NY: Update re ex HS principal
Frank J. Vetro's Apr. 1 guilty
plea (aggravated harassment
calls to women); 1997 prior
Frank J. Vetro's Apr. 1 guilty
plea (aggravated harassment
calls to women); 1997 prior
| Disgruntled Parents And Teachers Give Sag Harbor School Board A Lesson In Transparency June 19, 2008 12:53 pm Hampton.com By Mariah Quinn Sag Harbor - Decked out in school colors of red and black, a crowd of more than 150 concerned parents and teachers gathered in the Pierson High School library Tuesday evening to deliver, speaker by speaker, a clear message to the Sag Harbor School Board and its new superintendent Dr. John Gratto: Teachers, parents, and community members should have been included in the process of choosing the superintendent. Gratto, joined by the Sag Harbor School Board, answered questions about his employment history, his vision for the school, and the terms of his hiring for more than two solid hours. Many of the speakers brought the board to task for failing to include teachers and community groups in the hiring process, which was spearheaded by the search firm of School Leadership LLC. “Not one of you would be sitting here if we hadn’t gone out and taken the time to vote you in,” Anne Destafanis asserted, sizing up the board members. “You are us. That’s all you are,” Eric Cohen, a former school board member, commented, adding that local control of schools is an essential part of the education system. “We’re not a mob, we’re the community you represent. If you ever forget that you should just leave the board because you don’t belong here.” Tuesday’s assembly was a follow-up to a meeting on June 5 when a vocal crowd protested Gratto’s appointment which was announced earlier this month. Speaker Bobbie Cohen characterized the board’s decision to leave the room. |
| 06.19.08 TEXAS UPDATE: Mesquite ISD school board begins self-investigation tonight of MISD's self-investigation & handling of Steve Halpin situation (MISD award-winning football coach with gambling addiction, more below); will supe Linda Henrie keep job? Lotsa hats: MISD board VP Robert Seward also TASB ("Team of Eight") president-elect and TXU senior accounting specialist. |
| Reconciling the two Steve Halpins has been a challenge for Mesquite residents and the Texas coaching brotherhood alike after yesterday's Dallas Morning News story regard- ing curious circumstances surrounding Mesquite High School' s head football coach and 270 pieces of technology disappearing from the school then reappearing later -- after he'd apparently pawned then redeemed them. When the |
| MESQUITE ISD'S TWO STEVE HALPINS Where do we file this: "The case against school district self-investigation" or, "The case for tighter internal controls including real-time inventories"? By Peyton Wolcott Friday, June 13, 2008 - 1:09 a.m. |
| President, 2007-2008 Texas High School Coaches Associaton . . . . Coach, Mesquite HS 2001 Class 5A Texas football champs . . . . Coach, Mesquite HS 13 years. . . . Coach, Mesquite HS 2001 Class 5A Texas football champs . . . . Salary: $92,631 base (one of Texas' highest for coaches). . . . . Husband of Mesquite ISD elementary teacher . . . . Father of Mesquite HS cheerleader . . . Father of Mesquite HS 2008 quarterback |
| BEST PRACTICES |
| Because the recent announcement by Voyager that it has hired former Houston ISD trustee Kevin Hoffman coincides with Georgia's release of its disappointing state scores, Voyager has one again leaped onto our collective national radar -- and what a fortuitous time this seems to take a closer look at vendor Randy Best's edu-creation and see how it stacks up today. Regarding the Kevin Hoffman-Voyager connection, Kevin's the former Houston ISD elected trustee (until this past spring) who has just been hired by Voyager. When and where did Kevin and Voyager get to know each other? One possible place to start asking questions is the Barbara Joan Hoffman Memorial Foundation honoring Kevin's late mom as last year's 2007 "Major Underwriter" for the golf tournament was Voyager Expanded Learning. More here. |
