Or, what about history?  Will the proposed national standards
include the study of history -- real events that happened to real
people -- or its fuzzier sibling, social studies?  Will the
proposed national standards align with the camp advocating
that third-graders receive a study page on Sheryl Crow as
occurred in one upscale exemplary Texas school a while back?
 Will the proposed standards change when the rock star
changes her T-shirt to reflect favor or disfavor with each new
president and each new war?
Orange County
Weekly: Capistrano
USD supe
Woody Carter at
edu-conference spa
Top 5 reasons (today) why Mr. Obama's school stimulus
money should have one big string attached: Put all
recipient districts' check registers online, include every
cent of their American Recovery & Reinvestment Act
spending
By Peyton Wolcott
Monday, August 10, 2009/8:29 a.m. - Updated Tuesday, August 11, 2009/3:34 a.m.
Hope too you're able to
find time for family
celebrations and
gatherings as simple as a
game of ChickenFoot
around the dining room
table after dinner:
The finance director of the Keys school district testified Wednesday
that she told the superintendent he needed to fire his wife -- who
was a district department director -- after she determined the wife
had spent some $29,000 in district money on personal goods.  She
also testified she told the superintendent that he needed to tell
prosecutors about the unauthorized spending.  The superintendent,
the now-suspended Randy Acevedo, never did.
1998 -  2007:
o  An outside bank
account, Organization of
Rural Elementary
Schools, that should
have been closed in
1998 remained open and
from March 1998 through
June 2007 was used as a
tool to conceal the
deposits and
expenditures of Marble
City School funds. We
question deposits totaling
$948,202.35.
Pgs 8-10
o  The source of the
money deposited into the
ORES account was
comprised of: (a)
$791,608.28 of
Marble City School
warrants, (b) approxi-
mately $109,489.57
of checks from the
Cherokee Nation
payable to the Marble
City School and (c)
$47,104.50 checks
from miscellaneous
sources payable to the
Marble City School.
Pg 10 o  It appears that
three methods were used
in which warrants were
issued from the school,
payable to various
vendors, and ultimately
deposited in
the ORES account. The
three methods identified
were: payments issued
to non-existent vendors,
payments issued to
vendors in excess of the
amount owed, payments
issued to vendors in
which the vendor never
received payments.
Pgs 10-15
o  The intended purpose
of the Cherokee Nation
checks payable to
Marble City Schools
included but were not
limited to the prevention
of diabetes/overweight
programs, motor vehicle
tax allocations and a
Cherokee language
immersion program.
Pg 16
o  Some of the (c)
miscellaneous checks
deposited into the ORES
account included but
were not limited to:
$5,922.77 from the
Cookson Hills
Community Action for
reimbursements of meals
for the head start
program, including
meals for the three and
four year old children;
$1,871.21 e-rate
reimbursement funds and
a $1,000.00 dona-
tion from the
Wal-Mart Foun-
dation. Pgs 16-18
o  From July 1999
through June 2007 one
hundred thirty-eight (138)
ORES checks totaling
$869,373.03 were
written from this account.
One hundred thirty seven
(137) of these checks,
totaling $854,873.03,
included forged
signatures of the former
ORES president. Pg 19
o  The ORES checks
were used to pay the
following:
$641,170.26 for
credit cards owned by
the school superinten-
dent and/or the superin-
tendent’s wife;
$85,000.00 was paid
for land purchased by the
superintendent;
$1,228.06 was paid for
personal indebtedness;
$4,730.00 was paid for a
tractor; $8,106.60 was
paid for miscellaneous
expenditures. Pgs 19-23
o  The Superintendent
was provided the use of
vehicles that cost
$161,157.40.
Pgs 23-24
o  The school issued a
$10,408.36 warrant to
Teacher’s Retirement
System on behalf of the
superintendent without
the knowledge or the
approval of the Board.
Pgs 26-27
o  A 2002 Chevrolet
pickup was disposed of
without the Board’s
approval.  Pgs 27-30
o  Documents supporting
a 2006 van purchase for
$48,500.00 were
altered to conceal the
purchase of a 2006
dually pickup. The 2006
dually pickup was not
listed on the school
inventory. Pgs 27-30
It was wonderful
seeing so many
families and so many
generations having fun
and laughing at the
rodeo clown's corny
jokes together; this
father and son
represent to me
something fine and
good about our future:

Developing . . .
Many years ago someone I know who was going through a messy divorce said
something that sounded like it had a lot of pain attached to it:  "You can never really know
who you're married to until you divorce them."  

