| 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 . |
| Arlene "it's all about the kids" Ackerman sues former employer San Francisco USD By Peyton Wolcott Sun., May 20, 2007/1:45 am |
| While at SFUSD Ack- erman made headlines for charging $45,000 on her Diners Club credit card. During her last year, she persuaded the SFUSD board to award her a $375,000 "golden parachute" severance payment, enough to fund ten teachers' salaries, declining suggestions that she decline the payment. Employed now as a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University, holding the Johnson endowed chair and working as a "Professor of Practice," this marks the second time Ackerman has sued her public school district employer. |
| According to Acker- man's attorney Waukeen McCoy, Ackerman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer SFUSD "for breaching its employment contract with her by failing to pay her severance compen- sation per their written agreement." The suit seeks damages in excess of $172,000 "for nonpayment of salary and other compensation after Dr. Ackerman resigned from her post in June 2006." (SOURCE-- Waukeen McCoypress release) |
| Arlene Ackerman (PHOTO--Liz Hafalia/SF Chronicle) |
| Scott Gordon (PHOTO--Jason J. Molyet/ Manchester News Journal) |
| Four-color printing such as the poster and banners above occupy the pricey high-end of the printing cost spectrum; nothing apparently is too good for Rudy Crew, and no expense should be spared. The Miami Her- ald's Spanish-language sister newspaper, El Nuevo Heraldo, pub- lished the following on May 10th illustrating the point: |
| Example 2: "Former Churchill County [NV] School Board Presi- dent Debbie Getto Smith was arrested last week on embezzle- ment charges" amoun- ting to $287,520." (SOURCE- AnneMcMillin/Fallon/Star Press) The police report states that Getto Smith told Detective John Frand- sen that she "has an addiction to shopping that spiraled out of her con- trol." Churchill Schools' total estimated FY 2007 expenditures: $34 million. |
| Is Miami-Dade's PR really about the kids or is it about supe Rudy Crew? And how much is it costing taxpayers? By Peyton Wolcott Wed., May 16, 2007/6 pm |
| Posters feature MDCPS supe Rudy Crew (above right) with students; exterior building banners |
| Innovative "Former Mansfield City Schools Superintendent Scott Gordon has been indicted on two counts of theft in office by a Richland County grand jury." (SOURCE--Lou Whitmire/News Journal) The first count, a fourth-degree felony, alleges Gordon used the school district credit card to buy alcohol, in violation of school policy; the second count, a third-degree felony, char- ges him with aiding and abetting theft in office by giving school district employees 2 $2,500 stipends for which no work or services were received. In October 2005, five months after being appointed MCS acting supe, Scott Gordon formed Innovative Learning Solutions, Inc. with two fellow MCS executives, Eugene Thomas and Quinn Haas; the forprofit had "helped Richland Academy win state approval for sponsorship of charter schools."(Ibid.) When this was published in the local paper the following May, Gordon went on sick leave, never returned to work at MCS. (Ibid.) According to ILS, CEO Gordon is "an avid golfer." www.ilsohio.com |
| Do public school superintendents want to rule the world or something? By Peyton Wolcott Updated Sun., Apr. 29, 2007/10 am |
| Supe Rocky Kirk (posing above amid periwinkles) appears to have enough money in the district's coffers to wage an expensive SLAPP suit, and power enough to attempt passage of anti- sunshine legislation (SB 889). Amidst this display of power and plenty, here's hoping they can soon afford a spellcheck for their well-paid PR gal, Melissa Loe. |
| "District Names New Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Insturction" [sic] |
| NOT-A-MOMENT-TOO- SOON DEPARTMENT By Peyton Wolcott Tues., May 15, 2007/1 am Comes the news from Lake Travis ISD: |
