| 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. |
| FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of education issues vital to a republic. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., Chapter 1, Section 107 which states: the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright," the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use" you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
| ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: Every attempt possible has been made to verify all sources and information. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately. Thank you. |
| Copyright 1999-2008 Peyton Wolcott |
| QUERY THE SUPE & THE PR GUY |
DATE FIRST
SENT: FEB. 14,
2006
RE-SENT 03/26/06
Dear
Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:
I'm hoping you can
clear something
up for me for my
book and website
regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as
there have been
not one but two
situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....
Regarding
special ed
teacher
Christine
Scarlett's
offering a date
with herself as
a grades
incentive
1. What rules/
guidelines do
you now have in
place to assure
that nothing like
this happens
again? Would
these be
administrative
changes or has
your board set
specific policies in
place for you to
follow in future?
2. Rumors of
an affair between
Scarlett and
Bradigan
persisted for
several months.
You have stated
that you have no
idea such an
affair was going
on. Do you feel
the fact that you
are commuting
from your home
in Akron (if this
has changed,
please let me
know) has
adversely
impacted your
ability to monitor
what's going on
with your
employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area
such as this? Has
your board since
made a condition
of your
employment that
you move to
Strongsville and
become an
integral part of
their community?
Regarding the
sex education
booklet placed
last fall in young
children's
lockers
4. What
guidelines did
you follow from
your established
board's policies
for such?
5. There
appears to be a
growing number
of parents who
want to be
consulted before
such materials are
given to their
students. As one
mom put it,
"What's wrong
with so many
people in the
educational fields
that they don't
even think twice
about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not
even consider the
parents
wishes....Their
tactics mirror
those used in
Communist China
and Cuba where
children are
considered not
children of
parents, but
wards of the
State." While this
is clearly the
statement of an
upset parent, it
does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school
administrators in
the U.S. Do you
consider the
students in
your schools
yours to
educate as you
deem best or
the offspring of
parents to be
consulted
before
disseminating
such materials?
Regarding
trainings and
conferences
6. Of which
education-relate
d associations
are you and
Strongsville City
Schools a
member? What
are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating
such materials?
7. In which
education-relate
d conferences
have your and
your staff
participated this
past year?
Where were
they and what
were the costs
for each? Have
you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the
like offering
guidance in this
area, and what
were those costs?
It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for
your approving
the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in
young students'
lockers without
notifying parents
first, and it may
also well be that
there is a
perfectly
reasonable
explanation for
your allowing a
teacher to offer a
date at the Dairy
Queen with
herself to a young
student; if so, I am
eager to learn
such reason or
reasons.
===============
She said the
booklet, which
also provides
information on the
need for parental
consent for
abortion and a
Web address for
the Lesbian/Gay
Community
Service Center of
Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I
believe some sex
education needs
to be given, but
when subjects are
discussed or
material is given
to kids of this
nature, a notice
should be sent
home to the
parent and they
should be allowed
to opt out of the
program if they
wish, Fleming
said. School
Superintendent
James Gray said
he gave an OK for
the pocket-sized
directories, which
were provided to
the district by
United Way
Services in
conjunction with
the county health
department and
county
commissioners,
to be given to
students at the
high school,
middle schools
and to sixth
graders. Gray
said he received
two calls from
parents who took
exception to the
booklet's content.
I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I
should have
considered
sending a letter
along with it as far
as an explanation,
he said, adding,
this is a
developing
situation. I don't
know what we are
going to do at this
point. Colleen
Grady, a city
resident and a
member of the
state school
board, said she
got calls from four
parents
concerned about
their children
getting the
directory. Grady,
who is also a
former city school
board member,
said she has not
personally seen
the publication,
but they (parents)
read me sections
over the
telephone. She
said the state
board of
education may
wish to make a
legislative
recommendation
to the Ohio
general
assembly, and the
board could also
consider
discussion about
adoption of a
model policy for
the distribution of
such materials.
Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the
district's
curriculum and
pupil services
departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of
materials which
are considered to
be sensitive,
particularly for the
younger kids.
SENT: FEB. 14,
2006
RE-SENT 03/26/06
Dear
Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:
I'm hoping you can
clear something
up for me for my
book and website
regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as
there have been
not one but two
situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....
Regarding
special ed
teacher
Christine
Scarlett's
offering a date
with herself as
a grades
incentive
1. What rules/
guidelines do
you now have in
place to assure
that nothing like
this happens
again? Would
these be
administrative
changes or has
your board set
specific policies in
place for you to
follow in future?
2. Rumors of
an affair between
Scarlett and
Bradigan
persisted for
several months.
You have stated
that you have no
idea such an
affair was going
on. Do you feel
the fact that you
are commuting
from your home
in Akron (if this
has changed,
please let me
know) has
adversely
impacted your
ability to monitor
what's going on
with your
employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area
such as this? Has
your board since
made a condition
of your
employment that
you move to
Strongsville and
become an
integral part of
their community?
Regarding the
sex education
booklet placed
last fall in young
children's
lockers
4. What
guidelines did
you follow from
your established
board's policies
for such?