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| The nation's 1st & only daily conservative public education commentary - July 2, 2008 |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| How to ask your local school district Flyer History 1st Anniversary San Antonio Triple Crown The Four-Legged Stool COPYRIGHT NOTICE: When borrowing/copying/ citing from this roster please remember to attribute the source: www.PeytonWolcott.com |
| CALIFORNIA Capistrano USD - here Clovis USD - here FLORIDA (01.14.08) Miami-Dade CPS* here ILLINOIS Carpentersville SD 300* Elgin U-46* Huntley CUSD 158* Naperville CUSD [ / ] KANSAS USD 507 (Satanta) (Chk Jrnl) MICHIGAN Clawson-here (BusinessOfc.) Montrose CS - here MINNESOTA Milaca SD - ISD 192 St. Cloud ISD MISSISSIPPI Ocean Springs SD* here MISSOURI Liberty PS - BoardDocs NEVADA Clark County SD**** OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City PS***** S. DAKOTA Mitchell School District* TEXAS** (185) Allen ISD Alvarado ISD Anderson-Shiro CISD - here Anthony ISD Anton ISD - here Aquilla ISD - Baard Packet Arlington ISD Arp ISD - Athens ISD Aubrey ISD Avery ISD Beeville ISD-Agenda Packet Bellville ISD Big Spring ISD Blackwell CISD Blue Ridge ISD Blum ISD - here Bonham ISD - here Borden County ISD - Admin. Borger ISD Bremond ISD Bridgeport ISD - here Brookesmith ISD - here Bryan ISD* Caddo Mills ISD Cameron ISD Canton ISD Cedar Hill ISD Center Point ISD Chester ISD China Spring ISD here Cleburne ISD* - here Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD Colmesneil ISD Comal ISD Conroe ISD* Corpus Christi ISD* Cotton Center ISD Cross Roads ISD Cypress-Fairbanks ISD* Daingerfield-Lone Star ISD Dallas ISD Damon ISD - here Deer Park ISD* Denison ISD Dickinson ISD Dublin ISD - here (About us) East Bernard ISD Ector Co. ISD Electra ISD Franklin ISD Friendswood ISD Galena Park ISD Galveston ISD Grandfalls-Royalty ISD Greenville ISD Gunter ISD Harlandale ISD - here Hart ISD* - here Haskell CISD Hempstead ISD Highland ISD Hitchcock ISD - here Holliday ISD Houston ISD* Howe ISD Hunt ISD Iola ISD Iraan-Sheffield ISD Judson ISD (quarterly) Katy ISD Kaufman ISD Keller ISD* Kerrvile ISD Lackland ISD Lago Vista ISD* LaPoynor ISD - here Leander ISD Leonard ISD Lexington ISD Livingston ISD Little Cypress-Maur. CISD Little Elm ISD Llano ISD - here Lockney ISD Lorena ISD Lovejoy ISD Lufkin ISD Mabank ISD Madisonville CISD Malakoff ISD Marble Falls ISD - here Marion ISD Marshall ISD - here Meadow ISD McKinney ISD Medina ISD Medina Valley ISD* Mesquite ISD - here Miami ISD MidlandISD-AgendaPacket Midway ISD - Monahans-Wickett-Pyote ISD Mount Vernon ISD Murchison ISD - here Nacogdoches ISD - here Natalia ISD Navarro ISD - Finance Nazareth ISD Nederland ISD New Caney ISD Newcastle ISD - here Nordheim ISD North East ISD North Forest ISD Northside ISD No. Zulch ISD* O'Donnell ISD - here Olfen ISD - here Ore City ISD Palestine ISD Panther Creek ISD - here Paradise ISD- Agenda Packt Pasadena ISD Pearland ISD Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD Pilot Point ISD - here Pine Tree ISD - Disbursemts Pittsburg ISD - here Port Neches-Groves ISD Pflugerville ISD Quinlan ISD Reagan County ISD Richardson ISD Rio Hondo ISD - here Robert Lee ISD Roby CISD Roscoe ISD - here Rosebud-Lott ISD Round Rock ISD * Royse City ISD San Angelo ISD San Antonio ISD Salado ISD Santa Rosa ISD - here San Vicente ISD - here Schertz-Cibolo-U.City ISD* Seminole ISD Shallowater ISD - here Skidmore-Tynan ISD Smyer ISD - Expenses Somerset ISD* South Texas ISD Southwest ISD* Spring Branch ISD * Stafford ISD - Agenda Packet Stanton ISD Stephenville ISD - here Sundown ISD - here Sweeny ISD - here Teague ISD Terrell ISD - here Texas City ISD Timpson ISD Tomball ISD Trent ISD Trenton ISD - here United ISD* - here Uvalde CISD - here Valentine ISD Valley Mills ISD - here Van Alstyne ISD Waller ISD - here Waskom ISD - here West ISD Westbrook ISD - here Wharton ISD Whitharral ISD - here Wildorado ISD - here Wilson ISD Wimberley ISD Windthorst ISD - here Winona ISD Ysleta ISD Zapata County ISD - here UTAH Davis School District* WISCONSIN Sun Prairie SD |