| First it was the salaries. Many now are in the healthy six figures with some at or over the half-mil mark. Then it was status-- they wanted to be a member of a "team" with their trustees--who used to be their bosses. Now we come to Miami Dade supe Rudy Crew,who has just won the ability to set his trustees' board meeting agendas. Last Thursday circuit judge Ronald Fried- man "ruled that Superintendent Rudy Crew has the author- ity to decide what proposals can go on the school board's monthly meeting agenda." (SOURCE--Tania deLuzuriaga/Miami Herald) What does this mean? He who controls the agenda owns the meeting and therefore the district. Rudy can now spend as much as he wants on, say, redecorating his office, with no questions asked. Or, as another example, Rudy can hire as many administrators as he desires, some of whom might even possibly be friends, and he might even possibly give them high-paying jobs, about which his board can't ask any questions--not that Rudy has to answer, anyway. For Rudy and his crew, I have three words: |
| Oh, wait. Given that our supes have substituted social stud- ies for history and third graders now learn about Sheryl Crow, let's try again. George III was not Sheryl's boyfriend before Lance with way fancier clothes. George III didn't even ride a bike; they weren't invented yet. George III had another job; he used to be King of America (including Miami where Rudy is now and D.C. where he's likely going next) until our forebearers got fed up with his tyrannical ways and gave him the boot, then they invented the bicycle. Object lesson: Here for them that's alert. |
| George III |
| Remember George III |
| 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 |
My New Book PEYTON WOLCOTT |
| TEA's check register: |
| C o n s e r v a t i v e C o m m e n t a r y |
| 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/m edia relations "We've posted our check register online for at least the past year and a half; here at New Caney ISD we have a very open-door policy with the public and the media. Posting our check registers online saves us some time on generating information that people might request otherwise. This is the best way to approach it. It never occurred to us to not post this public information. When you form partnerships with your community, you have to be above reproach. We're all partners, we're all taxpayers. We have to be accountable in all areas." Fallout? "Parents and support organizations question us from time to time regarding expenditures--not that we've been questioned on how but where--and they're certainly entitled to that information." Logistics: NCISD uses TASB's BoardBook. Extra expense: None; check registers are a free feature of TASB's BoardBook. NEDERLAND ISD Gail Krohn, superintendent "I think it's important for a district to share pertinent financial information with the community and the taxpayers; that's what's important. I'm very proud of our business manager that she tries her very best to make things simple and understandable for the taxpayers of Nederland ISD." |
| "Superintendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." |
| The following is based on the report I presented to Marble Falls ISD trustees on Dec. 18, 2006 and addresses typical concerns administrators and trustees might have; have since added MFISD and Dallas ISD comments. |
KEY POINT: "Superin- tendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open govern- ment and anti- trans- parency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online." --Peyton Wolcott |
| http://www.ednews.org /articles/8244/1/An-Inte rview-with-Peyton-Wol cott-quotIs-the-Check-i n-the-Mail-or-On-Line- quot/Page1.html |
| Education News Interview (Michael Shaughnessy) February 19, 2007 www.EdNews.org |
ONLY 9 EASY STEPS TO ACCESS DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER ONLINE: STEP 1 START HERE: www.dallasisd. org STEP 2 ON THE LEFT (GREY BOX 'QUICKLINK S') 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 ($74,044,519.0 8) STEP 9 CLICK ON "BillsClaims_ Attachment" VOILA! YOU'VE JUST ACCESSED DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER IN ONLY 9 --COUNT 'EM, 9-- EASY STEPS! |
| Fort Bend Now - Editorial Feb. 2, 2007 www.fortbendnow.co m/opinion |
| Dallas Blog Feb. 19, 2007 www.dallasblog.com |
| Houston Chronicle Feb. 13, 2007 http://blogs.chron.c om/insidekaty |
| Looking for articles re online check registers? |
| Education News www.EdNews.org Dallas ISD's check register online! Houston's soon! Feb. 16, 2007 |
| Regarding CISD's investigation by the Texas Education Agency, Don Rice, managing editor of theCleburne Eagle News, said by telephone last week, "This has been a two-year process of asking questions and seeking answers and accountability. It appears..." More here |
| CLEBURNE ISD |
| Don Rice (R) with Teresa Blackwell |