Folks in Liberty, Missouri could likely paraphrase this as, "You can never really know the
superintendent you hired until you fire them."  

This is a sentiment likely expressed by many in Liberty, Missouri these days.


residents are asking themselves this week following the announcement that their former
interim supe, Phil Wright, has filed a lawsuit against them.  

The guy above is the one they thought they hired:  a pleasant veteran career professional.  
The Phil Wright they're getting to know better now is the one who wants his money.
Clearly Charles County
Public Schools must be
awash with cash and
overflowing with coins if their
finances are such that a
15-year old boy could make off
with unsecured taxpayer-
funded gift cards left lying
around Benjamin Stoddert
Middle School last week.
Yolanda Larkin of Brownsboro ISD (left, standing)  facilitated this table's group
consensus statement regarding their Harvard experience at the "Raise Your Hand"
January 28, 2009 conference at the Austin Hilton.
Following the money in
our vendor-driven schools
15 vendors & other special
money interest groups at
school meetings--know 'em?
The nation's 1st  & only daily conservative public education commentary   -   Solutions, not Fear
P E Y T O N   W O L C O T T

How we take back our children's
education:
one person, one question,
one school at a time.
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Copyright 1999-2009 Peyton Wolcott

"Walk softly
and carry a big stick."
-- Teddy Roosevelt

"Trust but verify."
-- Ronald Reagan
Just because you can
doesn't mean you should.
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.
ERDI supe
Alton Frailey (Katy ISD /
Texas) versus public  
freedoms
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
"Gloria from Luling" on
sidewalk outside
Walsh Anderson party at
Austin's Iron Cactus
with unnamed man who
was shy about  
revealing his name
(TASA Mid Winter, 2007 )
Soghra Najafpour (L) was
sentenced to death at age 13 for
the first time in Iran; she's now
31 -- more here.  Did principal
Robin E. Lowe (L)  mention
Soghra during her 'Islam 101'  
day May 22 at Friendswood  JH?  
Will she mention Soghra at her
new gig running Houston ISD's
Pershing MS?  Wouldn't that be a
step towards "raising [her
students'] awareness of the
culture" -- of the true culture -- in
Iran?  That perhaps Robin's
invited speakers from CAIR might
have forgotten to mention?  
Oops?
UPDATE:  As of today no
response yet from Robin to
telephone and email queries.
IRAN: Execution
Danger Alert
School News Quick Links
Jan.-Sept. 2008  here
Oct.-Nov. 2008  here
The American Superintendent
(Leonard Merrell) as Allan
Ramsay's King George III  
(Mixed-media collage by Peyton
Wolcott, Copyright 2008)
Wolcott
Peyton
6 SIMPLE SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOL
SUPERINTENDENTS

1.  End discretionary spending.
Set an example for your staff; let them know you mean
business about running a tighter ship:  No trips, no
conferences, no meals, no credit cards.  If you want to learn
more about something, use Google.  Do a webinar.  Read a
newsletter.   No golf games with vendors, ever.  No
chauffeurs, no rental cars.  Stay home, do your work and keep
your nose clean.

2.  Reduce administrative costs.
Go through your administrative staff roster and cut every other
job, starting with getting rid of all PR and marketing.  No
advisors, no consultants. Learn how to really read a budget.  
Put your check register and all wire transfers online.

3.  Ethics.
No nepotism.  Let your wife and kids earn a living in a field
other than education.  No board members' spouses working
in the district.  Conduct all discussions with vendors and
potential vendors in the open; invite your public to watch and
ask questions.  Throw away your contract and work year by
year.  Move your chair off the dais at board meetings.  You're
not a team member with your elected trustees.  You're not
equal to them.  They're your boss.

