SLAPP suit. A former partner at Bracewell & Giuliani, Dave left to start Thompson &
Horton, a boutique law firm in the same building and stairwell comprised of "women and
minority attorneys [who] will make up a majority of the ownership of the new firm." Gee,
what contracts might this give T&H a leg up on?
Bill Ratliff pushed through the rewrite of the Texas Education Code in 1995 which
included the weakening of Texas' elected trustees' powers then hung out his shingle as a
registered paid lobbyist and went to work for TASB explaining his new governance model,
the "Team of Eight." To expand on that, he's also got a sweet side gig, the Bill Ratliff
School Executive Academy of Northeast Texas, a "Superhighway," he calls it. But wait,
there's more! "The Education Service Center/ Region VIII and the Bill Ratliff School
Executive Academy of Northeast Texas have developed an Alternative Certification
Program for Superintendents in collaboration with Texas A&M University-Commerce, the
ESC VIII Regional Council, the ESC VIII Advisory Committee, the Superintendent’s
Association of Northeast Texas, and the Small Schools Association of Northeast Texas,"
at $3,000 per.
Hey, here's an idea: Let's collectively raise a hand for this energetic bunch--and gently
encourage them to step away from our kids and our schools. And, if they really care
about our kids as much as they say they do, given that all four Grand Old Rich Guys of
Education have been made wealthy by anyone's standards from GORGE-ing on taxpayer-
funded public education monies, why not do everything pro bono from here on out?
Whadya say, guys? Are ya in? We'll raise our hands to say "Bye-bye" to you on your way
out the door, with our most profound and heartfelt gratitude and blessings for your
departure.
---------
P.S. While researching Bill Ratliff's current lobbying activities (below left), I came across
various names for "Raise Your Hand." According to the Texas Comptroller there are two
entities:
Horton, a boutique law firm in the same building and stairwell comprised of "women and
minority attorneys [who] will make up a majority of the ownership of the new firm." Gee,
what contracts might this give T&H a leg up on?
Bill Ratliff pushed through the rewrite of the Texas Education Code in 1995 which
included the weakening of Texas' elected trustees' powers then hung out his shingle as a
registered paid lobbyist and went to work for TASB explaining his new governance model,
the "Team of Eight." To expand on that, he's also got a sweet side gig, the Bill Ratliff
School Executive Academy of Northeast Texas, a "Superhighway," he calls it. But wait,
there's more! "The Education Service Center/ Region VIII and the Bill Ratliff School
Executive Academy of Northeast Texas have developed an Alternative Certification
Program for Superintendents in collaboration with Texas A&M University-Commerce, the
ESC VIII Regional Council, the ESC VIII Advisory Committee, the Superintendent’s
Association of Northeast Texas, and the Small Schools Association of Northeast Texas,"
at $3,000 per.
Hey, here's an idea: Let's collectively raise a hand for this energetic bunch--and gently
encourage them to step away from our kids and our schools. And, if they really care
about our kids as much as they say they do, given that all four Grand Old Rich Guys of
Education have been made wealthy by anyone's standards from GORGE-ing on taxpayer-
funded public education monies, why not do everything pro bono from here on out?
Whadya say, guys? Are ya in? We'll raise our hands to say "Bye-bye" to you on your way
out the door, with our most profound and heartfelt gratitude and blessings for your
departure.
---------
P.S. While researching Bill Ratliff's current lobbying activities (below left), I came across
various names for "Raise Your Hand." According to the Texas Comptroller there are two
entities:
| Case studies: Robin Hood & 22 'Equity' failures |
| Vendor-driven schools |
| U.S. public school districts with check registers online |
| Li'l Tppfsy fixes tppf's pie chart |
| First, the good news The national grassroots movement has taken off! Using this website as a national head- quarters of sorts gave birth to a movement that has taken off beyond anyone's wildest dreams, including mine. We're well past $50 billion in annual transparency; the chal- lenge at this point is obtaining actual financials for dollars spent for non-Texas districts, an ongoing project of mine. For example, I've been waiting for the Florida DOE to come up with "total expenditures/all funds" numbers for their districts for over a year now. The ripple effect Also encouraging is that we've been able to watch the ripple effect. Here in Texas, when one school district comes online in a county, the others follow suit. What seems to be at play is human nature, a fear by superintendents and trustees that if checks are put online the villagers will attack the admin. building in the dead of night with pitchforks and lanterns. Then that first brave district in an area steps forward and when neighboring districts observe that nothing terrible happens, this frees them up to do the same thing. One of the most remarkable examples of the ripple effect has been what I call the San Antonio Triple Crown, where three major districts came online the same week in 2007. In fact, it's all good news When I started compiling my rosters -- literally from scratch, with the names of two Texas districts -- on October 1, 2006, the entire national roster took up perhaps three square inches of screen space. There are so many districts now that I've had to spread them across three pages. With so many organizations suddenly having discovered public school transparency in the form of online check registers this past year -- and welcome aboard to you all -- because many of them are not in direct heart-to-heart contact with school districts there's already a wealth of misinformation being published and circulated. In some cases it's sloppy research, but in most the organizations appear to be circulating the same old information from state to state, forgetting that because this is a true grassroots movement the data is fluid, not static. GOOD NEWS #1 TEXAS DISTRICTS ARE NOT REQUIRED BY LAW to post their check registers online if they don't make the 65% spending goal by 2008-09; they may do so as an option (see code below in greybar) if they want to receive 3 extra points on the Schools FIRST scoring |
| Edgewood (continued from above) I had come alone to visit the district, and was surrounded by cops with real bullets in their guns, all because even though I'd telephoned, faxed and emailed ahead of time to let both the superintendent and the PR guy know I was coming the supe apparently hadn't liked my taking pictures of his misleading signage on the front door and main foyer wall showing his district had a "Recognized" (second-highest) rating from our state DOE -- when in fact the district had not been "Recognized" for several years and indeed the state commissioner had just announced two days earlier that |
| Announcing the 2009 TPPFSY Award |
| Happy New Year, America! Lots of good news to report : Over half our states have at least one school district with its check register online -- what a way to ring in 2009! By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, December 30, 2008 / 6:04 a.m. - Updated Friday, January 2, 2009 / 7:47 a.m. |