5. There
appears to be a
growing number
of parents who
want to be
consulted before
such materials are
given to their
students. As one
mom put it,
"What's wrong
with so many
people in the
educational fields
that they don't
even think twice
about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not
even consider the
parents
wishes....Their
tactics mirror
those used in
Communist China
and Cuba where
children are
considered not
children of
parents, but
wards of the
State." While this
is clearly the
statement of an
upset parent, it
does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school
administrators in
the U.S. Do you
consider the
students in
your schools
yours to
educate as you
deem best or
the offspring of
parents to be
consulted
before
disseminating
such materials?
Regarding
trainings and
conferences
6. Of which
education-relate
d associations
are you and
Strongsville City
Schools a
member? What
are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating
such materials?
7. In which
education-relate
d conferences
have your and
your staff
participated this
past year?
Where were
they and what
were the costs
for each? Have
you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the
like offering
guidance in this
area, and what
were those costs?
It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for
your approving
the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in
young students'
lockers without
notifying parents
first, and it may
also well be that
there is a
perfectly
reasonable
explanation for
your allowing a
teacher to offer a
date at the Dairy
Queen with
herself to a young
student; if so, I am
eager to learn
such reason or
reasons.
===============
She said the
booklet, which
also provides
information on the
need for parental
consent for
abortion and a
Web address for
the Lesbian/Gay
Community
Service Center of
Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I
believe some sex
education needs
to be given, but
when subjects are
discussed or
material is given
to kids of this
nature, a notice
should be sent
home to the
parent and they
should be allowed
to opt out of the
program if they
wish, Fleming
said. School
Superintendent
James Gray said
he gave an OK for
the pocket-sized
directories, which
were provided to
the district by
United Way
Services in
conjunction with
the county health
department and
county
commissioners,
to be given to
students at the
high school,
middle schools
and to sixth
graders. Gray
said he received
two calls from
parents who took
exception to the
booklet's content.
I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I
should have
considered
sending a letter
along with it as far
as an explanation,
he said, adding,
this is a
developing
situation. I don't
know what we are
going to do at this
point. Colleen
Grady, a city
resident and a
member of the
state school
board, said she
got calls from four
parents
concerned about
their children
getting the
directory. Grady,
who is also a
former city school
board member,
said she has not
personally seen
the publication,
but they (parents)
read me sections
over the
telephone. She
said the state
board of
education may
wish to make a
legislative
recommendation
to the Ohio
general
assembly, and the
board could also
consider
discussion about
adoption of a
model policy for
the distribution of
such materials.
Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the
district's
curriculum and
pupil services
departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of
materials which
are considered to
be sensitive,
particularly for the
younger kids.
| STATUS: One year later, no response rec'd from Sup't Gray |
| QUERY THE SUPE (& CC THE BOARD) |
| TEA's check register: |
Online School District Check Registers Here here here Modern Edu- Monopoly (mike moses) here Random Round-Ups Here 2006 - Year in Review here Nov.-Dec. 2006 commen- taries here Pass the Trash here SLAPP reports here and here Reader Q&As Edgewood ISD 95 Questions |
| Conservative Commentary - Check registers as of March 14, 2007 |
| How difficult is it to get your local school district to post its checks online each month? JUST ASK! By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007 - Published Mon.,Jan. 22, 2007 - Updated Jan. 22, 2007/10am |
| Gary Gonzalez |
| El Paso truck driver Gary Gonzalez, whose two children attend El Paso ISD, has asked his trustees twice now at board meetings to post the district's check registers online in the interest of increasing transparency. The second time, local TV reporters noticed and reported his request. |
| Lorenzo Garcia |
| Timing is everything in this life. Garcia inherited a difficult situation in El Paso: Within months of his joining the district last February, the FBI began an investigation of district vendors Access Administrators and its affiliate Advantage Care Network (ACCESS), EPISD's third-party administrator and network provider. |
| Remember: anyone in any state can ask their school board to post their check registers online. In fact, I asked my own local district, Marble Falls ISD, the one where I began volunteering seven years ago, if I could be put on the agenda-- better than what I call "open-mic |
| Marble Falls ISD trustees discuss posting their district's checks online at Dec. 18, 2006 board meeting |
| The power of a question whose time has come I mention the process so that you can see the importance of one person asking. Gary has asked, I have asked, and you, too, can ask. Posting check registers online is a good idea, and with the growing movement towards transparency in our public schools, superin- tendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-transparency to turn down your request they their post the district's check registers online. |
| Is it a difficult and time-consuming process for districts to post their check registers online? Hardly. As Big Spring ISD superintendent Michael Downes said, the first time they posted, it took all of maybe four or five minutes. |
