Peyton Wolcott

MerryChristmas

P E Y T O N W O L C O T T

h o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n --
o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . Copyright 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott

Conservative Commentary

ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA

BREAKING NEWS

ARE TX SCHOOLS
BECOMING
'SLAPP' HAPPY?
By Peyton Wolcott - Nov. 20, 2006

GCOE SUPE'S "NOW
YOU SEE IT, NOW
YOU DON'T"
MYSTERY CALENDAR
By Peyton Wolcott - Nov. 20,
2006

Special Notice
ATTENTION: CITIZENS
OF NOGALES & SANTA
CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA
Please contact me
if you or your children
have been
molested or abused
by present or former
public school
employees.

Strategic
Lawsuit
Against
Public
Participa-
tion

With its origins
in California,
where corporations
used litigation as a
tool to squelch
environmentalists
--businesses could
afford the costs of

The unredacted, or plain
to see, calendars of Dr.
Joni Samples, which The
Valley Mirror has in its
computer files following
a late summer release,
shows that whoever did
the hiding was more
concerned with
embarrassment than
privacy.
And they paid no heed to
the requirement to
provide a written
justification of what they
were hiding.
The “redactions,” or
blacking out, of Glenn
County Office of
Education chief Joni
Samples show a lot of
private business
conducted during
daytime hours and,
apparently, her own
education and recreation
appointments as well.
In all, there’s not much in
the way of GCOE
appointments in the
calendars, many days
having only one
appointment.
The calendar entries
blacked out for Texas
were actually for for
“graduation for Chris,”
“clean,” ‘Corinne,”
“Paypal Bev.”
Throughout the redacted
calendars things like the
“Paypal Bev,” along with
a Sacramento number,
notations about “redo cd
at bank” and “call Grant”
are blacked out. So are
church appointments on
the weekend and a note
for a Saturday, “2:00 p.m.
Los Vaega,” an apparent
reference to a flight.

THE NOGALES USD-
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
OFFICE OF EDUCATION
CONNECTION:

MORE HERE

WHY DID ZAMUDIO
RECOMMEND
ALLOWING VELAS-
QUEZ OUT OF HIS
NUSD CONTRACT?
By Peyton Wolcott
Nov. 16, 2006

has no anti-SLAPP legislation on
the books. Lake Travis ISD is
using its deep-pocket property
tax base to sue parents rather
than pony up public records;
having lost their first round last
month, the district decided at its
regular Nov. 13 board meeting to
appeal. More about Lake Travis
ISD's lawsuit here

NUSD supe Guillermo
Zamudio (right)
(PHOTO/AZ Star); former
NUSD employee/SCC
supe-electee Alfredo
Valesquez (left)

In most states,
educators'
contracts offer
one-way accountability,
written to hold the
school district
accountable--but not
the educator.

Arizona appears
to be attempting
to change this:

Access all other
Modern Minutemen
here

IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN
A SCHOOL DISTRICT?
Principal's Vegas
vacation pix left on
laptop issued to
10-year old (more here)

In light of increased
concern from local
school districts over
teachers breaking
contracts, the state
Board of Education
heard staff recommen-
dations [last Septem-
ber] for increased
disciplinary action.
Vince Yanez, execu-
tive director for the
board, said breaking a
contract is defined as
unprofessional in
statute as well as
board rule. (SOURCE--
Tammy Krikorian/East
Valley Tribune)

More:

Do fun'n'
fashion
trump the 1st
Amendment
at Lake Travis
ISD?
After the district
lost its lawsuit
last month
against a mom &
dad for filing
public records
requests, it has
now decided to
spend more
taxpayer dollars
filing an appeal.
This same district
has not cleaned
up laptops
issued to
students (above)
and allows
students to
violate the
district's dress
code, here

Arizona law is
very clear.
Educators may only
break their contracts in
the case of a real
emergency without the
approval of their
governing board.

Why then did NUSD
supe Zamudio
recommend to his
board that their
employee, school
teacher Alfredo
Velasquez, be
released from his
contract? There was
no emergency; in fact,
it might be argued that
Velasquez' run for
Robert Canchola's old
SCC superintendency
was planned well
enough and in
advance enough for
Velasquez to file all
necessary papers and
to wage an apparently
successful campaign,
albeit without his
appearance at either of
two candidate forums.