| I care a lot about our district and am proud of several of our accomplishments during the 2 years I was on the Board.....I happily spent hundreds of hours working on the bond committee and...I am pleased that we improved somewhat the transparency of district operations. I hope you will continue to work toward providing a high quality education, creating a positive environment for our students and employees, and doing these using as few tax dollars as possible. In departing, I offer some comments and advice. Accept or reject as you see fit.... To the Board. Beware. I believe you are moving in a dangerous direction. When a majority of Board members believe their role is simply to approve what the admini- stration presents, there is a problem. When the Board unknowingly approves an incommplete budget and the administration resists fixing it, there are problems. When I, as a member of the public, will have faster and easier access to district information than I do as a Board member, there is a problem. When Board members want to spend the $250k saved after the two refunding bonds passed instead of reducing the $1.7 million deficit, there is a problem. When Board members think it is better for TEA to take over the District than it is to make the difficult financial choices to keep the District solvent, there is a problem. See the pattern? Diligence is needed, not complacency. This said, I do wish you all health, peace, and the courage to do what you know is right. |
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| Copyright 1999-2008 Peyton Wolcott |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| 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. |
| School News Links Commentaries Reviews: 2007 2006 |
| Edu-Monopoly Education,Inc Fin.Exigency ERDI Technology TX supe travel/meals Credit cards Edu-Conferences TASA MidWinter Vendor golf 1 2 3 |
| Check Registers US TX Ask your district Flyer Set goals/organize Ask questions Bd ethicsPledges Are you an angry victim/watchdog? Activist Alert PR |
n e w c o m m e n t a r i e s
| ERDI supe Alton Frailey (Katy ISD / Texas) versus public freedoms |
| First They Came First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak out for me. -- Pastor Martin Niemoeller |
| Gloria from Luling on sidewalk outside Walsh Anderson party at Austin's Iron Cactus with unnamed man who was shy about revealing his name (TASA Mid Winter, 2007 ) |
| Key to accountability: voluntary ethics pledges (school boards & candidates) Education News & Human Events |
| Soghra Najafpour (L) was sentenced to death at age 13 for the first time in Iran; she's now 31 -- more here. Did principal Robin E. Lowe (L) mention Soghra during her 'Islam 101' day May 22 at Friendswood JH? Will she mention Soghra at her new gig running Houston ISD's Pershing MS? Wouldn't that be a step towards "raising [her students'] awareness of the culture" -- of the true culture -- in Iran? That perhaps Robin's invited speakers from CAIR might have forgotten to mention? Oops? UPDATE: As of today no response yet from Robin to telephone and email queries. |
IRAN: Execution
Danger Alert
Danger Alert
| The American Superintendent (Leonard Merrell) as Allan Ramsay's King George III (Mixed-media collage by Peyton Wolcott, Copyright 2008) |
Wolcott
Peyton
| December 2008 commentaries here |
| Hats off to Jim Van Overschelde Wimberley ISD (TX) Trustees doing the right thing |
| 1. End discretionary spending. Set an example for your staff; let them know you mean business about running a tighter ship: No trips, no conferences, no meals, no credit cards. If you want to learn more about something, use Google. Do a webinar. Read a newsletter. No golf games with vendors, ever. No chauffeurs, no rental cars. Stay home, do your work and keep your nose clean. 2. Reduce administrative costs. Go through your administrative staff roster and cut every other job, starting with getting rid of all PR and marketing. No advisors, no consultants. Learn how to really read a budget. Put your check register and all wire transfers online. 3. Ethics. No nepotism. Let your wife and kids earn a living in a field other than education. No board members' spouses working in the district. Conduct all discussions with vendors and potential vendors in the open; invite your public to watch and ask questions. Throw away your contract and work year by year. Move your chair off the dais at board meetings. You're not a team member with your elected trustees. You're not equal to them. They're your boss. 4. No construction. If you're the rare district truly experiencing sufficient growth to justify building new schools, splinter off that population and let them start their own new school district or charter school. They might be able to take over an abandoned church or office building for much less than the Taj Mahal you had in mind. 5. Back-to-basics curriculum. Math table (1st grade: add, 2nd grade: subtract, 3rd grade multiply, 4th grade divide) daily drill. You made sure your own kids learned the basics at home or with tutors; why shouldn't all children have that same opportunity? Ditto for phonics. Classical literature. History, not social studies. No more block scheduling. Daily P.E. for all. Emphasize individual effort and accomplishment. 6. Attitude. You're a public servant, not a Third World dictator. Practice humility and gratitude. Remember when your employees laugh at your jokes or tell you you're cool or vendors marvel at your every utterance that they're all sucking up to you. Remember why you got into education to begin with. Sell your house in the gated community and buy one in the middle of a real subdivision like your average parents and taxpayers can afford. Let yourself be driven not by the latest platitude you picked up at the latest education conference but by the same wonderful noble desire to educate kids that got you into this field. |
| school news quick links nation & 49 states |
| Texas |
b e s t
p r a c t i c e s
p r a c t i c e s
s c h o o l n e w s
q u i c k l i n k s
q u i c k l i n k s
| More "Best Practices" here. |
| U.S. FEDERAL TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO DISD 2000-2007 2000-2001 $ 121,951,145 2001-2002 $ 137,745,786 2002-2003 $ 169,103,740 2003-2004 $ 188,618,903 2004-2005 $ 188,838,330 2005-2006 $ 215,068,567 2006-2007 $ 217,970,686 TOTAL $1,239,297,157 |
| TEXAS TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO DISD 2000-2007 2000-2001 $ 204,116,731 2001-2002 $ 180,097,229 2002-2003 $ 254,465,426 2003-2004 $ 199,905,502 2004-2005 $ 199,940,243 2005-2006 $ 198,907,113 2006-2007 $ 305,839,277 TOTAL $1,543,271,521 |
| Saturday, January 31, 2009 |
Texas and U.S. taxpayers have sent
almost $3 billion
to Dallas ISD since 2000
almost $3 billion
to Dallas ISD since 2000
| One clue as to the seduc- tive nature of power is that once you get some, it's hard to voluntarily give it up. President George Washington gave our fledg- ling nation a great gift by walking away from the presidency after only two terms -- at a time when many in America would have happily allowed him to be regent-for-life. He had the greater good in mind and heart, and for his gift we can all be grateful -- and look to his example. Wimberley ISD trustee Jim Van Overschelde has done something commendable along those same lines by resigning from the WISD school board earlier this week after receiving a promotion at the Texas Education Agency. In an articulate and thoughtful letter of resignation, Jim makes some suggestions to his fellow trustees of which it would be wise for all school board members everywhere take heed. From Jim's letter: |
| Jim Van Overschelde |
Way to go, Jim!