| DALLAS ISD Fallout: "Everything's absolutely positive, and there's been no negative fallout--we're one of the first in the state to post our check register online," said a district spokesperson. Logistics, goals for the future: "We're talking to our IT people to see if we can simplify the process so that people can go to the online check register more quickly and directly." MARBLE FALLS ISD Ryder Warren, superintendent "We have had absolutely no issues." Kelly Fox, trustee Feedback: "Peyton is always innovatively at the cutting edge of the promotion of school reform. This is yet one more example of her efforts to improve the quality of our schools by championing open records of our spending. As a board member I highly recommend that all districts make their spending more transparent and be accountable to the taxpayers." SPRING BRANCH ISD Duncan Klussmann, superintendent "Posting our check registers online has been something that's worked for us with very minimal effort to get it up and running; I believe school districts are running moving in this direction. We try to be a very transparent district. We have a strong and supportive community, and we feel that being transparent supports that." Klussmann added that when he first came into education it was common for all checks to be included with the board packets and an approval item at board meetings. Obstacles and stumbling blocks: "Our financial software is older and DOS-based, not designed to generate reports, but once we got our first report as a model it went quickly." Special kudos: "We have a wonderful finance person, Karen Wilson, who took this on." Additional comments: "Anything we can do to take raw data as we're required to report it by the state and make it more accessible to our community is a benefit." Extra expense: None. Fallout? No increase in public records requests. "The only thing you do worry about is someone looking at something and not understanding; you'd sit down with the person and explain it to them." Goals for the future: Make the link more accessible, in fewer clicks. BIG SPRING ISD Michael Downes, superintendent "We don't consider posting our check registers online a big deal as it's a public record; we were already publishing our check registers each month." Along the same lines of making the district's finances more intelligible to the public, "We're also one of the few districts in the state that are recognized by GFOA for the Distinguished Budget Presentation award. Sandra Waggoner, chief financial officer "Posting our check register online really isn't any extra work; it's the same check register we give our board each month, then we just PDF it to our webmaster." Sandra is BSISD's public information officer; the district only receives 3-4 ORR's per year. "Most are not people trying to stir up something, just, 'I'm curious.' " Logistics: BSISD's bookkeeper sends a PDF file to Downe's secretary for TASB BoardBook, and sends a duplicate copy of the PDF file to the webmaster who uploads and creates a link so it's available for the public. Special kudos: BSISD's CFO, Sandra Waggoner. Extra expense: None. Fallout? No increase in public records requests. Goals for the future: Keep each month's check registers online for one year. NEW CANEY ISD Cindy Reynolds, secretary to superintendent/media relations "We've posted our check register online for at least the past year and a half; here at New Caney ISD we have a very open-door policy with the public and the media. Posting our check registers online saves us some time on generating information that people might request otherwise. This is the best way to approach it. It never occurred to us to not post this public information. When you form partnerships with your community, you have to be above reproach. We're all partners, we're all taxpayers. We have to be accountable in all areas." Fallout? "Parents and support organizations question us from time to time regarding expenditures--not that we've been questioned on how but where--and they're certainly entitled to that information." Logistics: NCISD uses TASB's BoardBook. Extra expense: None; check registers are a free feature of TASB's BoardBook. NEDERLAND ISD Gail Krohn, superintendent "I think it's important for a district to share pertinent financial information with the community and the taxpayers; that's what's important. I'm very proud of our business manager that she tries her very best to make things simple and understandable for the taxpayers of Nederland ISD." . |
| SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Ask your local superintendent to post your district's checks online. Having more transparency in your district by being able to view your district's checks online might be as soon and as close as your asking at your district's next board meeting that the checks be posted. Remember, you're entitled to ask. It's your money and your school district and most importantly your kids. |
| "Superintendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." |
| PEYTON WOLCOTT: REPORT FROM SCHOOLS ALREADY POSTING THEIR CHECKS ONLINE The following is based on the report I presented to Marble Falls ISD trustees on Dec. 18, 2006 and addresses typical concerns administrators and trustees might have. Most recent updates as of March 15, 2007 incorporates MFISD and Dallas ISD comments. |
KEY POINT: "Superin- tendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti- transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." --Peyton Wolcott |
| UPDATE: El Paso ISD resets meeting with dad Gary Gonzalez By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007 Published Tues., Jan. 30, 2007 |
| National School District Honor Roll in Hou. Chronicle By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007 Published Tues., Jan. 30, 2007 |
| 'Would posting [Katy ISD's] check registers improve accoun- tablity and open- ness?" Many |
| Helen Eriksen |
| Gary went before the EPISD school board on four separate occasions-- twice in December and twice in January--and asked that they post as an agenda item on the next school board meeting the idea of the district posting its check registers online. The first three times he asked, there was no response from the board. "The fourth time I asked," he said, then I read a statement, then I gave them my agenda." At the top of Gary's six-point agenda? Posting check registers online. |
