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| Copyright 1999-2007 Peyton Wolcott |
| Conservative Commentary - U. S. public education |
| THE BIG PICTURE |
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| Practical steps in your own schools: How to Organize 95 Questions How to ask for public records |
| EDU-LOBBYING Pearson Texas $1.423 billion Akin Gump/Areva/Libya/Rice WashingtonDCLobbying TexasLobbying Texas Monthly TexasEduMissioner 95Questions Donna Garner |
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| THE NATIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT HONOR ROLL ONLINE CHECKBOOKS 70 school districts! 5 states! $31.5 billion!How to ask your local school district Flyer History 1st Year Anniversary |
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| MOMS DOING TOO MUCH? Ohio middle school principal remembers doughnuts, forgets young daughter By Peyton Wolcott Saturday, September 15, 2007 - 7:03 a.m. |
| Until a staff meeting the Thursday before school started last month, Glen Estes Middle School assis- tant principal Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby |
| As of this week The school board is paying Nesselroad-Slaby to stay away from school while they continue to consider her fate behind closet doors; the community was understandably upset that an issue so directly affecting them would be discussed and decided behind closed doors. A fund to buy playground equipment has been established in Cecilia's memory. Don White is proposing legislation which would make future such situations prosecutable although he has declined to press to make it illegal in Ohio for small children to be left alone in cars. |
| Nesselro ad-Slaby |
| Cecilia remained strapped in her car seat until 3 p.m. that afternoon when a passerby noticed the girl; police later said the heat in the closed car might have reached 149 degrees. Cecilia died of systemic hyperthermia, or heat stroke. |
| On that day, August 23, she varied her schedule; rather than first dropping her two-year old daughter Cecilia off at day care she instead stopped to pick up some doughnuts for her staff. In a later interview with Union Township police Slaby said, "I think as soon as I got those doughnuts, I got focused on get- ting in school for some reason." In the photo (SOURCE--WLWT) at top, taken from the school's security camera, Slaby is shown bringing the doughnuts from the back of her SUV into the school. |
| Interior Nesselroad-Slaby's car |
| Prosecutors reviewed video from security cameras at the school, which showed that, a few minutes before 7 a.m., Nessel- road-Slaby stopped near a door to remove several boxes of doughnuts from the rear cargo area of her car through a hatchback. Nesselroad-Slaby then moved the car to a parking spot. She didn't return to the SUV until after 3 p.m. (SOURCE--Barrett J. Brunsman/Cincinnati Enquirer) |
| Nesselroad-Slaby police interview |
| Mom not charged in death In declining to press charges, Clermont County Prosecutor Don White ignored recommendations by the local police department. All evidence indicated that Nesselroad-Slaby didn't intend to leave Cecilia in the car, Prosecutor Don White said. |
| Cincinnati Enquirer Q & A What does the Ohio law say? "No person, who is the parent, guardian, custodian, person having custody or control, or person in loco parentis of a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally or physically handicapped child under twenty-one years of age, shall create a substantial risk to the health or safety of the child, by violating a duty of care, protection, or support." The Supreme Court has determined that the person must act recklessly in creating the substantial risk. What did the investigating officers recommend regarding charges? Detective Sgt. Scott Blankenship recommended Aug. 27 to his superiors on the Union Township Police Department that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby be charged with felony child endangering and they agreed. Why did Don White determine charges would not be brought? White determined the evidence showed Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby did not realize her daughter Cecilia still was in the car when she parked it and went inside to work that day. If she was not aware the child was there, White said, she did not disregard a known risk and, therefore, did not act recklessly, as the law defines that term. Why didn't Don White present the case to a grand jury for it to determine whether charges should be brought? Prosecutors are not supposed to present cases to a grand jury when they believe the evidence shows that no crime occurred. Did the mother's previous behavior of leaving the child unattended in her car have any bearing on whether charges should be brought in this case? White says no. If the child were harmed in those cases, criminal charges would have been more likely because prosecutors could have concluded the mother acted with disregard for a known risk. In this case, prosecutors concluded, the mother simply forgot the child was in the car and, therefore, could not have knowingly disregarded the risk. The fact that she had left the child in the car for a few minutes on previous occasions does not change the fact that she forgot the child was in the car this time, White says. (SOURCE--Dan Horn and Barrett Brunsman/The Cincinnati Enquirer) |
| "Don White and Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby should be put in a vehicle together for eight-plus hours to experience Cecilia's horrible death. ... If this doesn't constitute recklessness, I don't know what does." --Helen McGowan, Liberty Township "I agree with the decision that Prosecutor Don White made not to charge Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby for unintentionally leaving her daughter in the SUV, resulting in her unfortunate death. It clearly was an example of a person having too many irons in the fire and quite simply forgetting. This is an accident and something she will have to live with the rest of her life." --Larry Pope, Loveland "She is only getting out of this because of who she is, not what she did. If she were a poor person, she would be rotting in jail." --June Douglas, Reading "In my eyes she was reckless as to not realizing that her child was in the car with her. ... I hope to God that while she may not be put in jail for this that the West Clermont school board doesn't allow this woman to educate our children. If they do, I will not allow my child in any of the West Clermont schools. I am ashamed of the Clermont County Prosecutor's office. They will no longer have any support from this resident." --Christy Holcombe, Clermont County |
| Community feedback The following is a representative sampling culled by The Cincinnati Enquirer from more than 400 posted as of September 5, 2007: |
| "Recently our Office has received a continuing stream of phone calls from citizens asking about our Office’s role in the Slaby case, including some requests that we re-investigate it and file a criminal charge or charges against Brenda Slaby. In order to clarify our role this is how the process has evolved in this case. "The tragic incident involving Cecilia Slaby occurred in Union Township. That jurisdiction has its own police department which is totally independent and separate from our Office. They have their own Police Chief (Terry Zinser) and I as Sheriff have no authority or control over their operations or investigations. If we are called by them to assist or provide mutual aid we will do so and vice versa. In this particular case all aspects of the investigation were handled by the Union Township Police and our assistance or involvement was not requested by them. Thus, we had no role in the investigation or in discussions with the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office. "There is no justification, legal or otherwise, for our Office to re-investigate the case. From all indications and information the case was thoroughly, competently, and professionally investigated by the Union Township Police. That department collected evidence and interviewed Ms. Slaby and other witnesses. There is no reason to believe that a re-investigation of the case would result in any different findings or conclusions than those reached by the Union Township Police. "It is the Prosecutor’s Office and not law enforcement agencies or officers that ultimately determine what criminal charge or charges will be taken forward in court. "Most of the time, but not always, there is agreement between prosecutors and law enforcement officers about what charges should be pursued against an individual in a given case. There are times, however, that cases are investigated by a law enforcement agency with intent to prosecute, but the prosecutor through an application of the law to the facts determines that a prosecution is not warranted. In some other cases, the prosecutors determine that additional or more serious charges should be filed. Under the law it is the Prosecutor’s Office that has the final say regarding whether or not a case will be prosecuted. Law enforcement cannot override or circumvent this decision. "In this particular case Don White and his staff upon considering the facts of the case in accordance with applicable law determined that no criminal charge or charges were warranted. Given this it would now be futile as well as legally improper for a law enforcement officer or agency to file a criminal charge against Ms. Slaby. The charge would most certainly be dismissed at the request of the Prosecutor, and in turn the officers and department involved could be liable to her for filing a charge when the County Prosecutor had already decided that no charge was justified." |