FAQ's ARCHIVES CONFUSED? FOLLOW THE MONEY CHECK REGISTER INFO & LINKS STATE & LOCAL GOVERNANCE VENDOR LOBBYING
| When I first saw the headline yesterday morning that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had just been arrested along with his chief of staff, John F. Harris, on charges of among other things trying to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat, my first reaction was probably not that different from yours, "Oh. Illinois." You know, as in the 3 R's: prior governor George Ryan, former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski, and long-time Obama supporter Tony Rezko. As in, to quote Matt Drudge, "Crook County." As in, "Chicago, |
| Arne Duncan (L) and Rod "Even My Hair's For Sale" Blagojevich (R) (GRAPHIC IMAGE--Peyton Wolcott) |
| What's Arne Duncan's track record on financial transparency? Given that getting rid of corruption in public education must be job one for the next US DOE secretary, and given that Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan has deep ties to Chi-Land (he's from there), and given also that he's a front runner for the post, a good question to ask is, "How transparent has Arne been during his tenure as supe of Chicago schools?" Meaning, how much has he opened up specific-dollar CPS actual financials to the public in the cheapest, easiest and fastest way possible, by putting checks online? No pie charts, no percentages, no aggregates, but real checks-to? When I went looking on Chicago Schools' website and couldn't find their checks, I called the CPS PR department and asked whether Arne had made any plans to put their check register online. After explaining to the fellow with whom I spoke what a check register was, he said he'd look into it and get back to me. Shouldn't be that hard; even though Florida's Miami-Dade County Public Schools has fewer students, if we can believe Chicago Public Schools accounting over Miami's M-DCPS spent a lot more money last year, $6.7 billion for all expenditures, all funds as opposed to the $4.6 bilion CPS will admit to. I sent the PR guy a helpful link to Miami's check register so Arne could see for himself. Oh, wait! Miami-Dade's check register is online because Marta Perez, an elected trustee, pushed for it last year -- but all seven Chicago Public Schools trustees are appointed by Mayor Daley. D'ya think they'd risk losing their appointments by pushing for financial transparency with a Chicago mayor who controls all of Chicago public ed? No response yet from CPS Perhaps that was the famous "I'll get back to you when Hell freezes over" time frame. Or, maybe what the CPS PR guy really meant was, "It's a long way to Tipperary which is where we hid the check register |
| Corruption Capital" and the "Chicago Machine." As in, apparently anything goes in Chi-Land and surrounds that's not nailed down. Graft, graft everywhere and not a drop to drink Chicago's suburbs have not been immune from graft and corruption. It was just over three years ago -- a year after Gov. Blagojevich appointed Thomas Ryan, then-supe of Community Consolidated School District 168 in Sauk Village (a half-hour south of Chicago) to a task force of school administrators to help shape Blagojevich's new Department of Education -- that investigators raided Ryan's home and hauled off a |
| Left: Thomas Ryan (center) in his garage. Right: Investigator carrying laundry basket filled with cash. (PHOTOS--Southtown Star) |
| laundry basket filled with cash, ten years of financial records, computers and a collapsible metal billy club. Ryan was eventually indicted, tried and sent to a minimal-security prison where, presumably without the asp, he served only a few years of his eight-year sentence. |
| SAUK VILLAGE SCHOOLS: Role played by investigative journalists A shout out to the Daily Southtown: The Illinois State Attorney only began looking into Sauk Village schools' finances after The Daily Southtown published stories by reporters Linda Lutton and Kati Phillip regarding questionable payments made to Thomas Ryan, his family and school district vendors. _________________________________________ |
| And earlier this year it was reported that "former Hoover-Schrum Elementary District 157 administrator Rosemary Hendricks was paid as superintendent for the Calumet City school system and another suburban Cook County school district." Two months ago, the suburban Cook County district, Bellwood SD 88, accepted Hendricks' resignation and appointed an interim supe. (SOURCES--Joan Carreon/ Northwestern Indiana Times; David Pollard/Proviso Herald; and Proviso Insider Blogspot) |
| While a former Chicago Public School manager remained jailed on felony theft charges Tuesday, the high school that entrusted her with its finances is struggling to recover from a loss of nearly half a million dollars. Marilyn Jenkins-Evans, 47, was ordered held on $200,000 bail by Criminal Court Judge Thomas Hennelly, a day after |
| Closer to home, Tracy Dell'Angela and Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune reported on something that occurred on Arne Duncan's watch as CEO at Chicago Public Schools: |
| Marilyn Jenkins-Evans 2006 mug shot |
| she was arrested on allegations that she stole $457,000 from Simeon Career Academy High School, where she once worked as business manager. Investigators alleged that she wrote herself 319 checks, forged the former principal's signature and deposited them in her personal accounts over more than five years at the school. "How is this school going to recoup that money?" asked the interim principal of the South Side school, Leonard Kenebrew. "That's $90,000 a year for five years. That could have been novels. Or microscopes. Or training for the teachers. Or field trips for the students. It's so depressing." |
| and when we get it cleaned up I'll get back to you." In any event, at press time there was still no response from Chi-Land Schools about Arne's intention (or not) to put their check register online. Here's hoping Mayor Daley will let Arne put CPS checks online whether or not Arne makes US DOE secretary; specific-dollar transparency in the form of online check registers is a terrific way for honest Illinois administrators and politicians to separate themselves from the Blagojevich / 3R's crowd. |
| More good news from GCISD: Frank has volun- tarily posted the district's check register online . Way to go, Grape Creek! |
| Hats off to Frank Walter Grape Creek ISD (TX) Student art mural |
| At a time when some administrators are hiring vendors to paint patriotic or school spirit-inspired murals on their schools' walls, Grape Creek ISD superintendent Frank Walter has continued the time-honored tradition of allowing student-painted murals. |
| The mural above, by art teacher Jack Cavness' Grape Creek High School students, is part of a larger effort in nearby San Angelo to place more art in public places. More here from GCISD's home page: |
| Frank Walter |
| Everybody wins with disciplined and focused student-painted murals such as this. Kids have learned a skill with which they can make money for themselves in the future, and tax dollars are saved. Plus the world's a prettier place. Here's an aquatic-themed mural painted last year at an expressway by Jack's students at San Angelo ISD's Central High: |
| The seventh period art class of Mr. Jack Cavness created a mural for the GCHS Library and presented it to Mrs. Franklin Dec. 12th. It was produced in sections with all class members creating different parts of the artwork. This is quite an undertaking, because each piece has to match perfectly when it comes together. The eagle now soars on the west wall in the library. Come by and look at their great work. |
| Friends, this is so very encouraging for the future of our great nation that public schools in 28 states have raced this far this fast towards transparency. |
| Welcome, Pike County Schools, Georgia! Public school checks now online in 29 states! Total USA: 429 districts! 307 in Texas! |
| brick wall, detainment by three armed school district police officers in San Antonio on August 3, 2006. I took the event seriously for serious reasons (more below at "Edgewood"). I quickly came to the conclusion that there had to be a better way than risking life and limb to bring transparency to our public schools. |