| Statement of Gary Gonzalez to El Paso ISD trustees January 23, 2007 Open government is a benefit for students, parents, employees and the public. One way to participate in open government is for the board of trustees to post its check register online. Online postin of your check register improves accountability and gives citizens confidence that taxpayers’ dollars are properly spent. Other school districts including Spring Branch have done this and it is a success. I encourage the board to be a leader and call for posting of its check register online. |
| While it's entirely possible that SBISD would have posted their check registers online eventually anyway, it happened this past fall rather than at some unknown date in the future because I took the time to ask one of their board members to discuss the idea at their upcoming board meeting; he agreed to do so, and the result is that SBISD checks are online now, sooner rather than later. |
| Since starting the National School District Honor Roll comprising districts posting their check registers online last October, $745.2 million annually is now more transparent in U.S. public education. The addition of El Paso ISD would bring this amount to $1.3 billion. |
| Texas-sized news! Showing the way for the rest of our great republic, the Texas Education Agency announced last week its check register is now online! |
| By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 - Published Wed., Jan. 31, 2007 |
| Governor Rick Perry's recent announcement (below) that the Texas Education Agency's check register had just gone online certainly gave this transparency movement a jump start towards legitimacy--and healthy encouragement to supes and their boards. |
| Houston ISD posting check register online! By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007-Feb. 13, 2007 - 7:48 pm- Updated Feb. 18, 2007/2 am When smaller Texas school districts began posting their check registers online recently, consensus was that it would take one of the state's two largest districts --Houston ISD or Dallas ISD--to make this a real movement. |
| Houston ISD central administration |
| Lorenzo Garcia, superintendent of El Paso ISD, has reset his meeting with dad Gary Gonzalez to Thursday, Feb. 1, at 1:00 p.m. at the district's administrative offices, reportedly to enable the attendance at the meeting of two EPISD executives. |
| Has Gary's approach worked? You bet. EPISD superintendent Lorenzo Garcia has already set an appointment with Gonzalez--for this Wednesday at the district's adminis- tration building. |
| Here's what happened. When I heard about Houston public schools' check register going online late Tuesday, my first call was to Dallas, its friendly rival-in-all- things, to see if Houston's move might spur Dallas to action. Turns out, Dallas ISD's check register has been online-- since November 2, 2006. |
| Lovejoy ISD online! By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 - Feb. 14, 2007/10 am Updated Feb. 15, 2007/Noon |
| receipt. Says Perry, "Online financial disclosure in the state’s two largest districts is great news for local taxpayers and an important step for open government.” |
| Celso Martinez |
| present to the public information that would otherwise not be available," said Dallas ISD spokesman Celso Martinez, associate superintendent for communica- tion. "This also gives us an opportunity to conduct our activities in a transparent manner." To access Dallas ISD's January 2007 check register, the direct link doesn't work; you must go through several steps--as detailed above right, in pink box. |
| Local: $ 7.6 billion State: $16.6 billion* |
| Kudos from DC, Arizona "Congratulations on this huge victory for parents and taxpayers," said Tim Mooney, director of First Class Education. "The ability to see how money is being spent (and misspent) is the first step towards fiscal sanity and placing the focus back on children and the learning experience." Mooney's group proposes that public schools spend at least 65 cents of every education dollar in the classroom; Perry's 65% executive order, signed in 2005, was the first such in the nation. |
| Regarding Houston and Dallas, Governor Rick Perry said earlier today from Austin, "When I issued an executive order in 2005 to improve transparency in school budgets, I did so based on the belief that the taxpayers who pick up the tab should be able to look at the |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
| Ted Moore |
| Lovejoy's check register went online last Friday-- good news for Lovejoy's school- children, parents and taxpayers, and hats off to super- |
| Rob Eissler |
| "This is a great start to a dialogue about school spending," said state representatative Rob Eissler, chair of the Public Education Committee, said by phone this afternoon from Austin. "It's the ultimate in checks and balances." |
| More from Dallas ISD "Instituting paperless agendas for the board, including putting the district's check register online, gives us the opportunity to |
| Abe Saavedra & wife |
| http://www.ednews.org/ar ticles/8244/1/An-Interview -with-Peyton-Wolcott-quo tIs-the-Check-in-the-Mail- or-On-Line-quot/Page1.ht ml |
| Donna's Modern Minutemen page updated here |
| Education News Interview (Michael Shaughnessy) February 19, 2007 www.EdNews.org |
ONLY 9 EASY STEPS TO ACCESS DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER ONLINE: STEP 1: START HERE: www.dallasisd.org STEP 2: ON THE LEFT (GREY BOX 'QUICKLINKS') CHOOSE: Board of Trustees STEP 3: YOU'LL SEE 2 GREY LINES OF TYPE; FROM 2nd LINE CHOOSE: Meeting Agendas STEP 4: SCROLL DOWN; FOR THE MOST RECENT CHECK REGISTER CHOOSE THE MOST RECENT "BOARD BRIEFINGS" ------ STEP 5: CHOOSE: FEB. 8, 2007 STEP 6: FIND "Briefing Meeting - February 8, 2007 11:30AM STEP 7: CLICK ON: "AGENDA PACKET" STEP 8: SCROLL DOWN TO 4. FINANCIAL SERVICES (Business Services Division) b. Ratification of List of Bills, Claims and Accounts for Demember 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006 ($74,044,519.08) STEP 9: CLICK ON "Bills Claims_Attachment" VOILA! YOU'VE JUST ACCESSED DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER IN ONLY 9 -- COUNT 'EM, 9 -- EASY STEPS! |