| Statement from Clermont County Sheriff A.J. Rodenberg: |
| Not Slaby's first time According to police reports, Cecilia had been left alone before in the car (WCPO photo above), and had been warned by her her older daughter Allison's school. |
| Not White's first time: Class issue, not race? Nate Livington of Cincinnati Black Blog raises this issue in reference to a previous case handled by Clermont County Prosecutor Don White, who Nate says, "oversaw the prosecution of Jerry Bittner and Bonnie Bittner on child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter charges. The Bittners are white. They also were poor and living with family in a trailer when they accidentally left their daughter in a hot car. She died. They were prosecuted." |
| The Nesselroad-Slaby issue comes at a tough time for West Clermont. With two members up for re-election and six challengers, this issue is hot enough that it could cost incumbents their seats and the district its fourth attempt at a bond issue. "Their job is even more difficult, in my opinion, than the prosecutor's because the prosecutor is using just the issue of the law," said Roger Effron, a Madeira-based education consultant. "In a case like this, it will not only be the issue of the law, but it will also be the whole issue of the community standards, the reactions of the community, whether it becomes disruptive to the community ... The plate is fuller when it comes to the board making this decision, because it's not as cut and dry as with just the law." (SOURCE--Cindy Krankckranz/ Cincinnati Enquirer) |
| "A parent had complained about seeing Cecilia left in a car last winter," and a teacher at Allison's school has told police that twice in the two days before Cecilia's death she heard Nesselroad-Slaby describe leaving the child unattended in a car. "She told Allison to hurry up because the baby was in the car," [teacher Tara] Phillips wrote, adding that the same thing happened the next day. "We were acting out a story when Ms. Slaby came to pick up Allison about 3:05," Phillips wrote. "Allison asked Mom if she would stay to watch her part. Mom stayed, and they both left at 3:15. Mom didn't go to check on the baby." Debbie Wolf, a former...administrator, told police that after the parent expressed concern last winter about a baby left in a car, she told Nesselroad-Slaby "that her child should not be left in the car alone. Mrs. Slaby apologized." Wolf told police the incident prompted the school to warn parents in its newsletter that "no child should be left in a car unattended." (Ibid.) |
| School board / politics issues |
| Glen Este Middle School |
| appears to have been able to do it all: Wife, mother, professional. |
| MOMS DOING TOO MUCH? Last night's Clermont board meeting: Nesselroad-Slaby replacement named By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Two major developments in the case of Brenda Nesselroad- Slaby, the Ohio assistant principal who left her young daughter Cecilia alone and locked in a car seat all day last month in the family car in the school parking lot -- sadly, the child died that afternoon -- include Slaby's employment status and improvements in the law the county prosecutor is attempting to make. |
| WCPO/Cincinnati video here |
| FROM WEAPONS OF MASS DISCUSSION: Prosecutor Don White, who refused to charge Slaby, has an even more complicated relationship with Slaby's defense Counsel, Scott Croswell. In an earlier post, we discussed that Croswell is a Clermont County Commissioner, and thus is over the Prosecutor's office. However, it gets even more, shall we say, interesting. Croswell is married to one Stephanie Wyler, a judge. Stephanie is part of the Jeff Wyler family, who owns some of the largest dealerships in SW Ohio in GM cars. In his private practice, Don White has Jeff Wyler Autogroup as one of his big time clients. |
| Almost 20,000 hits on WKRC community forum here |
| COMMUNITY FEEDBACK |
| Over 800 community comments on Cincinnati Enquirer forum |
| West Clermont Board of Ed. Center: Jo Ann Beamer, pres. |
| White wants to add an element of 'negligence' to the law." (SOURCE--WCPO) White has also spoken to a state legislator, saying he had " 'suggested that we add a section to the child endangering law that would penalize people for negligent conduct.' The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that current law allows charges only if someone has acted recklessly. That legal standard applies to someone who disregards a known risk, but it doesn't cover forgetting about a child." (SOURCE--Barrett H, Brunsman/Cincinnati Enquirer) |
| Possible source of insights into West Clermont supe Gary Brooks' leadership NOTE: Brooks' prior position was supe of Ohio's Batavia Schools. "The Superintendent of the Batavia School System brought his administrative team to Bracken Ridge. Their agenda was to 'build the team' through some facilitated activities, to craft the beginnings of a vision and mission for all the district and to define a clear strategy for driving all departments to insure that all actions they take, fiscally and programmatically improve student achievement. By the end of the day they had gone further than they thought, had an extensive set of action items and were talking and moving together. " 'Bracken Center is the perfect setting to really bring a team together. The pastoral atmosphere coupled, with great food and outstanding process/meeting facilitation from their staff enabled our team to focus on core instructional issues. Unburdened by the distractions of the daily tasks, the team has started to build meaningful work relationships that will improve our work. While underscoring our interdependence, we highlighted personal responsibilities to the organization. We made more progress toward our goals in one day than the organization had seen in a long time, and had a fabulous time while doing so. I highly recommend both Bracken Center and their professional staff for any group looking to improve their performance.' " |
| The Clermont school board--which has met at least twice behind closed doors to discuss Slaby's continued employment--hired her replacement last night. She is still on paid leave ($77,782 annually) from the district and is arguing that because Cecilia's death was an accident she should be allowed to keep her job; this, despite many comments and now a petition arguing otherwise. Among the protestors has been local businesswoman Kate Harner, who pointed out at last night's board meeting, "You are currently thinking about a rather hefty expenditure. We all know who I’ m talking about. I wonder what budget that’s coming out of," protesting that taxpayers are entitled to know about settlements, adding, “I’ d like to get an answer some day from someone." Board President Jo Ann Beamer said, “We are not going to discuss anything like that, period. That’s personnel. You are out of order.” (SOURCE--Cinday Kranz/Cincinnati Enquirer) In a WKRC online forum earlier this month, Harner pointed out, "We must not let the School Board pay this blackmail money to Slaby. If they just wait until the charges are filed, they won't have to pay her off. 60% of my property tax money goes to West Clermont Schools--I will not stand for this incredible waste of money." |
| Last Wednesday, the Ohio Prosecutors Association, of which Clermont County prosecutor Don White is president, reviewed White's proposal to "change Ohio's child endangering law. |
| Bracken Ridge Center for Professional Development |
| School videotape of Nesselroad- Slaby (R) unloading car |
| Texans have Governor Rick Perry (above right) and Interim Commissioner of Education Robert Scott (above left) to thank for the Texas Education Agency's check register being posted online this past February; it was a natural next step after Perry's Executive Order RP 47 in August 2005, "relating to a comprehensive financial accountability and reporting system to ensure transparency and fiscal efficiency in school district operations," a system requiring school districts to spend 65% of the monies entrusted to them by taxpayers in the classroom. Robert Scott, a Distinguished Speaker on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007 at the annual TASB/TASA convention in Dallas, encouraged the 8,000 (SOURCE--The Dallas Morning News) public school superinten- dents and board members present to join the movement towards transparency and place their check registers online. Those present report that Scott was well received--so much so that the large convention hall had to be enlarged to make room for more of Scott's audience as they arrived. At the same conference education lawyer/lobbyist Sandy Kress, whose clients include the Pearson edu-entities to whom Texas taxpayers have sent $1.423 billion since 1998, presented regarding the Commission for a College Ready Texas, which he chairs, the hour before Scott, in a conference room and not a convention hall; Kress' presentation was not covered by any of the state's newspapers that I have been able to find. Here's hoping Gov. Perry will view Saturday afternoon as an informal straw poll of what his populace wants in an education commis- sioner. As Perry and his able staff continue to weigh whether to appoint Scott or Kress, here's also hoping that Perry will recognize that Saturday's crowd, which represents the Texas education establishment, apparently, with their feet, picked Scott. |
