from your home
in Akron (if this
has changed,
please let me
know) has
adversely
impacted your
ability to monitor
what's going on
with your
employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area
such as this? Has
your board since
made a condition
of your
employment that
you move to
Strongsville and
become an
integral part of
their community?
Regarding the
sex education
booklet placed
last fall in young
children's
lockers
4. What
guidelines did
you follow from
your established
board's policies
for such?
5. There
appears to be a
growing number
of parents who
want to be
consulted before
such materials are
given to their
students. As one
mom put it,
"What's wrong
with so many
people in the
educational fields
that they don't
even think twice
about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not
even consider the
parents
wishes....Their
tactics mirror
those used in
Communist China
and Cuba where
children are
considered not
children of
parents, but
wards of the
State." While this
is clearly the
statement of an
upset parent, it
does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school
administrators in
the U.S. Do you
consider the
students in
your schools
yours to
educate as you
deem best or
the offspring of
parents to be
consulted
before
disseminating
such materials?
Regarding
trainings and
conferences
6. Of which
education-relate
d associations
are you and
Strongsville City
Schools a
member? What
are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating
such materials?
7. In which
education-relate
d conferences
have your and
your staff
participated this
past year?
Where were
they and what
were the costs
for each? Have
you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the
like offering
guidance in this
area, and what
were those costs?
It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for
your approving
the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in
young students'
lockers without
notifying parents
first, and it may
also well be that
there is a
perfectly
reasonable
explanation for
your allowing a
teacher to offer a
date at the Dairy
Queen with
herself to a young
student; if so, I am
eager to learn
such reason or
reasons.
===============
She said the
booklet, which
also provides
information on the
need for parental
consent for
abortion and a
Web address for
the Lesbian/Gay
Community
Service Center of
Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I
believe some sex
education needs
to be given, but
when subjects are
discussed or
material is given
to kids of this
nature, a notice
should be sent
home to the
parent and they
should be allowed
to opt out of the
program if they
wish, Fleming
said. School
Superintendent
James Gray said
he gave an OK for
the pocket-sized
directories, which
were provided to
the district by
United Way
Services in
conjunction with
the county health
department and
county
commissioners,
to be given to
students at the
high school,
middle schools
and to sixth
graders. Gray
said he received
two calls from
parents who took
exception to the
booklet's content.
I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I
should have
considered
sending a letter
along with it as far
as an explanation,
he said, adding,
this is a
developing
situation. I don't
know what we are
going to do at this
point. Colleen
Grady, a city
resident and a
member of the
state school
board, said she
got calls from four
parents
concerned about
their children
getting the
directory. Grady,
who is also a
former city school
board member,
said she has not
personally seen
the publication,
but they (parents)
read me sections
over the
telephone. She
said the state
board of
education may
wish to make a
legislative
recommendation
to the Ohio
general
assembly, and the
board could also
consider
discussion about
adoption of a
model policy for
the distribution of
such materials.
Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the
district's
curriculum and
pupil services
departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of
materials which
are considered to
be sensitive,
particularly for the
younger kids.
SENT: FEB. 14,
2006
RE-SENT 03/26/06
Dear
Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:
I'm hoping you can
clear something
up for me for my
book and website
regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as
there have been
not one but two
situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....
Regarding
special ed
teacher
Christine
Scarlett's
offering a date
with herself as
a grades
incentive
1. What rules/
guidelines do
you now have in
place to assure
that nothing like
this happens
again? Would
these be
administrative
changes or has
your board set
specific policies in
place for you to
follow in future?
2. Rumors of
an affair between
Scarlett and
Bradigan
persisted for
several months.
You have stated
that you have no
idea such an
affair was going
on. Do you feel
the fact that you
are commuting
from your home
in Akron (if this
has changed,
please let me
know) has
adversely
impacted your
ability to monitor
what's going on
with your
employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area
such as this? Has
your board since
made a condition
of your
employment that
you move to
Strongsville and
become an
integral part of
their community?
Regarding the
sex education
booklet placed
last fall in young
children's
lockers
4. What
guidelines did
you follow from
your established
board's policies
for such?
5. There
appears to be a
growing number
of parents who
want to be
consulted before
such materials are
given to their
students. As one
mom put it,
"What's wrong
with so many
people in the
educational fields
that they don't
even think twice
about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not
even consider the
parents
wishes....Their
tactics mirror
those used in
Communist China
and Cuba where
children are
considered not
children of
parents, but
wards of the
State." While this
is clearly the
statement of an
upset parent, it
does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school
administrators in
the U.S. Do you
consider the
students in
your schools
yours to
educate as you
deem best or
the offspring of
parents to be
consulted
before
disseminating
such materials?
Regarding
trainings and
conferences
6. Of which
education-relate
d associations
are you and
Strongsville City
Schools a
member? What
are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating
such materials?
7. In which
education-relate
d conferences
have your and
your staff
participated this
past year?
Where were
they and what
were the costs
for each? Have
you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the
like offering
guidance in this
area, and what
were those costs?
It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for
your approving
the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in
young students'
lockers without
notifying parents
first, and it may
also well be that
there is a
perfectly
reasonable
explanation for
your allowing a
teacher to offer a
date at the Dairy
Queen with
herself to a young
student; if so, I am
eager to learn
such reason or
reasons.
===============
She said the
booklet, which
also provides
information on the
need for parental
consent for
abortion and a
Web address for
the Lesbian/Gay
Community
Service Center of
Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I
believe some sex
education needs
to be given, but
when subjects are
discussed or
material is given
to kids of this
nature, a notice
should be sent
home to the
parent and they
should be allowed
to opt out of the
program if they
wish, Fleming
said. School
Superintendent
James Gray said
he gave an OK for
the pocket-sized
directories, which
were provided to
the district by
United Way
Services in
conjunction with
the county health
department and
county
commissioners,
to be given to
students at the
high school,
middle schools
and to sixth
graders. Gray
said he received
two calls from
parents who took
exception to the
booklet's content.
I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I
should have
considered
sending a letter
along with it as far
as an explanation,
he said, adding,
this is a
developing
situation. I don't
know what we are
going to do at this
point. Colleen
Grady, a city
resident and a
member of the
state school
board, said she
got calls from four
parents
concerned about
their children
getting the
directory. Grady,
who is also a
former city school
board member,
said she has not
personally seen
the publication,
but they (parents)
read me sections
over the
telephone. She
said the state
board of
education may
wish to make a
legislative
recommendation
to the Ohio
general
assembly, and the
board could also
consider
discussion about
adoption of a
model policy for
the distribution of
such materials.
Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the
district's
curriculum and
pupil services
departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of
materials which
are considered to
be sensitive,
particularly for the
younger kids.