| Why a sense of urgency As our economy continues to tank because of and despite misguided efforts at unbridled socialism and subsequent attempted fixes, and as employment declines along with housing prices, public schools are going to have to voluntarily rein themselves in; this will be tough going with so many demands on tax dollars. (To help you understand the complexity of money interests in our vendor-driven public schools, I've prepared this special report.) It's important that all of our 15,000 U.S. school districts post their checks online as soon as possible so that we can start a meaningful dialogue about spending such that our schools remain solvent, strong and locally run. For all but the very largest districts, putting a check register online is a simple matter of taking checks that are already online, sorting out payroll and HIPAA, then PDF'ing whatever is left over and posting the PDF; this entire process usually takes at most a few minutes. Earlier expressed concerns about technology and additional requirements of staff time have all proven to be unfounded. (More here.) We must educate our kids better and for less money. Multi-million dollar deficits in dropout factories like Detroit and Dallas hurt everyone and only encourage those such as former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner to whom the Wall Street Journal recently gave page space for his advocacy of nationalization, towards which NCLB was a lope. |
| A tip of the Texan hat to our first honoree, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, for whom this award is named, for the greatest number of errors (100-plus, see below) in one check register roster! ----------- HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE NAME OF THIS AWARD: "TPPFSY" as in "TIPSY" as in, Gee, somebody must have been a bit TPPFSY to have made that many errors! ----------- Our little smilin' cowboy's already back out a-prowlin' the Internet prairie looking for more awardees! If you're compiling check register rosters for schools, and you've got 100 or more errors like TPPF, you could be next! Yippee ki-yay! |
| Why I advocate online check registers As a long-time filer of public records requests, I'd taken this line of inquiry about as far as I could when I ran into a |
| Edgewood ISD PR guy and 3 cops hurried away after it felt safe enough for me to pull out my cell. |
| Almost two months later a simplistic and naive idea -- which I recognized as such at the time -- occurred to me: Start a national roster of school districts with their check registers online for the purpose of jumpstarting a national grassroots movement. |
| Check Register and Aggregate Payroll Amount 109.1002(e)(2)(D) Title 19, TX Admin. Code Optional. Starting in calendar year 2008, this internet posting rule applies if a school district wishes to appeal the Schools FIRST performance based upon fiscal year 2007 expendi- ture data for the new indicator 13 related to the 65% rule. If a district wishes to appeal its performance under the new indicator 13, the check register for the fiscal year is to be posted within the 30-day review period following the release of preliminary ratings by TEA (this will occur on or about June 2008). |
| tabulation. Many districts for reasons of their own have decided they don't want or need or care about the 3 points. Fortunately, many others have posted because they understand that voluntary transparency puts them into the winners' column on many levels. GOOD NEWS #2 SCHOOL TRUSTEES AND ADMINISTRATORS RESPOND 100% FAVORABLY TO THE SMART AND FRIENDLY HEART-TO-HEART approach we have found works; details here. Many of the districts you see on my three rosters -- all the most complete in the nation -- have posted their check registers online because they've been approached in the friendly way described above. In sharp contrast, NOT A SINGLE DISTRICT among the 401 who are online thus far has posted because they've been attacked by angry constituents, pelted by email campaigns, diluged by petitions or had demands made that they do so in letters to the editor or guest editorials or blogs. Not one. Superintendent after superintendent has told me that they find such attacks off-putting. I don't blame them. When we feel we are being attacked, the most natural thing in the world is to go into hunker-down mode. It amazes me that folks who agree that the Golden Rule is a good thing forget to use it in their dealings with |
| GOOD NEWS #3 THE TPPFSY AWARD FOR 2009 Even with the Texas Public Policy Foundation's 100-plus errors on their Texas public school district accountability site, there's some good news in that, too: TPPF's numbers are all very low! Here's the breakdown: TPPF states that only 160 districts have posted their check |
| their local schools. In fact, much of the work I do consists of undoing previous attempts which proved to be at best unproductive and at worst counter-productive. As one dad told me last week, "I wish we'd found you three years ago." (His district's check register was online within a month after I began working with him.) |
| It's always useful when pressing for transparency to show hard stats, so here are mine: o There are 4.6 million students in Texas public schools; 3.4 million in online districts. o $22 billion is online from local districts (out of $46.5 billion total expenditures/all funds in actuals for 2006-07) & $19.4 billion from TEA (apples to apples data) with the result that out of $66.9 billion total possible (1031 districts and TEA), 62% is online. |
| registers online, when in fact almost twice that many have (294). Also, TPPF states that only 35% of students and spending are represented by districts with online check |
| registers, when in fact almost twice the number of students (64%) and spending (62%) are online. TPPF provides no visible roster -- you must scroll through all 254 Texas counties individually to view their data -- and only percentages, and few hard numbers other than the 160 -- the $50 billion they quote "for the public education system" does not define the categories included in that number -- plus there's the wildly out-of-date pie chart at right. Our cheerful cowboy friend, TPPFSY, got a big chuckle out of the orange slice being about half the size it should be. Because he's such a helpful little fellow, TPPFSY pulled his favorite pink marker out of his saddlebags and striped in some of the missing portion of TPPF's pie chart. |
| the district had sunk to "Academically Unacceptable," the fourth and lowest rating. This dismal showing seemed worth recording given that this was the lead district for a series of so-called equity lawsuits which had cost taxpayers billions of dollars. This kind of machismo show of muscle and intimidation had special meaning coming as it did from the same district who'd just been on the front page of the local paper a few months earlier for their police officers having chased a suspect off campus and followed him several blocks away where the suspect was shot in the ensuing scuffle. (This is legal, I learned, for armed school district police officers to chase anyone anywhere. The phrase is "in pursuit," and it should prompt all of us to wonder whether an appointed school district superintendent should be given free rein to mobilize his or her private force of armed police officers; there are many instances where supes have used their private police forces to intimidate parents.) |
| Misleading signage on the front door of Edgewood ISD's administration building. (PHOTO--Peyton Wolcott) |
| A few of the 100-plus errors and omissions (above) on Texas Public Policy Foundation's school district trans- parency website. Below, TPPF got all 6 districts in Hockley County wrong despite themselves providing links for all; the 5 circled TPPF says are not online actually are, and the 1 that TPPF says is online (the X) actually isn't. |
| 01.02.09 / 8:29 am: My U.S. roster -- the most complete and current in the nation -- is expanding so quickly that I am in the process of halving the U.S. roster into two pages. |
| Hats off to David L. Cockerham Espanola #55 (NM) Online Calendar |
It's frustrating for moms
and dads and taxpayers to
call their superintendent's
office only to be told by the
secretary that he/she is not
available. Period. With no
explanations offered or
given, even when pressed.
Not so in Espanola Public
School District #55 in New
Mexico, located just north of
Santa Fe and Nambe
Pueblo. Superintendent
David L. Cockerham's
calendar is included as
part of his report to the
board; better yet for the
public, a link to the PDF'd
calendar is included in the
district's BoardBook
paperless Agenda Packet
--along with their checks.
Way to go, David & board!
(Posted 01.03.09)
and dads and taxpayers to
call their superintendent's
office only to be told by the
secretary that he/she is not
available. Period. With no
explanations offered or
given, even when pressed.
Not so in Espanola Public
School District #55 in New
Mexico, located just north of
Santa Fe and Nambe
Pueblo. Superintendent
David L. Cockerham's
calendar is included as
part of his report to the
board; better yet for the
public, a link to the PDF'd
calendar is included in the
district's BoardBook
paperless Agenda Packet
--along with their checks.
Way to go, David & board!