| OHIO ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL BRENDA NESSELROAD-SLABY UPDATE |
| Would you want this woman to be your child's assistant principal? By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - 11:26 p.m. |
| Although the West Clermont Schools Board still has not reached a decision regarding whether to discharge Slaby, from what I can see of community postings on the Enquirer's blog, sentiment appears high that Slaby leave. The bottom line appears to be this: As much compassion as you or I might feel for this woman above--the photo taken during police questioning the day her toddler daughter Cecilia died, locked inside the family SUV all day at Slaby's school, in temperatures estimated to have reached 145 degrees--many in her community are saying Slaby should never again be allowed to work with children. Others such as this letter-to-the-editor writer address another prime issue, that Slaby maintains Cecilia's death was an "accident" and she, Slaby, therefore should not be punished: |
| [Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby] is opposing Prosecutor Don White's efforts to amend the child endangering law, saying, "I don't know how you punish somebody for something that was an accident?" So, "accidents" that cause death should have no punishment? Where else in our legal system does that exist?...She is still commenting on her career interests, and how she wants to return to her job? --Doug Moore, Finneytown The Cincinnati Enquirer |
| Terrence Stutz reported last week in The Dallas Morning News that Sandy Kress has confirmed "he is not a candidate for state education commission- er, leaving current acting Commissioner Robert Scott as the most likely person to be named to the post by Gov. Rick Perry. "Mr. Kress said that although he has been encouraged by several business and civic leaders to consider the job, he has no plans to give up his current position as an Austin-based partner in the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld law firm and wants to retain his membership on key education panels. 'I have a full plate of things that engage me in Texas and around the country, and I intend to continue working on all the assignments I currently have,' said Mr. Kress, a former president of the Dallas school board and current chairman of the Governor's Commission for a College Ready Texas." |
| Is it true? Sandy Kress no longer in the running for Texas edu-missioner? By Peyton Wolcott Wed., Oct. 10, 2007 - 7:03 a.m. |
| U.S. K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION Sunny skies in Michigan and Texas--and questions on the table By Peyton Wolcott - Thursday, October 11, 2007 - 7:03 a.m. |
| Roster |
| First the good news Probably the best thing about a bad situation is when it becomes an opportunity to become a learning experience, an opportunity to do better--and someone actual does. Not a day passes that news does not come across my desk related to embezzlement of public school funds by someone generally perceived by their community as being a trusted employee. "But they're a good person!" is a familiar reaction as the person is led away in handcuffs. Three contributing factors One, few if any supes have accounting- related background. A century ago, when the pot of money was relatively small financial oversight didn't so much matter. Today, however, our local public schools' budgets are generally the largest in any county. While too many of our superintendents will tell you at the drop of a hat that they want and need more money with which to run their districts, most resist much actual nuts-and-bolts oversight over the funds entrusted to them. When I've asked whether they have any business experience, the reaction is generally, "Ew," not unlike 19th century Austrian doctors' initial responses to Ignatz Semmelweiss' asking them to please wash their hands between delivering babies in order to reduce the high percentage of puerperal fever deaths. Two, because being a superintendent is the most political of appointments within any given community, our supes understand the importance of being perceived as a good guy or gal -- what I call the "everyone-wants-to-be- loved-itis" factor. To hang on to their jobs more than the 2 1/2-3 year current average, superintendents need to be politically astute; seldom if ever have politicians become popular for tightening internal controls. Three, add to the equation that most supes are just plain busy, with very long days. If their bookkeeper/business manager seems on top of things, that's one last place needing a lot of attention. Mark Kleinhans, Montrose, Michigan Remember the case of Dana Bacon, the trusted long-time bookkeeper in Montrose, Michigan who was arrested for embezzling $1.2 million over several years? |
Big Pots of Money Most people view school districts as places that educate children. But they also can be viewed as big pots of taxpayer money. -- Scott Parks, Dallas Morning News |
| From top: Longtime Montrose, Michigan school bookkeeper Dana Bacon's arrest earlier this year came as a shock to the entire community (SOURCE--Megan Spellman); below, turnout at next school board meeting. Bottom: sign on Dana Bacon's office; her daughter participated in a flag corps team which traveled the U.S. |
Developing . . . |
| Former Montrose Community Schools bookkeeper Dana Bacon [above right in court] "concocted an elaborate scheme of direct deposits duplicate checks unauthorized invoices and phony tax payments." --Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. |
| U.S. K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION Question: To what extent if any did Andre Hornsby Leapfrog while serving as Prince George's supe? By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 4:10 a.m. |
| his steering a contract worth nearly $1 million to her employer, LeapFrog School House. Owens was living with Mr. Hornsby at the time in Mitchellville. The plea deal states that Owens will help federal authorities with their investigation, including testifying in court. Owens could face a maximum of three years in prison for her guilty plea, but the agreement suggests prosecutors will seek a lesser penalty." (SOURCE--Washington Times) |
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| In many ways, Andre J. Hornsby was seen as the bold choice when he was named in 2003 to lead the Prince George's County school system. The cocksure administrator had been fired from a similar post in Yonkers, N.Y., and embroiled in an ethics scandal there. But the Prince George's Board of Education, smarting from a bitter battle with its previous superintendent and stuck with test scores that were the second-lowest in the state, looked beyond concerns about Hornsby's manner and ethics, in part because he had been credited with improving scores. Hornsby, who resigned two years later, is scheduled to go on trial tomorrow on corruption charges: Federal prosecutors allege he arranged a $1 million purchase from a software company where his girlfriend worked as a saleswoman and then split a $20,000 commission with her. In a second alleged scheme, one in which prosecutors say he was to collect kickbacks of more than $100,000, Hornsby is accused of arranging for an associate's company to receive a consulting contract. Hornsby, 54, has pleaded not guilty. The trial in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt is expected to feature testimony from Sienna Owens, the former live-in girlfriend. She has pleaded guilty to a tax violation and is cooperating with the prosecution. It is also expected to provide the first public look at a videotape of Hornsby in a hotel room in Bowie, tucking into a shirt pocket a $1,000 cash payment that prosecutors allege was profit from securing the consulting contract. The meeting, recorded secretly by the FBI, has been described in an affidavit signed by an FBI agent. Hornsby's attorney, Robert C. Bonsib, said last week that he and his client are "ready for the fight" and optimistic. "Dr. Hornsby is looking forward to being able to confront these allegations in a courtroom, where the rules prohibit rumor and innuendo, and the facts will be fully explored," Bonsib said. Whatever the outcome, Hornsby's legacy as chief executive of the second-largest school system in the state is an erosion of public trust, said Howard W. Stone Jr., a former board member who supported Hornsby's hiring. "Not only parental confidence, but the public confidence in the school system was shaken," Stone said. Before Hornsby's arrival, the 135,000-student school system was roiled by a swift series of changes in power. The board had fired his predecessor, Iris T. Metts, but she was later reinstated by the State Board of Education. Exasperated state legislators disbanded the elected county board, replacing it with an appointed panel, and Metts decided early in 2003 not to renew her contract. The board, weighing three finalists to succeed her, knew that some unions opposed Hornsby's candidacy and that influential parents were wary of his cocksure personality. Board members knew, too, that Hornsby had been fired from his job as school superintendent in Yonkers after publicly feuding with the mayor. He had also been investigated there for allegedly accepting gifts from a school vendor, a charge Hornsby disputed vigorously. Still, he had been credited with raising student performance in Yonkers. The board, voting 8 to 1, hired Hornsby to a four-year contract with a $250,000 annual salary, hoping that his aggressive management style would deliver results. |