| STATUS: One year later, no response rec'd from Sup't Gray |
| QUERY THE SUPE (& CC THE BOARD) |
| Focusing o n accountability first |
| TEA's check register: |
Online School District Check Registers Here here here Modern Edu- Monopoly (mike moses) here Random Round-Ups Here 2006 - Year in Review here Nov.-Dec. 2006 commen- taries here Pass the Trash here SLAPP reports here and here Reader Q&As Edgewood ISD 95 Questions |
| Conservative Commentary |
| CONTACT |
| DALLAS ISD Fallout: "Everything's absolutely positive, and there's been no negative fallout--we're one of the first in the state to post our check register online," said a district spokesperson. Logistics, goals for the future: "We're talking to our IT people to see if we can simplify the process so that people can go to the online check register more quickly and directly." MARBLE FALLS ISD Ryder Warren, superintendent "We have had absolutely no issues." Kelly Fox, trustee Feedback: "Peyton is always innovatively at the cutting edge of the promotion of school reform. This is yet one more example of her efforts to improve the quality of our schools by championing open records of our spending. As a board member I highly recommend that all districts make their spending more transparent and be accountable to the taxpayers." SPRING BRANCH ISD Duncan Klussmann, superintendent "Posting our check registers online has been something that's worked for us with very minimal effort to get it up and running; I believe school districts are running moving in this direction. We try to be a very transparent district. We have a strong and supportive community, and we feel that being transparent supports that." Klussmann added that when he first came into education it was common for all checks to be included with the board packets and an approval item at board meetings. Obstacles and stumbling blocks: "Our financial software is older and DOS-based, not designed to generate reports, but once we got our first report as a model it went quickly." Special kudos: "We have a wonderful finance person, Karen Wilson, who took this on." Additional comments: "Anything we can do to take raw data as we're required to report it by the state and make it more accessible to our community is a benefit." Extra expense: None. Fallout? No increase in public records requests. "The only thing you do worry about is someone looking at something and not understanding; you'd sit down with the person and explain it to them." Goals for the future: Make the link more accessible, in fewer clicks. BIG SPRING ISD Michael Downes, superintendent "We don't consider posting our check registers online a big deal as it's a public record; we were already publishing our check registers each month." Along the same lines of making the district's finances more intelligible to the public, "We're also one of the few districts in the state that are recognized by GFOA for the Distinguished Budget Presentation award. Sandra Waggoner, chief financial officer "Posting our check register online really isn't any extra work; it's the same check register we give our board each month, then we just PDF it to our webmaster." Sandra is BSISD's public information officer; the district only receives 3-4 ORR's per year. "Most are not people trying to stir up something, just, 'I'm curious.' " Logistics: BSISD's bookkeeper sends a PDF file to Downe's secretary for TASB BoardBook, and sends a duplicate copy of the PDF file to the webmaster who uploads and creates a link so it's available for the public. Special kudos: BSISD's CFO, Sandra Waggoner. Extra expense: None. Fallout? No increase in public records requests. Goals for the future: Keep each month's check registers online for one year. NEW CANEY ISD Cindy Reynolds, secretary to superintendent/med ia relations "We've posted our check register online for at least the past year and a half; here at New Caney ISD we have a very open-door policy with the public and the media. Posting our check registers online saves us some time on generating information that people might request otherwise. This is the best way to approach it. It never occurred to us to not post this public information. When you form partnerships with your community, you have to be above reproach. We're all partners, we're all taxpayers. We have to be accountable in all areas." Fallout? "Parents and support organizations question us from time to time regarding expenditures--not that we've been questioned on how but where--and they're certainly entitled to that information." Logistics: NCISD uses TASB's BoardBook. Extra expense: None; check registers are a free feature of TASB's BoardBook. NEDERLAND ISD Gail Krohn, superintendent "I think it's important for a district to share pertinent financial information with the community and the taxpayers; that's what's important. I'm very proud of our business manager that she tries her very best to make things simple and understandable for the taxpayers of Nederland ISD." . |
| "Superintendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." |
| The following is based on the report I presented to Marble Falls ISD trustees on Dec. 18, 2006 and addresses typical concerns administrators and trustees might have; have since added MFISD and Dallas ISD comments. |
KEY POINT: "Superin- tendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti- transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." --Peyton Wolcott |
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. --President Ronald Reagan |
| H E A D S U P |
| Local: $ 9.3 billion State: $16.6 billion* |
| http://www.ednews.org /articles/8244/1/An-Inte rview-with-Peyton-Wol cott-quotIs-the-Check-i n-the-Mail-or-On-Line- quot/Page1.html |
| Education News Interview (Michael Shaughnessy) February 19, 2007 www.EdNews.org |
ONLY 9 EASY STEPS TO ACCESS DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER ONLINE: STEP 1 START HERE: www.dallasisd.org STEP 2 ON THE LEFT (GREY BOX 'QUICKLINKS') CHOOSE: Board of Trustees STEP 3 YOU'LL SEE 2 GREY LINES OF TYPE; FROM 2nd LINE CHOOSE: Meeting Agendas STEP 4 SCROLL DOWN; FOR THE MOST RECENT CHECK REGISTER CHOOSE THE MOST RECENT "BOARD BRIEFINGS" ------ STEP 5 CHOOSE: FEB. 8, 2007 STEP 6 FIND "Briefing Meeting - February 8, 2007 11:30AM STEP 7 CLICK ON: "AGENDA PACKET" STEP 8 SCROLL DOWN TO 4. FINANCIAL SERVICES (Business Services Division) b. Ratification of List of Bills, Claims and Accounts for Demember 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006 ($74,044,519.08) STEP 9 CLICK ON "BillsClaims_ Attachment" VOILA! YOU'VE JUST ACCESSED DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER IN ONLY 9 --COUNT 'EM, 9-- EASY STEPS! |
| Fort Bend Now - Editorial Feb. 2, 2007 www.fortbendnow.co m/opinion |
| Dallas Blog Feb. 19, 2007 www.dallasblog.com |
| Houston Chronicle Feb. 13, 2007 http://blogs.chron. com/insidekaty |
| Looking for articles re online check registers? |
| Education News www.EdNews.org Dallas ISD's check register online! Houston's soon! Feb. 16, 2007 |
| Regarding CISD's investigation by the Texas Education Agency, Don Rice, managing editor of theCleburne Eagle News, said by telephone last week, "This has been a two-year process of asking questions and seeking answers and accountability. It appears..." More here |
| CLEBURNE ISD |
| Don Rice (R) with Teresa Blackwell |
| 6 months of forward movement: We're now asking in 7 states! 2 more coming! |
| ONLINE SCHOOL DISTRICT CHECKBOOKS (CHECK REGISTERS) |
| TRANSPARENCY TALLY |
A second look at Katy ISD's software developer Xpediant Leonard Merrell's choice of technology consultants was Xpediant, LLC, which had to change its name after it was reported on this website on April 17, 2006 that "according to sources within the Texas Secretary of State's office this morning, Xpediant, LLC, 'in our world here doesn't have an active entity status' and has been in a state of forfeiture since February 13, 2003 because 'they didn't do their state franchise taxes,' with the result that Xpediant 'has no entity status and no liability shield.' Xpediant's 2003 return has not yet been received, making it almost three years overdue." Alas. When Xpediant's owners went to fix things in Austin, they discovered their no-longer- viable company's name had been taken by someone else, so they had to find a new name. |
Mon., Feb. 26, 2007 9:46 am update: Here's the URL for DISD's most recent checks online--I've activated the link several times this past week, but it still doesn't work; apparently DISD wants its parents and taxpayers to follow all 9 of the above steps. After being contacted by media outlets in the DFW area, have this morning contacted DISD PR guy Celso Martinez for an update. www.boardbook. org/apps/bbv2/te mp/FEA97082-E7 FF-035D-147A76 7667FA7F25.pdf |
| SEEING IS BELIEVING Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell's self-named "Leonard E. Merrell Center" (above) at Katy ISD bears his name not once but twice, the only such edifice in the U.S. which a working supe has named for himself. |
Armand Fusco's '13 Guiding Principles' 1. Assume that fraud, theft, and embezzlement are occurring— look for it. 2. Assume that mismanagement exists— look for it. 3. Assume that there is waste in the system— look for it. 4. Assume that financial management controls are inadequate— constantly review and tighten the process. 5. Assume that staff has not been properly trained and educated in budget management— provide on-going training particularly for key personnel. 6. Assume that there are employees who know where there is fraud, waste, and mismanagement— encourage, reward, and resolutely protect “whistle-blowers.” 7. Assume that any report or information dealing with financial matters does not provide sufficient details— seek more details. 8. Assume that board policies are not being implemented properly— ask for progress reports. 9. Assume that audits do not uncover fraud— insist on forensic auditing. 10. Accept the fact that board members lack the skills and knowledge required to effectively monitor the budget— provide them with information and training. 11. Accept the fact that vigilance must be constant— good enough is never good enough. 12. Accept the fact that board members must have easy access to detailed information and data that are used to develop financial reports and monitor progress— seek to develop meaningful reporting systems. 13. Accept the fact that decisions made by the board will be scrutinized by the staff and the public to see if their financial rhetoric to protect school dollars from fraud, waste and mismanagement is matched against its actions— weigh every discretionary decision carefully for consistency and common-sense. --From "School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust" by Armand A. Fusco |