Yanez was slated to
speak to the Nogales
USD school board
this past Monday but
the meeting was
cancelled by Zamudio
citing "lack of a
quorum"; the meeting
has been rescheduled
to Monday, Nov. 20. "I
look forward to
addressing the board,"
said Yanez today from
his office in Phoenix.

There are other
questions.
In the meantime, more
here re Nogales USD
superintendent
Guillermo Zamudio's
awards and travel, plus
a profile of the
superintendent.

Principal Heidi Gudelman of
Lake Pointe Elementary School
(Lake Travis ISD, near Austin,
Texas) left the photo above of
her at a slot machine from her
holiday trip to Las Vegas,
Nevada on a laptop issued to a
young student.
-----------
This photo along with several
others from the same trip, plus
other personal pix, remained
on an LTISD-owned laptop
which was subsequently
issued to one of Gudelman's
own students--without
files such as the C:/ drive
directory containing this and
other vacation pix being
deleted.
-----------
What are the odds that the
elementary student who was
assigned Gudelman's laptop
with the Vegas vacation and
other personal pix was David &
Melissa Lovelace's son?

Look also for five
(5) questions for
Santa Cruz
County voters
regarding their new
county superintendent;
look for the pink boxes
farther down the page
here (far left column).

Long-time Santa
Cruz County
resident Jack
Skolnick 's letter
to the editor of
the Nogales
International
newspaper
regarding Mr.
Velasquez is
published farther
down the page here

How we take back our children's education:
one person, one question, one school at a time.

AASA - American
Association of School
Administrators

ASA - Association of
School Administrators

CSD - Consolidated
School District

DOE - Department
of Education

ES - Elementary School

HS - High School

ISD - Independent
School District

JHS - Junior High School

MS - Middle School

MSM - Mainstream media

NSBA - National School
Boards Association

NSPRA - National School
Public Relations Association

PS - Public School(s)

SBEC - State Board for
Educator Certification

SD - School District

Sup't - Superintendent

TAKS - Texas Assessment
of
Knowledge & Skills

TASA - Texas Association
of School Administrators

TASB - Texas Association
of School Boards

TASBO - Texas Association
of School Business Officials

TEA - Texas
Education Agency

TEKS - Texas Essential
Knowledge & Skills

USD - UnifiedUnited School
District

GUIDE

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QUOTES

Separatists in
India's north-eastern
state of Manipur
have shot six male
teachers in the leg
for allegedly
helping students
cheat in exams.

Two women
teachers were
beaten with sticks
for the same
offence, the rebels
of the Kanglei Yana
Kan Lup group said.
The teachers were
abducted from their
homes after an
exam on Thursday.

The rebels said
the teachers
took up to 5,000
rupees ($110) for
helping students
cheat and warned
of further
punishment if the
cheating continued.

The Kanglei
Yana Kan Lup
(KYKL) is one of
many separatist
groups fighting
Indian administration
in Manipur.

It said it
abducted the eight
teachers from their
homes in and
around the state
capital, Imphal,
because of reports
they had
taken bribes.

--By Subir Bhaumik - BBC

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.

Britain's King George
III once ruled our
country; despotism
by those with power
does not last.
Public school
superintendents
would do well to
remember this
lesson from history.

My
New
Book

PEYTON WOLCOTT

QUERY
THE SUPE
& THE PR GUY

TO:
KATHY COX-GEORGIA
SUP'T OF SCHOOLS &
CEO-GEORGIA DOE
CC:
DANA TOFIG-
GEORGIA DOE
PUBLIC INFO. OFCR.
DATE: JAN. 22, 2006

Can you please send me
the annual dollar
amount for each school
year (the five annual fiscal
cycles 2000-2005) that the
Georgia Public Schools
DOE has spent with
vendor Computer
Consulting Services
Corp., described as a
consultant to Georgia's
DOE.

STATUS:
No response
rec'd from
Sup't Gray as of
Dec. 18, 2006

The question
is not how to
measure
excellence at
public schools
and education
agencies.

The question
is how to
measure
competence.

-- Dianna Pharr

QUERY
THE SUPE
(& CC THE BOARD)

DATE FIRST SENT:
FEB. 14, 2006

RE-SENT 03/26/06

Dear Strongsville
Superintendent
James Gray:

I'm hoping you can
clear something up for
me for my book and
website regarding your
standards for
administrative
practices in
Strongsville as there
have been not one but
two situations this past
year warranting
scrutiny....