| COMMITTED Argyle ISD (TX) - here Clear Creek ISD (TX) Dew ISD (TX) El Paso ISD (TX) La Marque ISD (TX) Plainview ISD (TX) Pottsboro ISD (TX) Snyder ISD (TX) Southside ISD (TX) Temple ISD (TX) STATE DOE ONLINE Texas Education Agency MIDDLE EDU-LAYER St. Clair County RESA (MI) HONORABLE MENTION ALASKA DOE - Checks over $1,000 MICHIGAN *** Intermediate School Districts TEXAS Brackett ISD (checks over $500) WHERE PARENTS, TAXPAYERS, TRUSTEES ARE ASKING: Cedar Rapids PS (IA) Chippewa Valley SD (MI) Eanes ISD (TX) Lake Travis ISD (TX) Lancaster ISD (TX) LA USD (CA) New York CPS (NY) Omaha PS (NB) Rochester CS (MI) Santa Cruz CPS (AZ) Water Valley ISD (TX) ___________________________ * No check numbers. ** Source for all Texas numbers: TEA PEIMS (most recently reported actuals, 2005-06) *** For online numbers including budgets, salaries, lobbying, PR, legal, autos, more **** Purchase orders *****Encumbrances NOTE: Some districts such as Beeville ISD (TX) call their check registers "disbursement registers" (Source for names of Texas districts: Houston Chronicle (6), San Antonio Express-News (6) ) |
| Heads up to grassroots school reform activists: Be smart, be effective By Peyton Wolcott Updated 12.02.07 |
| Rattlesnake (L), Teddy bear (PHOTO--Steiff) |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| When his newspaper's Mexico City bureau chief, Philip True, was killed, Rivard led a highly visible challenge to the Mexican judicial system. He personally was instrumental in finding True's remains and has relentlessly sought to bring his killers to justice. |
| Robert Rivard, editor San Antonio Express-News |
| It's pretty safe to say Bob Rivard and I will never be political allies; in addition to the SAEN having taken a fiercely anti-Iraq war stance, it also refers to "illegal immigrants" as "immigrants." However, he is also fiercely loyal to the causes he adopts -- and to his employees, two qualities to which we all can relate. An excerpt from his 2002 Cabot Prize bio: |
| In 2004 the Jalisco state supreme court returned a final verdict of guilt and ordered the two Huichol brothers-in-law who killed True to serve 20-year prison terms. Both men fled before Mexican authorities could detain them, having been released from custody earlier by a Mexican judge under questionable circumstances. (Ibid,) |
| Rivard's coverage of True's murder led to his writing a book, "Trail of Feathers." Here's an update regarding the outcome of his pursuit of justice: |
| Rivard also played a pivotal role in bringing New York Times reporter Jayson Blair's plagiarism to light: |
| In April 2003, it was Rivard's email to the New York Times that provoked an investigation into plagiarism charges by a reporter named Jayson Blair. Blair had lifted reporting and writing from San Antonio Express- News reporter Macarena Hernandez's published work and presented it as his own. The subsequent investigation led to what became known as the Jayson Blair debacle, with Blair and the Times' executive editor and managing editor tendering their resignations. (SOURCE --RobertRivard.com) |
| Hats off to Bob Rivard and his SAEN staff (more at left) for the pivotal role they played in San Antonio school districts posting their check registers online, and for setting such a great example for their fellows in the newspaper business to emulate. |
| HATS OFF: Bob Rivard, The San Antonio Express-News By Peyton Wolcott Tue., Nov. 27, 2007-10 a |
| San Antonio's Triple Crown here |
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| Check registers online in 204 districts, 14 states! with $47 billion-plus in annual transparency! ----------------------- 1ST & ONLY ROSTER OF ONLINE SCHOOL CHECK REGISTERS As of 04.11.08, 15% of all Texas school districts have voluntarily posted their check registers online; over 2/3 of all state/local TX school district dollars are website-posted. |
| NOTE: We are not asking school districts to post salary or HIPAA-related dollars. |
| Welcome to the home of the National Grassroots School District Online Check Register Movement Est. Oct. 1, 2006 |
| How to find your district's checks: If there's no link on the home page, try the business or finance page, or it may be listed under links or technology or community news. If the district is paying for TASB's BoardBook software, online check registers are a free feature, and can usually be found in the board packet for the most recent regular board meeting. |
| A model for the nation: More about the San Antonio Triple Crown here How 3 major school districts put their checks online . . . in 1 week! |