Map updated
04/0507/1 am
04/0507/1 am
| PARENTS, TAX- PAYERS, TRUS- TEES ASKING IN: Cedar Rapids PS (IA) ChippewaVall.SD (MI) Cleburne ISD (TX) Comal ISD (TX) Eanes ISD (TX) Lake Travis ISD (TX) Lancaster ISD (TX) Midway-Waco ISD (TX) New York CPS (NY) Omaha PS (NB) Santa Cruz CPS (AZ) ONLINE NOW TEXAS: Arlington ISD (TX) Big Spring ISD Blackwell CISD Bremond ISD Dallas ISD Katy ISD Leander ISD Malakoff ISD Marble Falls ISD Nederland ISD New Caney ISD San Angelo ISD Spring Branch ISD COMMITTED/ SOON: El Paso ISD (TX) Galena Park ISD (TX) Houston ISD (TX) Keller ISD (TX) McKinney ISD (TX) Richardson ISD (TX) Temple ISD (TX) Ysleta ISD (TX) STATE DOE ONLINE Texas Education Agency |
| * Based on new information provided by the Texas Education Agency. |
| Easiest way to find articles: "Peyton Wolcott" & "check registers" Almost 200 online as of Apr. 4, 23, 2007 |
| Not a PR pro? How to talk to your local school board & supe about putting the district's checks online By Peyton Wolcott Copyright 2007 Updated Mar. 28, 2007 Friends, a light bulb went off recently when an astute friend remarked, "You know, most grassroots parents and taxpayers aren't good at PR." This comment took me off guard, but do you know what? He was right. Many of our best volunteers are rational people, engineers and accountants and the like, who are used to an environment in which facts reign. |
| It takes us a very long while to understand that our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. Further, our superintendents attend confer- ences and meetings where they learn how to develop their PR skills, and they hire well-paid PR guys and gals who are skilled in the art of public relations. This is the arena into which we step. Also, by the time most of us get to the point that we are interested in seeing how our district spends its money, there have been precipitating incidents. As another friend put it, "I just wanted to slug someone at that board meeting." This man is a genuinely decent human being and the comment surprised me-- but it's not the first time I've heard this from a parent. It wasn't always that way. Generally we start out assuming our dealings with our school districts will be a rational exercise. Most of us are volunteers and in addition to our taxes give generously to our children's schools. Then when we spend a lot of time there, we notice things. Years ago I myself felt sure that if I showed my local supe and board where money was being wasted in some areas and not adequately safeguarded in others that they would welcome this information with open arms and changes would be made on the spot. Hah! Imagine my surprise when they reacted as though to a personal attack when I was just trying to help. At this point we often start gathering hard data on our schools because we assume--also incorrectly, as it turns out-- that "someone" higher up is watching out. But the "someone" turns out to be us. We learn that our local schools have next to no real oversight; as just one example witness the two dozen state, federal and local governmental bodies and elected officials two moms in Texas contacted in their effort to bring their local superintendent to justice. Besides, to focus on spread sheets and flow charts to take to "someone in charge" is to focus on the wake of the wave and not the boat and the pilot. This is why I have come to the conclusion after years in the grassroot trenches that the best and most effective single step we can take to help our districts reign in costs and improve our vendor-driven curriculums in order to better educate our kids is to persuade our schools to post their check registers online. When we approach our districts, we have found there are some things we can do which are more effective than others. Like I tell my kids, go and make new mistakes--don't replicate mine. To make it easier for you to successfully ask your local district to put its check register online, I've just posted two new pages; the first walks you through the process, and the second is a flyer you can print as is, or you can copy and paste* the report sec- tion in the grey box on the left. I've done this successful- ly, and wouldn't recommend that you undertake something I haven't already done myself. If I can do it, you can, too-- and probably much better! |
| Our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. |
Asking
Already Online
Already Online
| UPDATE: Apr.4, 2007 Texas districts' 'Loophole '? Hardly ! TEA Rules and stats pink box here |
| New York City PS |
Rio Rico Schools
| Cedar Rapids PS |
| Omaha PS |
| Chippewa Valley SD |
| Texas ISDs: Cleburne, Comal, Eanes, El Paso, Lake Travis, Lancaster, Midway |
| From 4 school districts to 32* --plus a state DOE --in 6 months! |
| About this online check registers project: Oct. 1, 2006 was the start date of the National School District Honor Roll with four small school districts in Texas who'd posted their check registers online. We now have 28* districts either online or committed--or where parents and taxpay- ers have begun asking. Districts are almost all saying "yes" immediately. Why? Superintendents and board members understand it's better to be on the beginning of this wave than in its wake. |
| Looking for previous CHECK REGISTER COMMENTARIES? Wondering who came online and when? Previous check register commentaries have moved to: |
| * Please attribute and include copyright. |
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| Looking for today's front page Dallas Morning News article regarding school districts posting their checks online? By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Thursday, March 8, 2007 - 3:02 pm Updated Thu.,Mar. 8, 2007-11:30pm |
| Hats off to DMN for taking this big step towards encouraging public school transparency by publicizing the online check register movement! There are some good quotes--plus excerpts from the list of schools at right--along with the 9 steps to finding Dallas ISD's checks published on Feb. 19, 2007 at www.peytonwolcott.com: |
| THE NATION'S FIRST & MOST COMPLETE LIST! School districts' checks online: |
| Dallas Morning News March 8, 2007 |
| Because the districts voluntarily coming online early are well ahead of the 55-60-65 progression--even Houston ISD with its large administra- tive overhead is already at 63%, 8 points ahead of schedule--DMN's so-called loophole does not apply. Remember: Rather than adopting the recommended NCES formula, Texas Commis-sioner of Education Shirley Neeley instead invited Texas superintendents to help write their own formula, so it is to be expected that all districts will make the 65% mark on target and on schedule. |
| March 6, 2007 Update Jessica's Law in Texas Hardcore child molesters could face the death penalty in Texas under a bill given preliminary approval today by the state House of Representatives. The bill is designed to crack down on sex offenders who repeatedly prey on children. The House voted to create a new category of crime, continual sexual abuse of a young child or children. It carries a minimum of 25 years to life in prison and possibly the death penalty for a second offense. The Texas version [of Jessica's Law] would make the Lone Star State the sixth to allow some child sex offenders to be sentenced to death....The bill also removes the statute of limitations for many sex crimes against children, including indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault. The current limit to bring charges is 10 years after the victim's 18th birthday. |
| National Sunshine Week starts today! By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Sunday, March 11, 2007 - 12:07 am |
| Whether you're celebrating by filing your first public records request this week, or standing before your school board |
| 'Amazing Grace' poster |
| asking them to require the districts' checks to be published online, or perhaps you're accompanying a friend to help review a pile of records, hats off to you for exercising your constitutional right to view accounts of taxpayer spending by one of our most important and least-monitored governmental bodies, our local public schools. |
| The poster above from the film "Amazing Grace" may seem an idiosyncratic choice for Sunshine Week art, but it's there because I recommend that you go see this movie. When we start out on this journey, our schools--once they realize we're there to ask real and serious questions--do not generally greet us with open arms, my detainment by three armed school district police officers last summer being a kind of litmus test for worst case scenarios. We all at some point, as rational sentient human beings, wonder if we're doing the right thing. We all ask ourselves an important question: |
| I'm just one person: Can I really make a difference? |
| William Wilberforce was just one person. His primary goal was to end slavery, and by joining with like-minded others and using a variety of strategies, they brought an end to slavery in all of the British Empire 200 years ago. It was interesting seeing the pro-slavery camp's familiar-sounding arguments and methods. Wilberforce and his supporters were accused by those profiting monetarily from the slave trade of being disloyal and against the British economy, etc. Seeing this movie will help you reaffirm within yourself the power of the individual, the stuff from which all important changes spring. If William Wilberforce could help end slavery in his lifetime, you and I can certainly help clean things up in our local schools. And here's how we do this: One person asking one question, one school at a time. Blessings to you all. |