4.  No construction.  
If you're the rare district truly experiencing sufficient growth to
justify building new schools, splinter off that population and let
them start their own new school district or charter school.  
They might be able to take over an abandoned church or office
building for much less than the Taj Mahal you had in mind.

5.  Back-to-basics curriculum.
Math table (1st grade: add, 2nd grade: subtract, 3rd grade
multiply, 4th grade divide) daily drill.  You made sure your own
kids learned the basics at home or with tutors; why shouldn't
all children have that same opportunity?  Ditto for phonics.  
Classical literature.  History, not social studies.  No more
block scheduling.  Daily P.E. for all. Emphasize individual
effort and accomplishment.

6.  Attitude.  
You're a public servant, not a Third World dictator. Practice
humility and gratitude.  Remember when your employees
laugh at your jokes or tell you you're cool or vendors marvel at
your every utterance that they're all sucking up to you.  
Remember why you got into education to begin with.  Sell your
house in the gated community and buy one in the middle of a
real subdivision like your average parents and taxpayers can
afford.  Let yourself be driven not by the latest platitude you
picked up at the latest education conference but by the same
wonderful noble desire to educate kids that got you into this
field.
More "Best Practices"
here.
U.S. FEDERAL TAXPAYER DOLLARS
TO  DISD
2000-2007
2000-2001   $   121,951,145
2001-2002   $   137,745,786
2002-2003   $   169,103,740
2003-2004   $   188,618,903
2004-2005   $   188,838,330
2005-2006   $   215,068,567
2006-2007   $   217,970,686
TOTAL        $1,239,297,157
TEXAS TAXPAYER
DOLLARS TO DISD
2000-2007
2000-2001   $   204,116,731
2001-2002   $   180,097,229
2002-2003   $   254,465,426
2003-2004   $   199,905,502
2004-2005   $   199,940,243
2005-2006   $   198,907,113
2006-2007   $   305,839,277
TOTAL         $1,543,271,521
Texas and U.S. taxpayers have sent
almost $3 billion
to Dallas ISD since 2000
When I first saw the headline
yesterday morning that Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich had
just been arrested along with
his chief of staff, John F.
Harris, on charges of among
other things trying to sell
Barack Obama's U.S. Senate
seat, my first reaction was
probably not that different from
yours, "Oh.  Illinois."

You know, as in the 3 R's:  
prior governor George Ryan,
former Congressman Dan  
Rostenkowski,  and long-time
Obama supporter Tony Rezko.  
As in, to quote Matt Drudge,
"Crook County."  As in,
"Chicago,
Arne Duncan (L) and Rod "Even My
Hair's For Sale"  Blagojevich (R)     
(GRAPHIC IMAGE--Peyton Wolcott)
What's Arne Duncan's track
record on financial
transparency?
Given that getting rid of
corruption in public education
must be job one for the next
US DOE secretary, and given
that Chicago Public Schools
CEO Arne Duncan has deep
ties to Chi-Land (he's from
there), and given also that
he's a front runner for the
post, a good question to ask
is, "How transparent has Arne
been during his tenure as
supe of Chicago schools?"  
Meaning, how much has he
opened up specific-dollar
CPS actual financials to the
public in the cheapest,
easiest and fastest way
possible, by putting checks
online?  No pie charts, no
percentages, no aggregates,
but real checks-to?

When I went looking on
Chicago Schools' website
and couldn't find their checks,
I called the CPS PR
department and asked
whether Arne had made any
plans to put their check
register online.  After
explaining to the fellow with
whom I spoke what a check
register was, he said he'd
look into it and get back to
me.  Shouldn't be that hard;
even though Florida's
Miami-Dade County Public
Schools has fewer students,
if we can believe Chicago
Public Schools accounting
over Miami's M-DCPS spent a
lot more money last year, $6.7
billion for all expenditures, all
funds as opposed to the $4.6
bilion CPS will admit to.  I
sent the PR guy a helpful link
to Miami's check register so
Arne could see for himself.   