(Posted 01.03.09)
| Above, Espanola students greet bikers on their "Run for the Wall" 2008 trek from California to the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, D.C. |
| Presenting the newest numbers From America's public school check register HQ By Peyton Wolcott Thurs., Jan. 8, 2009 / 2:30 a.m. - Updated Fri., Jan. 9, 2009 / 10:00 a.m. |
| Friends, this is my Valentine to America. I'm presenting it to you early because judging from recent emails coming in plus media preoccupations it seems about now we all need a solid reminder that America is so much more than just a handful of politicians or worries and dangers at home and abroad. We are blessed to live in the greatest nation on Earth, a nation rich in resources, including our most precious resources: each other. Has America lost its way? America only loses its way when you and I lose our way. The "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" our Founding Fathers wrote about didn't include the phrase, "and to live like Gordon Gecko." There seems to be a growing recognition that we've journeyed too far from our fundamental core values -- love, home, family, simplicity, goodness -- that guarantee not only our happiness and liberty and health but also the success, strength and security of our great nation. And as we close this recent chapter on greed, fiscal transparency in our schools becomes more important than ever because at the same time there also exist potent forces moving us towards nationalized schools, one of the first items in totalitarians' tool kits. For our public schools to remain strong, free and locally run they are going to have to learn to streamline their operations and educate our kids better. There is no more encouraging sign of good news on this front than the fact that since I started the national grassroots online check register movement for public schools just over two years ago already over half the states have at least one district posting their checks. Time for individual action We're not British subjects today for one important reason: Our forebearers did something about the oppression they were living under. Look at the pictures here and here and remember how magnificent our beautiful republic is. Take the steps you can yourself to clean things up, starting with the lowest-lying fruit. Remember that wonderful Margaret Mead quote: |
| A brief guide to these new pages on my site: |
| Texas school districts with check registers online |
| Terms & Conditions |
| Sorry to have to include this; believe it or not, some groups--God bless them--have copied my research and published it as their own. __________________________________ |
| MALDEF & the 22 Edgewood districts have cost Texans billions -- but show us failed academics & extravagance. |
| Can you ID the 15 vendors & other special money interest groups at your school board meetings? Follow the money. |
| The friendly approach |
| Take the Golden Rule with you when asking your schools to post their check registers. Here's a flyer with testimonials to counter issues & concerns. |
| Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. |
| She was right. God bless you, and God bless America. |
| Are there enough degrees of separation between Arne and Blagojevich for Arne to be the next US DOE secretary? By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, December 10, 2008 / 12:02 a.m. - Updated Wednesday, December 10, 2008 / 9:59 a.m. |
| Transparency history |
| Llano ISD supe 1st TPIA conviction Edgewood ISD PD detainment 2006 Progress by March 2007 1st year anniversary: Oct. 2007 Role of Gov.Perry & Comm.Scott |
ATLANTA PS (GA)
Another AASA supe of
the year finalist in the
news: Beverly Hall's
audit woes persist &
persist & persist & . . . .
By Peyton Wolcott
Monday, January 12, 2009 / 3:02 a.m.
Another AASA supe of
the year finalist in the
news: Beverly Hall's
audit woes persist &
persist & persist & . . . .
By Peyton Wolcott
Monday, January 12, 2009 / 3:02 a.m.
| Beverly Hall (L), Atlanta Mayor Franklin |
In May 2006 I contacted the PR office
at Atlanta Public Schools to ask three
simple questions:
at Atlanta Public Schools to ask three
simple questions:
You'd have thought I'd asked
something personal like the
superintendent's hat size or whether
she liked fettucini.
Despite his years working for CNN,
the Asian Wall Street Journal and
UPI, APS spokesman Joe Manguno
seemed surprised by money
questions:
something personal like the
superintendent's hat size or whether
she liked fettucini.
Despite his years working for CNN,
the Asian Wall Street Journal and
UPI, APS spokesman Joe Manguno
seemed surprised by money
questions:
| 1. Info re APS supe Beverly Hall's ERDI consulting. 2. Info re Hall's other side consulting. 3. Could they send me Hall's current employment contract including all perqs. |
| "The kind of information you're asking me I'm going to have to sit down with [Beverly Hall] and ask whether she's willing to give this information. Nobody gets to the superintendent without going through this department; that's why I'm here, as gatekeeper." |
Perhaps they didn't talk about money
at WSJ or CNN. In any event, Joe
apparently never did have that
sit-down with Beverly as the district
still has not produced the information.
However, the district's not producing
basic financial information may have a
more simple explanation: Perhaps it's
just not there. Meaning, their books
are in such shape that they don't have
current or reliable data.
at WSJ or CNN. In any event, Joe
apparently never did have that
sit-down with Beverly as the district
still has not produced the information.
However, the district's not producing
basic financial information may have a
more simple explanation: Perhaps it's
just not there. Meaning, their books
are in such shape that they don't have
current or reliable data.
| Widespread errors and missing paperwork have continued to plague Atlanta Public Schools’ financial books despite repeat warnings from auditors. State auditors noted serious defects in each of the five years since a judge ordered them to begin examining the system. For two years, financial statements were in such disarray that examiners refused to vouch for their accuracy. Audits provide crucial oversight for agencies by testing their safeguards against fraud and theft and ensuring their balance sheets accurately represent their financial position. The district’s most recent noted: mislaid payroll records that included a half-dozen personnel files, questionable purchasing card use and trouble verifying a $20 million correction the district had suggested. The report issued late last year, which covers July 2006 through June 2007, also said the district failed to produce documents supporting its accounting of capital assets, debt payment service and payroll —- leading the auditors to decline to give an opinion. Auditors do so when they don’t see enough evidence to know an agency’s financial statements are correct. “That’s pretty significant,” said Ben Riden Jr., a deputy state audit director. (SOURCE--Atlanta Journal Constitution) |
Hopefully they'll find Beverly's
employment contract among those
missing documents so they'll know the
right amount to pay her.
On other fronts, Atlanta Public Schools'
check register is not online, and --
drum roll, please --Beverly Hall's now
the latest ERDI consultant in the news.
employment contract among those
missing documents so they'll know the
right amount to pay her.
On other fronts, Atlanta Public Schools'
check register is not online, and --
drum roll, please --Beverly Hall's now
the latest ERDI consultant in the news.
| Thank you, America's new hero! By Peyton Wolcott Friday, January 16, 2009 / 12:02 a.m. |
When Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, III safely crash-landed his US Airways Airbus in the
Hudson River yesterday afternoon after taking off from La Guardia and gliding over the
George Washington Bridge with the result that all 155 on board survived despite icy,
snowy conditions, he displayed the smarts, spirit, grit and common sense that have
made America great.
Hudson River yesterday afternoon after taking off from La Guardia and gliding over the
George Washington Bridge with the result that all 155 on board survived despite icy,
snowy conditions, he displayed the smarts, spirit, grit and common sense that have
made America great.
| Sully Sullenberger |
| Sullenberger's plan in the Hudson River with passengers standing on wings awaiting rescue from icy waters. (PHOTO--Drudge Report) |
| While so often statements on resumes are clearly spin, the ones on Sullenberger's have overnight taken on whole new meanings and relevance: |
| Solid sense of integrity. . . . . In-flight security coordinator. . . . Final authority on all issues relating to safety of flight.. . . . Expert in applying safety and reliability methods in a variety of fields. . . . . History of achievement in safety. |
According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sullenberger "walked the plane twice after
everyone else got off. A passenger said he was the last one up the aisle and that there
was no one behind him." That's courage, friends, to walk a plane twice when it's sinking
rapidly in freezing waters--and you're the last one standing inside.
Others deserving their share of credit include N.Y. Waterways, Circle Line, the Coast
Guard including volunteer divers and various city agencies, according to New York
Governor David Paterson.
CBS has a graphic showing the flight's takeoff and flyover of Manhattan before landing in
the Hudson.
While Sullenberger's safe and historic water landing is remarkable enough on its own,
you understand that he also managed to fly over Manhattan in a crippled plane, missing
the office and apartment towers. God bless him.
everyone else got off. A passenger said he was the last one up the aisle and that there
was no one behind him." That's courage, friends, to walk a plane twice when it's sinking
rapidly in freezing waters--and you're the last one standing inside.
Others deserving their share of credit include N.Y. Waterways, Circle Line, the Coast
Guard including volunteer divers and various city agencies, according to New York
Governor David Paterson.