| Quick Facts |
| Links |
| The National School District Honor Roll |
| ONLINE CHECK REGISTERS |
| U. S. Roster |
| 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. |
| FAQ's ARCHIVES FOLLOW THE MONEY YOU CAN DO THIS STATE & LOCAL GOVERNANCE VENDOR LOBBYING |
| KANSAS FOLLOW UP El. principal in Colorado After being charged with $41,000 KS PTA theft By Peyton Wolcott Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 12:06 a.m. Updated Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 6:05 a.m. |
| HAPPIER TIMES IN KANSAS Then-Jefferson Elementary principal Don Atkin- son with Jefferson PTA president Pamela Kurtz |
| Until I telephoned officials at Colorado Springs School District #11 last Tuesday, Donald Ned Atkinson was still employed by the district -- despite the fact that school administrators had the week previous received a negative FBI report based on his fingerprints. Atkinson was arrested March 22, 2008 in Great Bend, Kansas and charged with 63 counts of theft by deception. (SOURCE--KSN-TV) Prosecutors say Atkinson stole the money between 2002 and 2007; he resigned last November after PTA leaders, following a training course in accountability and responsibility, took their con- cerns to school administrators, who called authorities. Atkinson had worked at the district for 28 years, 12 of them at the elemen- tary school. (SOURCE--Kansas News-Leader) Yesterday I requested a copy of Mr. Atkinson's employment application at Colorado Springs School District #11. The comments I have received from around the nation over the past two weeks focus on concerns that while all individuals have a right and duty to obtain employment in order to support their families, anyone charged with 63 counts of theft by deception in a public school setting should not be allowed to continue working in public schools anywhere until after the judicial process has been completed. |
| Colorado Springs (Inset: Donald Ned Atkinson) |
| NEW READER SURVEY! What are your thoughts on Don Atkinson? Great Bend superintendent Tom Vernon? Colorado Springs #11 supe Terry Bishop? Don's the former trusted Kansas elementary principal (below and left) who recently sought employment at a Colorado school district before his trial on 63 counts of theft by deception (PTA and other school funds) begins in Kansas. Should Great Bend supe Tom Vernon have exercised tighter internal controls? Should Terry Bishop have hired Don Atkinson? Do you have any solutions for challenges like this which we face in varying degrees in all of our public schools? Please email me by Sunday night. Be sure to mention whether you are speaking on or off the record. I'll post at least a few of the most representative responses Monday. |
| GREAT BEND, KANSAS Great Bend USD 428 employees named by former GBUSD principal Don Atkinson on his employment application to Colorado Springs School District #11 By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - 5:05 p.m. |
| o David Meter o Janis Link o Carla Maneth o Alvena Spangenberg |
| David Meter |
| Developing . . . |
| KANSAS Steps taken by Great Bend, Kansas USD 428 to tighten their internal controls By Peyton Wolcott Friday, May 9, 2008 - 12:07 a.m. |
| Tom Vernon , Great Bend USD428 superintendent, said by telephone yesterday, "We've tightened our internal controls in two ways. First, all cash and other gifts from groups such as PTA's now come through the district's business office and are posted publicly on the school board's agenda for approval of each item by the board. Second, we now have two meetings annually for all groups such as the PTA who give to our schools or are associated with the schools to outline our procedures to them and answer any questions they might have. We've already had one such meeting (February 4) and the next is on June 10, 2008." Tom confirmed that the district no longer allows district employees to accept cash donations from groups; instead, those monies are deposited directly with the business office and receipts are issued on the spot. |
| The Club at StoneRidge -- site of USD 428's recent education foundation fund raiser, a golf tournament. |