Oh, wait!  Miami-Dade's check
register is online because
Marta Perez, an elected
trustee, pushed for it last year
-- but all seven Chicago
Public Schools trustees are
appointed by Mayor Daley.  
D'ya think they'd risk losing
their appointments by
pushing for financial
transparency with a Chicago
mayor who controls all of
Chicago public ed?  

No response yet from CPS
Perhaps that was the famous
"I'll get back to you when Hell
freezes over" time frame.  Or,
maybe what the CPS PR guy
really meant was, "It's a long
way to Tipperary which is
where we hid the check
register and when we get it
cleaned up I'll get back to
you."  In any event, at press
time there was still no
response from Chi-Land
Schools about Arne's
intention (or not) to put their
check register online.

Here's hoping Mayor Daley
will let Arne put CPS checks
online whether or not Arne
makes US DOE secretary;
specific-dollar transparency in
the form of online check
registers is a terrific way for
honest Illinois administrators
and politicians to separate
themselves from  the
Blagojevich / 3R's crowd.
Corruption Capital" and the
"Chicago Machine."   As in,
apparently anything goes in
Chi-Land and surrounds that's
not nailed down.  

Graft, graft everywhere and
not a drop to drink
Chicago's suburbs have not
been immune from graft and
corruption.  It was just over
three years ago -- a year after
Gov. Blagojevich appointed
Thomas Ryan, then-supe of
Community Consolidated
School District 168 in Sauk
Village (a half-hour south of
Chicago) to a task force of
school administrators to help
shape Blagojevich's new
Department of Education --
that investigators raided
Ryan's home and hauled off a
(L) Thomas Ryan (center) in his garage.  
(R) Investigator carrying laundry basket
filled with cash.  (PHOTOS--Southtown Star)
laundry basket filled with cash,
ten years of financial records,
computers and a collapsible
metal billy club.  Ryan was
eventually indicted, tried and
sent to a minimal-security
prison where, presumably
without the asp, he served only
a few years of his eight-year
sentence.
SAUK VILLAGE SCHOOLS:
Role played by investigative
journalists
A shout out to the Daily
Southtown:  The Illinois State
Attorney only began looking
into Sauk Village schools'
finances after The Daily
Southtown published stories
by reporters Linda Lutton and
Kati Phillip regarding
questionable payments
made to Thomas Ryan, his
family and school district
vendors.
_______________________
And earlier this year it was
reported that "former
Hoover-Schrum Elementary
District 157 administrator
Rosemary Hendricks was
paid as superintendent for
the Calumet City school
system and another
suburban Cook County
school district."  Two months
ago, the suburban Cook
County district, Bellwood SD
88, accepted Hendricks'
resignation and appointed an
interim supe.  (SOURCES--Joan
Carreon/ Northwestern Indiana Times;
David Pollard/Proviso Herald; and
Proviso Insider Blogspot)
While a former Chicago Public
School manager remained
jailed on felony theft charges
Tuesday, the high school that
entrusted her with its finances
is struggling to recover from a
loss of nearly half a million
dollars.  Marilyn
Jenkins-Evans, 47, was
ordered held on $200,000 bail
by Criminal Court Judge
Thomas Hennelly, a day after
Closer to home, Tracy
Dell'Angela and Jeff Coen of  
the Chicago Tribune reported
on something that occurred
on Arne Duncan's watch as
CEO at Chicago Public
Schools:
Marilyn Jenkins-Evans 2006 mug shot
she was arrested on
allegations that she stole
$457,000 from Simeon Career
Academy High School, where
she once worked as business
manager.  Investigators
alleged that she wrote herself
319 checks, forged the former
principal's signature and
deposited them in her
personal accounts over more
than five years at the school.  
"How is this school going to
recoup that money?" asked the
interim principal of the South
Side school, Leonard
Kenebrew. "That's $90,000 a
year for five years. That could
have been novels. Or
microscopes. Or training for
the teachers. Or field trips for
the students. It's so
depressing."
U.S. school district
check registers online
A-L (Alabama to Kentucky)
M-Z (Michigan to Wyoming)
Texas school district
check registers online
A-L (Agua Dulce to Luling)
M-Z   (Mabank to Zapata)
Terms & Conditions
Sorry to have to include this;  some
groups--God bless them--have copied my
research and published it as their own.
Robin Hood & 22 'equity'
failures: MALDEF's 22
Edgewood districts cost
Texans billions in failed
academics & extravagance.
How to persuade
your district:
The friendly approach
works best--take the
Golden Rule with you
when asking your schools
to post their checks.
Testimonials  (issues & concerns).
Are there enough degrees
of separation between
Arne and Blagojevich for
Arne to be the next
US DOE secretary?
By Peyton Wolcott
Wednesday,  December 10, 2008 /
12:02 a.m. - Updated Wednesday,
December 10, 2008 / 9:59 a.m.
Dec.2008-Jan.2009   here
Feb. - Mar. 2009   here
April - May 2009   here
June - July 2009   here
Raise Your Hand Texas
816 Congress Ave Suite 990  Austin, TX
78701

