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
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| The nation's 1st & only daily conservative public education commentary - July 4, 2008 |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| Copyright 1999-2008 Peyton Wolcott |
| 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. |
| 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? |
| 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. |
| IOWA Supe's 2 DUI's What do you tell his students? By Peyton Wolcott Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 12:07 a.m. |
| Marty Lucas |
| Top (L to R): Chaplains Clark V. Poling, John P. Washington; Bottom (L to R) George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode |
| Did our nation's IB schoolchildren study these four WWII heroes this week? By Peyton Wolcott Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 6: 40 p.m. |
| The Four Chaplains |
| These four brave warrior chaplains gave their lives aboard their troop ship the USAT Dorchester which was transporting American soldiers to Europe on February 3, 1943 off the coast of Newfoundland after their troop ship was torpedoed by the Nazis. Their courageous stories including giving away their life jackets here and here. |
| It is not likely that any of our American schoolchildren in the 890 International Baccalaureate schools here in the U.S. studied the Four Chaplains in any of their IB classes this past week. Instead, as Allen Quist points out, the IB kids more likely learned that the United States is an imperialist country and that its actions were "compared to Japan during World War II." |
| Read this article here. |
| Scroll down for only national roster |
| The ONLY national roster ! |
| s c h o o l n e w s q u i c k l i n k s |
| Bettendorf school super- intendent still on the job WQAD Updated: May 20, 2008 |
| Bettendorf, IOWA-- Nearly three months after a second drunk driving charge, Bettendorf School Board superintendent Marty Lucas is still on the job. Deputies arrested Lucas in February after a crash in Benton County. At the time of his arrest, records show a blood alcohol level well over the legal limit. Lucas pleaded not guilty but until a jury agrees, it leaves the school board with a dilemma. The school board reviewed police records from the arresting officer on Monday evening and completed its investigation. The board will review its findings with Lucas this week. The district's attorney, Cameron Davidson, says the board will make a public statement before the superintendent's pre-trial conference. If the board decides to take any disciplinary action against superintendent Lucas, it will be revealed publicly at a school board meeting. "The school board met in closed session this evening to review the incident regarding Mr. Lucas. The board has completed its investigation. We expect to have a public comment sometime in the near future after reviewing the matter with Mr. Lucas," Davidson said. Davidson says the board will make their decision before the superintendent's pre-trial conference which is May 29th. Court records show that Lucas received a year's probation for an earlier drunk driving arrest in 1999. |
| How many DUI do-overs should our top administrators get? By Peyton Wolcott - Tues. May 27, 2008 Updated Sun., June 15, 2008/5:00 p.m. |
| We live in a generous nation; as a people we are quick to grant second and third--and more--fresh starts to folks who want them. After all, many of our |
| forebearers came to America seeking a new life. |
| Should our public school superinten- dents be in a different category? |
Developing. . . |
y o u r q u e s t i o n s
| School News Links Commentaries Year-in-Review: 2007 2006 TX Ed Comm |
| Edu-Monopoly (Bohuchot..Coleman) Education, Inc. ERDI Technology Credit cards Technology Edu-Conferences TASA MidWinter Supes'n'vendors golf 1 2 3 |
| Arizona California Ohio Oklahoma Fllorida Illinois Kansas History: The Four-Legged Stool Texas ISDs: Edgewood 1 2 3 4 5 Cleburne Llano Bremond |
| How Texas leads U.S. in public edu-transparency Team of 8 LTISD SLAPP suit Pass the trash Lax oversight |
| How to organize (proven!) How to ask your district to post its check register Activist Alert Board & candidate pledges |
| Joseph M. Vigil |
| Wayne Gerke |
| Rebecca Perry, Marty Lucas |
| Adrain Johnson |
n e w c o m m e n t a r i e s
| Hats off ! |
| Retired PA superintendent's salary: $0.00 |
| At a time when increasing numbers of public school administrators retire, then begin collecting generous taxpayer-funded pensions, then immediately double-dip, earning top- dollar second salaries while still collecting the pension -- at such a time as this M. Joseph Brady in Minersville, Pennsylvania's lowest-paid superinten- dent (salary $0.00), offers by example a ray of hope: |
