| 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 . |
| Cy-Fair's David Anthony (C) at resort with bar cart girl (L), AIG vendor Ken Coffey (R) at 2:30 pm on Friday, Apr. 20 of TAKS testing week |
| Some folks leave office more graciously than others. Hard to imagine Texas edu-missioner Shirley Neeley's release this week of her inspector general's findings linking her friend Jimmy Wynn's grant-writing activities to TEA chief deputy commissioner Robert Scott as falling into the "kinder, gentler" tone she invoked when joining the agency in 2004. Here's an excerpt from TEA's org chart : |
| 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 1999-2007 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 - July 2007 |
| "Superintendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-transparency to turn down requests that they post their check registers online." |
KEY POINT: "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 |
| http://www.ednews.org /articles/8244/1/An-Inte rview-with-Peyton-Wol cott-quotIs-the-Check-i n-the-Mail-or-On-Line- quot/Page1.html |
| Education News Interview (Michael Shaughnessy) February 19, 2007 www.EdNews.org |
ONLY 9 EASY STEPS TO ACCESS DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER ONLINE: STEP 1 START HERE: www.dallasisd.org STEP 2 ON THE LEFT (GREY BOX 'QUICKLINKS') CHOOSE: Board of Trustees STEP 3 YOU'LL SEE 2 GREY LINES OF TYPE; FROM 2nd LINE CHOOSE: Meeting Agendas STEP 4 SCROLL DOWN; FOR THE MOST RECENT CHECK REGISTER CHOOSE THE MOST RECENT "BOARD BRIEFINGS" ------ STEP 5 CHOOSE: FEB. 8, 2007 STEP 6 FIND "Briefing Meeting - February 8, 2007 11:30AM STEP 7 CLICK ON: "AGENDA PACKET" STEP 8 SCROLL DOWN TO 4. FINANCIAL SERVICES (Business Services Division) b. Ratification of List of Bills, Claims and Accounts for Demember 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006 ($74,044,519.08) STEP 9 CLICK ON "BillsClaims_ Attachment" VOILA! YOU'VE JUST ACCESSED DALLAS ISD'S CHECK REGISTER IN ONLY 9 --COUNT 'EM, 9-- EASY STEPS! |
| Fort Bend Now - Editorial Feb. 2, 2007 www.fortbendnow.co m/opinion |
| Dallas Blog Feb. 19, 2007 www.dallasblog.com |
| Houston Chronicle Feb. 13, 2007 http://blogs.chron.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 |
| SEEING IS BELIEVING Although Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell has just retired, his self- named "Leonard E. Merrell Center" (above) at Katy ISD still bears his name not once but twice, and remains the only such edifice in the U.S. which a working supe named for himself. (Updated July 4, 2007) |
| 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 your 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. |
| 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 COMMENTARIES ? Click on "Archives" button up on the tool bar. CHECK REGISTER COMMENTARIES ? Wondering who came online and when? Previous check register commentaries have moved to: |
| * Please attribute and include copyright. |
| National School District Honor Roll FIRST & MOST COMPLETE U.S. LIST ++++++++++++++++ Updated weekly ++++++++++++++++++ 47 districts online $28.3 billion! |
| Dallas Morning News March 8, 2007 |
| UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE |
| Austin American- Statesman March 23, 2007 |
| Former Bremond ISD supe |
| THE BIG PICTURE |
| Public Records |
| Sentencing |
| Bremond ISD |
| Home of the National School District Honor Roll 47 districts 4 states $28.3 billion How to ask your school district to post its checks online Flyer History |
| Practical steps: How to Organize 95 Questions How to ask for public records |
| Origin of the National School District Honor Roll |
| Another day in paradise: Texas' hardworking supes golfing with vendors during TAKS testing week By Peyton Wolcott Tue., Apr. 24, 2007/1:04 am |
_______________
| Former Bremond ISD supe Kenny Johnson (Sheriff Dep't/mug shot) |
| Former Llano ISD supe/Texas' first Public Information Act conviction Jack Patton negotiating settlement with board after trial, after surrendering certificate |
| Remember Dallas ISD's tech guy Ruben Bohuchot's use of vendor's"Sir Veza"? The yacht's been-- forgive us -- "Rehabbed." |
| SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH THEIR CHECK REGISTERS ONLINE: 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 Round Rock 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: 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) |
| You're Gov. Perry for a day: Your pick for Texas' next edu- missioner is ____? By Peyton Wolcott Monday, June 25/1:08 am You've got one basic decision; on it everything else hinges: |