Ratliff, William R.   (00020737)
P.O. Box 1218  Mt. Pleasant, TX 75456
$25,000 - $49.999.99

Raise Your Hand
327 Congress Suite 450  Austin, TX
78701

Erben, Randall H.   (00013689)
807 Brazos Suite 402 Austin, TX 78701
50,000 - $99,999.99

Wakefield, Kakhi H.  (00062269)
807 Brazos Street Suite 402 Austin, TX
78701
Less Than $10,000.00

Yarbrough, Brian G.   (00037475)
807 Brazos Suite 402  Austin, TX 78701
Less Than $10,000.00
Ratliff II, Shannon H. (00050870)
(512)494-3656 -  Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
111 Congress Avenue Suite 2300 Austin, TX
78701

Long-time school law attorneys:  
Bracewell & Giuliani  LLP
111 Congress Avenue Suite 2300  Austin, TX
78701-4304
Less Than $10,000.00

Active school tech vendors:
Cisco Systems Inc.
12515 Research Blvd. Building 2  Austin, TX
78759
$50,000 - $99,999.99

City of Carrollton
1945 E. Jackson Road  Carrollton, TX 75006
$50,000 - $99,999.99

Invenergy Wind Development LLC
1400 S. Congress Avenue Suite B-330  Austin,
TX 78704
$50,000 - $99,999.99

Not in good standing as of Jan. 28, 2009
with Texas Comptroller:
The Corporation for Texas
Regionalism
1305 San Antonio Street  Austin, TX 78701
$50,000 - $99,999.99

Heaven forbid that the Ratliff's wouldn't
get some of the taxpayer bank bailout
money:
Wachovia Corporation
150 Fayetteville Street Mall Suite 600  Raleigh,
NC 27601
$50,000 - $99,999.99
RATLIFF LOBBYISTS
Raise Your Hand for Public
Schools/Raise Your Hand Texas
816 Congress Suite 990  Austin, TX
78701

Anderson, David D.   (00053708)  823
Congress Suite 900 Austin, TX 78701
$25,000 - $49.999.99

Jones, Neal T. Jr.   (00013745)  823
Congress Suite 900 Austin, TX 78701
Less Than $10,000.00

Raise Your Hand for Public
Schools
PO Box 302183  Austin, TX 78730

All "less than $10,000":  
Eschberger, Brenda   (00029854)
919 Congress Avenue Suite 950  Austin,
TX 78701