CBS has a graphic showing the flight's takeoff and flyover of Manhattan before landing in
the Hudson.
While Sullenberger's safe and historic water landing is remarkable enough on its own,
you understand that he also managed to fly over Manhattan in a crippled plane, missing
the office and apartment towers. God bless him.
| IN THE NEWS: |
AMERICAN ASS'N OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
These are America's four best public school leaders? This is the
best AASA can come up with for 2009 superintendent of the year?
By Peyton Wolcott
Monday, January 19, 2009 - 6:04 a.m. - Updated Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 12:07 p.m.
These are America's four best public school leaders? This is the
best AASA can come up with for 2009 superintendent of the year?
By Peyton Wolcott
Monday, January 19, 2009 - 6:04 a.m. - Updated Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 12:07 p.m.
| 2009 AASA SUPE OF THE YEAR -- THE 4 FINALISTS: Suzanne Freeman Trussville City Schools (AL) Beverly Hall, Atlanta Public Schools (GA) Stu Silberman, Fayette County PS (KY) Eugene "Gene" White, Indianapolis PS (IN) |
Given that this year's Superintendent of the Year will be announced on February 20 at
the AASA annual convention in San Francisco, this seems a good time to take a closer
look at this year's four AASA finalists.
the AASA annual convention in San Francisco, this seems a good time to take a closer
look at this year's four AASA finalists.
Brave New Education World
Students as laptop-trained robots?
Students as laptop-trained robots?
But first, some questions no one else appears to be asking:
What are the ties if any between the AASA Superintendent-of-the-
Year process and AASA -- and also between Aramark and each of
the four 2009 finalists?
While the prize itself is touted as a high national honor, the dollars
it conveys, a $10,000 scholarship to a recipient of the honoree's
choice, are relatively modest as national prizes go, especially
those sponsored by national big-bucks vendors such as Aramark.
AASA-Aramark ties
Aramark, a longtime sponsor of the superintendent of the year
event, is also a vendor doing business with many AASA schools.
What are the ties if any between the AASA Superintendent-of-the-
Year process and AASA -- and also between Aramark and each of
the four 2009 finalists?
While the prize itself is touted as a high national honor, the dollars
it conveys, a $10,000 scholarship to a recipient of the honoree's
choice, are relatively modest as national prizes go, especially
those sponsored by national big-bucks vendors such as Aramark.
AASA-Aramark ties
Aramark, a longtime sponsor of the superintendent of the year
event, is also a vendor doing business with many AASA schools.
| Rudy Crew 2008 |
Developing . . . |
| Jan. 20 News story & Jan. 22, 2009 editorial - The Dothan Eagle (AL) |
| Jan. 12, 2009 Editorial Austin American-Statesman (TX) |
| CHECK REGISTER INFO - USA |
Q: Why did Judson
ISD hire special ed atty's
to investigate PBK
construction fraud
allegations?
By Peyton Wolcott
Thur., Jan. 22, 2009/10:30 a.m.
ISD hire special ed atty's
to investigate PBK
construction fraud
allegations?
By Peyton Wolcott
Thur., Jan. 22, 2009/10:30 a.m.
A: Maybe Judson's
leadership didn't really want to
find anything. Remember that
great line from Casablanca:
"Round up the usual suspects."
Were Judson ISD serious,
wouldn't they have hired a
forensic accounting firm to do a
forensic audit?
Here's my query earlier today
to Jeff Rogers at Feldman &
Rogers:
leadership didn't really want to
find anything. Remember that
great line from Casablanca:
"Round up the usual suspects."
Were Judson ISD serious,
wouldn't they have hired a
forensic accounting firm to do a
forensic audit?
Here's my query earlier today
to Jeff Rogers at Feldman &
Rogers:
Dec. 2008 here
| Jeff, I'm writing to learn more about Feldman & Rogers' experience and expertise including client names in the area of investigating allegations of school construction fraud. Who are some of your school district clients whom you have successfully represented in this area, where your client school districts recovered money? What might be some specific examples with names where you have investigated possible school construction fraud in Texas where you have found fraud by construction management firms, architects, contractors, subcontractors, etc.? Without naming any school districts in particular, I was surprised to learn that your firm -- best traditionally known to many of us as public education special education specialists -- had been hired to look into allegations of possible fraud and management issues related to school construction projects at a Texas public school district. Wondering why you didn't pass this engagement to an accountancy firm with the recommendation that they conduct a forensic audit. Also, what type of legal services -- special education? construction investigation? something else? -- would Judson's $ 61,787.88 payment to Feldman & Rogers in Judson's third quarter have been for? |
| Shine a light on school spending Dothan (Alabama) Eagle editorial Published: January 22, 2009 We applaud state school board member Betty Peters of Dothan, who wants the public to know how its money is being spent. This week, Peters urged local school districts to post some financial information, such as details from a check register, on their Web sites for easy access by members of the public. “In many communities, public education is suffering from a lack of trust and support by the taxpayers and the voters,” Peters told the Eagle. “The schools often think the solution is to hire a public relations expert, yet the real answer is to be up front with the public.” City and county school systems operate with tax funds, and state law requires that financial information for those systems be available to the public. We see no reason why Peters’ suggestion should not be implemented. Taxpayers deserve a convenient way to review public spending so they can make informed decisions about education- targeted tax hike proposals. The additional daylight should also make school boards and administrators think twice about potentially questionable expenses ________________________ |
CARROLLTON-FARMERS
BRANCH ISD
Former supe of
the year Annette
Griffin pleads
guilty
By Peyton Wolcott
Sun., Jan. 25, 2009
BRANCH ISD
Former supe of
the year Annette
Griffin pleads
guilty
By Peyton Wolcott
Sun., Jan. 25, 2009
TIMELINE
Aug. 21, 2008
Arrested for driving
drunk; on way to
school board meeting,
Annette doesn't tell
board about arrest.
Oct. 9, 2008
Annette granted leave
of absence by board;
continues to receive
paycheck.
Oct. 15, 2008
C-FBISD PR gal
Angela Shelley claims
the school district (her
employer) is still
confident in her boss.
Annette continues to
receive $23,750 each
month from F-CBISD
taxpayers as her base
pay plus perqs.
Dec. 5, 2008
Annette finally resigns.
Board pays her a
$100,000 settlement
rather than risk lengthy
and costly trial. The
district publishes her
undated letter of
apology which only
refers (twice) to "my
mistakes." Presumably
Annette did not
consider her insisting
on collecting an extra
$100,000 from district
taxpayers and school-
children a "mistake." If
it was really a
"privilege to serve" why
not let the district keep
the $100,000?
Jan. 20, 2009
Annette pleads guilty
and is put on probation.
Aug. 21, 2008
Arrested for driving
drunk; on way to
school board meeting,
Annette doesn't tell
board about arrest.
Oct. 9, 2008
Annette granted leave
of absence by board;
continues to receive
paycheck.
Oct. 15, 2008
C-FBISD PR gal
Angela Shelley claims
the school district (her
employer) is still
confident in her boss.
Annette continues to
receive $23,750 each
month from F-CBISD
taxpayers as her base
pay plus perqs.
Dec. 5, 2008
Annette finally resigns.