| Are you really ready to do something about the mess our current vendor-driven public school system has become, or are you going to appoint someone from the same old tarnished Education, Inc. gene pool we've been culling from for the past dozen years? As guv-for-a-day, the person you hire will either continue to plunge Texas public education deeper into the subjective touchy-feely fuzzy math whole-language abyss in which it's become mired -- the one which has already produced a generation of young adults who can't tell you what six times nine is without a calculator and who don't know where Alsace-Lorraine is and why knowing that's important to the future of our Southern border with Mexico -- or you'll find a way to appease business interests and still put someone in charge who is smart and savvy enough to make the changes that are necessary. The nominees The names most frequently presented this past week: Robert Scott, Sandy Kress, Bill Hammond, Ric Williamson, Kent Grusendorf, Talmadge Heflin, John Folks, David Anthony, Leonard Merrell and Mike Hinojosa. |
| what's wrong with our public schools today for many diverse reasons--including being a paid education lobbyist--one of the biggest practical if not political strikes against Kress is the fact that his son does not attend Austin ISD public schools but instead attends a private preparatory school in Austin. Somehow it doesn't seem quite cricket that a fellow who's made a fortune from public education would be sending his child to a private school--especially if he really believes, as again and again he says does. Is Kress tied to growing New Orleans PS scandal? Former NOPS board president Ellenese Brooks-Simms pleaded guilty to bribery charges earlier this week and "has agreed to cooperate fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office.... The plea by Brooks-Simms marks the zenith thus far of a five-year federal probe into Orleans Parish schools that has netted 28 additional indictments of employees and contractors on various bribery, fraud and theft charges....Records show the company has paid lucrative fees to lobbying juggernauts including...Akin Gump." (SOURCE--New Orleans Times-Picayune) Sandy Kress is a partner in Akin Gump. For those of you just back from ten years Zimbabwe, Kress is also a former Dallas ISD school board trustee and was the education advisor to President Bush credited as being the primary architect of No Child Left Behind. Among the groups with which he's been associated: Texas Business & Education Coalition on whose board he serves with the likes of Mike Moses, Bracewell partner David Thompson and TASA's Kay Waggoner. According to Texas Ethics Commission records, for just one activity--as paid lobbyist for Texans for Excellence in the Classroom-- Kress expects his annual compensation to be in the neighborhood of $100,000 to $149,999.99. |
| Sandy Kress (2nd from left) |
| Education, Inc. candidates Business sector Although Sandy Kress epitomizes for many parents and taxpayers |
| The blogospher on Kress I still consider it one of life's great mysteries as to how anyone who listens to Kress for as long as it takes to spell c-o-r-r-u-p-t-i-o-n could be impressed by anything he has to say about any legitimate conception of education. (SOURCE--School Matters) Kress has used his knowledge and connections to earn millions as a high-powered lobbyist for test publishers...He’s made about $4 million in lobbying contracts, in large part from companies that profit from provisions of the law he helped to design. (SOURCE--Emily Pyle/Texas Observer) [Regarding NCLB/Reading First] Surely from the beginning, from the crafty engineering and writing of the law to its implementation, cronyism and conflicts of intereset have abounded. Who has benefited from this regressive and oppressive law? The financial benefit to Sandy Kress alone is probably staggering. (SOURCE--Educator Roundtable) Thanks to Sandy Kress, several brand-new spigots had begun to pump billions in federal dollars out of public schools and into the private sector, where corporate interests had only to hold out their buckets and fill ‘em up. (SOURCE--Daily Kos) |
| Bill Hammond is another business lobbyist--he's president of the Texas Association of Business-- and someone else many parents and taxpayers |
| Bill Hammond |
| To make this easier for you, guv-for-a-day, assuming you're short on time, here's the short-form EZ graphics version; the longer form with factual supporting data follows: |
| Sandy Kress, Bill Hammond, Ric Williamson and Kent "Pushing Laptops Is My Middle Name" Grusendorf are profiled at right. Austin insiders say Cy-Fair's David Anthony has never really been in the running and that his and San Antonio's John Folk's and Dallas' Hinojosa candidacies may be more a function of contract negotiations with their boards; you see the idea. Does Texas really need an education commissioner who would leave his teachers and students behind back in his hometown to play golf at a resort on Friday of TAKS testing week with an insurance vendor (below)? Or a paid lobbyist with deep and rich connections to education vendors? That's what we'd get with David Anthony or Sandy Kress. |