| $ 25.9 billion |
| The power of one |
| National Sunshine Week March 11-17, 2007 |
| The real deal about public records: Generally & specifically By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Monday, March 12, 2007 - 2:17 am Updated Tues., Mar. 13, 2007 - 1 am |
| To speak with any credibility about goings on in your local schools, you've got to have hard facts to back up what you say. |
| Tim Crews (PHOTO/AP) |
| The quickest and surest way to get hard facts is to file public records requests as we generally are not able to count on information from either our local schools or our local news- papers for reliable information beyond sports scores. |
| One notable exception Publisher Tim Crews at the award-winning Sacramento Valley Mirror has worked tirelessly and fearlessly this past year to expose goings-on in the Glenn County Office of Education, including GCOE credit card expenditures. $244,000 Via a series of increasingly con- tested public records searches, Crews found charges by then-GCOE supe Joni Samples and her staffers amounting to at least $244,000; items included Samples' travel such as trips to Texas which although financed by GCOE taxpayers appear to have been linked to promoting her book, "Taking the Guesswork Out of School Success." There was also the trip to Puerto Vallarta with the stream-of- unconsciousness email from Joni to Joni using her GCOE laptop and the GCOE email service. It's here in the pink boxes at the far right. While Crews faces the same economic pressures other small-town presses do to publish only the "good" news about local public education, he has stood strong against those pressures despite arson during the height of his investigation in the building next door. Fortunately, this time, the good guys have won: |
| Puerto Vallarta; Joni Samples |
| Judge Byrd dismisses GCBE actions v. Mirror By Tim Crews/Valley Mirror Willows—A decidedly grumpy Superior Court Judge Don Byrd yesterday dismissed the coun-ter actions against this news- paper. In the complex CONTINUED HERE |
| Taking the pledge, and we don't mean Carrie Nation's By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 1:18 am |
| With the advent of Daylight Savings Time, a young-at-heart taxpayer's fancy turns naturally enough to . . . . upcoming school board races! |
| Texas school board meeting (Llano ISD) |
| For supporters You've been down this road before. You found a good candidate, someone committed to conservative accountability goals, helped them campaign-- then after they're elected, they catch that dread disease, "Everyone-Wants- To-Be-Loved-Itis." Or as we say in Texas, "They fergit to dance with them what brung 'em." When we successfully placed all five of our reform- platform candidates on the Llano ISD board during the May 2004 election, one of the secrets of our success was getting all five to sign a public pledge like these to not do business with the school district during their tenure. |
| For candidates Your edge against incumbents is simple: Generally at the very least they've accepted taxpayer- paid board trainings which most often include pricey hotel stays and expensive meals. How do you know this? You or your supporters have done public records searches to establish this. And, or, perhaps they are also doing biz with the district. You have also established this via public records. Nobody deserves a $900 steak dinner on the taxpayers, or juicy insider contracts, and there are many free ways to get your required board training. Your strength? You're the Clean Jean candidate. Publicize your pledges. The voters will love you. Even if your opponents copycat, which happened to us, you were first. |
| What would you call a supe's refusal to tell his community his salary? By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007 Wed., March 14, 2007 - 4:06 am |
| Comal ISD supe Marc Walker April 27, 2006 with trustee |
| The board voted 6-1 (trustee Rose Cervin opposed) to extend Walker's contract, still without disclosing his new salary to the public. After the meeting ended when I asked Walker how much he'd be making with the new contract, or for at least a peek at the contract, he refused on both points, and suggested that I file a public records request. Huh? Is this legal? |
| The writer Joan Didion and her late husband John Dunne were in the curious habit when they traveled of dropping in on courtrooms to get the tenor of an area. I do this, too, except instead of courtrooms I sit in on school board meetings, which is how I came to attend Comal ISD's board meeting last April in suburban San Antonio. |
| Redbuds blooming Texas Capitol, Austin |
| Comal ISD's so-called 'Team of Eight' with supe in center |
| 8.B. Pursuant to 551.074 dis- cuss..superintendent's contract |
| After getting through the regular agenda, supe Marc Walker and his trustees went into closed session to discuss among other items: |
| Then when Walker and his trustees returned to the dais, they discussed various property purchases, approval of a contract for water service, and, by the way, "Action Item" 9.: |
| 10. Consider and Take Action to Extend Employment Contract of Superintendent |
| government," has 100% of Comal ISD in his district. According to our interview late yesterday, Wentworth, who modestly takes credit for "landmark freedom-of- information legislation that I authored and the Texas Legislature passed in 1999," responded to news of the Comal ISD situation that "they can't raise a salary" without telling the public the amount. When told that CISD had indeed done so anyway, Jeff helpfully suggested that parents and taxpayers take this issue to "the DA, or the county attorney in Comal County." Ah. (More on Wentworth's ideas as to what constitutes open government coming Thursday.) In the meantime, enter the Rose Cervin/Calvin Kempin family--and Walker's contract. While Rose was not able to tell me the amount of Walker's contract that night, as the dollar amount was only disclosed in executive session, following her departure from the CISD board she did file a public records search last month. Here are the terms of Comal ISD supe Marc Walker's contract with his district and the taxpayers funding his generous salary and benefits: |
| When a review of CISD's board policies online offered no clues, the best person at this point to check with seemed to be state senator Jeff Wentworth, who in addition to calling himself "a strong proponent of open |
| Went- worth's office |
| WHAT COMAL ISD SUPE MARC WALKER GETS: $161,800 annual salary Guaranteed employment by Comal ISD through June 30, 2009. A free car. Reimbursement for all travel both inside and outside Comal ISD. Free major medical and dental insurance. $2,000 moving reimbursement (Walker's start date at CISD: Aug. 31, 2005). $1,500 "professional growth" expenses. $1,000 "civic activities." No reassignment of Walker's duties by the CISD board. (Used to be, a supe which a board was unhappy with could be greeted with a mop and a broom.) Outside consulting okay if board says yes (but they need not tell taxpayers). |
| Hard to imagine why Walker didn't want to share the above information the night his contract was renewed last April. Call me old-fashioned, but am I wrong in thinking a simple and heartfelt "thank you" to those present might have been in order from Walker? Along with divulging at the very least the amount of his pay to those taxpayers and visitors with the stamina to sit through a lengthy closed session? In lieu of suggesting anyone interested file a public records request? Does Walker's stone- walling sound friendly to you? |
| Ysleta ISD commits to posting its check register online! By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 3:02 am Hector Montenegro, Ysleta ISD's superintendent, contacted me last night by email to confirm YISD is the first school district in far West Texas to be preparing to post its checks online. "We want to follow proper proce- dures and establish a link on our web site," said Hector. Located in El Paso County, YISD has 46,278 students; its total receipts all funds was $436,804,801 and general fund amount $281,890,828 for 2004-05, the last reported actuals per TEA. |
| Ysleta ISD, 2005 W.Texas UIL champs |
| Calvin Kempin |
| Meanwhile, Calvin Kempin and his wife Rose Cervin, longtime CISD volunteers and supporters, continue to address Comal ISD on various |
| fronts. Above left, Calvin at last month's regular board meeting, asking the board a second time to begin posting its check register online. |
| CISD trustees Rose Cervin and Frank Baker, April 27, 2006 |
| Do you have questions about Marc Walker's contract and/or his lack of forthcomingness regarding the dollar amount? Please contact him directly with your questions and concerns because I can't; apparently he didn't like my questions as immediately afterward CISD began blocking my emails. Come to think of it, that doesn't sound very friendly, either, does it. Here, you try, maybe you'll have better luck: |
| UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE |
| We've just been doing some spring cleaning; if you have problems with links, please email me. Looking for previous COMMENTARIES? Find them now at: |
| Why our public records are so important--and why we need to be able to see them By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Friday, March 16, 2007 - 2:03 am |
| A quick and easy example: Comal ISD and its supe Marc Walker (at left). (1) Walker wouldn't tell the public at last April's school board meeting what his new salary is. (2) He's running a fast-growth upscale suburban district located just north of San Antonio at the edge of the Texas Hill Country which is building lots of schools, and quickly. (3) Comal ISD trustees are-- legally--doing business with the district. (4) Walker refused to answer any of the questions I asked him while he was still employed by Pflugerville ISD. (5) Walker has refused to answer questions from his community. All of this paints a picture best viewed with plenty of sunlight. |