| 8 months of forward movement: We're now asking in 9 states! More coming! |
Mon., Feb. 26, 2007 9:46 am update: Here's the URL for DISD's most recent checks online--I've activated the link several times this past week, but it still doesn't work; apparently DISD wants its parents and taxpayers to follow all 9 of the above steps. After being contacted by media outlets in the DFW area, have this morning contacted DISD PR guy Celso Martinez for an update. www.boardbo ok.org/apps/bb v2/temp/FEA9 7082-E7FF-03 5D-147A7676 67FA7F25.pdf |
| SEEING IS BELIEVING Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell's self-named "Leonard E. Merrell Center" (above) at Katy ISD bears his name not once but twice, the only such edifice in the U.S. which a working supe has named for himself. |
| ONLINE NOW ILLINOIS: Carpentersville SD 300* Elgin U-46* Huntley CUSD 158* Naperville CUSD MINNESOTA Milaca ISD TEXAS: Arlington ISD Bellville ISD Big Spring ISD Blackwell CISD Bremond ISD Center Pt. ISD Chester ISD Comal ISD Conroe ISD* Cy-Fair ISD* Dallas ISD Denison ISD Ector Co. ISD Electra ISD Grandfalls-Royalty ISD Hempstead ISD Holliday ISD Houston ISD* Hunt ISD Katy ISD Keller ISD* Kerrvile ISD Leander ISD Leonard ISD Malakoff ISD Marble Falls ISD Meadow ISD McKinney ISD Nederland ISD New Caney ISD Nordheim ISD No.Forest ISD Pasadena ISD Quinlan ISD Royce City ISD San Angelo ISD Spring Branch ISD Tomball ISD Van Alstyne ISD Wharton ISD Wimberley ISD COMMITTED/SOON El Paso ISD (TX) Galena Park ISD (TX) Miami-Dade CPS(FL) Richardson ISD (TX) Sundown ISD (TX) Temple ISD (TX) Ysleta ISD (TX) STATE DOE ONLINE Texas Education Agency MIDDLE EDU-LAYER St. Clair County RESA (MI) PARENTS,TAXPAYERS TRUSTEES ASKING IN: Cedar Rapids PS (IA) ChippewaVall.SD(MI) Cleburne ISD (TX) Eanes ISD (TX) Lake Travis ISD (TX) Lancaster ISD (TX) Midway-Waco ISD (TX) New York CPS (NY) Omaha PS (NB) Santa Cruz CPS (AZ) *No check numbers (Source for 6 districts-Houston Chronicle) |
| * Based on new information provided by the Texas Education Agency. |
| Easiest way to find articles: "Peyton Wolcott" & "check registers" Almost 200 online as of Apr. 4, 23, 2007 |
| Not a PR pro? How to talk to your local school board & supe about putting the district's checks online By Peyton Wolcott Copyright 2007 Updated Mar. 28, 2007 Friends, a light bulb went off recently when an astute friend remarked, "You know, most grassroots parents and taxpayers aren't good at PR." This comment took me off guard, but do you know what? He was right. Many of our best volunteers are rational people, engineers and accountants and the like, who are used to an environment in which facts reign. |
| It takes us a very long while to understand that our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. Further, our superintendents attend confer- ences and meetings where they learn how to develop their PR skills, and they hire well-paid PR guys and gals who are skilled in the art of public relations. This is the arena into which we step. Also, by the time most of us get to the point that we are interested in seeing how our district spends its money, there have been precipitating incidents. As another friend put it, "I just wanted to slug someone at that board meeting." This man is a genuinely decent human being and the comment surprised me-- but it's not the first time I've heard this from a parent. It wasn't always that way. Generally we start out assuming our dealings with our school districts will be a rational exercise. Most of us are volunteers and in addition to our taxes give generously to our children's schools. Then when we spend a lot of time there, we notice things. Years ago I myself felt sure that if I showed my local supe and board where money was being wasted in some areas and not adequately safeguarded in others that they would welcome this information with open arms and changes would be made on the spot. Hah! Imagine my surprise when they reacted as though to a personal attack when I was just trying to help. At this point we often start gathering hard data on our schools because we assume--also incorrectly, as it turns out-- that "someone" higher up is watching out. But the "someone" turns out to be us. We learn that our local schools have next to no real oversight; as just one example witness the two dozen state, federal and local governmental bodies and elected officials two moms in Texas contacted in their effort