| Sandy Kress, Bill Hammond, Ric Williamson, John Folks, David Anthony, Leonard Merrell and Mike Hinojosa. |
xxx
| The blogosphere on Hammond BRIEF: The head of one of Texas' largest business lobbies was taken into custody Monday after refusing to turn over documents concerning the organization's secretly-funded advertising campaign during the 2002 legislative races. Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond also decided not to pay his $500 fine for contempt and was ordered held in the Austin jury room until 5 p.m. when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set bail at $1,500 and he was released. (SOURCE--KPFT) Leave it to Shirley Neeley and her ventriloquists in the governor's office to appoint a "task force" of political insiders to investigate cheating on the TAKS test. All five of the appointees are connected to the Texas Public Education Establishment....The five are Dr. Carole Francois, education consultant; Bill Hammond, chief of the Texas Association of Business; Sylvia Hatton, former executive director of the TEA's regional education service center in Edinburg; George McShan, former president of the state and national associations of school boards; and A.J. Rodriguez, head of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. Some might remember Dr. Francois from days when she was former Dallas ISD Supt. Mike Moses' chief of staff. She also worked for Moses at TEA. (SOURCE--Scott Parks/Dallas Morning News Blog) |
| Kent Grusendorf The former House Public Education chair was defeated for a variety of reasons last year including his relentless pushing of taxpayer- funded laptops for all students. Putting someone so out of touch with the populace, including teachers, in charge of TEA seems not wise. Further, he was unseated by Diane Patrick, a former teacher and considered a friend of public schools. |
| Texas Senate Education chair Florence Shapiro on Sandy Kress: "When it comes to public schools and the betterment of children, I don't know of anyone who cares more about that than Sandy Kress. Ms. Shapiro said she sees Mr. Kress as a friend, not one of the estimated 300 Austin lawyer- lobbyists who represent clients interested in public education law. ' I have no idea who his clients are,' she said." Comment: Apparently Mr. Kress' interest in public schools and the betterment of children does not extend to his own son, given that his son attends a private prep school. |
| Comment Call some of us populists, call others of us egalitarian, but it seems that anyone wanting to head up Texas' public schools should at the very least have his son enrolled in one. It is troubling that the man who has been a part of selling so much stuff to our public schools finds our public schools sufficiently lacking that he has enrolled his son in a private school. A nagging question: If Sandy finds our public schools sufficiently lacking that he will not send his son to one, does this mean the stuff we are buying from his clients the school peddlers is not working? If if it's not working, whyare we buying it? |
| Developing . . . . |
| Shirley Neeley |
| Robert Scott |
| 2 boxes: Internal Audit Insp. General |
| 51 boxes: (all other TEA employees including legal, standards, charters, audits, assessment, finance, governance, certification, budget) |
| TEA INSPECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT Much ado--but about what? (And why now?) By Peyton Wolcott Mon., July 2, 2007/11 p.m. |
| Is the Inspector General's report timing accidental? o Jan. 2007 - Gov. Perry doesn't reappoint Shirley Neeley as Texas education commissioner. o Feb. 4 - Anonymous TEA tipster approaches Shirley with "concerns" about TEA's grant process; Shirley asks TEA inspector general to investigate. o Mar.-Apr. - Inspector general's report goes to Shirley. o June 15 - Inspector general's final report. o June 27 - TEA releases inspector general's report to the press while Gov. Perry is in the Holy Land for a week. o June 29 - Shirley's last day at TEA. |
| Mobile Satellite Ventures L.P. 10802 Parkridge Boulevard Reston, VA 20191-4334 Type of Compensation: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 Pearson Education 1 Lake Street Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Type of Compensation: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 Texans for Excellence in the Classroom 515 Congress Avenue Suite 1780 Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensation: Prospective Amount: $100,000 - $149,999.99 |
| Texas supes golfing on Friday, April 20, 2007 during TAKS testing week at TAS/MUS "Boerne Tourney" |
| Should this public school profiteer* be Texas' next education commissioner? By Peyton Wolcott - Updated Wed. July 11, 2007/1:09 am |
| Education lobbyist and lawyer Sandy Kress discussing NCLB on PBS |