| Fort Bend Now - Editorial Feb. 2, 2007 www.fortbendnow.com /opinion |
| Dallas Blog Feb. 19, 2007 www.dallasblog.com |
| Houston Chronicle Feb. 13, 2007 http://blogs.chron.c om/insidekaty |
| Looking for online info re online check registers? |
| Donna Garner |
| Education News www.EdNews.org Dallas ISD's check register online! Houston's soon! Feb. 16, 2007 |
| Check registers online -- WHY? |
| When parents and taxpayers come calling at Texas and Arizona board meetings this next month and next proposing that their districts' check registers be posted online, trustees have the following to consider: Do they want to be perceived as being anti- transparency and anti-open government? Further, the following districts have special considerations: o Cleburne ISD is being investigated by the Texas Education Agency. o El Paso ISD is under multiple investigations on multiple fronts including the FBI. o Katy ISD is preparing to sell its $13 million KMAC curriculum management software at tonight's board meeting to Houston's Education Service Center 4 (remember last year's "Stilton at the Hilton" and ESC 4 executive director Bill McKinney's deal with his vendor PBK Architects?) for 6% net. NET? How can any part of this be legal? Has there ever been a full to-the-penny accounting of how the $13 million to Xpediant has gotten spent? Has anyone asked to see the fronts and backs of the checks paid to Xpediant? Besides, KISD is only rated "Recognized"; further, the TEKS are being rewritten even as we speak. More at far left in today's report. o More regarding Lake Travis ISD, Eanes ISD, Lancaster ISD, Leander ISD, all in Texas,and Arizona's Santa Cruz County USD coming. |
| Why school districts need to post their checks online--NOW By Peyton Wolcott -Copyright 2007 Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007 - 11:53 pm Updated Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 - 1:00 pm |
| Regarding CISD's investigation by the Texas Education Agency, Don Rice, managing editor of theCleburne Eagle News, said by telephone last week, "This has been a two-year process of asking questions and seeking answers and accountability. It appears..." More here |
| Katy ISD's transparency problems appear to have surfaced about the time Leonard Merrell was hired in 1995; more here |
| CLEBURNE ISD |
| Don Rice (R) with Teresa Blackwell |
| 5 months of forward movement: We're now asking in 6 states! 2 more states coming! Will your district be next? |
| ONLINE SCHOOL DISTRICT CHECKBOOKS (CHECK REGISTERS) |
| TRANSPARENCY TALLY |
| New Reader Q & A's here |
| Here's the real bottom line on art in Detroit, catering in Delaware, and software sales in Katy: When we write our tax checks, most of us do it with the intent and assumption that as many of our education dollars as possible will be going into the classroom with our students and teachers. Administrators who spend their parents' and taxpayers' hard-earned funds where they need not be spent, as with Burnley and Merrell, and as with the Brandywine supe who wasn't keeping close enough watch, open themselves up to justified criticism from their communities as to their fiduciary duty-of-care responsibilities. Sherry Washington's right, kids do need art--but teachers can do what they always have, put up prints and take students to museums. While private catering businesses using school dollars and facilities can be curtailed with stronger internal controls, it's hard to outmaneuver a wily superintendent bent on marketing custom curriculum software to other school districts, the morality of doing so doing be hanged. Whether or not it's because they're a government monopoly with little or no real regulation, some of our public schools appear to have flown far afield from their traditional charge to educate our children. It's time for our schools to get back on track, and here's hoping Detroit and Brandywine will follow Katy ISD's lead in posting their check registers online, too; Katy supe Denver Merrell just announced last night that his district's checks are now online. |
| KMAC, in development at Katy ISD for years, was presented to residents as "a gravy train, bring in a big return on our investment of tax dollars," as one summarized it. How many tax dollars? The last reported dollars to Xpediant for all services were in the neighbor- hood of $13,000,000. |
| Leonard Merrell (L) Bill McKinney |
A second look at Katy ISD's software developer Xpediant Leonard Merrell's choice of technology consultants was Xpediant, LLC, which had to change its name after it was reported on this website on April 17, 2006 that "according to sources within the Texas Secretary of State's office this morning, Xpediant, LLC, 'in our world here doesn't have an active entity status' and has been in a state of forfeiture since February 13, 2003 because 'they didn't do their state franchise taxes,' with the result that Xpediant 'has no entity status and no liability shield.' Xpediant's 2003 return has not yet been received, making it almost three years overdue." Alas. When Xpediant's owners went to fix things in Austin, they discovered their no-longer- viable company's name had been taken by someone else, so they had to find a new name. |
| QUESTION: Why is Katy ISD spending money on developing something to sell around the state and nation? Isn't its legal mission to educate children living within the district's boundaries? ANOTHER QUESTION: Has Katy ISD gone into the software production and marketing business because it's a top-rated "Exemplary" district? No, KISD is a "Recognized" district, second-tier on Texas' ratings system, hardly a status carrying bragging rights. Would YOU buy a curriculum management system from a second-class district rather than an "Exemplary" district? Plus, the TEKS are being rewritten. |
| ESC 4's "Stilton at the Hilton" |