to bring their local superintendent to justice. Besides, to focus on spread sheets and flow charts to take to "someone in charge" is to focus on the wake of the wave and not the boat and the pilot. This is why I have come to the conclusion after years in the grassroot trenches that the best and most effective single step we can take to help our districts reign in costs and improve our vendor-driven curriculums in order to better educate our kids is to persuade our schools to post their check registers online. When we approach our districts, we have found there are some things we can do which are more effective than others. Like I tell my kids, go and make new mistakes--don't replicate mine. To make it easier for you to successfully ask your local district to put its check register online, I've just posted two new pages; the first walks you through the process, and the second is a flyer you can print as is, or you can copy and paste* the report sec- tion in the grey box on the left. I've done this successful- ly, and wouldn't recommend that you undertake something I haven't already done myself. If I can do it, you can, too-- and probably much better! |
| Our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. |
| UPDATE: Apr.4, 2007 Texas districts' Loophole? Hardly ! TEA Rules and stats pink box here |
| New York City PS |
| Cedar Rapids PS |
| Omaha PS |
| Chippewa Valley SD |
| Texas ISDs: Cleburne, Comal, Eanes, LakeTravis, Lancaster, Midway |
| From 4 school districts to 46* --plus a state DOE and a RESA--in 8 months! |
| 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 56 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. |
Looking for previous CHECK REGISTER COMMENTARIES ? Wondering who came online and when? Previous check register commentaries have moved to: |
| * 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: |
| National School District Honor Roll FIRST & MOST COMPLETE U.S. LIST ++++++++++++++++ Updated weekly ++++++++++++++++++ 46 districts online $28.3 billion! |
| 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. |
| Ysleta ISD commits to posting its check register online! By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2007 Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 3:02 am Hector Montenegro, Ysleta ISD's superintendent, contacted me last night by email to confirm YISD is the first school district in far West Texas to be preparing to post its checks online. "We want to follow proper proce- dures and establish a link on our web site," said Hector. Located in El Paso County, YISD has 46,278 students; its total receipts all funds was $436,804,801 and general fund amount $281,890,828 for 2004-05, the last reported actuals per TEA. |
| Ysleta ISD, 2005 W.Texas UIL champs |
| UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE |
| We've just been doing some spring cleaning; if you have problems with links, please email me. Looking for previous COMMENTARIES? Find them now at: |
| WJR-ABC RADIO INTERVIEW |
| ABC DETROIT The Frank Beckmann Show Monday, March 19, 2007 TIME: 7:10 am PST (California) 8:10 am MST (Colorado) 9:10 am CST (Texas) 10:10 am EST (Detroit,NY) |
| Frank Beckmann |
| Frank, a 30-year radio veteran, has just been named "Best Personality" by The Michigan Association of Broadcasters. |
| Listen online here www.wjr.com/player. asp (Turn up your speakers) |
| WJR broadcasts to all of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, plus Ontario. We've been following Detroit Public Schools for some time now, most recently former supe (and ERDI consultant) Ken Burnley's then successor William Coleman's purchases of $1.6 million in art from the Sherry Washington Gallery. Have found some interesting insights in Burnley's undated "Final Report" to DPS which I hope to share with Frank, along with of course online check register news, how folks in the Great Lakes area can bring this to their schools. This is a great opportunity, and many thanks to Frank and his executive producer, Kevin Collard. CALL IN: 1-800-859-0957 |
| WJR's other hosts include Rush Limbaugh (L) and Sean Hannity, here with Lynn Woolley |
| Horseshoe Bay woman's crusade for openness gets help from lawmaker Bill calls for school districts to post spending online By Mark Lisheron Austin American-States man Staff March 23, 2007 |