| One of the tests of growing up is learning that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Austin lobbyist/lawyer Sandy Kress has certainly paid his dues--in some cases literally perhaps--towards the cause of his being named Texas' next edumissioner. He is after all most commonly called "the architect of No Child Left Behind." Where the dilemma lies is that for some people this is a good thing and for many others, it is not. As regards his ties to a seemingly endless stream of public school vendors, it is very difficult to imagine that with a few signed papers Sandy could sufficiently divest himself of all holdings for the period of his service as Texas edu-missioner. Look at this sampling, judge for yourself: |
| TEXAS ETHICS COMMIS SION: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 300 West 6th Street Suite 2100 Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensati on: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 D.H. Texas Developmen t L.P. c/o Darryl Hammond 326 Calhoun Plaza Port Lavaca, TX 77979 Type of Compensati on: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 Early Care and Educatio n Consorti um 805 15th Street NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005 Type of Compensati on: Prospective Amount: $10,000 - $24,999. 99 Edvance Researc h Inc. 9901 IH-10 West Suite 700 San Antonio, TX 78257 Type of Compensati on: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 Governo r's Busines s Council 515 Congress Avenue Suite 1780 Austin, TX 78701 Type of Compensati on: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 MGT of America Inc. 2123 Centre Point Boulevard Tallahassee, FL 32308 Type of Compensati on: Prospective Amount: Less Than $10,000.00 |
| Why focus on Sandy Kress? Two reasons: One, he is the apparent pick for TEA edu-missioner by the Texas business commun- ity, and appears on all short lists. Two, he's mentioned as a consistent front runner behind deputy commissioner Robert Scott. Why now? We are asking the kinds of questions that had they been asked in December 2003 might have spared us 3 1/2 years of Shirley Neeley's leadership. The truth will come out. Our schoolchildren and their parents and taxpayers deserve nothing less. |
| Salute to America's 2007 Modern Minutemen By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, July 4, 2007 |
| would like to see kept as far away from public education as legally possible. |
l
| 2007 Moden Minutemen Betsy Combier/New York What one mom can do. www.parentadvocates.org Tim Crews/California What one newspaper editor can do. www.valleymirror.us Allen Gwinn/Texas What one blogger can do. www.dallas.org Mike Shaughnessy/NM What one educator can do. www.ednews.org Rhonda Thurman/Tenn. What one school board member can do. Hamilton County PS Kelly Coghlan, Kelly Shackleford and Jonathan Saenz/Texas What three men can do. HB 3678, Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act Al Kirke, Susan Sarhady, Veronica Jenkins & other "Math Wars" parents/Texas What a group of parents can do. Plano ISD |
| What does July 4th have to do with us and the lives we live today? Many older friends decry our modern age with its problems and seem to have a general yearning to go back to a kinder, gentler and far simpler time. Say, 231 years ago when 56 of our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence? Gary Bauer pointed out yesterday that those men who had the courage to begin our country were "merchants, farmers, clergymen and lawyers, men who stood to lose their wealth and standing in society for signing their names to that document we cherish today. All their lives they had served as loyal subjects of the king. They were all educated men who understood what they were undertaking by rebelling against the British Empire. While honoring their courage, Americans often forget the sufferings of the Founding Fathers. For the most part, the War for Independence destroyed the lives of these men." Bauer points out that at least three of the 56 died bankrupt or in debt: John Hart, Carter Braxton and Thomas Nelson, Jr. Hart for example "had to flee the deathbed of his wife, leaving his 13 children to disperse into hiding from the British, who vandalized his farm. Returning a year later to find that his wife had passed away, his children were missing, and his livelihood had been destroyed. He died within weeks, dejected and alone." |
| As you read this today, here's hoping you're having a happy family holiday, celebrating together the birth of our great republic. |
| *About that public school profiteering There are issues around Sandy Kress' lobbying and business interests. Here's one example: |
| Patriotic boy |
| Some of us will be going to parades -- |
| Patriotic parade |
| -- big or little, some with precision lawnmower drills, others with kids' bicycle races -- |
| -- all with flags and displays of patriotism. |