| Andre Hornsby |
| When former Prince George's supe Andre Hornsby gets his day in court this morning in Maryland on the 16 indictments found against him last August (mail and wire fraud, evidence tampering, witness tampering and obstruction of justice) we'll finally get to hear his side of the story, including his explanation for the tape of him allegedly slipping $1,000 into his pocket while discussing school business. There may well be a perfectly reasonable explanation for the thou along with alleged talks concerning a truck and a yacht, perhaps along the lines of "One if by land and two if by sea." |
| Siena Williams (PHOTO--Washington Post) |
| Meanwhile, Hornsby's ex-live-in-girlfriend, Siena Wilson, pleaded guilty last November to a felony tax fraud charge involving her then-employer, LeapFrog Schoolhouse; further, she agreed to help investigators in their case against Hornsby. "According to a plea agreement formalized during a hearing in U.S. District Court, Owens gave $10,000 of that commission to Mr. Hornsby in return for |
| Hornsby hit the ground at a gallop: He removed nine principals before the start of classes, saying their schools hadn't demonstrated enough improvement. In a little more than a year, he replaced 80 of the system's 197 principals. During his first school year, test scores rose in many county schools, although the state still listed more than 70 county schools, more than a third of the system, as needing improvement. Among his most notable achievements, Stone said, was an emphasis on reading and math, areas that remain a priority under his successor, John E. Deasy. But questions arose about a year into Hornsby's tenure, after he approved the purchase from his girlfriend's software company, LeapFrog SchoolHouse. Hornsby used federal anti-poverty funds for the deal and did not disclose to the board his relationship with Owens, which surfaced in news reports. Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George's), who had recommended against hiring Hornsby after sitting in on two interviews with him and doing his own research, was one of the most forceful critics at the time. "I wasn't real happy," Pinsky said recently, recalling that the Senate delegation met with the board and Hornsby. "I said to the board, 'The county has had some problems with integrity. . . . If anything, you need to bend the twig in the other direction of being clean and pure and stainless.' And then things continued to go downhill as more information came out." By the time Hornsby resigned, in May 2005, it was widely known that he was under investigation by the FBI for the LeapFrog purchase. Nonetheless, he negotiated a $125,000 severance under the contract's terms. Less than two weeks later, an independent report commissioned by the board documented what the board called "unacceptable" conduct that raised "serious legal and ethical concerns." The report outlined the two arrangements at the center of an indictment returned against him. Announcing that indictment at a news conference in August 2006, Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said Hornsby lied to investigators and directed others to destroy evidence. The charges stunned and angered Judy Mickens-Murray, the only school board member who had voted against hiring Hornsby. "My innocence is definitely gone," she said. The state-appointed board that hired Hornsby was replaced by an elected board last year. Mickens-Murray and Stone lost bids to win seats on the new panel. Hornsby lives in Oklahoma, according to public records. Attempts to reach him were not successful. After leaving the Prince George's system, Hornsby concentrated on a new enterprise as leader of a company that aimed to offer federally subsidized tutoring services to disadvantaged students. His application to provide supplemental educational services in Maryland won state approval early in 2006. After he was indicted, State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick sent Hornsby a letter saying that "it would be in the best interests of the students in Maryland" to temporarily rescind approval of the firm as a provider of services. |
| Ex-Chief Hornsby Heading To Trial: Pr. George's Saw Official as Savior By Ruben Castaneda and Nelson Hernandez - Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, October 15, 2007; Page B01 |
| TEXAS PUBLIC EDUCATION Introducing Robert Scott, our new Commissioner of Education By Peyton Wolcott Updated Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 3:02 a.m. |
| Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott |
| Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, announced at 11:08 a.m. yesterday morning his appointment of Robert Scott as Commissioner of Education for the great State of Texas. With a fiscal conservative as governor, and conservatives Don McLeroy as chair of the State Board of Education and now Robert Scott officially at the helm of our state department of education (the Texas Education Agency), I believe we are poised to climb our way out of the fuzzy math/whole word abyss in which we've been stagnating for too many years, starting with the new curriculum standards now being written for the English Language Arts & Reading portion of the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (ELAR-TEKS); instead of the "mushy" (then-Governor Bush's word) goop we settled for a decade ago from the edu-establishment -- what Scott Parks of the Dallas Morning News calls the "education-industrial complex" -- we now finally have an opportunity to return to measurable objective standards of the kind which create a climate in which children can learn sufficient facts and information so that they can devise their own strategies for successful living. Bottom line: It is my fervent hope that ten years from now when I go to a big box store and ask the cashier what six times nine is, he or she will be able to tell me -- without consulting a calculator. This is how we build a disciplined and informed populace capable of thinking for themselves. This is how we continue to keep our nation strong. God bless America. |
| Texas Governor Rick Perry |
For Immediate Distribution October 16, 2007 Robert Black: robert.black@governor.state.tx.us News Release Krista Moody: krista.moody@governor.state.tx.us AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today named Robert Scott as Texas Commissioner of Education. Scott, who has served as interim Education Commissioner since June 2007, has been an integral part of raising the bar for scholastic achievement and success in Texas for more than 15 years. “Robert Scott is the right choice to lead Texas’ education system toward continued success and new benchmark achievements,” said Perry. “With an unmatched record of service and commitment to Texas’ students, Robert has the experience and dedication needed to raise the bar in classrooms and make sure students receive a top-notch education that prepares them for success in and out of school.” Scott served four years as Chief Deputy Commissioner of Education, managing daily operations for the Texas Education Agency (TEA). By overseeing development of new assessment and accountability systems, Scott championed efforts to raise standards and promote rewards for effective teachers. During that time he also established initiatives to strengthen early childhood and high school education. In 2003, Scott served as interim Commissioner of Education and oversaw a massive restructuring of the TEA, which resulted in more than $37 million in savings for Texas taxpayers. Previously, Scott served as a senior advisor for public education to Gov. Perry, acting as a liaison between the Governor’s Office and various education groups and entities throughout the state. He has served as an education advisor in the Texas Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, and as an advisor to Commissioners of Education Mike Moses and Jim Nelson. “With Robert Scott at the helm of the Texas Education Agency, I am confident Texas will continue to be a national model for student achievement, accountability and innovation,” said Perry. Scott received a bachelor’s and law degree from the University of Texas and is the father of two children who attend public school in Austin ISD. |
| Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Interim Commissioner of Education Robert Scott (L) |
| OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR R i c k P e r r y |
Governor's Press Office: 512-463-1826
Gov. Perry Names Robert Scott Texas Commissioner of Education
| Special thanks to our citizens o Donna Garner who has been sounding the clarion call for true reform for many years now. o Cathie Adams of the Texas Eagle Forum for alerting conservatives. o Sandy Kress, for caring about Texas schoolchildren. o Don McLeroy, David Bradley, Barbara Cargill, Terri Leo and other conservative SBOE members for being willing to serve our schoolchildren, their parents and taxpayers. o Gov. Perry for making what many of us believe is the correct -- if difficult -- decision. o The many kind souls who prefer to work behind the scenes who contribute so much. o And Robert Scott for having a measurable record of accomplishment which speaks volumes about the man and the kind of commissioner he will be. |
