| Giving parents and taxpayers the information and tools they need . . . . |
| 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 PEYTON WOLCOTT 2003-2008 |
| Conservative Commentary - Saturday - February 16, 2008 |
P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| Copyright 1999-2007 Peyton Wolcott |
| As of 02.12.08, 11% of all Texas school districts have voluntarily posted their check registers online; over 2/3 of all state/local TX school district dollars are website-posted. How to ask your local school district Flyer History 1st Anniversary San Antonio Triple Crown COPYRIGHT NOTICE: When borrowing / copying / citing from this roster please remember to attribute the source: www.PeytonWolcott.com |
| CALIFORNIA Capistrano USD - here Clovis USD - here FLORIDA (01.14.08) Miami-Dade CPS* here ILLINOIS Carpentersville SD 300* Elgin U-46* Huntley CUSD 158* Naperville CUSD KANSAS USD 507 (Satanta) MICHIGAN Montrose CS - here MINNESOTA Milaca SD - ISD 192 St. Cloud ISD MISSISSIPPI Ocean Springs SD* here NEVADA Clark County SD**** OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City PS***** S. DAKOTA Mitchell School District* TEXAS** (130) Allen ISD Alvarado ISD Anthony ISD Arlington ISD Athens ISD Aubrey ISD Avery ISD Bellville ISD Big Spring ISD Blackwell CISD Borger ISD Bremond ISD Bryan ISD* Caddo Mills ISD Canton ISD Cedar Hill ISD Center Point ISD Chester ISD China Spring ISD here Cleburne ISD* - here Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD Colmesneil ISD Comal ISD Conroe ISD* Corpus Christi ISD* Cross Roads ISD Cypress-Fairbanks ISD* Dallas ISD Deer Park ISD* Denison ISD Dickinson ISD Dublin ISD - here (About us) East Bernard ISD Ector Co. ISD Electra ISD Franklin ISD Friendswood ISD Galena Park ISD Galveston ISD Grandfalls-Royalty ISD Greenville ISD Gunter ISD Harlandale ISD - here Haskell CISD Hempstead ISD Highland ISD Hitchcock ISD - here Holliday ISD Houston ISD* Howe ISD Hunt ISD Iola ISD Iraan-Sheffield ISD Katy ISD Kaufman ISD Keller ISD* Kerrvile ISD Lackland ISD Lago Vista ISD* Leander ISD Leonard ISD Livingston ISD Little Elm IS Little Cypress-Maur. CISD Llano ISD - here Lorena ISD Lovejoy ISD Lufkin ISD Mabank ISD Madisonville CISD Malakoff ISD Marble Falls ISD - here Marion ISD Meadow ISD McKinney ISD Medina ISD Medina Valley ISD* Miami ISD Mount Vernon ISD Murchison ISD - here Nacogdoches ISD-here Natalia ISD Nazareth ISD Nederland ISD New Caney ISD Nordheim ISD North East ISD North Forest ISD Northside ISD No. Zulch ISD* Ore City ISD Palestine ISD Pasadena ISD Pearland ISD Port Neches-Groves ISD Pflugerville ISD Quinlan ISD Reagan County ISD Richardson ISD Robert Lee ISD Roby CISD Roscoe ISD - here Rosebud-Lott ISD Round Rock ISD * Royse City ISD San Angelo ISD San Antonio ISD Schertz-Cibolo-U.City ISD* Seminole ISD Somerset ISD* South Texas ISD Southwest ISD* Spring Branch ISD * Stanton ISD Sundown ISD Teague ISD Texas City ISD Timpson ISD Tomball ISD Trent ISD United ISD* - here Valentine ISD Van Alstyne ISD West ISD Wharton ISD Wilson ISD Wimberley ISD Winona ISD Ysleta ISD UTAH Davis School District* WISCONSIN Sun Prairie SD |
COMMITTED Clear Creek ISD (TX) El Paso ISD (TX) La Marque ISD (TX) Midway ISD (TX) (Jan.08) Southside ISD (TX) Temple ISD (TX) STATE DOE ONLINE Texas Education Agency MIDDLE EDU-LAYER St. Clair County RESA (MI) HONORABLE MENTION *** Michigan Intermediate School Districts WHERE PARENTS, TAXPAYERS, TRUSTEES ARE ASKING: Cedar Rapids PS (IA) Chippewa Valley SD (MI) Eanes ISD (TX) Lake Travis ISD (TX) Lancaster ISD (TX) LA USD (CA) New York CPS (NY) Omaha PS (NB) Rochester CS (MI) Santa Cruz CPS (AZ) Water Valley ISD (TX) ___________________________ * No check numbers. ** Source for all Texas numbers: TEA PEIMS (most recently reported actuals, 2005-06) *** For online numbers including budgets, salaries, lobbying, PR, legal, autos, more **** Purchase orders *****Encumbrances . (Source for names of Texas districts: Houston Chronicle (6), San Antonio Express-News (6) ) |
| Heads up to grassroots school reform activists: Be smart, be effective By Peyton Wolcott Updated 12.02.07 |
| Most parents and taxpayers are rational beings whose lives work because we operate in them rationally. When we experience a precipitating incident which warrants our dealing with our local school districts, most of us generally approach them armed with facts and the same rational thinking that enables us to pay for our houses and cars and the property taxes that fund our local schools. Generally this is our first mistake. If we compound our mistake by also being angry, we might as well go stand in front of the administration building and shake a big bag filled with rattlesnakes; no good acting surprised when the rattlesnakes react by hissing and trying to bite us. Watching pushback from schools, especially here in Texas, escalate over the past few years (more at right) leaves me troubled; I believe based on my own experiences and observation of others' that many of the difficulties parents and taxpayers are experiencing can be avoided by changing our approach. |
| Heads-up to citizen journalists, bloggers The Internet is a tremendous gift. We've seen changes here in Texas public education in the past five years which I do not believe would have been possible without the Internet. Many parents and taxpayers are finding themselves pressed into service as citizen journalists who have no formal journalism background. Most often, it is these well-intentioned folks who appear to be getting into the most trouble. We've seen here in Texas in the past two years alone one SLAPP suit filed and another on the way, plus an amicus curiae by a third district. Worse, we've had onerous anti-sunshine legislation encumbered on all of us as a result during this past Lege. Citizen journalism 101: |
| How to change rattlesnakes into teddy bears It starts with changing our mindset. After trying rational thinking, facts and figures, reports and studies with our local administrators, all to no avail -- including a memorable detainment by three armed public school district police officers for taking photos in an administration building during summer with no schoolchildren present -- I realized a new way of doing things was necessary. Because of my experiences over the years as a volunteer organizing other volunteers for charity fund raisers, it was a natural next step for me to organize friends into a group. |
| 5. Who are you? Put your photo and your goals on your home page along with an easily accessible email address. One site I looked at recently posted email addresses for all of the school district's trustees and top administrators -- then made visitors to the site fill out an obnoxious form in order to send an email to the site. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. A group in another state prides itself on its integrity -- yet operates completely anonymously whereas the people the group attacks (constantly) have all been willing at some point to come forward with their names and contact information. 6. Mind your manners. Attribute everything, and properly. 7. Curb your anger. Anger's a funny emotion. It permeates everything we do, renders our best-intentioned work useless, and leaves us worn out. If your administration's done something truly outrageous, sleep on it before posting an angry response. Remember: In order to accomplish anything you're going to have to organize however small a group which means being positive enough in your approach and outlook that people will be drawn to you and your cause. Negativity repels. Positive enthusiasm is a magnet. 8. No community comments. Several reasons. You may run hot for a while but when things start winding down and your local administrators see (0) comments again and again they will assume you have no community support. Also, a lot of anonymous venting can occur. Let your local newspaper handle this -- they can afford lawyers -- or talk to each other in the parking lot of your local barbeque joint or over the produce section at the grocery store. Venting is a form of gossip, and may or may not support your goal. Anything that takes away from your goal is a distraction and to be avoided. 9. Be nice. People will like you more and you'll sleep better at night. 10. Be friendly. Treat your administrators and/or board members and/or any other opposition as you'd like to be treated. I didn't make this up; it's called "The Golden Rule." |