Regarding special ed
teacher Christine
Scarlett's offering a
date with herself as a
grades incentive

1.    What rules/
guidelines do you now
have in place to
assure that nothing
like this happens
again? Would these
be administrative
changes or has your
board set specific
policies in place for
you to follow in future?

2.    Rumors of an affair
between Scarlett and
Bradigan persisted for
several months. You
have stated that you
have no idea such an
affair was going on.
Do you feel the fact
that you are
commuting from your
home in Akron (if this
has changed, please
let me know) has
adversely impacted
your ability to monitor
what's going on with
your employees in the
Strongsville
community in an
important and
sensitive area such as
this? Has your board
since made a
condition of your
employment that you
move to Strongsville
and become an
integral part of their
community?

Regarding the sex
education booklet
placed last fall in
young children's
lockers

4.    What guidelines
did you follow from
your established
board's policies for
such?

5.    There appears to
be a growing number
of parents who want to
be consulted before
such materials are
given to their students.
As one mom put it,
"What's wrong with so
many people in the
educational fields that
they don't even think
twice about providing
children with
inappropriate
materials and not even
consider the parents
wishes....Their tactics
mirror those used in
Communist China and
Cuba where children
are considered not
children of parents, but
wards of the State."
While this is clearly the
statement of an upset
parent, it does raise an
interesting issue
regarding public
school administrators
in the U.S. Do you
consider the students
in your schools yours
to educate as you
deem best or the
offspring of parents to
be consulted before
disseminating such
materials?

Regarding trainings
and conferences

6.    Of which
education-related
associations are you
and Strongsville City
Schools a member?
What are these
organizations'
guidelines for
disseminating such
materials?

7.    In which
education-related
conferences have
your and your staff
participated this past
year? Where were
they and what were
the costs for each?
Have you attended any
other seminars,
workshops or the like
offering guidance in
this area, and what
were those costs?

It may well be that
there are perfectly
reasonable
explanations for your
approving the placing
sex-education
pamphlets in young
students' lockers
without notifying
parents first, and it may
also well be that there
is a perfectly
reasonable
explanation for your
allowing a teacher to
offer a date at the Dairy
Queen with herself to a
young student; if so, I
am eager to learn such
reason or reasons.
==================
She said the booklet,
which also provides
information on the need for
parental consent for
abortion and a Web
address for the
Lesbian/Gay Community
Service Center of Greater
Cleveland, is
inappropriate for
11-year-olds. I believe
some sex education needs
to be given, but when
subjects are discussed or
material is given to kids of
this nature, a notice
should be sent home to
the parent and they should
be allowed to opt out of
the program if they wish,
Fleming said. School
Superintendent James
Gray said he gave an OK
for the pocket-sized
directories, which were
provided to the district by
United Way Services in
conjunction with the
county health department
and county commissioners,
to be given to students at
the high school, middle
schools and to sixth
graders. Gray said he
received two calls from
parents who took
exception to the booklet's
content. I understand that
and probably, in
retrospect, I should have
considered sending a
letter along with it as far
as an explanation, he
said, adding, this is a
developing situation. I
don't know what we are
going to do at this point.
Colleen Grady, a city
resident and a member of
the state school board,
said she got calls from four
parents concerned about
their children getting the
directory. Grady, who is
also a former city school
board member, said she
has not personally seen
the publication, but they
(parents) read me sections
over the telephone. She
said the state board of
education may wish to
make a legislative
recommendation to the
Ohio general assembly,
and the board could also
consider discussion about
adoption of a model policy
for the distribution of such
materials. Gray said there
will be continued
discussion, in the district's
curriculum and pupil
services departments on
whether to curtail
distribution of materials
which are considered to
be sensitive, particularly
for the younger kids.

CONTACT:
Peyton Wolcott
P.O. Box 9068
Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657
peyton@peytonwolcott.com

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F o c u s i n g
o n
accountability
f i r s t

lengthy law-
suits, where
citizen groups
could not--
SLAPP lawsuits
are seeing a
new and worry-
ing incarnation
in Texas, which

QUESTIONS O' THE DAY:
What was this photograph of
Lake Pointe Elementary School
(Lake Travis ISD) principal Heidi
Gudelman doing on the laptop
assigned to a young LPES stu-
dent? What are LTISD's policies
regarding use of district laptop by
employees? What are LTISD's
policies regarding cleaning up
laptops? And what does the
Texas Education Code have to
say about professional conduct?