| Minersville Area superin- tendent M. Joseph Brady doesn’t get a paycheck anymore. The lowest-paid superintendent in Pennsylvania is among a shrinking number of administrators who don’t jump to other districts seeking higher compensation. “We had plans for a business manager,” Brady said while passing an empty office near his desk. “Down the road.” He also serves as the business manager for the Schuylkill County district. Brady, 79, works for no salary. He officially retired in 2002 and started taking his state pension. He mostly works for the cost of his health insurance. Without a business manager, Brady is on his own when recommending that his school board raise taxes. “Since I have to raise the taxes, I figured that I would help lessen the burden that’s passed on,” Brady said. “I wanted to give something back before I go.” (SOURCE--Jay M. Young/Altoona Mirror) |
| M. Joseph Brady (PHOTO--Jason Sipes/Altoona Mirror) |
| For selfless service to his community, hats off to Joseph Brady. God bless you, sir. |
| CHINA: Kudos! Principal 'Angel' Ye's diligence--he strengthened his school--saved 2,323 students in 8.0. |
| Chris Morrow |
CA: LA realtor
Jimmy Marzullo
arrested: $65K
PTSA/booster
theft
Jimmy Marzullo
arrested: $65K
PTSA/booster
theft
FL: Long-time Rudy Crew
supporter Miami Herald's
17% staff cuts; board
members seek Rudy's
dismissal; trustee Marta
Perez CBS4
supporter Miami Herald's
17% staff cuts; board
members seek Rudy's
dismissal; trustee Marta
Perez CBS4
| Texas school districts to have voluntarily posted its check register online (you'll see them listed at far left below on the U.S. roster) but also they have no credit cards for administrators, plus BISD takes exception- al care of the two merchant cards the district owns. But that's not the whole story. In a recent interview BISD superinten- dent John Hardwick quoted educator John Dewey, "'What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children.' That's what we do here in Beeville," he says. "In celebrating our students and their day-to- day learning in the classroom with the same passion as the best and wisest of parents, we work on a daily basis to build trust with our parents and families. A component of building that trust is our financial transparency." |
| Beeville ISD (TX) Internal Controls |
| John Hardwick |
| Beeville ISD appears to have a firm grip on trans- parency. Not only is BISD among the first 20% of |
| Further addressing both trust and trans- parency, long-time community leader Gwen DeWitt, who helped the district pass its recent $12 million bond election, said, "Our hard-earned tax dollars fund the public school system and the only way for the public to accurately hold the schools accountable is to be aware of how funds are used. It is our desire to provide a quality education for our youth. It is appreciated when a school system makes every effort to provide financial transpar- ency and subsequent accountability to the taxpay- rs and parents. Beeville ISD provides this transpar- ency and accountability on a continuous basis." Hats off, Beeville ISD! (Posted June 24, 2008) |
| Regarding the two merchant cards, access is carefully monitored and the cards are kept in BISD's business office. "Anybody wanting to use one has to submit a purchase order first and it must be approved for that specific purchase and amount, then the card is returned immediately with the receipt," says CFO Linda O'Connell . "The few times anyone forgets, we go ask them for it by the end of the day." She adds, "It's the taxpayers' money." |
| Linda O'Connell |
| Beeville ISD administration building |
OR: Bridger
ES PTA's
Jackalin Lillie
arrested,
$13,000
embezzlement
charge
ES PTA's
Jackalin Lillie
arrested,
$13,000
embezzlement
charge
p u b l i c f r e e d o m s
| What was Alton Frailey thinking? By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 3:52 p.m. |
| What could have been going through this veteran respected Katy ISD superinten- dent's mind when he included limiting his community's access |
| Alton Frailey |
| to information regarding how he's spending their tax dollars and educating their schoolchildren on the agenda for last night's board meeting? Surprising that he'd consider this, given that they made such strides last year by voluntarily posting the district's check register online, but here's the agenda item: |
| AGENDA - REGULAR BOARD MEETING KATY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT / BOARD OF TRUSTEES EDUCATION SUPPORT COMPLEX BOARD ROOM/6301 SOUTH STADIUM LANE KATY, TEXAS MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2008 IX. Action 2. Consider Board approval of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Advocacy Resolutions. |