| Rattlesnake (L), Teddy bear (PHOTO--Steiff) |
| Back then there was a real feeling of community participation about the erection of the new school; without the townspeople's pitching in and helping out there was no school; today, we are charged property taxes on our houses to pay for our schools, and most often have little or no control over how our tax dollars are spent. We all love that feeling of being part of something larger than ourselves, some greater good. In order to accomplish anything, you're going to have to have broad-based community support, and this only occurs with positive goals and campaigns. asdf Your good name The name of your group is more important than you can imagine. I do not recommend including any of the following in your name: Watchdogs, Concerned (as in "Concerned Citizens of Clearwater"), Watch (as in "We're watching you and we're never going to be happy with anything you do"). "Accountability" and "responsible" are also good ones to avoid. Same for "taxes" and "taxpayers." Better to choose an innocuous name that your district can't slam you on for being negative, something like "Friends of Clearwater Schools." Your district will learn what you're about soon enough. Here's something that I had a very hard time accepting: While a few people will give you a thumbs-up for your negative campaigns, most people want to associate with something they perceive as being positive and will run from anything they perceive as being negative. Handling your anger There is a general consensus among reporters, politicians, attorneys and business and community leaders with whom I speak off the record that so many folks who become involved in their local schools are just plain angry; for this reason, the establishment discounts what the angry folks have to say -- no matter how justified their comments. Here's one example: Last spring when I visited legislators' offices to lobby against two pieces of anti- sunshine legislation (SB 889, which failed, and HB 2564, which is now law) resulting, legislators testified, directly from too many public records requests filed by parents in suburban Austin school districts (Lake Travis ISD and Eanes ISD) it was interesting to watch legislative staffers respond to telephone calls from parents and taxpayers railing against this bill. I wish those callers could have seen the staffers holding the phone away from their ears and making faces while at the same time responding in a soothing tone to the callers. It's important to not confuse face or phone time with achieving results |
| How we view our public schools: Then vs. now Remember the scene from the musical, "Oklahoma!" in which Curley gives up his horse and his saddle -- everything he owns -- in order to buy Miss Laurey's box dinner? "It's for the new schoolhouse," says the auctioneer, Auntie Eller. Like the new school Auntie Eller was helping raise funds for a century ago in northeastern Oklahoma's rural Claremore, when our small towns were first established in the American wilderness one of the first things to be built was the schoolhouse, a simple one-room building on par with the farmhouses and cabins families built for themselves -- all a far cry from today's Taj Majal high schools with their natatoriums and indoor practice fields. |
| Pick a goal, any goal Find a goal you and your small group can agree on, and distill it into one sentence. This is useful because when reporters come calling you'll already have your sound byte ready. Your goal should be important to you and your group and your community and one you can easily and quickly accomplish in a short period--two or three months and no more than six. If you're not sure where to begin -- the list is so long -- or can't agree among yourselves, a good first goal might be to ask your school district to post its check register online if it hasn't already. (How to here) It's an easy, quick goal. Think of yourselves more as guerrillas than Rotary. No fixed meetings every Tuesday, no announcing how many members you have or who they are, no lists of members, no lapel pins. Instead of meeting at meetings, communicate via email and phone. When you accomplish your goal, your community will sit up and take note, favorably. Then disband and take a breather for a while until you figure out what you want to accomplish next. Your next goal will likely mean different participants because not everyone will be interested in participating in everything. One more thing about goals Many times we want to start big and large, at the state or national level. Better to start small, start simple, start local. Prove that your idea can work locally and others will pick up on it, copy it. This is how ideas spread. |
| Oklahoma movie poster |
| 1. You can be angry and upset -- however righteously so -- OR you can be effective. You can't be both. 2. Using a carrot is more effective than using a stick. Think about it. Would you rather have someone come after you with a carrot or with a stick? Don't you become defensive when somebody shakes a big stick at you? 3. Our school districts -- including administrators, board members and those profiting from friendly relations with them -- may say they want more parental involvement. For some of them this is true. For too many others, what they mean by parental involvement is "Come write checks and say nice things about us and don't question anything we say or do." 4. Our school districts may say they want to improve; here again, some really do want to hear from us; for many others, they don't really welcome your helpful suggestions even when you know you're right and they're wrong. As my wise school board trustee friend told me years ago: "When you criticize them, you're calling their baby ' ugly.' " Your administrators and trustees and their minions will take your factual comments and questions personally and attack you personally in response. 5. Our public schools are essentially socialist models. Their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. 6. The world of public education is a world of feelings. Think about how often you've sat through a superintendent's budget presentation to his/her board and/or the community and at the end the supe says, "I feel good about this budget." For many of us who live in the rational world we're not much interested in our supe's feelings about the budget. We want to know that based on his expertise with budgets (too often, too little) he has presented a budget which will make ends meet. When you talk with educators, talk about your feelings about a topic rather than your thoughts about a topic. 7. In any endeavor, it's always a good idea to consider your opponent. Really look at them. If the product your company produces is packaged ice, you're not going to head north to Alaska to sell it. No matter how nice you are, they're not going to be interested up there. Along these lines, keep in mind that most school districts today are well-oiled (with your tax dollars) PR machines. The average parent wading in to engage with them armed with facts lubricated by some degree of righteous indignation stands little or no chance of winning. It is like watching lambs marching into the slaughterhouse. Further, public schools are generally the largest budgets in our counties; for this reason they have access to resources such as money and legal help. IMPORTANT: Because your schools can dominate any playing field available to them, you must pick and choose a different playing field. Emotions win over facts every time. No matter how well prepared your spreadsheet is -- you Spreadsheet Dads know who you are -- if you do not have some compelling facts to present to your community, facts which will grip their imaginations and hearts, your spreadsheet will accomplish little. 8. No matter how powerful you may be in your world, your work arena, school is a different arena. You're playing on someone else's turf and it behooves you to pay attention to how they play the game. Your rules don't work in their arena. The sooner and better you can master their rules including their jargon the sooner you can be effective. 9. The broader your base, the broader your focus, the more you want to serve rather than get (get something for yourself and/or your family -- or get even) the more likely you are to succeed in your goal of helping your district. 10. Let go of the idea you're a victim or that you've been wronged. Both will hinder your efforts. So long as you speak the language of woundology (thank you, Carolyn Myss), your community and the press will largely discount what you have to say. We are a nation of sturdy pioneers who overcome our difficulties. |