| WJR-ABC RADIO INTERVIEW |
| ABC DETROIT The Frank Beckmann Show Monday, March 19, 2007 TIME: 7:10 am PST (California) 8:10 am MST (Colorado) 9:10 am CST (Texas) 10:10 am EST (Detroit,NY) |
| Frank Beckmann |
| Frank, a 30-year radio veteran, has just been named "Best Personality" by The Michigan Association of Broadcasters. |
| Listen online here www.wjr.com/player. asp (Turn up your speakers) |
| WJR broadcasts to all of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, plus Ontario. We've been following Detroit Public Schools for some time now, most recently former supe (and ERDI consultant) Ken Burnley's then successor William Coleman's purchases of $1.6 million in art from the Sherry Washington Gallery. Have found some interesting insights in Burnley's undated "Final Report" to DPS which I hope to share with Frank, along with of course online check register news, how folks in the Great Lakes area can bring this to their schools. This is a great opportunity, and many thanks to Frank and his executive producer, Kevin Collard. CALL IN: 1-800-859-0957 |
| Click here for previous check news |
| WJR's other hosts include Rush Limbaugh (L) and Sean Hannity, here with Lynn Woolley |
| Time for another 'Random Round-Up' By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Tues., Mar. 20, 2007/1 am |
| Tassone pays up St. Louis principal out on bond |
| Honor among thieves "Former Roslyn schools chief Frank Tassone is still paying his debt to society at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, but he's paid his debt to the school district in full as of Thursday. Prosecutors picked up a check from Tassone for $151,960.51 at his attorney's office in Mineola, the final installment in a court-ordered restitution of more than $2.2 million. Tassone is serving 4 to 12 years in prison for his part in the school district's $11.2 million embezzlement scandal ....Tassone is the first to repay the money he stole in full." (SOURCE--KarlaSchuster/Newsday |
| Tassone in court, cuffed to hospital bed, and in prison |
| Okay, rodeo fans, let's do the math: Of the $11.2 that went missing, $7.5 is being repaid. What happened to the other $3.7 million? |
| Henry Williams (St. Louis P-Dispatch) |
| Sometimes a fella just can't win |
| "Controversy has followed Williams from district to district. He was superintendent of the Syracuse, N.Y., public schools for almost five years until the early 1990s. When he left, board members said he spent money without board approval, according to news accounts at the time. In 1993, he moved to Little Rock, Ark., to run that city's public schools. Two years later, the board in Arkansas had lost confidence in him, said former board member John Riggs, a Little Rock tractor dealer, and voted not to extend his $115,000 contract. "In 1996, the Kansas City School Board offered him its head spot for $164,500. But there, too, board members soured on him quickly. Former Kansas City School Board President Ed Newsome said questions arose about Williams' hiring of companies with which he had personal ties. In 1998, the board voted to buy out Williams' contract for $165,000 ....Williams came under fire when the Post-Dispatch reported the district was doing business with his girlfriend, Shirley Harvey, and the company Harvey does computer training for, New Century Education Corp." (SOURCE--Steve Giegerich, David Hunn/St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Faced with multiple charges of felony theft (one for more than $100,000) and tax evasion, Williams has posted a $5,000 bond; he faces a May 7 court date. (SOURCE--Fox) |
| RANDOM ROUND-UP Part II By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Thursday, March 22, 2007-1:30 am Status of former Pasadena USD volunteerJohn Whitaker Betances |
| John Whitaker Betances: Pasadena USD volunteer--and Viet Nam POW who wasn't The stories about his having had to chew through a guard's neck to escape from that Viet Cong prison? |
| Betances |
| 'No Comment' Department (Making the case for trustees not doing business with their school districts) By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Thursday, March 22, 2007/2:03 am |
| Just last month state representative Kino Flores introduced a commendation on the floor of the Texas House: |
| Rep. Kino Flores, P-SJ-A supe Arturo Guajardo |
| HR 336, Commending Roy Rodriguez for serving on the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District Board of Trustees in District 36. |
| And last night's headline TV news down in the Valley: |
| FBI Arrests School Board Member Superintendent says situation "horrible." |
| No Vacancy May 24, 2006 San Juan City Commissioners reject the plan to buy the San Juan Hotel at Tuesday night's meeting, Hector Gomez at RGV Politics reports. Both RGV Politics and the San Juanistas noted from the beginning how this deal stunk: PSJA school board member Roy Rodriguez bought the structure. The hotel was appraised at less than $275,000. Once Rodriguez couldn't get rid of the building, he wanted San Juan taxpayers to take the bad investment off his hands for $575,000. The two then-commissioners who pushed his plan at meetings, Rick Rodriguez and Pete Contreras, work for the PSJA school district (that is, the hotel owner is the two commissioners' boss). The community activists played a big role in holding their elected officials accountable by protesting the purchase. They made the hotel an election issue, causing a shift in power with the May 13 election. As Hector Gomez wrote, "This is one case where if we're promised more of the same after tonight's meeting, it's definitely a step in the right direction." (Ibid.) |
| January 04, 2006 Attention Valley School Officials "If you spoke to contractor Al Cardenas Jr. in the past couple of years, you might want to contact your lawyer. Turns out the feds had Cardenas tape his conversations with PSJA school board member Jaime Santa Maria. As The Monitor reports: Cardenas, who pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in August, had been secretly cooperating with federal officials since at least May 2004, and brought a recording device to meetings he held with former Pharr-San Juan-Alamo School Board trustee Guadalupe Jaime Santa Maria, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Eastepp. This probably sparked last year's FBI raid of the school district offices and the superintendent's and board members' homes and offices. If PSJA Superintendent Arturo Guajardo, along with board members Vangie Garcia De Leon, Roy Navarro and Roy Rodriguez, aren't worried by now, they should be." (SOURCE--Mack Harrison/Lost in the Valley) |
| SAN JUAN - A PSJA school board member, a McAllen architect, and a McAllen contractor are facing federal charges. Roy Rodriguez is in his eleventh year as a school board member....(SOURCE--KRGV) |
| Here's more in case you've been out of the country for the past couple of years: |
| QUESTION: Where has P-SJ-A superintendent Arturo Gaujardo been in all of this? |
| Horseshoe Bay woman's crusade for openness gets help from lawmaker Bill calls for school districts to post spending online By Mark Lisheron Austin American-Statesman Staff March 23, 2007 |
| Peyton Wolcott, a veteran agitator who encourages school districts to be open and honest with parents and taxpayers, features something on her watchdog Web site she calls the National School District Honor Roll. With the help of State Rep. Bill Zedler, Wolcott's honor roll could swell with the names of more than 1,000 Texas school districts that would be required by law to post on the Internet every check they cut. Zedler, R-Arlington, said he was moved to draft House Bill 2560 by what he recognized as a groundswell of Texans who want to know how all of their taxing authorities are spending their money. The bill has been referred to the House Public Education Committee, where Zedler serves as vice chairman. Zedler's House colleagues have filed bills mandating that all state agencies post their spending online. Spending disclos- ure has the support of Gov. Rick Perry. The state comptroller's office, which began posting expenditures this year, is one of several agencies that do so. The Texas Education Agency, which posts its check register, is making plans to provide a brief explanation for each payment, spokesman Robert Scott said. Wolcott, of Horseshoe Bay, feels as though she were prescient in her quest to prod school districts to voluntarily set up sites outlining their spending. "I think something very interesting is happening. Basic- ally, this is a populist movement by people who want to see their school districts succeed and are concerned when they see evidence of waste in school spending," Wolcott said. Wolcott said she made a commit- ment to open her home school district in Llano after making what she said was a broad and clumsy request for school records a few years ago. The district rewarded her a $426 bill for copying records, which Wolcott declined to accept because of the cost. After harnessing the open records issue to a school board race in 2004 that resulted in the election of five new members, Wolcott turned to creating a Web site that would monitor school issues not just in Texas, but nationally. On Oct. 1, she posted the National School District Honor Roll. Making the roll are 19 of the state's 1,032 districts and the Texas Education Agency. The Dallas school district, the state's second largest, is among the honorees. Houston, the largest district, has set a goal to post its spending on line by April, Wolcott said. Marble Falls is the only district in Central Texas on her list. Zedler's bill would ease Wolcott's task, but she said the current momentum favors districts posting their expenditures on their own. The Arlington school district has announced its intent to create a Web site for spending regardless of the fate of the bill filed by their representative. "I think this whole movement is driven by people's concern over the explosive growth of government," Zedler said. "I think something like this forces all of us to be a little more careful in how we spend the public's money." |