| According to its materials in its presentation to Katy ISD at last Wednesday's board workshop, ESC 4 has "sold one or more products in 47 of the 50 states." How many of these "products" were paid for by local districts' taxpayers like Katy ISD's KMAC? Further, ESC 4 "authored, published and disseminated over 950 instructional resource titles over the last 3 years." Will KMAC be #951? You remem- ber Bill McKinney and ESC 4. |
| The above photo is from ESC 4's January 2006 wine and cheese reception at the annual Texas Association of School Administrators Midwinter conference in Austin. When I pointed out that It's illegal in Texas to use tax dollars to pay for alcohol, ESC 4 exec. director Bill McKinney produced a letter from his vendor, PBK Architects--the outfit remodeling his office digs--which stated they had underwritten the party's cost, estimated by insiders to have been in the $20,000 range. |
| Given all of the foregoing, one more question really does beg asking: Why is Merrell suddenly in such a hurry? Why is he making a binding deal with Bill McKinney with only one public meeting--last Wednesday's board workshop --before the vote at tonight's board meeting? What's the rush? Don't Katy ISD's taxpayers (and involuntary investors in this enterprise) deserve a bit more time and a lot more information about this deal--especially more details about precisely how their $13 million got spent? |
| This from Eriksen's blog: "Houston ISD, which has more than 200,000 pupils, is in the process of putting its check register online. On the other hand, Katy [ISD in suburban Houston] is not considering doing so at this time." More here |
| Now, let's fly south and take a quick look at Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell's deal with Region 4 Education Service Center's executive director Bill McKinney for KISD's Katy Management of Automated Curriculum (KMAC), curriculum management software. |
| Mon., Feb. 26, 2007 9:46 am update: Here's the URL for DISD's most recent checks online--I've activated the link several times this past week, but it still doesn't work; apparently DISD wants its parents and taxpayers to follow all 9 of the above steps. After being contacted by media outlets in the DFW area, have this morning contacted DISD PR guy Celso Martinez. www.boardbook.org/apps/bbv2/temp/ FEA97082-E7FF-035D-147A767667F A7F25.pdf |
| Big news outta Houston! Katy ISD's checks now online! By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Feb. 26, 2007-Updated Mar. 1, 2007/9 pm |
| Imagine Katy Citizen Watchdogs spokesman Kevin Tatum's surprise when tonight at Katy ISD's board meeting he asked |
| the board to require the district's check register to go online--only to be told not by the board president but by Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell that the district's check register was already online the previous week, Merrell's announcement coinciding with his Xpediant/ KMAC/Region 4 ESC curriculum management software deal. January's checks are here including #331270 to Xpediant Education Solutions for $142,000.00 and three to active KISD bond-backer PBK Architects totaling $496,623.29. More stats: Katy ISD has 44,212 students and total receipts all funds of $430,492,412 for the 2004-05 (most recent) actuals. Katy ISD's check register here: www.katyisd.org/files/services/communica tions/Finance/ckreg_Jan_07.pdf |
| Kevin Tatum |
| Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell's self-named "Leonard E. Merrell Center" (above) at Katy ISD with his name on it not once but twice, the only such edifice in the U.S. which a working supe has named for himself. |
| While the district has announced to the community that "the FBI has assured EPISD leadership that the district as an entity is not the target of the investigation," this is not the sort of attention any school administrator welcomes. As with Houston-area Spring Branch ISD, where supe Duncan Klussmann inherited a PR black eye from his predecessor Yvonne Katz--you recall Katz, who had moonlighted as an Energy Education Inc. consultant then brought the vendor to the district for a business deal without disclosing the relationship to her trustees--for Garcia, posting El Paso ISD's check registers online could represent a meaningful and welcome big first step towards transparency. |
Armand Fusco's '13 Guiding Principles' 1. Assume that fraud, theft, and embezzlement are occurring—look for it. 2. Assume that mismanagement exists—look for it. 3. Assume that there is waste in the system—look for it. 4. Assume that financial management controls are inadequate— constantly review and tighten the process. 5. Assume that staff has not been properly trained and educated in budget management—provide on-going training particularly for key personnel. 6. Assume that there are employees who know where there is fraud, waste, and mismanagement—encourage,reward, and resolutely protect “whistle-blowers.” 7. Assume that any report or information dealing with financial matters does not provide sufficient details—seek more details. 8. Assume that board policies are not being implemented properly— ask for progress reports. 9. Assume that audits do not uncover fraud—insist on forensic auditing. 10. Accept the fact that board members lack the skills and knowledge required to effectively monitor the budget—provide them with information and training. 11. Accept the fact that vigilance must be constant— good enough is never good enough. 12. Accept the fact that board members must have easy access to detailed information and data that are used to develop financial reports and monitor progress—seek to develop meaningful reporting systems. 13. Accept the fact that decisions made by the board will be scrutinized by the staff and the public to see if their financial rhetoric to protect school dollars from fraud, waste and mismanagement is matched against its actions—weigh every discretionary decision carefully for consistency and common-sense. --From "School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust" by Armand A. Fusco |
Map updated
03/1407/1 am
03/1407/1 am
| Friends, I'm going to be on the The Lynn Woolley Radio Show Wednesday, February 28th, 10:00 am CST Focus: Check registers online Special Guest: Texas Associate Commissioner of Education Robert Scott You can listen online www.belogical.com (streaming audio link's at left side) and you can call in questions 1-866-895-6442 |