| Special thanks to members of the press o Scott Parks of the Dallas Morning News for drawing attention to the commercial aspects of public education. o Radio host Lynn Woolley for bringing Robert Scott's work with TEA's online check register to the attention of Texas and the nation. o Mark Lisheron of the Austin American-Statesman for covering the online check register issue. o Editorial leadership at the San Antonio Express- News and the Houston Chronicle, including Helen Eriksen's Katy blog. |
| Nes gadol haya sham. |
Introducing Robert Scott New Texas Commissioner of Education here |
DEVELOPING . . . . o Joe Wise resigns in Florida . . . o Track shoes lose to PR in Pasadena USD . . . o Beth-meth principal John Acerra's boss Joe Lewis . . . o Surprise! Administrators continue to be surprised when their employees steal . . . |
| 3M-P report: Notable goings-on in Maine, Michigan, Maryland and Pennsylvania By Peyton Wolcott Updated Friday, October 19, 2007 - 5:00 a.m. |
| Former Penn-Delco School District Officials Arrested WPVI-ABC / Philadelphia October 17, 2007 New school board president David Seitz called it a very bad day for the Penn Delco School District. A cloud of suspicious has been hovering for months. In the wake of charges against the former president and superindent, residents admonished the other board members. "We're going to be watching every move you make," said one resident. The school board got a tongue lashing outraged by the scandal. "I think this was all done for greed on their part," said Janice Fromal of Aston. Greed allegedly at the hands of 37-year-old Charles Crego, the former school board president, and 58-year-old Dr. Leslye Abrutin, the former superintendent. "The people arrested today are, in essence, charged with violating the trust imposed in them," said Delaware County District Attorney Mike Green. Authorities charged Crego profited as a secret owner of Quick Start, a before-and- after-school daycare program that had a contract with the district. He allegedly pocketed $114,000 in one deal and another $9500 that the district had earmarked for tutoring. Authorities also said he was in possession of steroids and ecstasy. Authorities said Dr. Abrutin lied about her financial stake in the same company and tampered with or fabricated evidence. She told authorities that Crego coerced her, but investigators did not buy her story. Crego is being held on $100,000 bail. Abrutin was released on bail. Authorities said others could face charges as the investigation continues. |
| ARRESTS VIDEO HERE |
| Former Penn-Delco officials-- supe Leslye Abrutin and board president Charles "Keith" Crego--in happier times |
| QUICK START DAY CARE ARRESTS |
| Troubles continue in Penn-Delco 100G misspent? 3 quit $-raising board By William Bender Philadelphia Inquirer Sep. 15, 2007 The Penn-Delco School District's fundraising operation appears to be crumbling amid allegations of mismanagement and concerns that its leaders may have misspent $100,000 in state funds. A state legislator and two Aston Township commissioners resigned yesterday from the board of the Penn-Delco Educational and Cultural Foundation following a contentious board meeting Thursday night. The foundation, a nonprofit group that raises funds for school district projects, received a $100,000 state grant in 2004 for school computers and other technology. Instead, most of the money was spent on a bronze statue and memorial walk at Sun Valley High School. Records obtained by the Daily News show that two checks totaling $46,000 were paid to D.G.S. Landscaping for the project, which was not put out to bid. The company is owned by former Penn-Delco school board member Gary Zang. He did not return phone calls this week from the Daily News. State Rep. Steve Barrar, whose office obtained the $100,000 grant, resigned from the foundation board yesterday, expressing disappointment over how the organization has been managed. He was joined by Aston Township commissioners Joseph Possenti and Jeffrey Pilla. "It's distressing as a legislator because I wanted to see this money benefit the kids of the school district, and I really don't see where that has happened," Barrar said. The state Department of Community and Economic Development, which provided the grant, is awaiting a foundation audit. The application for the technology grant was filed by Keith Crego, the former Penn-Delco school board president and former executive director of the foundation. The Delaware County District Attorney's Office is investigating whether Crego received kickbacks from Quick Start Preschools, a child-care program that also has received money from the foundation. Crego has not been charged. John Green, foundation treasurer, said Crego had never told the foundation's board that the money must be spent on technology. "There was no intent to do anything wrong," Green said. But the district could be held liable if the state tries to recoup the grant money, according to Dave Seitz, president of both the school board and foundation. "They're very concerned about the fact that the $100,000 may have been spent inappropriately and illegally," Seitz said. He said all foundation funds - about $137,000 total - have been spent on legitimate school-district projects, with the exception of the $9,500 paid to Quick Start. Foundation board members said that Crego, while he was serving as executive director, ordered the Quick Start payments for a tutoring program that didn't exist. Those checks have been turned over to the D.A.'s office. * |
| EDUCATION FOUNDATION WOES |
| PENNSYLVANIA: WHAT NOT TO DO Penn-Delco Public Schools |
| MAINE: About last night's 7-2 vote in Portland to allow King Middle School to dispense birth control pills, we note that the school is not required to let parents know who's getting the pills; once parents have signed off on a blanket approval to the Student Health Center, apparently anything goes, including the pills. Hats off to former school nurse Diane Miller for speaking out against the vote. The only two members to vote against were chair John Coyne and Benjamin Meiklejohn although Meiklejohn said afterwards "that he would have supported the measure if his vote had been necessary to ensure passage. Coyne said he |
| school board and prez of foundation) 2. John Green (both facilities head of school board and treasurer of foundation - yep the guy who signs the reported $45,000 checks to former school board buddy Gary Zang for that lovely "landscaping" and signs the reported $4,500 check to Quickstart? - yep if thats true thats half of our kids technology money from us state taxpayers!) 3. John Steffy (CFO of district, secretary of school board, and i think secretary of foundation) So whose staying on as foundation executive board? All of the above !!! Of course THEY dont resign ! (SOURCE--"concerned neighbor" / www.gomytown.com) |
| COMMUNITY BLOGGER's PERSPECTIVE ON PDSD LEADERSHIP-- PAST AND PRESENT: So whose [sic] on the foundation executive board while all this stuff is goin on ? 1. Dave Seitz (both prez of |
| Diane Miller "horrified" re proposal (PHOTO--Doug Jones/ Portland Press-Herald) |
| Suggestion: Contact (here) the Portland School Committee, tell them what you think. Suggestion to Portland parents: (1) Start a drive to have all blanket Student Health Center approval forms yanked and (2) replace all of the Committee--except John Coyne. |
| believes social agencies and public schools have distinct roles that have blurred over the years. 'At some point there needs to be a clearing of the gray lines.' "(SOURCE--Kelley Bouchard/Portland Press-Herald) MENU AVAILABLE FOR 11-YEAR OLDS: "Contraceptive pills, patches or injections, as well as the morning-after pill." (Ibid.) |
| MICHIGAN: Former Montrose schools bookkeeper Dana Bacon's admission of guilt to all ten counts against her regarding her embezzlement of $1.1 million in court on Tuesday closes one chapter in the district just as another opens: superintendent Mark R. Kleinhans announced this past week that his district has placed its check register online, making it the first |
| Mark Kleinhans (C), County Prosecutor David Leyton (R) |
| BACON IN COURT VIDEO HERE |
| Recovery status: The district has received $200,000 from its insurance carrier, but none yet from Bacon; the district has also filed a civil suit against Bacon, who will be sentenced on the criminal charges next month. |
| district in Michigan to do so. (See link at left on roster of states.) "Our board of education thought it was an excellent idea, especially in light of the situation we've been in here in Montrose," he said by telephone earlier this week; Kleinhans, who chairs his Genessee County administrators' association, is also speaking to his peers around the state regarding the importance of not only having stronger internal controls in place--but also enforcing them. Hats off to Mark Kleinhans! |
| MARYLAND: As former Prince George's supe Andre Hornsby's trial began yesterday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael R. Pauz charged that Hornsby had "betrayed his obligation to provide 'public service untainted by corruption, public service untainted by secret kickbacks, public service untainted by any conflict of interest.' " (SOURCE--Ruben Castaneda/Washington Post) Pauz disclosed that on the eve of Hornsby's indictment on public corruption charges, Hornsby |
| Andre Hornsby (PHOTO--Craig Herndon/ Washington Post) |
| "dispatched his daughter to deliver a handwritten note and a prepaid cellphone to [former girlfriend Siena Owens]....Hornsby feared that Sienna Owens was cooperating with investigators...Pauz said, and he ended the note with a warning. 'Remember, if you say we conspired...[we] both go to jail,' Hornsby wrote, according to Pauz. 'They need you to make their case.' " (Ibid.) |