| Austin American- Statesman March 23, 2007 |
| UPDATE: Frank Beckmann has a terrific and kind manner; there were so many callers several were turned away despite his extending the segment an extra quarter-hour, all of which radio folks tell me is good; best of all, several folks indicated they'd be asking in their local schools. |
| Detroit News Editorial March 24, 2007 "Government should post spending online "Texas is pioneering a practice that should be tried in Michigan to see whether all the fat has been cut out of state government. The Texas Education Agency and the State Comptrollers Office post their spending online. Proposed legislation would extend this practice to all state agencies. A Texas woman, Peyton Wolcott, has been agitating for this kind of open government among school districts, so a legislator has pro- posed it. As Wolcott told the Austin American- States- man, ' Basically, this is a populist move- ment by people who want to see their school districts succeed and are concerned when they see evidence of waste in school spending.' " |
| ALERT: Texas supes attack parents' public records access By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007-Mon., Apr.2, 2007/1am |
| Bob Thompson, white board at Lamar Univ. Supe Academy |
| Staff writers: Chris Davis, Matthew Doig and Tiffany Lankes Offered resources: o Statewide case file database o Abuse reporting system o Who's still teaching o Report abuse o Contact legislators THUMBNAIL CASES: "The following examples were pulled from thousands of cases against teachers reviewed by the Department of Education. In all of the cases, the [DOE] determined there was enough evidence to punish the teacher but did not issue a finding of guilt. These teachers signed settlement agreements and did not admit or deny the allega- tions. All were teaching in Flori- da schools as of January 2007." (SOURCE--Sar. Her.-Trib.) |
| Here we go again. Two years ago, a handful of moms, including me, defeated HB 2264, a nasty piece of anti-sunshine legislation targeted at Texas parents and taxpayers filing public records requests; the bill, written by then-Rep. Todd Baxter, would have seriously increased labor and other fees school districts could charge for public records. Two months after the bill's defeat, Baxter resigned his seat to become a professional lobbyist. Thanks to a public records request filed by Eanes ISD mom Dianna Pharr, we learned that Eanes' supe Nola Wellman was named by Baxter as a source; Todd's Senate co-sponsor: Jeff Wentworth. |
| what she looked like in the morning." That same year he allowed female students to sit in his lap, hugged them in close embraces and touched their clothing in what investigators deemed an inappropriate way. Cooper did not return phone calls. State closed case: 2002 Penalty: Probation, without admission of guilt Teaching today: Eagle Ridge Elementary School, Broward County |
| ROBERT COOPER Eagle Ridge Middle School, Broward County Allegation: During the 1998-1999 school year, Robert Cooper removed a ribbon from a girl's hair, telling her he "wanted to see |
| Nola Wellman (PHOTO/Eanes Foundation Gala) |
| How this ties in with Bob Thompson's Supe Academy at Lamar University: Nola Wellman is a recent graduate. While in Beaumont, let's take a look at Nola's Lamar U yearbook with such classmates as recently arrested (forgery, more) Como-Pickton ISD supe Bryan Neal and ERDI consultant Jude Theriot, here from Louisiana. My, the company we're keeping. |
| Whatever Nola wants? Distressing to learn that not only has Wentworth introduced SB 889 but also--thanks to my public records request last week--that Wellman is one of only two school inspirations behind it, the other being Lake Travis ISD which has filed a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit against two of its parents. So we have the puzzling circumstance where Wentworth appears to be wanting to stiff parents at 1,030 other Texas school districts with steep fees for looking at records of how their districts are spending the parents' own tax dollars--based on grousing by only two well-paid supes who have been whining about how hard their jobs are. Questions: Does this make sense to you? And does this seem in any way just or principled? At any point in this did Jeff consider simply suggesting to Nola and LTISD that they check with the other 1,030 districts, see how they've so much better managed parental public records requests? A few more questions: Why is Jeff Wentworth listening to paid government school employees complain about doing their jobs? Isn't that the nature of employees, to complain they have too much work to do--especially government employees? Why didn't he contact any of the four parents, ask for their side of things, before leaping into the breach against them? Does that seem in any way fair and balanced behavior by a legislator? Speaking outta both sides: In a television interview (photo below) Wellman tells the reporter, "We're broke." This is the same supe who treats herself to stays at Dallas' luxury hotel, The Adolphus. And if her district's really broke, does Wellman really need the largest late-model Lexus luxury sedan? |
| Background SB 889 would allow districts to charge parents an arm and a leg (and they will) for labor charges on public records over 50 pages per month; anybody who's ever asked to view student activity accounts--and more people should, judging from the number of Googlies I receive daily for theft and embezzlement in booster clubs, PTO's, etc.--these requests often number several hundred pages. |
| Here's the real puzzler: Neither Nola nor LTISD are in Jeff's senate district. State senator Kirk Watson, in whose district Nola and LTISD reside, has not proposed any public records legislation. Question: Why not? |
| Eanes ISD supe Nola Wellman's primo parking spot; Channel 8 interview |
| Whiteboard details behind Bob Thompson, above: 1. Helicopter Board Member (Hovers) 2. Open Records 3. Out of Control Parents 4. Partnering with Home School Parents To the right of 'Helicopter Board Member' are Thompson's apparent cures: "Load him up with work.," "Ask for Help from Bd. Pres.," and "written operating Procedures (followed)." |
| Bob Thompson with 'Open Records' whiteboard (Lamar U. Supe Academy) |
| Had Jeff Wentworth had taken the time to contact Eanes mom Susan Bushart (right), he would have learned what Susan did, after poring over several hundred pages of records: "Documents obtained through open records reveal Eanes ISD lost facility rental revenue in an amount exceeding $220,000 in one calendar year," said Susan |
| Susan Bushart |
| recently. "Additional public documents reflect this opportunity may have been extended to other outside athletic organizations as well during a time of budget crisis and reduction in teaching force." Susan adds, "It took more than one request for information and several hundred documents to determine this practice was taking place." No wonder Nola Wellman and LTISD don't want Susan and other parents to look. COMPLETELY UNRELATED: Don't know why, but this just popped into my head for some strange reason: former Bremond ISD supe Kenny Johnson (his prison mug shot here) is probably not a public records fan, either. |
| GOOD: SARASOTA HER'LD- TRIB 4-DAY SERIES: 'BROKEN TRUST' = FL GOV'S ATTENTION |
| These people deserve to crow: Last week, following the Tribune's landmark four-day comprehensive examination-- two years in the making--of "Pass the Trash" educators, the best such to date in the U.S., after the paper "presented its investigative findings to Gov. Charlie Christ's office, the Department of Education identified 'new resources for tracking teacher misconduct.' " |
SB 889 sends a clear message to secret-mongers in government: If you want to keep secrets from people, be inefficient in responding to open records requests, because then you can jack up the costs, even charge attorneys fees and slow staff time, so the costs are so high most citizens won't be able to afford to get the records they want to see. --Bill Aleshire, attorney Open government specialist |
| This major TX supe apparently views open records a problem on par with hovering board members and out of control parents (What else's on the white-board ? 4 scrolls down] By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 |
| Senate Bill 889-- which we defeated in its previous incarnation as HB 2264 two years ago--would enable school districts to charge an arm and a leg for labor, other costs after only 50 pages/ month. BACKERS: Paid educators--supes-- and their paid lobbyists. OPPOSED: Parents & taxpayers trying to look at their districts' finances via open records. |
| Per Travis County Attorney David Escamilla, "The 50 pages in SB 889 is too low. If there has to be |
| David Escamilla |
| GREAT NEWS FOR TEXAS PARENTS & TAXPAYERS: Rep. Zedler's HB 2560 By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Wed., Mar. 28, 2007 - 10:00 pm |
| House Bill 2560 would require all Texas public school districts to post their check registers online by Sept. 1, 2007, regardless of the current 55-60-65 progression. BACKERS: Parents & taxpayers trying to learn more about their districts' finances. |
| Joe Wise's (R) Del- aware audit, Mike Moses' (M) Dallas ISD hireling's conviction last week, Arlene Ackerman's (L) $45,000 Diners Club tab at SFUSD: Beginning of the end--finally? By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007-Mon., Apr.3, 2007-1:09 a |
| Let them eat $49.95 lobster dinners Then-Supe Joe Wise: $75,722.97 Christina, DE According to Dela- ware Auditor of Accounts Thomas Wagner's audit, re former supe Joe Wise's use of "Super Cards" during his employment in Christina schools (Wise left for Florida's Duval County schools in December 2005), Wise spent $75,722.97 on 565 transactions during the 28 months he was employed by Christina. |
| Hotel DuPont, a Wise favorite |
| Credit card use/ abuse here (Preview below) |
| Where's 20-year Chappel Hill school board attorney? Spain? Ecuador? |
| John McCormick |