| Austin, Texas courtroom, Sept. 2006 Lake Travis ISD SLAPP suit; plaintiff's attorneys (L) and defense (R). |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Some basic things to think about: |
| When his newspaper's Mexico City bureau chief, Philip True, was killed, Rivard led a highly visible challenge to the Mexican judicial system. He personally was instrumental in finding True's remains and has relentlessly sought to bring his killers to justice. |
| Robert Rivard, editor San Antonio Express-News |
| It's pretty safe to say Bob Rivard and I will never be political allies; in addition to the SAEN having taken a fiercely anti-Iraq war stance, it also refers to "illegal immigrants" as "immigrants." However, he is also fiercely loyal to the causes he adopts -- and to his employees, two qualities to which we all can relate. An excerpt from his 2002 Cabot Prize bio: |
| In 2004 the Jalisco state supreme court returned a final verdict of guilt and ordered the two Huichol brothers-in-law who killed True to serve 20-year prison terms. Both men fled before Mexican authorities could detain them, having been released from custody earlier by a Mexican judge under questionable circumstances. (Ibid,) |
| Rivard's coverage of True's murder led to his writing a book, "Trail of Feathers." Here's an update regarding the outcome of his pursuit of justice: |
| Rivard also played a pivotal role in bringing New York Times reporter Jayson Blair's plagiarism to light: |
| In April 2003, it was Rivard's email to the New York Times that provoked an investigation into plagiarism charges by a reporter named Jayson Blair. Blair had lifted reporting and writing from San Antonio Express-News reporter Macarena Hernandez's published work and presented it as his own. The subsequent investigation led to what became known as the Jayson Blair debacle, with Blair and the Times' executive editor and managing editor tendering their resignations. (SOURCE--RobertRiva rd.com) |
| Hats off to Bob Rivard and his SAEN staff (more at left) for the pivotal role they played in San Antonio school districts posting their check registers online, and for setting such a great example for their fellows in the newspaper business to emulate. |
| HATS OFF: Bob Rivard, The San Antonio Express-News By Peyton Wolcott Tue., Nov. 27, 2007-10 a |
| ONLINE CHECK REGISTERS +++ 4 new TX districts Nov. 12-16, 2007! +++ Northside ISD - John Folks, superintendent Students: 78,154 Annual: $ 1,039,950,123 Per student $ 13,306 North East ISD - Richard Middleton, superintendent Students: 59,556 Annual: $ 806,762,147 Per student $ 13,546 San Antonio ISD - Robert Duron, superintendent Students: 56,371 Annual $ 557,143,973 Per student $ 9,884 Gunter ISD - Rick Cohagan superintendent Students: 861 Annual $ 23,440,928 Per student $ 27,225 (As of 11.28.07) |
| San Antonio's Triple Crown here |
| o SBOE's Tincy Miller, Pat Hardy: RINO's or R's? o El Paso ISD's Coach Cordova, Bear Stearns o Delayed: Preliminary TEA Cleburne ISD audit o Dana Marable responds to questions in Temple |
| Edgewood ISD 08.02.06 |
____
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| However righteous or correct your cause, too often parents and taxpayers don't stop to consider the resources of their opposition. Our local school districts are well-oiled and well-funded, all with our tax dollars, PR machines. Our superintendents and administrators attend education conferences and trainings and seminars where they are coached in how to deal with disapproving parents and taxpayers. Our local schools also have apparently unlimited access to lawyers, whom they have demonstrated time and again that they will use all legal assistance available. Are you willing to take out a loan to pay your legal bills? |
| What's your motive? Are you taking action because you're offended that the district is violating rules and/or someone there is stealing? Are you motivated by the principle of the thing or do you want to achieve results and make real changes in your district? |
| School district check registers are now online in 146 districts, 13 states! with $45 billion-plus in annual transparency! ----------------------- 1ST & ONLY ROSTER OF ONLINE SCHOOL CHECK REGISTERS |
| 1. No adjectives. They tend to be inflammatory. 2. Ask questions rather than make accusations. 3. Be very sure of your facts before publishing -- have a paper record in hand. Wishing doesn't make it so. 4. Give your opponents an opportunity to respond. Note in your blog that your phone calls to the district were not returned, etc. Ask the person about whom you're writing if they disagree with any facts you're publishing and if so and can they please provide a paper record or some such supporting their factual disagreement. |
| More questions... |
| NOTE: We are not asking school districts to post salary or HIPAA-related dollars. |
| After surrounding themselves with hand-picked "yes" men/women, superintendents often seem genuinely perplexed when community opposition surfaces for any reason. Chris B. comments in the Capistrano Dispatch, "Nearly anyone can tear something down, and it takes a real leader to influence a community to come together to build." Chris B. is right. Too often when we bring legitimate questions and complaints to our public schools we do not at the same time present a clear solution, making it easy for supes and our community to see and hear "attack." What's our positive vision for our schools? Our end game? Mine's simple: Better education for less money. |
| "What do you people want?" |
| New York - superintendent Community School District (2 years) Connecticut - superintendent, Hartford Public Schools (2 1/2 years) Hawaii - superintendent finalist, Hawaii Public Schools Oregon - superintendent finalist, Portland Public Schools (March 2002) Illinois - superintendent finalist, Elgin School District U-46 Louisiana - superintendent, New Orleans PS (Feb. 2003 - May 2005) Florida - superintendent finalist, Hillsborough County School District (Tampa) (May 2005) Missouri - superintendent, Kansas City Public Schools |
| Why D.C. is a good example--on so many levels, in so many ways--of why I recommend asking for receipts By Peyton Wolcott Updated Friday, December 21, 2007 - 8:29 a.m. |
| DC tax office--Harriette Walters "wearing her tax office employee badge and one many dresses purchased from Neiman Marcus." (PHOTO SOURCE/CAPTION-- Chris Pearson/WordPress) |
| After looking at more school districts in our great nation than anyone in their right mind could imagine for many years now, one thing has become obvious to me: If a district is troubled in one area, it's going to have problems in other areas also. To illustrate, In one district alone--within, let's be generous, call it four or five years--there was an incident involving fourth-grade boys having oral |
| sex in the classroom (with the teacher present), plus questions regarding the administration's reporting of the incident. In the same district, the superintendent declined to require a high school fund raising chair to produce detailed financials; the chair's family home was later lost to a bank. The |
| DC teachers' union Barbara Bullock (top); Gwendolyn Hemphill (SOURCE--UnionFacts.com) |