From Publisher Tim
Crews, Sacramento
Valley Mirror:

COMING SOON:
SLAPP REPORT,
PART III - EANES ISD'S
AMICUS CURIAE
BRIEF IN LTISD v.
LOVELACE, and
WHY IT MATTERS

Friends,
What a wonderful time of year this
is! Family and friends and fires in
the fireplace, so much beauty
around us--the cardinal that braved
the cold to visit our patio this
afternoon. And the smells! Baking
and cooking and happy times. No
one's ever accused me of not being
intense enough, and I'm so grateful
for these things that ground me as
they do you, too.
There have been no new reports in
a while because a big and very
special one's on the way. Here's a
hint: Earlier today outgoing Glenn
County supe and sometime Puerto
Vallarta-on-the- taxpayers Joni
Samples gave a self-congratulatory
end-of-term report to her board, last
Saturday Alfredo Velasquez was
sworn at Medici's (how appropriate)
in Nogales as Santa Cruz County
superintendent, and another

INTERESTED IN EDUCATION, INC.'S USELESS MIDDLE LAYER,
ONE OF THE REASONS WE'RE SPENDING MORE PER STUDENT
AND RECEIVING EVER-DIMINISHING RESULTS?
For more about Joni Samples: www.peytonwolcott.com/GlennCountyOE.html
For more about Alfredo Velasquez: www.peytonwolcott.com/Arizona.html
INTERESTED IN LOBBYISTS? For more about Thomas Ratliff's prior
attempt to curtail open records: www.peytonwolcott.com/HB2264.html

JUST POSTED:
NEW MODERN
MINUTEMAN PAGE

Susan Bushart's
updated page here

FOUR NEW UPDATED PAGES!
By Peyton Wolcott
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - 11:53 p.m.

Here's an updated version of how a handful of moms defeated anti-sunshine legislation
here in Texas last year, including background on the four school districts involved; this is
intended to be a primer, a how-to, for tackling anything similar in your state, here

By now you've seen my reports on the Bremond Moms; for your easy reference
have just updated their saga through two dozen state, federal and local governmental
entities who almost entirely let them down--proving the point that we ourselves are our
only sure help, and the best fix is of our own making, usually involving organizing with
other like-minded souls, which us not that hard; more about organizing here.

Regarding online check registers, we now have the names of ten school districts.
Eight have fully posted their current check registers online, and two more are on the way,
hopefully within the next two months; both have requested that their names be kept quiet a
bit longer which request of course I will honor. This is terrific progress; more about the
National School District Honor Roll here, and names and links of the districts already posting
online here.

Still plugging away at the big report I told you about; please keep checking back! And
more about the Upton Sinclair Award here; any list that starts with John Stossel
is a pretty terrific list to be on--what an honor!

THE HB 2264 SAGA: Exposing Education,
Inc.'s vast, hidden tentacles
By Peyton Wolcott (Revised Dec. 13, 2006)

While ten Texas school districts such as Big Spring and Spring Branch
are embracing accountability with open arms by posting their check registers
online, others in Texas and elsewhere are running hard and fast the opposite
direction, all at huge costs in legal bills and loss of taxpayer confidence. The
natural question to the runners is, "Why?" And gnawing away underneath,
"What are you hiding?" Here is an account of parents in four Texas school
districts seeking accountability.

NEVER-BEFORE
RELEASED PHOTOS: A
SUPE'S FALL
By Peyton Wolcott
Revised Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006 - 7 pm

(COMPLETE STORY HERE)
Former Llano ISD supe
Jack Patton's fall--from
superintendent of one of Texas'
richest school districts and former
superintendent of the year--to
selling BBQ from a convenience
store/gas station in East Texas
can be traced to one specific
action on his part: His refusal to
produce a steak dinner receipt in
response to a public records
request, thus becoming Texas'
first Public Information Act
conviction, according to Texas
Attorney General Greg Abbott.
These photographs are being
published now as (1) a cautionary
tale for those superintendents who
appear to their parents and
taxpayers to think and act as
though they are above the law, and
(2) as an encouragement to
parents and taxpayers stuck with
superintendents who appear to
think and act as though they are
above the law. History teaches us
that tyrants fall and justice and
truth eventually prevail.