| Disbarred; disappeared last year with $2 mil By Peyton Wolcott- Copyright 2007- Sat., Mar. 31, 2007 |
| "A Chapel Hill lawyer who disappeared last July along with as much as $2 million from his clients, friends and family was formally dis- barred today. John McCormick was last seen July 10, the day a colleague stopped by to confront him about missing proceeds from several home closings and he stepped out a back door. A car reg- istered to his family was discovered that night outside Duke Forest with a note inside that hasn't been made public. Until he disappeared, McCormick was respected enough to represent the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board for more than 20 years. He's now wanted on felony embezzlement charges, alleging that he took $1.1 million from two clients, including $802,000 that should have gone to national homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc." (SOURCE-- News & Observer) |
| AZ 5th-term supe indicted (25 counts) last fall...Dowling's name, pix still on district's site: WHY? By Peyton Wolcott Copyright 2007 Mon., April 2, 2007/1am |
| Dowling with students |
| This edu-site must be one of the more interesting exam- ples of public school disinformation. What's NOT on the district's site is here |
| This is the stuff Columbo episodes are made of, with rumors continuing to surface in the face of his disbarment last week: |
| Accounts Payable Online ILLINOIS: CarpentersvilleSD300 Elgin U-46 Huntley CUSD 158 Naperville CUSD 203 |
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| Nat'l School District Honor Roll |
| New 'Honorable Mention' category By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Wed., Apr. 4, 2007/1 am |
| U-46 supe Connie Neale (front/center) with her "Team of Eight+One" |
| Four Illinois school districts have this past year begun posting their accounts payable online in lieu of posting their check registers. They are: |
| Carpentersville USD 300 Elgin U-46 Huntley CUSD 158 Naperville CUSD 203 |
| This new category of "Honorable Mention" has been created especially to recognize districts such as the above four who are taking an admirable step towards transpar- ency by posting their accounts payable online, as part of their board packets. Unfortunately, it's not a big enough step, either for inclusion in the National School District Honor Roll or for students, parents and taxpayers. Although we are not in any way implying error-doing on the part of the above- named four districts, we must note that without the naming of individual check numbers, it is still entirely too easy for those with mischief in mind to write duplicate checks to the same vendor for the same amounts on the same dates. We also note that according to ERDI records, U-46 supe Connie Neale is a former ERDI consul- tant. More about the previous incarnation of ERDI, and the supes it employed as its so-called consultants, here, including Scott Parks' landmark July 2004 article on ERDI for the Dallas Morning News: |
| NOTE: Carpentersville USD 300 The subject of many FOIA requests from area citizens, in addition to posting more documents online such as accounts payable, CUSD300 also responded by hiring as their new PR gal none other than Allison P. Smith, the local reporter described thusly by Citizens for Fair and Responsible Taxes: |
| Allison Smith's bias continues to be all too apparent in her reporting. What a deal D - 300 has a public relations person working for the local paper without having to pay her one dime. Equally disgusting is that D - 300 and Crates think that depriving hard earned dollars from D -300 residents based on half-truths, shoddy accounting and extremely poor projections to pass the referenda is something to joke about. |
| Why do supes and parents continue to allow "anything goes" controls over PTO, etc. funds? By Peyton Wolcott Copyright 2007 Wed., Apr.4, 2007-2 am |
| Elsewhere in Illinois "Earlier this month, ano- ther former PTO presi- dent pleaded guilty to stealing more than $21,000 from St. Charles' Bell-Graham Elementary School account by writing checks to herself. Felony charges were dropped against Kelly McKenna...in exchange for her agreeing to a misdeameanor and reimbursing the PTO for losses." (Ibid.) |
| 2 in Illinois-- just this week |
| Christina Patel (IMAGE/CBS2Chicag0) |
| Former J.B. Nelson School PTO president Christina "Tina" M. Patel "has been charged with stealing hundreds of dollars in gift cards that were part of an elementary school fundraiser, Batavia police said Thursday." Patel "is charged with felony theft... Detec- tive James Nettnin.... said the exact amount taken is still unclear." (SOURCE-- Aurora Beacon-News) |
| J. B. Nelson ES |
| PTO treasurer only noticed funds missing when checks bounced "The organization–a nonprofit group not affiliated with the district–sold gift cards as a fundraising measure, Nettnin said. Patel... volunteered to sell the cards, he said. Nettnin alleges that Patel used about $1,600 worth of gift cards between late September 2006 and early January 2007 at various retail stores in Kane County. The group did not contact police immediately, he said. However, once a new treasurer noticed a bounced check, she called police." (SOURCE--Kate Thayer/Kane County Chronicle) |
| a cap on the number of pages per month, it should be somewhere in the thousands." |
| More here |
| Daily Notes By Peyton Wolcott Sun., Apr. 8, 2007/8:10am |
| THURS./APRIL 5, 2007 By Peyton Wolcott |
| district funds; there was also something about a check. His wife Wendy has resigned. |
| MONTROSE CS (MI) bookkeeper Dana Bacon (above): 'Fit for trial' re $1.1 mil. Last week a judge found Bacon compe- tent to stand trial regarding her alleged embezzlement from MCS; the loss of funds resulted in employee firings. Per Bacon's attorney, "She's a good person and if mistakes were made, we're going to rectify those mistakes." |
| DOE, ass't principal (Alaska): Baby porn. When you Google "Frederick Deussing" why is it my site comes up first out of 126? Where's the Alaska press on Fred/ Frederick? More here |
| arrested after pur- chasing a truck with |
| COMO-PICKTON CISD (Texas) declares state of financial exigency. You recall CPCISD as the district formerly headed by Lamar Univ. Supe Academy gradu- ate Bryan Neal (below), |
| NOTED: C-PCISD, with only 820 students and total receipts all funds of $7.6 mil (04-05/TEA), pays Mrs. Neal $48,876 per year for her services. With no "Dean of Students" before Wendy Neal's hire, C-P has no plans to replace her. |
| PHOTO--Megan Spelman/ Flint Journal |
| DAILY NOTES SAT./APRIL 7, 2007 By Peyton Wolcott 2007 |
| Denise Aughney leaving court w/att'y (PHOTO--Mike Terry/ Deseret Morning News) |
| Weber School District Foundation (Utah) part-time secretary jailed: Denise Aughney, 57 counts, $979,000 so far. |
| "Suspected embezzler Denise Aughney made her first appearance in a courtroom [in February] as officials formalized proceedings to freeze her assets....Aughney is the focus of an investigation by the Weber County Sheriff's Office into... missing charitable funds from the Weber School Foundation. The foundation's civil suit to cut her off from as many as eight bank and credit card accounts, vehicles and homes was the focus of [February's] brief hearing before 2nd District Judge W. Brent West." (SOURCE--Amy K. Stewart/Ogden Standard-Examiner) |
| Aughney's mug shot |
| "The school foundation is a non- profit organization that exists solely to promote the aims of the school district. "It would be disingenuous to claim that it is autonomous from the school district. Its offices are co- located with the school district. It essentially exists to provide the school district with an arm to raise funds outside of regular state funding. The foundation does some wonderful things. It helps fund science fairs, devices for special needs students, scientific equipment, band equipment, field trips, etc. "Public educators will be able to constantly cry about being under funded for at least the next century (and probably beyond that). But this educational poverty wailing comes across as a little crass when educators lose hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars due to slipshod administrative practices. And all this while one of the greatest growth areas of Utah’s school districts over the past four decades has been at the district administration level. Bureaucratic growth often causes focus to shift to the wrong things. "The ironic thing about these kinds of losses is that educators will likely point to them as examples of need for even more administrative funding. “This wouldn’t have happened if we had enough money to do proper oversight,” they will say. The fact is that effective financial oversight doesn’t have to be expensive. It just requires administrators that are sticklers about the rules. In the long run, this is far less expensive than shoddy oversight. "But having been an auditor, I also have to wonder where the state auditors were in both of these cases. It seems like they were asleep at the wheel as well." (SOURCE--Scott Hinrichs http://reachup ward.blogspot.com: 80/index.html) |
| From Utah blogger (and former auditor) Scott Hinrichs: |
| From Aughney's signed affidavit: |
| "The funds from these checks were deposited and credited against my credit card accounts. I then used my credit card accounts to obtain cash advances and make purchases." |
| "The mission of the Leechburg Area School District shall be to teach, challenge, and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be a productive member of a global society in the twenty-first century." |
| DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS (MI) NEPOTISM WATCH #1 SUPE'S WIFE'S JOB |
| DAILY NOTES FRI./APRIL 6, 2007 By Peyton Wolcott 2007 |
| man's wife Deborah K. Bodrick is still on the DPS masthead as exe- cutive director of Early Childhood Education in the Division of Leader- ship & Educational Accountability. Coleman -Bodrick household pay: 400,000+/year. |
| A month after the DPS board (120,000 stu- dents) ousted interim supe William Coleman (below) in favor of |