| administration denied rumored drug use at the high school. An elementary secretary was arrested and sent to jail after she couldn't account for thousands of dollars in book fair money. The superintendent put a high dollar ($426) price tag on a parent's request for information regarding the district's spend- ing on programs. Later, a state audit to no one's surprise recommended that the district institute tighter internal controls. By contrast, in a well-run district, where internal controls are in place and enforced, things work. There's a flow. And you're not likely to find many $35 valet parking receipts for the superinten- dents' latest stay at the latest education conference. |
| By the same token, in towns where there are problems with the schools all too often we've also seen other governmental problems surface. |
| Given Washington, D.C.'s scandals over the past few years with first their teachers' union and now their tax office, the best and kindest thing an alert citizen can do there is ask Adrian Fenty to open up the schools' books to dollar-by-dollar scrutiny. No pie charts, no general budget numbers. We're talking specifics, and we're talking receipts. And the best place to start would be to ask the mayor to post DC schools' check register online. |
| Adrian Fenty (PHOTO--Ceneta/AP) |
| OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR FENTY, CHANCELLOR RHEE, CC: NATWAR GANDHI Wouldn't posting DC schools' check register online be the quickest way to restore the public's faith in your ability to administer your schools? By Peyton Wolcott - Sunday, December 23, 2007 - 9:00 a.m. |
| DC mayor Adrian Fenty (top) , DC deputy mayor/ public education Victor Reinoso, DC CFO Natwar Gandhi (PHOTOS--Ceneta/AP (T), Greg Whitesell/Examiner , Examinder.com |
| Dear Adrian, Michelle and Natwar: Please do the right thing for your schoolchildren, parents and taxpayers and put your schools' check register online. Northside ISD in San Antonio, Texas has a budget about the size of your schools, and NISD just last month put its check register online. Perhaps if you have questions regarding logistics you could contact their superintendent, John Folks. Thank you. -- Peyton |
| San Antonio's Northside ISD superintendent John Folks |
| to Michelle, Adrian, Victor and Natwar. A district the size of DC's size posting its |
| 4 |
| INDIANA Anybody applauding the principal's post- supe's-holiday-party non-DUI ? By Peyton Wolcott Friday, December 28, 2007 - 4:15 a.m. |
| Fishers police officer's decision to take an intoxicated high school principal home instead of arresting him for drunken driving was the wrong one, Fishers Police Chief George Kehl said Thursday. "It doesn't make us look very good," said Kehl. He said an officer's discretion is a valuable tool but admitted he could not justify its use in the case involving Fishers High School Principal Scott Syverson. Syverson, who was stopped shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday while driving home from a Christmas party hosted by Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Concetta Raimondi, should have been arrested and taken to jail, Kehl said. Instead, the officer drove Syverson home. Kehl and Assistant Chief Mitch Thompson said the officer made a mistake in judgment, one that will be corrected with a revised policy. They said there was no directive from his superiors to be lenient. As a result, Kehl said, he is reviewing department policy on officers' use of discretionary authority, which in this instance allowed Syverson to avoid prosecution for operating a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content higher than 0.15, a Class A misdemeanor. Kehl said the breath test given to Syverson after he was stopped by officer Kevin Kobli showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.18.... The arrest occurred during a highly publicized period of drunken-driving enforcement, with extra officers volunteering to scour roadways for evidence of intoxication and arrest anyone who tested above the limit.....Raimondi said Thursday she was aware of the traffic stop, and she had notified School Board members. School Board member Diana Eaton said the superintendent told her Syverson was pulled over for swerving after he apparently bent down in his car to get something. She said Raimondi told her Syverson was not arrested, and she did not mention a breath test. (SOURCE--James A. Gillaspy/Indy Star) |
| (From left) Concetta Raimondi, Scott Syverson and George Kehl |
| Based on this morning's Indy Star reporting, it appears that Hamilton Southeastern Schools supe Con- cetta Raimondi served alcohol at her holiday party Friday night then allowed her guest and employee, high school principal Scott Syver- son, to drive home drunk, with .18 blood-alcohol content (.08 is con- sidered drunk). When Fishers police chief George Kehls' officers saw Syverson weaving, they drove him home rather than arresting him. Educators above the law? Parents and taxpayers and students have to be asking: Is Syverson above the law? And what is Raimondi's culpability for serving alcohol then allowing an employee guest to drive home drunk? Does it stop at "Oops"? |
| Welcome to the National School District Honor Roll Est. 10.01.06 |
| U. S. R O S T E R |
| How to find your district's checks: If there's no link on the home page, try the business or finance page, or it may be listed under links or technol- ogy or community news. If the district is paying for TASB's BoardBook software, online check registers are a free feature, and can usually be found in the board packet for the most recent regular board meeting. |
| A model for the nation: More about the San Antonio Triple Crown here _____ How 3 major school districts put their checks online . . . in 1 week! |
Memo to OKC's John Q. Porter and to all superintendents: It's called a school board meeting, not a school superintendent meeting. |
| check register online would hardly be breaking new ground; Houston and Dallas ISD's have already done so, and San Antonio's Northside ISD went online last month. I have helpfully sent NISD's John Folks' email address to Michelle and crew should they have any questions as to logistics, community reaction and fallout. Encouragingly, through John's PR guy Pascual Gonzalez, NISD reports entirely positive results. |
| CLEBURNE ISD Delayed again: TEA audit preliminary findings By Peyton Wolcott Monday, February 4, 2008 - 10:00 a.m. |
| Teresa Blackwell and Don Rice |
| Why is TEA's audit of Cleburne ISD taking so long? It's been a year now. We're receiving reports that it's very complicated and far-ranging. In any event, release of the preliminary version -- which was supposed to have occurred late last week -- has now been moved to mid-February. Traditionally, TEA allows districts to choose whether to let the local populace sit in on presentations of preliminary reports; although some districts opt for a behind- closed-doors viewing, some choose transparency, as Donna ISD did recently. |
| Robert Damron |
| Golf course-like greens -- er, grounds -- at Cleburne High School; couldn't the Pirincipals Academy have just said "no" to the resort and instead stayed home, saved their taxpayers the almost $10 grand? |
| DC / VOYAGER Have Philly hirers asked Arlene Ackerman . . . ? By Peyton Wolcott Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 12:52 a.m. Updated - Monday, February 4, 2008/10 a.m. |
| Among the questions we asked Philadelphia finalist Arlene Ackerman last month--questions which surely the hiring committee is looking at also--are things that come up |
| Arlene Ackerman |
| 2. Please confirm or deny that Randy Best and/or any executive or other person including family members associated in any fashion with Voyager extended any considerations of any kind to you during 1998-2008. Why I ask: As |
| C. No Philadelphia taxpayer-funded meals (Alternatives: keep a jar of peanut butter in your office, or some tuna fish, or a wedge of cheese in the fridge down the hall, or a box of cereal). D. An "I will not sue you under any circumstances" clause will be included in your employment contract, based on your prior employment history. E. No housing allowance, or car or cell phone allowance. (Teachers and taxpayers don't get one, why should you?) F. No bonuses, ever, for anything. (If it's really because you're committed to kids, just do your job.) G. Tell us about your bringing Voyager curriculum to DC schools in 1999, including any and all financial and any other considera- tions extended to you as part of this purchase. H. Post The School District of Philadelphia's check register online by July 1, 2008. |