| Oh, you don't see the reported 18 TASB resolutions on Katy ISD's board agenda above? Oops! Neither could I. Somehow they weren't included in the agenda supplied to the public. Look for yourself here (scroll down to "Regular Meeting" on the right, then "June 23, 2008"). Well, we can all be thankful that Helen Eriksen and Jennifer Ratcliffe were on hand to tell us about it in this morning's Houston Chronicle: |
| The Katy school board on Monday backed off a plan to propose a law requiring those who want access to public records to first explain why the information's release would benefit the community. Katy officials say they're trying to stymie a flood of what they consider frivolous requests for open records. To that end, the school board intended to ask the Texas Association of School Boards to push for a new law to make information requestors justify themselves. But they canceled the vote just a few hours before the meeting because administra- tors said they don't want school board members to be criticized as being anti-open government. "I don't want our board to be conflicted and misconstrued and misrepresented as trying to thwart public information," superintendent Alton Frailey said. "I don't want this on the backs of the Katy board alone. I'm not wanting to carry the water, but I have put the bucket in the well." A draft of Katy's proposed resolution reads: "There is a growing trend where private citizens use provisions of this act to retaliate, harass and hold hostage the public school district when there clearly is no public interest being served." In May, Frailey told the school board that Katy was being terrorized by [493] public information requests. |
| Owning up to it here Friends, at least one of those 493 requests may have been consider- ed by Alton to have been from me. Let's back up. Even though I don't live in Katy ISD, according to TEA's most recent PEIMS actual financials for KISD, the district received $17.4 million in federal funds for the most recently reported period, and as a federal taxpayer this gives me a lively interest in where Alton was on Friday afternoon, April 18 -- the first day of the TAS/MUS spring confer- ence at Horseshoe Bay Resort. |
| First They Came First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak out for me. -- Pastor Martin Niemoeller |
| Given that Alton is a TAS/MUS director, it seemed likely that he might have been golfing with the other administrators and vendors on some of Texas' finest links. But was he doing so -- if he was doing so -- at taxpayer expense? Sorry, Alton and his PR staff have not yet answered phone and email queries so you'll have to file a public records request to find out. Here's a friendly idea. Make it easier for them: Mark your request "Public Information Request #494." In the meantime, our friends in print didn't speak out very loudly last year when TASA/TASB made newspapers exempt from the onerous fees HB 2564 imposed on parents and taxpayers for public records. Here's hoping this new move by TASA/TASB will encourage the press association to speak up during this next Lege. |
| Texas superintendents golfing with vendors at Horseshoe Bay Resort on Friday, April 18, 2008 |
NOLA: Paul Vallas'
post-Philly sweet deal:
$250,00 no-bid contracts
A-okay
post-Philly sweet deal:
$250,00 no-bid contracts
A-okay
CO: HS principal
Mark Rangel
resigns: '"off the
premises / on the
job" affair with
SpEd coworker;
taxpayers angry
Mark Rangel
resigns: '"off the
premises / on the
job" affair with
SpEd coworker;
taxpayers angry
TX: Sandy Kress /
NCLB report:
"maybe ought to
strengthen the
system." Does this
mean "buy more
Pearson products?"
And:
NCLB report:
"maybe ought to
strengthen the
system." Does this
mean "buy more
Pearson products?"
And:
WI: 50+% increase in
NCLB "failing" schools
this year: from 95 to 156
NCLB "failing" schools
this year: from 95 to 156
MD: Fur coats? If this is
going on in city gov't, what's
happening in their
schools? Andre
Hornsby..John Q.Porter
going on in city gov't, what's
happening in their
schools? Andre
Hornsby..John Q.Porter
Why didn't the
Statesman
call Dave
Thompson a "paid
TASA lobbyist"? Or
"(failed)
SLAPP-suit lead
attorney"?
Statesman
call Dave
Thompson a "paid
TASA lobbyist"? Or
"(failed)
SLAPP-suit lead
attorney"?
| TX: Mesquite ISD board's self-investigation re coach Steve Halpin = nothing amiss! |
CA: 1-yr. $12K-search
supe resigns
supe resigns
CT: What's the story
behind these ?
behind these ?
IL: Payroll assistant charged
with embezzling $115,000; "said
she had worked many extra
hours for 3 years and deserved
more money."
with embezzling $115,000; "said
she had worked many extra
hours for 3 years and deserved
more money."