| Connie Callo- way from a 5,700-student district in Mis- souri, Cole- |
| LEECHBURG AREA SD (PA) $400,000 SHORT |
| Oops. They may be missing some serious money in |
| JOHNSON COUNTY SCHOOLS (KY) NEPOTISM WATCH #2 FBI: RETIRE/REHIRE TREASURER PAID JAILED SON? |
| WKYT |
| Peggy L. VanHoose, above in court, "alleged- ly paid her son, Michael VanHoose, thousands of dollars between 2000 and 2005, although he spent 92 weeks of that time in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, according to jail records and a recent audit conducted for the school district.(SOURCE --Lee Mueller/Lexington Leader-Herald) |
| Paintsville, Kentucky, but they've got themselves a wing-ding mission statement: |
| MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PS (FL) SUPES FORGETTING THEIR PLACE |
| MEMO TO RUDY: Hey, guy! It's called a "school BOARD meeting"! It's not called a "school SUPERINTENDENT meeting"! This is why your trustees, the folks you work for, get to set their own agenda! Get it? You are the trustees' helper- person, not their boss! |
| Marta Perez (L), Rudy Crew(PHOTO/Scholastic) |
| Here's what happens when you pay a supe $550,000 per year: MDCPS supe Rudy Crew refuses to answer trustee Marta Perez' questions re his spend- ing and hiring. Related, he also refused to place her items on the board agenda. More here. |
| SAN RAMON (CA) Student activity fund embezzler back in the news |
| "A San Ramon woman who two years ago pleaded no contest to embezzling from a school fundraising group is again in custo- dy, this time on suspici- on of violating her pro- bation from that case. Deanna Fiebelman, 41, had pleaded no contest to a felony embezzle- ment charge in July 2005. She had been accused of taking nearly $75,000 during the 2003-04 school year when she was treasurer of Pine Valley Middle School's Educa- tion Fund. She had been sentenced to 90 days of home deten- tion, three years of probation and ordered to pay back the money. (SOURCE--Eric Louie Contra Costa Times) |
| Pictorial: NEISD's public records circus revealed.... The lengths to which one supe went to make it hard for us to take a peek at his expense account By Peyton Wolcott Mon., April 9, 2007/2 am |
| You might be assuming at this point that the expenses I asked to view were from some years past and therefore had to be retrieved from storage. No. These were for the same year, Jan- uary through June; I asked in September and got to view in November. You might be asking yourself: "Why didn't Richard Middleton simply keep these in a file folder in his desk, where they'd be easy to get to?" Gee, that's a good question. |
| Here's what it took for me to view six months of North East ISD supe Richard Middleton's expense reports in suburban San Antonio: An employee with a large late-model Lexus had to drive two boxes over from another building then load them into a rolling filing cart (above) and bring them upstairs in the elevator then down a long hallway to an empty conference room. Whew! |
| Convoluted public education bookkeeping/filing system |
| NEISD's famous "rolling filing cart" |
| A public school superintendent who wants the public to view his/her expenses is going to make sure they're filed in a way that they're easily retrievable. What a system such as this would seem to indicate is a public school supe in charge who is not particularly interested in making these public records of his/her spending available to the public. NEISD is by no means alone in using this sort of system. NOTED: This complicated exercise is the sort of machination by school districts for whom SB 889 is designed to produce extra labor charges. |
| Just announced, per superintendent Lorenzo Garcia: El Paso ISD ! |
| Everything not A-OK in OK: Claremore & Catoosa both By Peyton Wolcott Wed., April 11, 2007 |
| Larry Cale |
| Supe Larry Cale has been re- leased from his contract following disclosure of a $600,000 |
| shortfall leading to teacher firings. COMMENTS: Parent Vicki Tramel: Cale "is in charge of this school district, so he should know where every penny is, when it's coming in, and not spend it until he actually has it in hand."(SOURCE --RebeccaHattaway/ Claremore Progress) Interim supe William White: "The Board should have been given information in March of last year that spending needed to be reduced. Instead the Board was given the go-ahead to add full-day Kindergar- ten." (SOURCE--Joy Hampton/Claremore Daily- Progress) School board president Jeff Conklin: “As a CPA I’d like to think I asked the right questions. I feel like we as a board asked the right ques- tions. We asked specif- ically of the administra- tion, ‘Do we have the money for all day kin- dergarten?’ (SOURCE-- Claremore Progress) CLAREMORE FIRES CFO Why? Claremore's new hire Tom McClar- en didn't tell his new district about the loom- ing problems in his prior district; McClaren says he left Catoosa "in the black." (Ibid.) |
| CATOOSA BOARD NOT GIVEN FULL FINANCIAL INFO |
| By Peyton Wolcott- Copyright 2007 Mon., Apr. 2, 2007-4 am |
| Supes in the News |
| Paul Vallas: Networking pays By Peyton Wolcott Fri.,Apr.13, 2007/3:25a |
| FROM A BLOGGER: "One top Philadelphia official said: 'A year ago Paul Vallas was the toast of the town. Now he's toast.' Philadelphia CEO Paul Vallas and his entire corrupt Chicago crew is facing a lot of investi- gation now that the ecomony has gone into bad times and Vallas doesn't have a blank check to bribe every- one (as he had here, when he--along with our mayor--invented the "CEO myth." (SOURCE--JBMcGeever/Ed ucationNotes Online) |
| Hats off to Sonny DaMarto: Protecting kids in Burlingame By Peyton Wolcott Friday, April 13, 2007 |
| It's a hard thing to pull a popular book from a popular 8th grade teacher, but California supe Sonny DaMarto did the right thing last month by taking Mark Mathabane's "Kaffir Boy" away from kids too young to process a graph- ic description of starving boys as young as five prosti- tuting themselves to adult males in exchange for food. For far too many years now our schools have pandered to the lowest common denominator in the literature our chil- dren are required to read in our schools. Tuesday night DaMarto's board, led by president Dave Pine, did the right thing, too, standing behind their supe. Hats off, all around. (SOURCE--Nanette Asimov/San Francisco Chronicle) |
| Dave Pine (L), Sonny DaMarto |
| Well, no. He's not going to be governor of Illinois; they won't let him be guv with- out establishing better residency, hard to do when your full-time job is run- ning Philadelphia's failing bankrupt schools. |
| Encouraged by his roaring lack of success in Philadel- phia, Vallas confir- med earlier this week that he's accepted the top spot in New Orleans to pick up the pieces Anthony Amato left behind. And Vallas has got Alvarez & Marsal's Bill Roberti to deal with. Even at his present 50-hours per month contract, Roberti's still a formidable force in New Orleans. Here's hoping Vallas can take better care of that district's assets than Roberti did during Katrina. |
| Paul Vallas |
COMING SUNDAY: News re newest districts online: El Paso ISD and Sundown ISD |
| Daily Notes By Peyton Wolcott Sat., Apr. 14, 2007/1:08am |
| Sandridge Elementary School District 176 (IL) Sex, Questions & the Principal's Office |
| Supe Diane Dyer- Dawson (inset); edited photo of principal Leroy Coleman's office (CBS) |
| The double standard is alive and well. You know, "Do as I say and not as I do." This below just ran last January in the Chicago press: |
| "Some might consid- er Sandridge School Principal Leroy Cole- man a bit old-school. The 50-something educator doesn't approve of kids hold- ing hands in the hall- ways or 'romancing.' " (SOURCE--Stefano Esposito/Chicago Sun-Times) |
| And this below just ran today about Le- roy Coleman. Consi- der it an update. |
| "Just feet from where standardized tests lie on a desk, a video shows the Sandridge Elemen- tary School principal having sex with a teacher in his office on that desk. Princi- pal Leroy Coleman and teacher Janet Lofton resigned Thursday after the footage emerged showing them hav- ing sex in Coleman's office at Sandridge Elementary School...The video was sent to parents and CBS 2 from an anonymous source, postmarked April 10 from Flossmoor, with no return address.' " |
| Questions: Where was the supe? She only had one school in her district. |
| "Parents of Sand- ridge School stu- dents are disgusted by the tape. They say some students were aware of the alleged misconduct long before parents found out about it. They also say they think more should have been done to protect the students." (Ibid.) |
| From a blogger: "HOW LONG DID THE MYSTERIOUS CAMERAMAN KNOW THE ACTIVITY WAS GOING ON? Taping those idiots in the act was the most effective way to resolve the issue." (Ibid.) |
| When is a Starr not a star? Board prez admits to stealing up to $330,000 By Peyton Wolcott Sat., Apr.14,2007/11:30 am |
| Melissa Starr (standing, right) with fellow board members |
| QUESTION ON THE TABLE: How does a 20-student elemen- tary school district have enough money that $665,000 total can go missing? ANSWER: "Authori- ties said most of it was stolen through travel vouchers for trips and training that were never taken."(SOURCE-Lauren Donovan/Bismarck Tribune) Melissa Starr, the for- mer president of the Twin Buttes Elementary School board [on the Fort Berthold Reserva- tion], "admitted to steal- ing up to $330,000 of the school's money in U.S. District Court in Bismarck on Wednes- day. Melissa Starr changed her plea to guilty and promised to cooperate with a deep- ening investigation into criminal activity invol- ving the school finan- ces and other matters." (Ibid.) "Starr and Lone Bear and five others from the school were indicted in November by a federal grand jury for conspiracy fraud and embezzlement of more than $665,000 in scho- ol funds over a three-year period." (Ibid.) |
| Peyton Wolcott P.O. Box 9068 Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657 Want to subscribe to my newsletter? Here Questions? Comments? Here |
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