| Finally, I have begun drafting some suggestions for the folks in Philadelphia who will be making the hiring decision there, and have asked Arlene for her feedback regarding any or all of the following: |
| 1. How did you first learn about Voyager: at an education conference, Voyager contacted you, you were friends with Randy Best and/or anyone associated with Voyager such as Mike Moses, Jim Nelson, etc. |
| Mike Moses (C) - Robin Hood Trial, Texas |
| you know, former Georgia state schools chief Linda Schrenko accepted a $55,000 donation from persons associated with Voyager then awarded the company a $2 million contract, and is now in prison for money-laundering. And now, closer to home, Louisiana senator Mary Landrieu is being investigated for her role in bringing Voyager to DC schools -- during your time at the helm. 3. What is your stand on superintendents' posting their districts' check registers online? I note that you did not post SFUSD's check register online even though you were there several years. Would you commit to doing this during your first six months in office in Philadelphia? |
| Linda Schrenko en route to court with attorney |
| A. No credit cards will be issued to you by the district including Diners Club. B. No out-of-town trips the first two years; stay in Philadelphia and do your job. |
| FAQ's |
| FOLLOWING THE MONEY |
| ARCHIVES |
| How to organize (proven strategies) How to ask your district re its check register Pledges for candidates Activist alert How to defeat state legislation |
| Arizona California Ohio Oklahoma Texas: Edgewood ISD 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cleburne ISD Llano ISD Bremond ISD 1 2 3 |
| Team of 8 LTISD SLAPP suit Pass the trash Lax oversight |
| WHAT YOU CAN DO |
| STATE & LOCAL |
| GOVERNANCE / LEGE / LOBBYING |
| Honoring school districts with check registers online |
| o Questions re curriiculum, our common heritage o Double-dipping supes: Arizona, Pennsylvania o Amato's out of Kansas City o Questions re Eli Broad, foundation |
| NATIONAL UPDATES |
| TEXAS UPDATES |
| Edu-Monopoly Education, Inc. Broad Fndtn./Supe Academy ERDI Credit cards Technology Edu-conferences TASA MidWinter Supes'n'vendors golf 1 2 3 |
| For your information, neither The Broad Foundation nor The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems has provided any funds to the Oklahoma City Public Schools Education Foundation, nor has any funding been requested. |
| OKLAHOMA Broad Foundation denies funding $225,000 to former OKC PS supe John Q. Porter By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 1:08 p.m. |
| From Broad spokesman Erica Lepping comes the following: |
| Erica Lepping |
| Absent copies of the checks for the earmarked donated funds from the OKC PS education foundation, the donor(s) of the $225,000 one-time payment to former OKC PS supe John Q. Porter could be anybody. Further, have asked the Broad Foundation several other questions which remain unanswered. Here's hoping the OKC PS edu- foundation voluntarily lets us look at those donors, and also that the Getty, I mean the Broad, responds. |
| COMING: Who / what is Broad, Inc. ? What do they want, and why? |
| 'You were there' pix : Informational sessions . . . school biz up close . . . administrators & vendors By Peyton Wolcott / Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 2:03 p.m. / Updated Friday, February 1, 2008 - 3:16 a.m. |
| Activities at education conferences such as this year's Texas Association of School Administrators MidWinter in Austin earlier this week typically feature the serious lectures you'd expect from authorities in their fields such as the legal lecture at right and the large general assembly addresses like the one by Texas education commissioner Robert Scott and Higher Ed's Ray Paredes, here. There are the vendor halls and exhibits featuring everything from a seemingly endless stream of education software such as Leapfrog SchoolHouse--you'll recall having heard about them during Andre Hornsby's recent corruption trial in Maryland--to construction-related exhibits to a personal jewelry booth geared towards female convention-goers. Then there are the receptions and more. I draw the line at dropping in on events held in hotel suites above the mezzanine level. (One year a local school board reportedly used a room as a "hospitality suite" which was uncovered by a local resident when none of the district-paid married male attendees would take credit for occupying the room after a local mom started checking out telephone numbers for district-paid calls. "They were for escort services and phone sex," the woman told me.) All manner of edu-vendors take over luxury restaurants within a six-block radius. More here |
| PERSONAL NOTE: Being at TASA MidWinter in Austin on Monday was such a positive experience; it was a real honor to be able to meet in person so many of Texas' 128 superintendents who have taken a big step towards transparency by voluntarily posting their districts' check registers online years ahead of any requirements at the state level. |
| Gee, what a wonderful opportunity these folks above had to put the information to use from attorney Dennis Hansen (below) regarding ethics and gifts; note the arrows to the pink and lavender vendor gift bags. |
| Anthony Amato left New Orleans before he left Kansas City. (DRAWING--Willamette Weekly) (PHOTO--Phil Coale/Associated Press) |
| Response from ESC 2 execu- tive director Linda Villarreal will be posted Sunday. |
| Dear Bill Roberti: Shortly after Katrina when Phil Coale's photo of the flooded New Orleans school buses was published by AP, in an attempt to determine who was responsible for the buses -- you or then-acting NOPS superintendent Ora Watson -- plus the safety of the folks those buses could have transported out of New Orleans ahead of Katrina, I contacted you. Alvarez & Marsal's then-media contact, Steve Alschuler, followed through on your behalf. There are only three possible answers for the flooded school buses and the lives impacted including possible prevention of loss of life: 1. It was ultimately your responsibility that the school buses were not used to drive New Orleans residents north both for the safety of the residents and for the safety of the buses. 2. It was ultimately Ora Watson's responsibility that the school buses were not used to drive New Orleans residents north both for the safety of the residents and for the safety of the buses. 3. It was ultimately the failure of Alvarez & Marsal's plan which assigned no responsibility and no culpability for the failure of this aspect of the plan which resulted in substantial monetary loss as well as possibly the loss of lives. >>>Being a reasonable person I recognized at the time that NOPS had many more pressing issues than answering this one after-the-fact question and so I chose not to pursue a response then. However, sufficient time has now passed that we can take this up again. Someone -- some one person -- is responsible for those school buses not only being wasted but also for failing to provide a route to safety for those with no other means to leave New Orleans. >>> It may well be that there is a fourth [or fifth] entirely reasonable explanation possible of which I am not aware such as that Bill had previously turned over responsibility for all NOPS buses to New Orleans mayor Roy Nagin [or Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco] on x date, etc., in which case I am eager to learn that explanation. |
| TASA MIDWINTER 2008 / Austin, Texas |
NEW ORLEANS / BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE HAS FOLLOWED UP ON THE SCHOOL BUSES
| The Big Easy's Big Oops By Peyton Wolcott Monday, February 4, 2008 - 1:04 a.m. / Updated 020408 - 9:10 a.m. |
| So whose fault were those school buses, anyway? Hasn't it been long enough now since Katrina blew through New Orleans -- not to mention enough dollars through the city's public schools -- that we can now start to |