| Suggestion: If Prince George's would post its check register online, along with all wire transfers, the public could better help track who's being paid what. Further suggestion: More disclosure would also help, such as disclosure of live-in arrangements such as Hornsby's with Siena Owens. Texans might have benefited from knowing that former Texas edu-missioner Shirley Neeley was living with a school architect--while the architect was doing business with school districts such as Manor ISD which Neeley was involved with financially and professionally. Another help: Disclosure on school district websites of all superintendent side consulting and travel. |
| Hats off to John Coyne |
| Don White |
| UPDATE: Birth control pills for 11-year olds not Portland schools' first brush with notoriety and governance issues (see far right) |
| Portland, Maine schools' surprise $2.5 mil budget deficit result: Supe, CFO exit By Peyton Wolcott Friday, October 19, 2007 - 2:30 p.m. |
| 2006 OCT. 6: City auditors issue a report highlighting problems in the School Department's accounting that "lends itself to errors going unnoticed." 2007 MAY 3: City councilors learn that school officials failed to cut $500,000 from $82 million 2006-07 school budget as ordered. The money was used to hire 25 additional people. MAY 4: Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor says she instituted spending controls in February and expects the budget to show $500,000 reduction by June 30. MAY 9: Paul Colpitts, city financial administrator, notifies School Finance Director Richard Paulson of an anticipated $2.4 million deficit in the 2006-07 budget. JULY 10: O'Connor announces school department overspent budget that ended June 30 by $1.7 million. She calls it "regrettable but unavoidable." JULY 13: School officials warn that the 2006-07 budget deficit may climb as high as $2.5 million when auditors complete their review this fall. JULY 17: City and school officials plan to reconcile deficit through the city's reserve fund and to institute new budget review process. JULY 25: School Committee holds executive session in wake of deficit announcement. JULY 30: Paulson resigns; Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram asks judge to order release of budget-related documents from executive session. AUG. 1: O'Connor and City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. agree to have city staff oversee school finances, at least for short term. AUG 9: School Committee hires lawyer Bryan Dench, of Skelton Taintor & Abbott in Auburn, to investigate causes of deficit. AUG. 21: Judge rules that parts of July 25 executive session were illegal and orders school officials to release budget-related documents. AUG. 29: O'Connor resigns; city finance officials say school deficit is at least $1.7 million, but they're still figuring out grant spending. SEPT. 5: Dench's report attributes deficit to giving raises and hiring people not budgeted for; levels blame on O'Connor, Paulson and School Committee. SEPT. 6: School Committee appeals judge's decision on July 25 executive session. SEPT. 19: School Committee names Jeanne Whynot-Vickers, assistant superintendent, to replace O'Connor on interim basis. |
| So often it seems that when school districts are well run, they are run well in most areas; not surprisingly, those districts in the news for negative reasons gener- ally seem to have problems in other areas also. Portland's public schools are no exception. |
| Then-Portland supe Mary Jo O'Connor explaining her plan for the district's financial recovery to school committee at Aug. 7, 2007 board meeting (PHOTO--Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald) |
| Citizens were first alerted to problems with Portland schools' budget a year ago when "city auditors issue a report highlighting problems in the School Department's accounting that 'lends itself to errors going unnoticed.' " (SOURCE--Portland Press Herald) Among the triggers: loss of a Gates foundation "expeditionary learning" grant. A $2.5 million budget shortfall is never welcome news; for a district whose overall budget is only in the $82 mil annual range, such a shortfall means realistic talk about tough decisions. Instead, in August then-Portland supe Mary Jo O'Connor offered her board the following as part of her restructuring plan, its wording couched in what appears to be too much edu-speak and not enough delineating who's- responsible-for-what: |
| "It is my core competency, under the direction of the School Com- mittee, to articulate educational policy, design programs and educational infrastructures to implement this policy, and the allocation of resources to manage educational programs and infrastructures," O'Connor read from her plan . . . . After the meeting, O'Connor said that she did not intend to exclude financial management duties from her "core competencies." (SOURCE-- Kelley Bouchard/Portland Press Herald) |
| After the meeting, at which no public comment was allowed, O'Connor said she used " 'comp- etencies' to mean duties or responsibilities....City Councilors James Cohen and Edward Suslovic attended the meeting but were not included in the discussion. Afterward, they said they were surprised that no city finance officials were invited to the workshop or asked for their input in O'Connor's plan. They said that kind of collaboration is necessary in light of the city's current oversight of school finances and the pending consolidation of the city and school finance offices. Cohen described O'Connor's plan as vague and lacking steps to address the deficit." (SOURCE--Kelley Bouchard/PPH) Here's a comprehensive timeline compiled by the Portland Press Herald; note that CFO Paulson resigned July 30 and supe O'Connor resigned August 29. Also of note: The : |
| Hats off to the Portland Press Herald for their extensive coverage of the budget issue; more here |
| Jeanne Whynot-Vickers; Like Mary Jo O'Connor, Portland's new supe has academic, not financial, background |
| Best Andre Hornsby / Cindy Joffrion FBI tape on the Internet here By Peyton Wolcott Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. |
| www.nbc4.com/news/144 17414/detail.html |
| Inspired by recent news accounts, here are 10 questions every parent and taxpayer can ask of their supe: |
| Regarding the photos above: Rather than approaching your schools with a stick and a scowl, think about invoking a kinder, gentler approach, a ala Angela Lansbury in "Murder, She Wrote" and Peter Falk's "Columbo." You can still be persisten--and you can be more effective if you're nice about it. |
| 1. What side consulting are you presently doing? With what company or companies? 2. What is your salary and/or compensation for each of these companies? What travel is involved? Where? When? 3. Describe your away-from- school contact with vendors. 4. Please provide a complete schedule of your side consulting including dates, times, locations and duties. 5. For how long have you been performing each of these side consulting services? SPECIAL ANDRE HORNSBY / SIENA OWENS SECTION: 6. Do you live with and/or date anyone employed by a vendor or a potential vendor of our school district? Are any members of your family doing side consulting with any school district vendors or potential vendors? SPECIAL ANDRE HORNSBY / CINDY JOFFRION SECTION: 7. Have you met with anyone in a hotel room this school year for the purpose of transacting side consulting business? 8. Have you been paid in cash in any of these hotel room transac- tions? Have you requested perqs of any kind for any members of your family from vendors and/or companies for whom you are doing side consulting? 9. Are alcoholic beverages in silverplated or chrome ice buckets involved in any of this side consulting? 10. Do you find yourself speaking in low whispers in the course of any of this side consulting? When you're not hoarse and/or catching a cold or experiencing a bad case of allergies? Do you have any known allergies to FBI wiretaps? |
| REMINDER: Robert C. Bonsib, Hornsby's attorney: "There is another side to each and every one of the government's allegations." (SOURCE--Washington Post) |
| HORNSBY/JOFFRION's HOUSTON ISD, YONKERS, PRINCE GEORGE'S HISTORY HORNSBY FRAUD TRIAL TO OPEN; EX-PR. GEORGE'S SCHOOLS CHIEF ACCUSED OF TAKING KICKBACKS, COVER-UP By Matthew Dolan, The Baltimore Sun October 15, 2007 Prosecutors intend to show that Hornsby's questionable practices began long before he arrived in Prince George's County. When Hornsby left the Houston school district to become superintendent in Yonkers, he hired Joffrion, who had worked with him in Texas, as an assistant superintendent. A job was also provided for her spouse, court papers say. Joffrion worked on a computer contract with Apple and Compaq for the suburban New York school district. But Hornsby told her that he wanted some of the extra computers included as part of the contract for his relatives, according to court papers. When the woman refused, "Hornsby threatened to fire" her, FBI agent John Sheridan wrote in court papers. In the end, "several of the computers were sent to Hornsby's relatives." The Sun reported previously that the Yonkers inspector general found that Hornsby had accepted a trip to a golf tournament, valued at about $2,200, from Xerox Corp. two months after awarding the company a $4.3 million copier contract in 1999. The inspector's report found that the contract cost the district $2 million more than a competing bid. Hornsby was dismissed by the Yonkers school board in 2000. But the inspector general's report apparently did not reveal any evidence tampering by Hornsby, according to court papers. Recently unsealed court documents show that Hornsby tried to block a Westchester County criminal investigation in 2001. At that time, the county district attorney looked into missing school computers and enlisted the help of Joffrion, who recorded several conversations with Hornsby, according to court papers. Hornsby's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to exclude the evidence about the accusations in Yonkers from the case in Maryland. "These conversations occurred at a time in the past, well before the defendant was employed by the Prince George's County Board of Education ... and are unrelated to the allegations against the defendant," Bonsib wrote in court papers. But U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte largely disagreed, writing in August that most of the evidence related to Hornsby's New York activities can be presented by prosecutors before a Maryland jury. |