CT: Elementary teacher
called in sick to be on
Howard Stern; out, she
sues
called in sick to be on
Howard Stern; out, she
sues
TX: Dallas ISD (1) KPMG
audit (bye-bye Broad?) (2)
Police! Camera! Action! DISD
board meeting blog
audit (bye-bye Broad?) (2)
Police! Camera! Action! DISD
board meeting blog
WHO'S ADVISING YOUR
DISTRICT? Are they viable? UBS
arrests, First Southwest subpoenas
, Bear Stearns arrests
DISTRICT? Are they viable? UBS
arrests, First Southwest subpoenas
, Bear Stearns arrests
| COLUMBIA: This is how to get things done: non-violent freeing of hostages. |
TX: Former Overton
ISD supe/A&M
Commerce prof
MarkStrecher(R)
pleads guilty to theft;
$16,877 credit card
charges, no receipts,
surrendered SBEC
certificate; wife Terri
(R) OISD guidance
counselor and (rah,
rah) varsity
cheerleader coach.
ISD supe/A&M
Commerce prof
MarkStrecher(R)
pleads guilty to theft;
$16,877 credit card
charges, no receipts,
surrendered SBEC
certificate; wife Terri
(R) OISD guidance
counselor and (rah,
rah) varsity
cheerleader coach.
ID: HS teacher
Steven G. Best
accused of embezzling
$9,000+ from local
yearbook student
adviser's program
Steven G. Best
accused of embezzling
$9,000+ from local
yearbook student
adviser's program
AP POLL: Half of
Americans say grads
ill-prepared for college--or
life.
Americans say grads
ill-prepared for college--or
life.
NC: Lee County supe Jim
McCormick out; local
blogger/mom asks about
Jim's "immoral conduct" --
How will it affect her child?
More. (local press/TV here)
McCormick out; local
blogger/mom asks about
Jim's "immoral conduct" --
How will it affect her child?
More. (local press/TV here)
LA: 3rd Baker supe in
year+ resigns
year+ resigns
TX EDU-HONORARIUMS: Supe
Hector Montenegro's new board
Hector Montenegro's new board
| Happy Birthday, America! Blessings of Liberty to you all! July 4, 2008 |
| We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Article 1. Section 1 All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 2 The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section 3 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Section 4 The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Choosing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. Section 5 Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member. Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Section 6 The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. Section 7 All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. Section 8 The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and Post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Section 9 The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State. Section 10 No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Control of the Congress. No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay. Article 2. Section 1 The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from them by Ballot the Vice-President. The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section 2 The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. Section 3 He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States. Section 4 The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Article 3. Section 1 The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Section 2 The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. Section 3 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. Article 4. Section 1 Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. Section 2 The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. Section 3 New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. Section 4 The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. Article 5. The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. Article 6. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. Article 7. The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names. George Washington - President and deputy from Virginia New Hampshire - John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman Massachusetts - Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King Connecticut - William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman New York - Alexander Hamilton New Jersey - William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton Pennsylvania - Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouvernour Morris Delaware - George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom Maryland - James McHenry, Daniel of St Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll Virginia - John Blair, James Madison Jr. North Carolina - William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson South Carolina - John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney,Pierce Butler Georgia - William Few, Abraham Baldwin Attest: William Jackson, Secretary |
| The Constitution of the United States |
in Arlington ISD wants to
know about his speaking
and other fees; thus far
the media has ignored
the ones Chris Comer
(left) allegedly received --
against TEA policy -- while
at TEA .
know about his speaking
and other fees; thus far
the media has ignored
the ones Chris Comer
(left) allegedly received --
against TEA policy -- while
at TEA .
NAT'L SCHOOL PR ASS'N:
Aramark Supe Rudy Crew's
ditching his duties at Miami-
Dade County Public Schools
(FL) to participate in annual
Aramark Supe Rudy Crew's
ditching his duties at Miami-
Dade County Public Schools
(FL) to participate in annual
"Power of Transparency and Integrity
in Communication" NSPR seminar in
Washington, D.C. Interesting timing.
in Communication" NSPR seminar in
Washington, D.C. Interesting timing.
TX: SBOE member Gail Lowe re
ELAR TEKS rewrite opposition
ELAR TEKS rewrite opposition
| The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature. He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states: For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world: For imposing taxes on us without our consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury: For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses: For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies: For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments: For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776 |
| The Declaration of Independence (Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776) |