| PARENTS, TAX- PAYERS, TRUS- TEES ASKING IN: Cedar Rapids PS (IA) ChippewaVall.SD (MI) Cleburne ISD (TX) Comal ISD (TX) Eanes ISD (TX) El Paso ISD (TX) Lake Travis ISD (TX) Lancaster ISD (TX) Midway-Waco ISD (TX) New York CPS (NY) Omaha PS (NB) Santa Cruz CPS (AZ) ONLINE NOW TEXAS: Big Spring ISD Blackwell CISD Bremond ISD Dallas ISD Katy ISD Lovejoy ISD Malakoff ISD Marble Falls ISD Nederland ISD New Caney ISD San Angelo ISD Spring Branch ISD COMMITTED/ SOON: Arlington ISD (TX) Houston ISD (TX) Keller ISD (TX) McKinney ISD (TX) Richardson ISD (TX) Temple ISD (TX) Ysleta ISD (TX) STATE DOE ONLINE Texas Education Agency |
| Keller ISD commits By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Thursday, March 1, 2007 Keller superintendent James Veitenheimer confirmed yesterday that his district is in the process of bringing its check register online; according to the Texas Education Agency, the fast-growth upscale suburban district, located just northeast of Fort Worth, educated 23,665 students with total receipts all funds $398,213,868 at a cost of $16,827 per student for 2004-05, the last official reporting period. |
| Katy Citizen Watchdogs: www.katycitizens.org |
| * Based on new information provided by the Texas Education Agency. |
| Easiest way to find articles: Google "Peyton Wolcott" and "check register" Almost 100 online as of Mar. 8, 2007 |
| Not a PR pro? How to talk to your local district about putting its checks online By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 - Sunday, March 4, 2007 - 1:45 pm - Updated Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - 1:00 am Friends, a light bulb went off recently when an astute friend remarked, "You know, most grassroots parents and taxpayers aren't good at PR." This comment took me off guard, but do you know what? He was right. Many of our best volunteers are rational people, engineers and accountants and the like, who are used to an environment in which facts reign. |
| It takes us a very long while to understand that our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. Further, our supeinten- dents attend conferences and meetings where they learn how to develop their PR skills, and they hire well-paid PR guys and gals who are skilled in the art of public relations. This is the arena into which we step. Also, by the time most of us get to the point that we are interested in seeing how our district spends its money, there have been precipitating incidents. As another friend put it, "I just wanted to slug someone at that board meeting." This man is a genuinely decent human being and the comment surprised me--but it's not the first time I've heard this from a parent. It wasn't always that way. Generally we start out assuming our dealings with our school districts will be a rational exercise. Most of us are volunteers and in addition to our taxes give generously to our children's schools. Then when we spend a lot of time there, we notice things. Years ago I myself felt sure that if I showed my local supe and board where money was being wasted in some areas and not adequately safeguarded in others that they would welcome this information with open arms and changes would be made on the spot. Hah! Imagine my surprise when they reacted as though to a personal attack when I was just trying to help. At this point we often start gathering hard data on our schools because we assume--also incorrectly, as it turns out--that "someone" higher up is watching out. But the "someone" turns out to be us. We learn that our local schools have next to no real oversight; as just one example witness the two dozen state, federal and local governmental bodies and elected officials two moms in Texas contacted in their effort to bring their local superintendent to justice. Besides, to focus on spread sheets and flow charts to take to "someone in charge" is to focus on the wake of the wave and not the boat and the pilot. This is why I have come to the conclusion after years in the grassroot trenches that the best and most effective single step we can take to help our districts reign in costs and improve our vendor-driven curriculums in order to better educate our kids is to persuade our schools to post their check registers online. When we approach our districts, we have found there are some things we can do which are more effective than others. Like I tell my kids, go and make new mistakes--don't replicate mine. To make it easier for you to successfully ask your local district to put its check register online, I've just posted two new pages; the first walks you through the process, and the second is a flyer you can print as is, or you can copy and paste* the report section in the grey box on the left. I've done this success- fully, and wouldn't recom- mend that you undertake something I haven't already done myself. If I can do it, you can, too. |
| Our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. |
| Who knew? How would anyone know? There were no press releases; perhaps they were busy with other matters up there. Regardless, Dallas ISD has taken a huge step towards transparency, and superintendent Mike Hinojosa is to be heartily commended, and then some. |
Asking
Already Online
Already Online
| New York City PS |
Rio Rico Schools
| Cedar Rapids PS |
| Omaha PS |
| Chippewa Valley SD |
| Texas ISDs: Cleburne, Comal, Eanes, El Paso, Lake Travis, Lancaster, Midway |
| From 4 school districts to 31* --plus a state DOE --in 5 months! |
| About this online check registers project: Oct. 1, 2006 was the start date of the National School District Honor Roll with four small school districts in Texas who'd posted their check registers online. We now have 28* districts either online or committed-- or where parents and taxpayers have begun asking. Districts are almost all saying "yes" immediately. Why? Superintendents and board members understand it's better to be on the beginning of this wave than in its wake. |
| * Please attribute and include copyright. |
...