| determine who bears ultimate responsibility for the fact that had someone in charge been alert and exercising an expected degree of fiduciary duty of care, said alert person could and would have found sufficient troops sort to mobilize in order to drive residents and buses both out of low-lying areas and to the north and safety. The five chief possibilities that come immediately to mind: o Anthony Amato, who had sufficient years at the helm of NOPS to have coordinated a better business model which included evacuation for buses if not people. o Roy Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, who had responsibility |
| Former NOPS supe Anthony Amato (L), NO mayor Roy Nagin, then-Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco, Alvarez & Marsal's Bill Roberti and former interim NOPS supe Ora Mae Watson |
| Don't mean to be a scold We Americans are generous folks when someone has experienced a catastrophe. One of the most catastrophic things about the school buses is that their loss was entirely preventable. And coming at a time when all American urban schools are experiencing financial challenges anyway, losing the buses in New Orleans was an expecially expensive loss. How much did the school bus fiasco cost New Orleans (and federal) taxpayers? "The transportation fleet was grossly underinsured . . . at $5 million. It will cost $15 million to replace the buses alone. (Ibid.) Because no one else in the media appears to have asked in a long while, here goes: |
| for keeping his residents safe. "Under the National Response Plan, disaster planning is first and foremost a local government responsibility." (SOURCE--Wikipedia) o Kathleen Blanco, who also was charged with keeping her residents safe. "It took Governor Blanco until Thursday (Sept. 1, 2005) to sign an order releasing school buses to move the evacuees. Two levees had completely failed by then." (SOURCE--BBC) o Bill Roberti, Alvarez & Marsal's leader-in-charge at New Orleans Public Schools. o Ora Mae Watson, deputy supe under Amato and promoted to interim after he resigned, also had opportunities to devise and enact precautionary plans. I guess what I don't understand is how Bill Roberti and crew at Alvarez & Marsal could have been engaged for so many tax dollars -- is the figure $50 million accurate? -- and be so smart and so dynamic in so many ways and yet not have marched into NOPS after signing their first letter of engagement with all bases covered including several files containing detailed facilities and insurance plans for an area historically prone to flooding and ringed by levees predicted years earlier to be about to fail. |
| In the meantime, it will no doubt warm your heart to learn that as of late last month, the New Orleans public schools recovery district received nearly $60 million to build more public schools in New Orleans, "thanks to federal legislation by Senator Mary Landrieu." (SOURCE--State of Louisiana DOE website) This would be the same Senator Mary Landrieu under investigation for her role in earmarking the purchase of Voyager curriculum for Washington, D.C. Public Schools. |
| The listing on eBay, the Internet auction site, is straightforward enough: New Orleans public school bus, 1993 International Bluebird. Minimum price: $9,000. Not interested? OK, let's sweeten the offer: The 13-year-old Bluebird doesn't run. Still holding back? Well, see if this doesn't make you grab your credit card: The bus was under water for a few weeks. (SOURCE--Steve Ritea/New Orleans Times-Picayune) |
| "Caught flat -footed" is the non-Rambo-ish image that comes quickest to mind. Perhaps they don't practice safety-type drills in the Army any more. In any event, rather than planning ahead with the buses, the Alvarez & Marsal folks appear to have instead focused their creativity on what to do with the school buses post-Katrina: Charging the district rates ranging from $150 to $500 per hour, the think group brainstormed--and decided to put the buses on EBay. Commented one blogger, "For a mere five grand or so, you can own a piece of history!!!, complete with a certificate of authenticity. 'This is a collector's dream comes true,' says the description on eBay. And, the folks of the Orleans Parish School District even provide a bit of comic relief with [the] photo [above], which will no doubt help eager collectors in making an informed purchase." (SOURCE--ApeChild.com) "No Flood of Cash Offers Yet for Waterlogged School Bus" Judging from the New Orleans Times-Picayune headline above, there weren't many takers. Gee, could it be that the ad was written by accountants and by not copywriters? |
| Barring that, not all things always being possible, wouldn't we all have hoped that a retired Army officer and publicized brilliant strategist such as Roberti could have pulled off a Rambo-like heroic moment whereby he mobilized 300 people capable of driving school buses and rounding up folks needing rides and getting both buses and people to safety well ahead of the storm? Instead, in late September 2005, "All but 13 of the district’s 300 school buses [were] missing. 'We aren’t sure exactly who took them,' says Mr. Roberti." (SOURCE-- Wall Street Journal) |
| John Rambo |
| The gift that keeps on giving: As if the school buses' being rendered useless by Katrina -- not to mention not being used to take folks to safety -- weren't bad enough, after a while an oil slick developed from the bus yard: |
| A situation not totally unlike that of the five folks named above and the school buses. All five individuals were paid very rich -- especially by New Orleans standards -- salaries, no matter what (although you could say of the five Blanco did eventually experience a form of accountability in her defeat by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal last October), by the same state, local and federal taxpayers who will eventually pick up the $15 million tab for the buses. Win-win for the five, and lose-lose for taxpayers and schoolchildren. |
| According to the Times-Picayune, "An ethics watchdog group [last month] asked the Justice Department and Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., violated federal bribery laws in getting a $2 million earmark for a reading program whose executives and lobbyists donated to her 2002 re-election campaign. The money was earmarked for a Washington, D.C., public schools reading program operated by Voyager Expanded Learning, a Dallas company then headed by Randy Best. The request for investigations came from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington via letters to the Senate Ethics Committee, the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Northern District of Texas. 'Sen. Landrieu appears to have traded a $2 million earmark for $30,000 in campaign contributions,' said Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director. 'It was a win-win situation for Best and Sen. Landrieu, but a lose-lose for the taxpayers and D.C. schoolchildren.' " |
Oil slick
| Mary Landrieu (L), DC mayor Adrian Fenty (PHOTO--Washington Post) |
| Outgoing Cleburne ISD superintendent Robert Damron has a choice: He can either improve on his new legacy to CISD of transparency -- last month he posted the district's check register online -- and open up the entire TEA preliminary audit findings process to his community, or he can go into protective defensive mode and expel all but the board and employees involved, whom many in the community are viewing with increasing levels of distrust (one example below re the district's "Principal Academy" held at a nearby resort a scant half-hour away which Conde Nast calls the "Most Outstanding Lodge in North America"; see photo). If we've learned one thing in this growing transparency movement, it's this: Those superintendents fare best who bite the bullet and ante up as much information as possible, as soon as possible. Also, something else Robert Damron must be considering at this point: Most superintendents continue working in Texas public education in one role or another after they retire, whether it is as a consultant, or they pick up a job at the local ESC, etc. Robert is surely aware that in the event he chooses to keep the preliminary TEA findings secret, in this new Internet age questions will follow him wherever he goes as regards his motive(s) in choosing to do so -- when he easily could have chosen 100% transparency. Me? I'm pulling for Robert Damron and for 100% transparency with citizen attendance not only allowed by also invited at the prelimin. |