| AASA - TAS/MUS - ETC. When will American superintendents study fraud at their education conventions and conferences rather than play golf with vendors? By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 12:52 a.m./ Updated Tuesday, May 13, 2006 - 6:13 a.m. |
| For decades we trusting American taxpayers have funded what are, by most folks' standards, often-lavish trips to far away places for our local school superintendents. Because we want the best schools possible for our children, most of us in the past have accepted such explanations for our top administrators' absences as, "He's away at a conference." Oh. A conference? But what does that mean? An education conference can mean a great variety of things. |
| Alton Frailey |
| TAS/MUS Spring Conference (April 18-20, 2008) In some districts, superintendents' secretaries would not disclose to callers where their absent bosses were on Friday afternoon, April 18 of the TAS/MUS Spring Conference, even though it was a school day. "I can't discuss his schedule," said Katy ISD superintendent Alton Frailey's secretary B.J. Alvarez regarding her boss's absence from the suburban Houston district on Friday, April 18, at 3:49 p.m. CST. Alton is listed on the TAS/MUS Spring Conference brochure as a director of the organization. |
| Superintendent Rocky Kirk's phone answerers back home at Lake Travis ISD just outside of Austin weren't much more forthcoming that same afternoon -- plus his assistant was gone, also. "We'll be out of the office Friday afternoon," was the recorded message on Rocky's secretary Linnea Bennett's voice mail. According to Rocky's LTISD page, like Alton Frailey he's also a "Director for the Texas Association of Suburban Mid-Urban Schools. " This is followed by: Rocky "enjoys helping prepare future educational leaders by teaching graduate coursework at the university level and is active as a consultant to school board-superintendent teams across the state." |
| Rocky Kirk (Inset, Linnea Bennett) |
| The only superintendent teams those of us observing the TAS/MUS Spring Conference on Friday afternoon, April 18, saw were teams of superintendents playing golf with vendors. The next morning, Saturday, when it might have been hoped, given the challenges that apparently increasing reports of fraud represent in our public schools, that something like "How to Look for Fraud in your Schools" might have been on the agenda, instead, at 9 a.m., the TAS/MUS superintendents listened to a talk by former Texas Tech University coach Spike Dikes. His presentation -- as was the rest of the conference -- was |
| Former Texas Tech coach Spike Dikes |
| Some of us wonder if sometimes superintendents might be forgetting that their trips to such conferences are paid for by property taxes by folks who pay the assessor's bill for their property taxes by foregoing their own travel to nice hotels. |
| Sometimes when they're away, our public school executives are looking at curriculums. Other times they're considering governance issues. And sometimes, even on school days, they're playing golf -- with vendors -- at resorts, as occurred last month here in Texas at the Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools Spring Conference at Horseshoe Bay Resort. |
| Texas public school superintendents played golf with vendors on Friday afternoon, April 18, 2008 at Horseshoe Bay, Texas during TAS/MUS Spring Conference |
| Prepping for TAS/MUS reception and dinner at Horseshoe Bay Yacht Club |
| closed to the public, so the subject of Coach Dikes' talk is anybody's guess. Perhaps it was "How to Look for Fraud in your Schools," and Spike tag-teamed with some accountants. Or a trout. |
| Perhaps next time TAS/MUS will let the public sit in on their conference. That has a friendly, Texas public-school ring to it, doesn't it? "Y'all come!" Yes, that sounds like a good idea whose time has come. |
| SEX IN OUR SCHOOLS Is Hillsborough, FL supe Mary Ellen Elia unlucky -- or should she be fired? Hats off to Bill O'Reilly, with a question By Peyton Wolcott Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 5:00 a.m. Updated Friday, May 16, 2008 - 12:07 a.m. |
| Bill O'Reilly |
| Mary Ellen Elia with (clockwise from top left) Jaymee Wallace, Stephanie Ragusa, Mary Jo Spack, Christina Butler and Debra Lafave |