| Indiana former supe John R. Coomer: In the wrong place at the wrong time? |
| Please take a few minutes to listen to the series of video-snippets at the red link above -- then take a few more minutes to read the 10 questions at right -- and then ask the questions of your superintendent. Your district will be the richer and your schoolchildren the better educated for your time and effort. One person really can make a meaningful difference. |
| February 7, 2005 National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) meeting L-R: Quentin Lawson, Executive Director, National Alliance of Black School Educators; Art Wise, President, NCATE; Gene Carter, Executive Director, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; Jack Dale, Superintendent of Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia; Andre Hornsby, Superintendent of Schools, Prince George's County, Maryland, Gerry Tirozzi, Executive Director, National Association of Secondary School Principals |
| UPDATE: Pamela Hoffler- Riddick (below), another Hornsby hire, was sentenced last year to 6 years in prison. |
| WTOP News - May 3, 2006 - 6:50am NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A former Virginia and Maryland educator was sentenced Tuesday to 6 1/2 years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to launder money in connection with a drug trafficking case. Before being sentenced, Pamela Hoffler-Riddick, 45, apologized to the community and her family. "The choices I've made, I'll have to bear the brunt of it," she said in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of nearly 20 years, arguing that Hoffler-Riddick should get the maximum given her status in the community. U.S. District Judge Walter D. Kelley Jr. sentenced Hoffler-Riddick to the low end of federal sentencing guidelines and said he would have given her less time had the rules allowed. "To say this is a tragedy is quite an understatement," said the judge, who dismissed her conviction on four related money laundering counts. A jury had convicted her of converting hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds into cars and homes. A former standout educator in Virginia Beach and in Norfolk, Hoffler-Riddick went on to work in suburban Washington. She lost a job as a regional assistant superintendent in Prince George's County, Md., after her arrest. Hoffler-Riddick was one of 40 people charged in connection with a ring that federal agents said distributed $20 million in marijuana and cocaine. Defense lawyers had argued that Hoffler-Riddick's ex-boyfriend, a key witness in the trial, lied and contradicted himself and thus wasn't credible. Hoffler-Riddick was given 45 days to report to prison. Information from: The Virginian-Pilot |
| Sign on Dana Bacon's Montrose Schools office |
| When your school district gets "arresting" news: Fire, suspend, or--? By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 8:55 a.m. |
| It's a superintendent's nightmare: One of your trustees or one of your employees has been arrested. Charges: Drunk driving, embezzlement, theft, possession of child pornography, etc. It's all over the evening news and/or the front page of the newspaper and your phone's ringing off the hook. Everybody with a phone or email or a mouth has an opinion. What would you do? In life there's generally a precipitating incident; this question arises from a real-life situation in nearby Marble Falls (#3 below). Earlier this month I was sitting in the local Starbucks (yes, tiny Marble Falls now has a Starbucks) while waiting for someone and happened to glance down at a newspaper in the rack next to me; it was from the day before. Imagine my surprise to see the photograph of a teacher at the local high school on the front page; she'd been arrested for shoplifting. When local residents brought this up in conversations over the next few weeks I realized for the umpteenth time that our superintendents and school board members are faced with serious decisions impacting the lives of employees and students -- and taxpayers -- alike. Here are some recent real-life incidents; see if your judgment concurs with the leaders in the hot seat. |
| You decide: |
| Case #5: Assistant principal, Anchorage, Alaska |
| Q: Former Alaska DOE administrator Deussing was arrested in January on 12 counts of possessing child pornography after thousands of images were found on his computer when he took it to a repair service; at the time he was working at a private school. He and his wife were also licensed foster parents. There was no evidence that he had molested children. Would you have fired or suspended Deussing? A: Although Pat Hadley, the school's principal, invited the school to pray for Deussing, he did not have to choose as Deussing had resigned "for personal reasons" the month before his arrest. FOLLOW-UP: Deussing "has been sentenced to six years in prison with three suspended. Anchorage police described images on Frederick Deussing's computer as "some of the worst they'd ever seen." The sentencing was part of a plea deal requiring Deussing to change his original "not guilty" plea to "no contest." Deussing will be on probation for five years after his release and is required to register as a sex offender. (SOURCE-- Angela Blanchard/KTUU) |
| Case #1: Pleasantville, NJ trustees |
| Q: An FBI sting in September saw the arrests of 12 persons, including 5 Pleasantville school board members. (More below.) If you were Pleasantville supe Clarence Alston, what would you do? A: Nothing. Alston's the board's employee and this will have to play out in the courts. In the meantime, James Pressley is still shown on the books, and Pleasantville's website, as board president. |
| The investigation began in mid-2006 amid evidence of corruption in the Pleasantville School District. In response, the FBI established an undercover insurance brokerage company purporting to employ the government’s two cooperating witnesses and undercover agents. Pleasantville School Board members allegedly took thousands of dollars in bribes from the cooperating witnesses. The circle of corruption widened when certain Pleasantville School Board members referred the cooperating witnesses to public officials in northern New Jersey who also took bribes and, in turn, put the cooperating witnesses in touch with still other corrupt public officials, according to the Complaints. The investigation included hundreds of tape- recorded and/or videotaped encounters, during which the officials charged in the complaints openly expressed their desire to enrich themselves using their public positions and influence. The defendants accepted corrupt payments ranging from $1,500 to $17,500 at any one time. In most cases, the defendants sought to establish and perpetuate a corrupt relationship with the cooperating witnesses to continue receiving bribes. “The brazen greed and callous disregard of their oaths of office displayed by these defendants as alleged in the criminal complaints is breathtaking,” said U.S. Attorney Christie. “Public officials around the state should finally learn that federal law enforcement will not rest while they continually violate the public trust. This pattern of corruption infects every level of government – from the local school board to the highest levels of state government. The public has had enough.” |
| FOLLOW-UP: Local resident Kate Harner continues to push for an investigation of the child's death and has obtained a copy of the autopsy; community interest remains active, with 143 pages on the Cincinnati Enquirer's reader blog. |
| Pleasantville school board president James Pressley's arrest made national news |
| FBI news release: Pleasant- ville, NJ school board sting |
| and roofing business to the cooperating witnesses. • Former Pleasantville School Board member Maurice “Pete” Callaway, 53, allegedly accepted corrupt cash payments of $10,000, $1,500 and $1,500 between May 2006 and October 2006, to steer insurance brokerage and roofing business to the cooperating witnesses. Callaway, during a May 2006 meeting with one of the cooperating witnesses said he wanted money first for his campaign for Pleasantville City Council: “It’s always the money issue,” he said. “At least ten grand would get us over the hump.” • Pleasantville resident Louis Mister, 56, an associate of Callaway’s, allegedly aided and abetted Callaway’s extortion by accepting the two $1,500 payments on Callaway’s behalf. • Pleasantville Board of Education member James T. McCormick, 50, allegedly accepted a corrupt payment of $3,500 for voting to pass a resolution authorizing the cooperating witness’ company to provide insurance brokerage to the school district. |