| Taxpayers paid $1.1 million for the CISD administrators' plush executive headquarters . . . and then spent $1.2 million to renovate it . . . . complete with conference rooms, audiovisual equipment, microphones, and computers. CISD also has the 1700-seat Performing Arts Center complete with stage and sound system that can be used for large meetings. [But[ instead of using the facilities we already own, CISD administrators had to go 35.42 miles away to Glen Rose. |
| Welcome to Rough Creek Lodge & Resort |
| No matter what your individual style, Rough Creek feels like a “have-it- all” place for our “want-it- all” guests. Always more than you expect, it is the essence of casual elegance. We promise days full of adventure, and to all, a good night. -- from Rough Creek website |
++++++++++++++
| -- where Cleburne ISD administrators got to "have it all" in an atmosphere of "casual elegance," the $9,828.05 tab for 20 hours picked up by CISD taxpayers. |
| Per local group Cleburne Politics: |
| relative not to her hopes and dreams for the future for Philadelphia's students but unresolved and developing issues from her work history: |
| RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM ARLENE AS OF FEBRUARY 4, 2008: NONE. |
| PENNSYLVANIA Putting an end to double- dipping retire-rehires By Peyton Wolcott Friday, February 8, 2008 - 12:15 a.m. |
| John Baillie; Karen Beyer (inset) |
| Here in Texas, our Regional Education Services Centers are known as "That Sumptuous Retirement Castle in the Sky" for many retired superintendents and other high-ranking administrators who retire young and healthy from one job only to start collecting a second additional income from a second job in addition to their first pension--all at taxpayer expense. State representative Karen Beyer (R-PA) is proposing legislation in her home state to put an end to such practices as this at their equivalent of Texas' ESC's: |
| John Baillie [above] retired from his $228,826 -a-year job as the Chester County Intermediate Unit's executive director...with an annual pension of $163,289. But he didn't leave until six months later, after receiving almost $80,000 in pension payments along with his salary. (SOURCE--D.Hardy/Philadelphia Inquirer) |
| Here's hoping Karen's bill doesn't get sidetracked by the Pennsylvan- ia Ass'n of School Administrators (PASA) (rhymes with "TASA"). |
| EL PASO ISD The 6th "C" in El Paso By Peyton Wolcott Friday, February 8, 2008 - 12:34 a.m. |
| One thing I've observed--and likely you have, too--is that seldom is one area of a school district in trouble without others needing attention also. |
| The Gecko of the Year goes to El Paso’s unofficial “Sixth C,” joining the somewhat outdated claims of El Paso’s “5 C” assets of Cotton, Commerce, Cattle, Copper and Climate … and now, Corruption. From beginning to end, city, county, school boards and other public servants have kept investigators on their toes keeping up with the indictments and alleged tomfoolery.... In August, architect Bernardo Lucero Jr. pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud El Paso [ISD], one count to commit mail fraud and one to make false statements to obtain credit. Part of the "indis- cretions” involved Lucero’s work on a $25,000 project at the home of Katherine E. Mena, the daughter of EPISD trustee and corruption target Sal Mena.... Former El Paso coach Carlos Cordova requested his name be removed from Cordova Middle School after he pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.... Two financial consultants [with Bear Stearns] who advised most of El Paso’s local government pleaded guilty to fraud or bribery charges in late December, with the bribery allegedly involving elected officials, including a county commissioner. |
| The same thing is true of our communities, nowhere more so that El Paso, center of much FBI interest of late, of which El Paso Scene said last month: |
| Former El Paso ISD trustee Carlos Villa Cordova aka "Coach Cordova" (R) pled guilty to federal corruption charges in November; Cordova Middle School, El Paso ISD, named after him in 1998. |
| The guilty pleas entered [last December] by two investment bankers who tried to bribe a number of elected officials are casting particular suspicion on Commissioners Court, which already was under scrutiny after the FBI raided the offices of three court members ....Roberto Gerardo "Bobby" Ruiz, former managing director for bond underwriter Bear Stearns in Dallas, pleaded guilty to four combined counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and a scheme to bribe elected officials. The entities that are listed in his plea are Commissioners Court, the El Paso [ISD], El Paso Community College and the city of El Paso. Ruiz's partner, Christo- pher Chol-Su Pak...known as Chris Pak, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a scheme to bribe an elected El Paso County commissioner. (SOURCE--El Paso Times) |
| ARIZONA Who is this double-dipping supe and why is he smiling? By Peyton Wolcott Sunday, February 10, 2008 - 2:03 a.m. |
| Does Nogales USD's William "Guillermo" Zamudio (left) know something we don't? More here |
| ARIZONA Nogales USD to discuss supe's contract--manana By Peyton Wolcott Sunday, February 10, 2008 - 6:04 p.m. |
| Here's hoping that as part of Nogales' trustees' discussion of superintendent William "Guillermo" Zamudio's contract at tomorrow night's board meeting (more here) they'll be asking questions about his taxpayer-funded presence at such events as this Rural Schools Association party -- I'm calling it a "party" in lieu of "Looking Goofy While Wearing Silly Headdresses" -- (above), the event held two years ago at a Prescott resort; he was there to accept an award (below, center). (Like a piece of wood with an engraved metal plate on it makes spending $800-1000 to wear goofy headgear at taxpayer expense all right.) |
| "Looking Goofy While Wearing Silly Headdresses" -- Community Schools Ass'n whoops it up at Prescott, AZ conference (2006) |
| Zamudio's retire/rehire double-dipper status If the balloon hats -- don't they look like balloon hats to you? -- don't come up, here's hoping at the very least the trustees will discuss Zamudio's being a retire/rehire double-dipper at Monday night's board meeting. As Andrew Morrill, president of the Arizona Education Association, pointed out recently, |
| Zamudio accepting award; he was one of three named to ARSA Hall of Fame in 2006. |
| The program weakens the retire- ment system. A retiree occupies a position that would normally contribute to the retirement fund. "You shrink the pool of contributors, but the demand increases," Morrill said. For each person employed under the work back program, "someone working alongside them in a building is shouldering the financial burden." (SOURCE--Denise Holley/Nogales International) |
| ASKING QUESTIONS NO ONE ELSE WILL: HAVE TX ROBIN HOOD'S BILLIONS WORKED? |
| Equity, schmequity -- let's all take a closer look at Edgewood ISD & Robin Hood By Peyton Wolcott Monday, February 11, 2008 - 6:40 p.m. |
| Questions: (1) Has so-called Robin Hood equity-transfer school funding really worked? What real proof do we have? (2) If San Antonio's Edgewood ISD is so poor that they've been justified in joining with MALDEF in robbing many Texas school districts of funds in the name of Robin Hood, how is it that Edgewood ISD can afford this Employee Fitness Center below? How many "rich" districts can afford employee fitness centers? How qualified is EISD employee Pete Saldana to run that district's Employee Fitness Center? His salary? What are his exact specific duties? (3) What is EISD's fund balance (district savings account) compared with others? More coming... |
| Edgewood ISD Employee Fitness Center |
| Who is Pete Saldana? |
IS TEXAS FREEDOM NETWORK "MAINSTREAM" -- OR MAINSTREAM DEMOCRATS?