| Looking for today's front page Dallas Morning News article regarding school districts posting their checks online? By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Thursday, March 8, 2007 - 3:02 pm Updated Thu.,Mar. 8, 2007-11:30pm |
| Hats off to DMN for taking this big step towards encouraging public school transparency by publicizing the online check register movement! There are some good quotes--plus excerpts from the list of schools at right--along with the 9 steps to finding Dallas ISD's checks published on Feb. 19, 2007 at www.peytonwolcott.com: |
| THE NATION'S FIRST & MOST COMPLETE LIST HERE! School districts' checks online: |
| Dallas Morning News March 8, 2007 |
| Because the districts voluntarily coming online early are well ahead of the 55-60-65 progression--even Houston ISD with its large administra- tive overhead is already at 63%, 8 points ahead of schedule--DMN's so-called loophole does not apply. Remember: Rather than adopting the recommended NCES formula, Texas Commis-sioner of Education Shirley Neeley instead invited Texas superintendents to help write their own formula, so it is to be expected that all districts will make the 65% mark on target and on schedule. |
| March 6, 2007 Update Jessica's Law in Texas Hardcore child molesters could face the death penalty in Texas under a bill given preliminary approval today by the state House of Representatives. The bill is designed to crack down on sex offenders who repeatedly prey on children. The House voted to create a new category of crime, continual sexual abuse of a young child or children. It carries a minimum of 25 years to life in prison and possibly the death penalty for a second offense. The Texas version [of Jessica's Law] would make the Lone Star State the sixth to allow some child sex offenders to be sentenced to death....The bill also removes the statute of limitations for many sex crimes against children, including indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault. The current limit to bring charges is 10 years after the victim's 18th birthday. |
| $ 24.2 billion in annual transparency |
| N a t i o n a l S u n s h i n e W e e k M a r c h 11 - 17 , 2 0 0 7 |
| Ysleta ISD commits to posting its check register online! By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 3:02 am |
| night," where you show up unannounced for the public comment portion of the meeting (the trustees can discuss your presentation with you if you're on the agenda)--and was, last December. Superintendent Ryder Warren thought it a timely and appropriate idea, a natural continuation of the transparency he'd already worked to bring to the district, and recommended posting the district's check registers online to the board, which concurred. |
| Ysleta ISD, 2005 W.Texas UIL champs |
| Award-Winning LYNN WOOLLEY RADIO SHOW Feb. 18, 2007 SPECIAL GUEST: TEA Assoc. Comm. Robert Scott Listen online to archive here: www.belogical.com/ audio.htm |
| ALERT! Dallas ISD's online check register link cannot be cut and pasted. To access DISD's check register, you must follow the 9 steps below. |
| Late yesterday I learned from Houston Chronicle reporter Helen Eriksen that Houston ISD is in the process of posting its check register online. And today from spokesman Celso Martinez that Dallas ISD had begun posting its checks online three months ago. Said HISD spokesman Terry Abbot, "It seems to us a good thing to do." |
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 .
Hector Montenegro, Ysleta
ISD's superintendent, contacted
ISD's superintendent, contacted
me last night by email to confirm YISD is the first school district in
far West Texas to be preparing to post its checks online.
"We want to follow proper proce- dures and establish a link on our
web site," said Hector.
Located in El Paso County, YISD has 46,278 students; its total
receipts all funds was $436,804,801 and general fund amount
$281,890,828 for 2004-05, the last reported actuals per TEA.
far West Texas to be preparing to post its checks online.
"We want to follow proper proce- dures and establish a link on our
web site," said Hector.
Located in El Paso County, YISD has 46,278 students; its total
receipts all funds was $436,804,801 and general fund amount
$281,890,828 for 2004-05, the last reported actuals per TEA.
| Dallas ISD's check register online! By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007 - Feb. 15, 2007/8:19 a.m. / Updated re DISD link 021907 |
| Tim Mooney (PHOTO--Jeff Topping/NYTimes) |
| intendent Ted Moore. According to a district spokesman, "The Lovejoy ISD board of trustees have affirmed their commitment to transparent district operations by adopting Resolution 11607 which will allow our patrons to see each accounts payable check that is drafted by LISD." More here www.lovejoyisd.net |
| thanks to Houston Chronicle reporter Helen Eriksen for asking this important question and more in the Houston Chronicle, and for a favorable NSDHR report here. |
| More about Armand Fusco here |
| Friends, this walk down memory lane is here to provide a sense of history and of perspective on this school online check register movement. When I compiled my first roster on October 1, 2006, there were exactly three names on the list, all small Texas districts. At that time there were probably not more than five or ten school districts in all of America who were posting their check registers online, and no state or national think tanks were tracking check registers. |