| What are the odds that a single Florida school district with 192,000 students would have five of its female teachers arrested for having sex with underage students within the past few years? |
| Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said on air earlier this week that Ms. Elia should be fired. Strong words coming from a TV host with Zencore for a sponsor. |
| HILLSBOROUGH 5 ARREST TIME LINE March 20, 2008 - Mary Jo Spack, a 45-year-old honors English teacher, accused of having sex with a 17-year-old boy after buying liquor and bringing him to a motel. March 13, 2008 - Stephanie Ragusa, a 28-year-old math teacher, arrested and accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy. Oct. 23, 2007 - Christina Butler, a 33-year-old special education teacher at Middleton High School in Tampa, arrested, accused of having sex up to a dozen times with a 16-year-old boy. Oct. 8, 2007 - Former Wharton High School teacher and coach Jaymee Wallace pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a student who played on her girls basketball team. Wallace is scheduled to be sentenced today in Hillsborough Circuit Court. She previously rejected prosecutors' plea offer of three years in prison. November 2005 - Former Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave was sentenced to three years of house arrest and seven years of probation after pleading guilty in 2005 to having sex with a 14-year-old boy. (SOURCE--Rebecca Catalanello, St. Petersburg Times) |
| And what was Ms. Elia's reaction to news of one of the recent arrests? Mario Diaz of Tampa Bay 10 reported recently that "Superinten- dent Mary Ellen Elia was shocked when we first showed her the arrest report." Question for Bill: If you're going to decry the moral climate in America's schools, can't you get better sponsors than one selling sex aids? |
| Questions for Voyager aka ProQuest: (1) What does being de-listed by NYSE mean? (2) What about going to Pink Sheets? (3) And the stock price drop? (see chart) By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - 1:18 a.m. Updated Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 6:40 a.m. |
| The New York Stock Exchange... announced...that it determined that the common stock of ProQuest Co. (the "Company") – ticker symbol PQE – should be suspended prior to the opening on Wednesday, March 28, 2007, or such earlier date as the Company commences trading in another securities marketplace or if there is material adverse development. The Company expects its common stock to be quoted on the Pink Sheets following suspension.The decision was reached in view of the fact that the Company is a late filer. Also, the Company was under review by NYSE Regulation in light of the delay in filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission its December 31, 2005 Form 10-K and certain of its 2006 Form 10-Q filings. (SOURCE--New York Stock Exchange/NYSE) |
| (L to R) Randy Best, Mike Moses, Jim Nelson, Linda Schrenko (Atlanta Journal Constitution), Rudy Crew (Scholastic), Mary Landrieu (Washington Post), Kevin Hoffman, Ron Klausner (GRAPH - Pink Sheets) |
| Duncan's decision to put SBISD's check register online came at a pivotal time at the beginnings of the online check register movement, in November 2006. Spring Branch ISD was the first large suburban district to publicly announce that it was coming online. _____________________ (Posted 05.21.08) |
| PIONEERS |
| Robert Scott Commissioner of Education - Texas |
| When Robert Scott put the Texas Education Agency's check register online in February 2007, TEA became the first state DOE to do so in the U.S.; to the best of my knowledge it is still the only state DOE in the country to list all checks. Pointing out that increased transparency was Governor Rick Perry's initiative, Robert adds, "We at TEA wholeheartedly agree." |
| Terry Bradley Superintendent, Clovis USD (CA) |
| Duncan Klussmann Superintendent, Spring Branch ISD (TX) |
| Clovis USD, just north of Fresno in California's fertile San Joaquin Valley farming region, may have been the first school district in the nation to put its entire check register online -- a natural next step, according to a district spokesman, as part of its move to a paperless board packet. |
| Voyager Learning's April 2001 - May 2008 |