| "BOARD CHAIRMAN RECKLESSLY THROWS AWAY TWO YEARS OF WORK, TAXPAYER DOLLARS ON CURRICULUM," yesterday's press release read. Because inquiring minds want to know, I asked Dan Quinn, TFN employee and author of the release, to name the dollars. Thus far he has declined. If you're going to make a claim like that you really do need to be able to back it up with facts. We know for example, that Linebarger 's If Dale Linebarger is really so pro-public schools, why is Linebarger Goggan playing golf with Texas administrators on Friday of TAKS testing week at the Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools Boerne Tourney (for those of you outside of Texas, it rhymes) last April? Dale served four years as chairman of the Hays County Democratic Party. |
| Has anybody looked at how Linebarger Goggan courts Texas school biz? And why does Texas Freedom Network EdFund call itself 'mainstream' when its primary funder* is a Democrat? By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 2:30 a.m. |
| Linebarger presence at TAS/MUS golf tournament |
| A disturbing press release came across my desk yesterday; its all-caps headline (below photos) slamming conservative Texas State Board of Education members charged with the rest of the SBOE with rewriting the disastrous TEKS first wrought on Texas schoolchildren by, among others, then-state representative Libby Linebarger, husband of Dale Linebarger, founder of Linebarger, Goggan, Sampson & Blair, which firm started business by doing school property tax collections and now collects for, by its own count, over 1800 governmental entities in several states across the nation. Linebarger Goggan first came to my attention because the firm's name appears as a sponsor for many edu-conferences such as the TASB Summer Leadership Institute. |
| Is this the kind of climate--expensive steak dinners, trustees and administrators plied with booze (see goblets below including what appears to be a Margarita, wine bottles on table bottom left)--in which we want our trustees and administrators to be schmoozing at a vendor's expense? How can this be okay? |
| Oh, wait. Was this called a "customer appreciation dinner" or some such? Like the wording makes scenes like this all right? I can't tell you what hosts Linebarger Goggan called this event as I did not receive an invitation. |
| Ruth's Chris Steak House San Antonio, Texas --------- TASB Summer Leadership Institute 2006 |
| Personal note regarding Ruth's Chris in San Antonio: My husband and I love eating there on special occasions like our last anniversary, and we have the highest admiration for founder Ruth Fertel and owner Lana Duke-- what amazing life stories. The difference between us and these diners above is that we pick up our own tab. |
| * I have asked TFN for information regarding their funding; rather than responding with factual information--how hard could it be--instead they have referred me to their IRS 990 form, which I am not willing to pay to access. Until TFN produces evidence otherwise, the wise folks who advise me in such matters tell me Dale Linebarger is TFN's primary source of funding. Look at TFN's officer lineup, they say. He's the one with the $60 million buyout. |
Developing . . . |
| SBOE's 2 RINO's? TINCY MILLER: Sided with minority Dems at last SBOE meeting--to the point of signing minority report. PAT HARDY: Her vote today, R or D? By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 9:55 a.m. |
| Pat Hardy (far left) -- she's a Weatherford ISD employee -- with fellow educators during July 2007 SBOE meeting |
| Texas public education is at yet another crossroads today. The real question: Will we lead the nation in a return to specific standards or will we continue to follow the pack and allow mush to continue to prevail? Up for consideration before the State Board of Education in Austin is a rehashing of the same old liberal-education based standards* from a decade ago, the basis of our miserable TEKS which parents and taxpayers know don't work, the mushy (per then-Governor George Bush) standards which smart parents sidestep by drilling their kids at home or by paying for tutoring. Sadly, this homemade corrective approach leaves most poor and working-class kids out of the loop and has spawned a cottage industry of TEKS helpers and interpreters which has only added to the cost of public education. These last are among the folks who are expected to testify today. Also up for consideration is a substitute amendment, a breath of fresh air which represents the first sound return to specifics and basics we've seen in a long time. The seven real SBOE conservatives have indicated they favor the substitute. They need one more vote. Will Republicans Tincy Miller and Pat Hardy continue to vote with the mush- favoring edu-establishment, or will they return to their Republican roots? We'll know soon. This is a big question for Pat in particular as she faces a conservative in the Republican primary. Her vote today will be a key factor. Listen to today's SBOE meeting online here . __________________________ * English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) |
| CURRICULUM STANDARDS Do our kids know who Icarus is? By Peyton Wolcott Thursday, February 14, 2008 - 1:04 a.m. |
| While looking for an image of a heart for St. Valentine's Day, I came across this lovely Matisse, and realized that because most of our young people aren't learning mythology, they don't know why Matisse named this "Icarus," or what that means, and the lessons it teaches. Lacking facts, what can this image mean to them? Instead of learning the value of caution while soaring as high as we can go -- lest, like Icarus, our wings melt -- many of our young children are instead reading "King and King" by Linda de Haan: |
| Are we -- and they, the future of our country -- the richer for the substitution? |
NY: THIS IS HOW A DISTRICT'S WEBSITE SHOULD RESPOND TO A PR DISASTER: IMMEDIATELY
| services rendered, racking up as many as 1,286 workdays in a single year. But where many districts bury their heads in the sand and pretend nothing's happened, Sales has already posted a letter to his constituents. Brian's letter and Newsday's account (source for above). |
| Registered Linnebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP lobbyists (2006) P.O. Box 17429 Austin, TX 78760 1 Bashur, Reginald G. (00024923) 1115 San Jacinto Suite 275 Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensation: Prospective $100,000 - $149,999.99 Client - Start: 01/01/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 2 Canales, Ana Lucy (00060361) 1726 West University Dr. Edinburg, TX 78539 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 3 Chapa, Paul (00057226) P.O. Box 2991 Corpus Christi, TX 78403 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 4 Force, F. Duane (00056967) P.O. Box 17428 Austin, TX 78760 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 5 Gibson, Machree Garrett (00028312) 1001 Congress Ave. Suite 400 Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensation: Paid Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/01/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 6 Gonzalez, Cristina (00055770) 711 Navarro Suite 300 San Antonio, TX 78205 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 7 Hodge, Glenna (00053862) P.O. Box 17428 Austin, TX 78760 Type of Compensation: Prospective $100,000 - $149,999.99 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 8 Lewis, Glenn (00020160) 309 W. 7th Ste. 1300 Fort Worth, TX 76102-5113 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 9 McBride, Richard H. (00055584) 823 Congress Suite 1030 Austin, TX 78701-2462 Type of Compensation: Prospective $25,000 - $49.999.99 Client - Start: 01/24/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 10 Meeks, Stephen T. (00054960) 309 West 7th Street Suite 1300 Fort Worth, TX 76102 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 11 Modglin, Jason (00062769) P.O. Box 17428 Austin, TX 78760 Type of Compensation: Prospective $10,000 - $24,999.99 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 12 Oden, Kenneth Ray (00053861) P.O. Box 17428 Austin, TX 78760 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 13 Sampson, DeMetris A. (00022529) 2323 Bryan Street Suite 1600 Dallas, TX 75201 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 14 Vallandingham, Michael T. (00053962) P.O. Box 17428 Austin, TX 78760 Type of Compensation: Prospective Less Than $10,000.00 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 15 Wittenburg, Michelle (00056112) 1122 Colorado Ste. 110-A Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensation: Prospective $50,000 - $99,999.99 Client - Start: 02/11/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 16 Young, Christopher B. (00055769) P.O. Box 17428 Austin, TX 78760 Type of Compensation: Prospective $50,000 - $99,999.99 Client - Start: 01/03/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson PO Box 17429 Austin, TX 78760 17 Del Bosque, Nora (00029938) 1401 Nueces Second Floor Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensation: Prospective $50,000 - $99,999.99 Client - Start: 01/16/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 18 Gibson, Stephanie (00055941) P.O. Box 161175 Austin, TX 78716 Type of Compensation: Prospective $50,000 - $99,999.99 Client - Start: 01/01/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 19 Martinez, Mario A. (00013891) 1122 Colorado Street Suite 208 Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensation: Prospective $25,000 - $49.999.99 Client - Start: 02/01/2008 Term Date: 12/31/2008 |
| Hats off to Copiague, NY school board president Brian Sales By Peyton Wolcott Friday, February 15, 2008 - 8:11 p.m. |
| Attorney Louis W. Reich (L) (PHOTO--Howard Schnapp/ Newsday); top right, Brian J. Sales, Copiague school board president; below right, supe William Bolton |
| Long Island Newsday printed a troubling story today: Part-time school attorney Louis W. Reich claimed to have worked full-time at five districts concurrently in order to collect a $62,500-plus annual state employee pension -- wait, it gets worse -- while his firm was also billing all five districts(including Copiague) $2.5 mil for |