| Peyton Wolcott, a veteran agitator who encourages school districts to be open and honest with parents and taxpayers, features something on her watchdog Web site she calls the National School District Honor Roll. With the help of State Rep. Bill Zedler, Wolcott's honor roll could swell with the names of more than 1,000 Texas school districts that would be required by law to post on the Internet every check they cut. Zedler, R-Arlington, said he was moved to draft House Bill 2560 by what he recognized as a groundswell of Texans who want to know how all of their taxing authorities are spending their money. The bill has been referred to the House Public Education Committee, where Zedler serves as vice chairman. Zedler's House colleagues have filed bills mandating that all state agencies post their spending online. Spending disclosure has the support of Gov. Rick Perry. The state comptroller's office, which began posting expenditures this year, is one of several agencies that do so. The Texas Education Agency, which posts its check register, is making plans to provide a brief explanation for each payment, spokesman Robert Scott said. Wolcott, of Horseshoe Bay, feels as though she were prescient in her quest to prod school districts to voluntarily set up sites outlining their spending. "I think something very interesting is happening. Basically, this is a populist movement by people who want to see their school districts succeed and are concerned when they see evidence of waste in school spending," Wolcott said. Wolcott said she made a commit- ment to open her home school district in Llano after making what she said was a broad and clumsy request for school records a few years ago. The district rewarded her a $426 bill for copying records, which Wolcott declined to accept because of the cost. After harnessing the open records issue to a school board race in 2004 that resulted in the election of five new members, Wolcott turned to creating a Web site that would monitor school issues not just in Texas, but nationally. On Oct. 1, she posted the National School District Honor Roll. Making the roll are 19 of the state's 1,032 districts and the Texas Education Agency. The Dallas school district, the state's second largest, is among the honorees. Houston, the largest district, has set a goal to post its spending on line by April, Wolcott said. Marble Falls is the only district in Central Texas on her list. Zedler's bill would ease Wolcott's task, but she said the current momentum favors districts posting their expenditures on their own. The Arlington school district has announced its intent to create a Web site for spending regardless of the fate of the bill filed by their representative. "I think this whole movement is driven by people's concern over the explosive growth of government," Zedler said. "I think something like this forces all of us to be a little more careful in how we spend the public's money." |
| Austin American- Statesman March 23, 2007 |
| UPDATE: Frank Beckmann has a terrific and kind manner; there were so many callers several were turned away despite his extending the segment an extra quarter-hour, all of which radio folks tell me is good; best of all, several folks indicated they'd be asking in their local schools. |
| Detroit News Editorial March 24, 2007 "Government should post spending online "Texas is pioneering a practice that should be tried in Michigan to see whether all the fat has been cut out of state government. The Texas Education Agency and the State Comptrollers Office post their spending online. Proposed legislation would extend this practice to all state agencies. A Texas woman, Peyton Wolcott, has been agitating for this kind of open government among school districts, so a legislator has pro- posed it. As Wolcott told the Austin American- States- man, ' Basically, this is a populist move- ment by people who want to see their school districts succeed and are concerned when they see evidence of waste in school spending.' " |
| ALERT: Texas supes attack parents' public records access By Peyton Wolcott-Copyright 2007-Mon., Apr.2, 2007/1am |
SB 889 sends a clear message to secret-mongers in government: If you want to keep secrets from people, be inefficient in responding to open records requests, because then you can jack up the costs, even charge attorneys fees and slow staff time, so the costs are so high most citizens won't be able to afford to get the records they want to see. --Bill Aleshire, attorney Open government specialist |