Board pays her a
$100,000 settlement
rather than risk lengthy
and costly trial. The
district publishes her
undated letter of
apology which only
refers (twice) to "my
mistakes." Presumably
Annette did not
consider her insisting
on collecting an extra
$100,000 from district
taxpayers and school-
children a "mistake." If
it was really a
"privilege to serve" why
not let the district keep
the $100,000?
Jan. 20, 2009
Annette pleads guilty
and is put on probation.
| Annette Griffin (R) TAPE awards |
| According to the Dallas Morning News, Griffin, 62, entered the plea . . . in Dallas County Criminal Court No. 3 and received 15 months of probation, chief clerk Liz Fleet- wood said. She also paid a $750 fine and $453 in court fees. |
Griffin Collie, Griffin's
attorney, comments to
the News:
attorney, comments to
the News:
| "This process has taken its toll. This entire process has been so public that it's caused her a lot of remorse and shame, and a lot of pain for the school district." |
But have these events
been so "public" and
caused (by her own
actions) Annette
sufficient "remorse
and shame" that she
will return to the
schoolchildren she
cares so much about
the quarter mil plus
she's cost them since
her DWI arrest?
been so "public" and
caused (by her own
actions) Annette
sufficient "remorse
and shame" that she
will return to the
schoolchildren she
cares so much about
the quarter mil plus
she's cost them since
her DWI arrest?
Suppose enough Americans are afflicted by Geithner-itis
that our public schools go broke, all at once?
By Peyton Wolcott - Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / 3:20 a.m. - Updated 8:47 a.m.
that our public schools go broke, all at once?
By Peyton Wolcott - Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / 3:20 a.m. - Updated 8:47 a.m.
| allowed our administrators to take advantage of our good will such that we pay for them to play and party and golf when they're not eating and traveling; sometimes when I look at receipts it seems clear that for too many superintendents, if they can figure out a way to use their taxpayerfunded credit cards, they will. This trek away from our schools' first charge, to teach our children core basics, has been funded by Americans' |
| Tim Geithner (PHOTO--Michael Edwards/Conde Nast) |
| GEITHNER-ITIS: a sudden-onset disease which causes its victims to no longer be able to figure out how to pay their taxes. Duration: 3-5 years. |
| For as long as anyone can remember our American public schools have been the fortunate recipients of American taxpayers' largesse. We've ponied up for unnecessary natatoriums and cafetoriums (if you put a Latin spelling on it they sound more legitimate?). We've |
| (TOP) Natatorium at Homewood- Flossmoor HS (Illinois); Supes golf with vendors at TAS/MUS conference, Horseshoe Bay, Texas |
| tax dollars. Suppose enough folks become sufficiently fed up that they succumb to debilitating attacks of Geithner-itis such that they no longer pay their property tax bills? Not even collections attorney giants like Linebarger Goggan could keep up with the challenges this would represent. On the off chance that the majority of American taxpayers do succumb to Geithner-itis, can we assume that the libs and other media will be as supportive of us as they've been of the new Treasury secretary: |
| Many thanks to George Stephanopoulos for offering us a proven road map for actually doing this and getting away with it. He commented, "This was an honest mistake, fairly common. Geithner himself is embarrassed by this and he's sorry." So that's it, that's all we have to do? Don't pay our taxes, then say we're embarrassed and sorry? BOTTOM LINE: What a great opportunity this represents for savvy superintendents to rein in their spending by first cutting discretionary spending and postponing construction. And what a great time for a meaningful dialogue to begin with their community; online check registers are a great place to start. You can't make changes to a pie chart, but we can agree that it's time for the credit card way of life to come to an end in our local public schools. Friends, I've focused on our schools because our kids are our future and in most counties in America our local public schools are the largest budgets. When we have succeeded in weeding greed out of our schools, the rest of America will follow. |
| (SOURCE FOR "HONEST" COMMENTS MONTAGE ABOVE: Rush Limbaugh) |
| KING: Maybe an honest mistake. ALTER: It does seem to be a honest mistake. SHUSTER: He made a common mistake on his taxes. |
| VIEIRA: Geithner's tax problems, honest mistake... BROKAW: This does look like an honest mistake. MITCHELL: An honest mistake... |
| KERRY: It is possible to make an innocent mistake. I think this is an honest mistake. CROWLEY: The transition team put out a lengthy list of reasons why this was just an honest mistake. BORGER: ... I would not describe as a huge mistake. HENRY: It is a common mistake. |
| BARNES: Yes, it is a common mistake. STODDARD: The Obama administration is saying it's a common mistake. HARWOOD: It is being described as an honest mistake. |
| THE GORGE-OUS GUYS OF TEXAS PUBLIC EDUCATION Why should we raise our hand for these guys now? We did what they wanted in 1995 and look at the mess we're in. By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / 12:16 a.m. - Updated Friday, January 30, 2009 / 11:17 a.m. - New photos & data |
| L to R: Sandy Kress, Mike Moses, Bill Ratliff, David Thompson (With special thanks to Mr. Fish for original image) |
| Can we trust the new U.S. Tax Man? |
| Raise Your Hand Texas 816 Congress Ave Suite 990 Austin, TX 78701 Ratliff, William R. (00020737) P.O. Box 1218 Mt. Pleasant, TX 75456 $25,000 - $49.999.99 Raise Your Hand 327 Congress Suite 450 Austin, TX 78701 Erben, Randall H. (00013689) 807 Brazos Suite 402 Austin, TX 78701 50,000 - $99,999.99 Wakefield, Kakhi H. (00062269) 807 Brazos Street Suite 402 Austin, TX 78701 Less Than $10,000.00 Yarbrough, Brian G. (00037475) 807 Brazos Suite 402 Austin, TX 78701 Less Than $10,000.00 |
| Ratliff II, Shannon H. (00050870) (512)494-3656 - Bracewell & Giuliani LLP 111 Congress Avenue Suite 2300 Austin, TX 78701 Long-time school law attorneys: Bracewell & Giuliani LLP 111 Congress Avenue Suite 2300 Austin, TX 78701-4304 Less Than $10,000.00 Active school tech vendors: Cisco Systems Inc. 12515 Research Blvd. Building 2 Austin, TX 78759 $50,000 - $99,999.99 City of Carrollton 1945 E. Jackson Road Carrollton, TX 75006 $50,000 - $99,999.99 Invenergy Wind Development LLC 1400 S. Congress Avenue Suite B-330 Austin, TX 78704 $50,000 - $99,999.99 Not in good standing as of Jan. 28, 2009 with Texas Comptroller: The Corporation for Texas Regionalism 1305 San Antonio Street Austin, TX 78701 $50,000 - $99,999.99 Heaven forbid that the Ratliff's wouldn't get some of the taxpayer bank bailout money: Wachovia Corporation 150 Fayetteville Street Mall Suite 600 Raleigh, NC 27601 $50,000 - $99,999.99 |
| RATLIFF LOBBYISTS |
| Raise Your Hand for Public Schools/Raise Your Hand Texas 816 Congress Suite 990 Austin, TX 78701 Anderson, David D. (00053708) 823 Congress Suite 900 Austin, TX 78701 $25,000 - $49.999.99 Jones, Neal T. Jr. (00013745) 823 Congress Suite 900 Austin, TX 78701 Less Than $10,000.00 Raise Your Hand for Public Schools PO Box 302183 Austin, TX 78730 All "less than $10,000": Eschberger, Brenda (00029854) 919 Congress Avenue Suite 950 Austin, TX 78701 Girard, Charles H. (00058717) 504 West 14th Street Austin, TX 78701 Johnson, Michael J. (00055885) 919 Congress Avenue Suite 950 Austin, TX 78701 Kelley, Russell T. (00013737) 919 Congress Avenue Suite 950 Austin, TX 78701 Kemptner, Sara (00057952) 919 Congress Avenue Suite 950 Austin, TX 78701 McGarah, Carol (00051437) 919 Congress Avenue Suite 950 Austin, TX 78701 McGarry, Mignon (00012905) 504 West 14th Street Austin, TX 78701 Sabo, Jason T. (00052402) 1122 Colorado Street Suite 102 Austin, TX 78701 Waldon, Barbara (00057030) 919 Congress Avenue Suite 950 Austin, TX 78701 |
| Ratliff, William R. (00020737) (903)572-1846 P.O. Box 1218 Mt. Pleasant, TX 75456 Such a sweet deal! Found "Raise Your Hand Texas" then make more than the average Texan's salary from this alone: Raise Your Hand Texas 816 Congress Ave Suite 990 Austin, TX 78701 $25,000 - $49.999.99 |
| RAISE YOUR HAND ENTITIES/LOBBYISTS |
RAISE YOUR HAND FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 32024213194 78204
RAISE YOUR HAND FOR TEXAS EDUCATION FUND 12038185778 78204
RAISE YOUR HAND FOR TEXAS EDUCATION FUND 12038185778 78204
And, surprise, surprise! David Thompson (see above) is a registered director for "Raise
Your Hand For Public Schools."