| "The police report paints the picture of a strange situation with Eastwood drinking a frapuccino in the store while shopping, hiding the bottle, and trying to sneak a bag of almonds and more frappucinos past the checker. In the end, she was charged with stealing merchandise valued at $8.74." (SOURCE-- Fred Applebach/The Highlander) |
• Pleasantville School Board member Rafael Velez, 46, allegedly accepted corrupt payments of approximately approximately $14,000 to steer insurance brokerage business |
| Rafael Velez |
| • Former President of the Pleasantville Board of Education Jayson Adams (above, Photo/Philadelphia Inquirer), 27, allegedly accepted corrupt payments of more than $15,000 between May 2006 and October 2006 and arranged payments for other members of the school board to steer insurance brokerage and roofing contracts to the cooperating witnesses. In an August 2006 meeting with one of the cooperating witnesses, Adams said he trusted the cooperating witness and remarked, “We either gonna get this job together or go to jail together.” • Pleasantville Board of Education member James Pressley, 22, allegedly accepted corrupt cash payments of $3,600, $3,600, $7,500 and $17,500 between May 2006 and October 2006 to steer school district insurance brokerage business and roofing business to the cooperating witnesses. In May 2006, Pressley was recording bragging about how his “big plan” to have three particular board members leave a board meeting, leaving only supporting votes, on a resolution authorizing a company of one of the cooperating witnesses to provide brokerage services to the district. “I had three members leave the meeting,” he said. “It was a strategy (and) it took me a week to do.... They left the board meeting, and we had the votes to do it.” |
| Contacts at a key convention: |
| U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and the FBI have made public corruption a top priority in recent years. The investigation leading to today's arrests - headed by FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun - began in mid-2006 as an inquiry into corruption in the Pleasantville School District. The FBI set up an undercover insurance brokerage company that included undercover agents and two cooperating witnesses, one of whom had previously operated a roofing business, according to a statement released today by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The school board members allegedly took bribes from the cooperating witnesses, and the probe widened when school board members directed the cooperating witnesses to officials in north Jersey, authorities said. They, in turn, directed investigators to other public officials, authorities said. Trouble has long plagued the schools of Pleasantville, located about five miles west of downtown Atlantic City. With 3,600-students, it is an Abbott District and has had 13 superinten- dents since 1997. Seven of them were on the job less than six months. In July, a state-appointed monitor began working with the district after years of financial and staffing turmoil. A recent investigation by an independent law firm accused past and present school board members of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. (SOURCE--Jeff Whelan/New Jersey Star-Ledger) |
| Christie said the Pleasantville board members "took federal law enforcement, unwittingly, on a corruption tour of New Jersey . . . to other corrupt officials - almost as if there was a corrupt public official underground in this state, where they all know each other, they all know how they do business. And they took us on that tour. Federal law enforcement willingly and ably went along." The investigation, according to sources familiar with the case, included conversations recorded at meetings in parking lots, restaurants and diners where cooperating witnesses discussed bribe-for-contract schemes and made cash payments. Among other things, those sources said, the FBI set up one of its cooperators - insurance broker John D'Angelo of Atlantic County - in a suite at an Atlantic City casino-hotel during the New Jersey State League of Muncipalities convention in November D'Angelo, according to those sources, hosted a party in his suite at the Trump Taj Mahal, where he wined and dined municipal officials targeted in the investigation. The FBI had the suite wired for audio and video recording. All 12 men arrested yesterday were charged with accepting cash payments - totaling $150,500 - in exchange for steering insurance-brokerage or roofing contracts from school districts and municipalities to the FBI cooperators and the companies they allegedly represented. (SOURCE--George Anastasia, Maria Panaritis and John Shiffman/Philadelphia Inquirer) |
| Pleasantville's not-so-pleasant history: |
| October 24, 2007 follow up: |
| Jayson Adams, a former president of the Pleasantville school board, and Rafael Velez, a member of the board, entered their pleas in federal court in Camden. They joined former Assemblyman Alfred E. Steele of Paterson, who pleaded guilty to the charge last week. Twelve people were arrested in the sting, including 11 public officials, all but one of them Democrats.... Adams, 27, admitted accepting $62,200 in bribes in 2006, and said he had arranged payments to Velez and three other board members in exchange for steering roofing and insurance- brokerage contracts. The other three members - Maurice Callaway, James Pressley and James McCormick - have pleaded not guilty. The roofing company and the insurance company at the center of the investigation were led by two men cooperating with federal authorities and working for an FBI front company called Coastal Solutions L.L.C. in Egg Harbor Township. (SOURCE--Troy Graham/Philadelphia Inquirer) |
| FOLLOW-UP: Two board members have admitted guilt; three have pled not guilty; see "FBI news release: Pleasant- ville, NJ school board sting" at far right for more. |
| Case #4: Ass't elementary princi- pal, W. Clermont, Ohio |
| Q: Last August Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby remembered to pick up the doughnuts for her staffers and to retrieve them from the car (two trips) and take them into the building but forgot to take her toddler daughter Cecilia out of the car and so Cecilia died in the heat later that day, strapped into her car seat, bits of film from the car window under her fingernails. If you're West Clermont supe Gary Brooks, what do you do? A: Given that local prosecutor Don White did not have Slaby arrested, there were not many options available to Brooks; although Slaby wants her job back, she's been suspended with pay and someone else has been hired to fill her position. |
| Case #2: Gig Harbor, Washington school bus driver |
| Case #3: Marble Falls, Texas teacher |
| Q: A mother contacted Peninsula School district stating that school bus driver Scott Bender had molested her 4-year old daughter earlier this month on the school bus he drove. If you were Peninsula SD supe Terry Bouck, what would you do? A: After the mother's phone call, PSD ass't supe Shannon Wiggs contacted the sheriff’s department and Bender was arrested this past Monday; Bender has "denied the allegations, but reportedly admitted to exposing himself to the victim without touching her." (SOURCE-- Michael Collelo/Peninsula Gateway Blog) |
| Q: A Marble Falls High School 30-year world history teacher was arrest- ed earlier this month for shoplifting $90 worth of groceries at the local HEB food store where she had a part-time job bagging. The teacher apparently had no priors. If you were MFISD superintendent Ryder Warren, what would you do? A: Warren allowed Eastwood to continue working. From local reports, it appears the decision to let her return to work was based on the fact that the arrest was non-violent and she posed no immediate threat to students. Many in the community disagreed, saying she would not be able to regain her students' respect until she'd been cleared of the charges. Mentioned often: the arrest a few years ago of the local D.A.R.E. officer for drunk driving. |
| Terry Bouck (L), Peninsula SD supe; Shannon Wiggs (R) (in black) |
| Teacher Betty Eastwood's arrest made front-page local news |
| FOLLOW-UP: Bouck has placed Bender on administrative leave with pay while the investigation continues. |
| FOLLOW-UP: When Eastwood was arrested the following Saturday at WalMart, again on shoplifting charges, Warren suspended her. |
| Marble Falls High School |
| Brenda Nesselroad- Slaby unloading doughnuts from car (SOURCE--School surveillance camera) |
COMMENTARY: Given the climate in many of our school districts where basic services such as access to xeroxing and printers are minimally monitored if at all by administrators, is it any wonder that school district employees might forget boundaries in other commercial settings? It distresses me when school employees casually mention that they can make all the copies they want "at school," or that they wait to print out their emails "on campus." |
| Fred/Frederick Deussing |
Developing . . . Friends, I'll be posting more cases late Friday when I return from Dallas. Blessings to you all for caring about our kids -- and our taxpayers. -- Peyton |