Here's the group statement from one table's participants at the January 28, 2009 "Raise
Your Hand" conference at the Hilton in downtown Austin, Texas for principals who had
participated last summer in a conference at Harvard regarding that experience:
Your Hand For Public Schools."
Here's the group statement from one table's participants at the January 28, 2009 "Raise
Your Hand" conference at the Hilton in downtown Austin, Texas for principals who had
participated last summer in a conference at Harvard regarding that experience:
| [Raise Your Hand director] Bull, Blaine H. (00012158) (512)744-0044 327 Congress Ave. Suite 450 Austin, TX 78701 CHRISTUS Health 4109 Carmel Mountain McKinney, TX 75070 $25,000 - $49.999.99 Texas Border Coalition 901 Business Park Dr. Suite 200 Mission, TX 78572 $10,000 - $24,999.99 Texas Employers for Immigration 1209 Nueces Street Austin, TX 78701 $10,000 - $24,999.99 |
Are the four Grand Old Rich Guys of Education ("GORGE") of Texas schools public
servants -- or merely self-serving folks GORGE-ing at our kids' education troughs?
servants -- or merely self-serving folks GORGE-ing at our kids' education troughs?
Hard to say. They keep coming
at us with new ideas such as
"Raise Your Hand" (more
below) and the Sandy Kress/
Mike Moses/David Thompson/
Don McAdams* "Common
Ground" paper (not to mention
the new "visioning" report from
such 21st Century Skills folks
as Phil Schlecty and Willard
Daggett, "Creating a New
Vision for Public Education in
Texas") --but the new ideas
always entail putting more of
our tax dollars in their pockets.
Vendors, lobbyists, call them
what you will. They want our
at us with new ideas such as
"Raise Your Hand" (more
below) and the Sandy Kress/
Mike Moses/David Thompson/
Don McAdams* "Common
Ground" paper (not to mention
the new "visioning" report from
such 21st Century Skills folks
as Phil Schlecty and Willard
Daggett, "Creating a New
Vision for Public Education in
Texas") --but the new ideas
always entail putting more of
our tax dollars in their pockets.
Vendors, lobbyists, call them
what you will. They want our
| Mike Moses (center) at podium speaking to 100 or so Texas principals at downtown Austin Hilton on a school day -- January 28, 2009. |
Who are these GORGE-ous guys?
Sandy Kress is a lawyer and also a vendor's representative/lobbyist for Pearson, the
British-based education giant who profits from the accountability testing that's key to the
No Child Left Behind legislation Sandy's credited as being the architect of -- how circular
is that?
Sandy Kress is a lawyer and also a vendor's representative/lobbyist for Pearson, the
British-based education giant who profits from the accountability testing that's key to the
No Child Left Behind legislation Sandy's credited as being the architect of -- how circular
is that?
| When the Texas public school principals attending the "Raise Your Hand" conference were told "You are the best and brightest," no one raised their hand to disagree or to question the accolade. |
And Mike Moses (see "Raise
Your Hand for a Hand Out" at
far right here) and Bill Ratliff
dreamed up "Raise Your
Hand," which appears to want
to drive the next generation of
drecky unproven edu-reforms
designed to benefit liberal
social engineering agendas
and the vendors who sell
programs supporting them.
The group's consigliari,
David Thompson, has, with
Mike Moses, a superintendent
search firm, School Executive
Consulting, Inc. Dave on his
own is a registered lobbyist
for the Texas Association of
School Administrators among
others; he collects as much
as (declared) $155,000
annually, from this one
revenue stream alone. He's
also an attorney with a
lucrative private school
practice--name a MALDEF/
Robin Hood lawsuit in recent
memory he's not collected
sizable fees from--who is
known as the filer of a
Your Hand for a Hand Out" at
far right here) and Bill Ratliff
dreamed up "Raise Your
Hand," which appears to want
to drive the next generation of
drecky unproven edu-reforms
designed to benefit liberal
social engineering agendas
and the vendors who sell
programs supporting them.
The group's consigliari,
David Thompson, has, with
Mike Moses, a superintendent
search firm, School Executive
Consulting, Inc. Dave on his
own is a registered lobbyist
for the Texas Association of
School Administrators among
others; he collects as much
as (declared) $155,000
annually, from this one
revenue stream alone. He's
also an attorney with a
lucrative private school
practice--name a MALDEF/
Robin Hood lawsuit in recent
memory he's not collected
sizable fees from--who is
known as the filer of a
| [Note spelling and capitalization] |
| Yolanda Larkin of Brownsboro ISD (left, standing) facilitated this table's group consensus statement regarding their Harvard experience at the "Raise Your Hand" January 28, 2009 conference at the Austin Hilton. |
money, despite the fact that what they've been selling us since 1995 when SB 1, the
rewrite of the Texas Education Code, passed has not only been wasteful but also has not
worked.
rewrite of the Texas Education Code, passed has not only been wasteful but also has not
worked.
* I am researching a new separate commentary on Don McAdams.
ANOTHER GORGE- OUS GUY?
Whose strings is Mr. Butt
Whose strings is Mr. Butt
pulling. . .and why?
By Peyton Wolcott
Saturday, January 31, 2009 / 11:08 a.m.
By Peyton Wolcott
Saturday, January 31, 2009 / 11:08 a.m.
"Raise Your Hand" if you know the answer.
Developing . . . |