Girard, Charles H.   (00058717)
504 West 14th Street  Austin, TX 78701

Johnson, Michael J.   (00055885)
919 Congress Avenue Suite 950  Austin,
TX 78701

Kelley, Russell T.   (00013737)
919 Congress Avenue Suite 950  Austin,
TX 78701

Kemptner, Sara   (00057952)
919 Congress Avenue Suite 950  Austin,
TX 78701

McGarah, Carol   (00051437)
919 Congress Avenue Suite 950  Austin,
TX 78701

McGarry, Mignon   (00012905)
504 West 14th Street  Austin, TX 78701

Sabo, Jason T.   (00052402)
1122 Colorado Street Suite 102  Austin,
TX 78701

Waldon, Barbara   (00057030)
919 Congress Avenue Suite 950  Austin,
TX 78701
Ratliff, William R.  (00020737)
(903)572-1846         P.O. Box 1218  Mt.
Pleasant, TX 75456

Such a sweet deal!  Found "Raise Your
Hand Texas" then make more than the
average Texan's salary from this alone:
Raise Your Hand Texas
816 Congress Ave Suite 990  Austin, TX 78701
$25,000 - $49.999.99
RAISE YOUR HAND ENTITIES/LOBBYISTS
[Raise Your Hand director]
Bull, Blaine H.  (00012158)
(512)744-0044        327 Congress
Ave. Suite 450 Austin, TX 78701

CHRISTUS Health
4109 Carmel Mountain  McKinney, TX
75070
$25,000 - $49.999.99

Texas Border Coalition
901 Business Park Dr. Suite 200  
Mission, TX 78572
$10,000 - $24,999.99

Texas Employers for Immigration
1209 Nueces Street  Austin, TX 78701
$10,000 - $24,999.99
Leonard Merrell Center
Katy ISD, Texas (PHOTO--Peyton Wolcott)
One of the challenges faced
by OneBraveNewWorld
Baccalaureate ("OBNWB") has
been the charge by many
parents that they were teach-
ing students "fuzzy" or "Rain-
forest" math, with too few
pertinent examples from real life
problems everyday people face
in their ordinary lives.
SPECIAL TO MY READERS
Sneak peek: sample math
problems from 'Real World
Math' by OneBraveNewWorld
Baccalaureate
By Peyton Wolcott
Thu., Mar. 26, 2009/6:31 pm
Real life people, real-life problems
for real-life students
to help solve: President Barack
Obama (L); White House Chief of
Staff Rahm Emanuel (R).
REAL WORLD MATH
PROBLEM #44:
President Obama's brother
Malik in Kenya has come
down with cholera.
PHOTO CREDITS: Problem 44,
Boniface Mwangi/Bloomberg
Welcome, America -- so glad you're finding this website useful!  #1 on Google & Yahoo of 256,000,000 results!  Keywords: online check registers public school district
The rest of the math
problem preview is here.
CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS (IL)
For those of you who
think concentrating
more power and
money (President
Obama's $368+ million
to Chicago Public
Schools) at the top
and that nationalizing
our public schools are
good ideas . . . .
By Peyton Wolcott
Sunday, May 3, 2009 / 3:34 p.m.
Last week Andres Durbak,
for almost a decade the top
cop at Chicago Public
Schools, resigned quietly,
paving the way for the
appointment of First Lady
Michelle Obama's cousin,
Michael Shields.   

Anyone else wonder how
Andres came to resign so
suddenly?  

Did Mr. Obama's $368
million-plus stimulus check
to CPS have any influence?

Was there a conversation,
did it go something like the
one above?  
"Michelle & Andres have a talk"
by Peyton Wolcott
Michael Shields
Looking for older commentaries?

Click here, see if you can find what you're
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is in quotes along with my name in quotes,
as this example:
"embezzlement" "school" "peyton wolcott"  
As of June 1, 2009, there were 290 reports
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Thank you for reading,
and thank you for your interest in our
schools and our schoolchildren.
Texas Hill Country - Mesquite and Wildflowers
Boerne
05.29.09
FAQ    +     ARCHIVES      +    FOLLOW THE MONEY      +   CHECK REGISTER INFO    +    STATE & LOCAL      + GOVERNANCE / VENDORS
"Raise Your Hand"
from Charles (HEB) Butt - Texas
FACT OF THE WEEK SOURCE:  The Washington Post.
US DEP'T OF EDUCATION
Is US DOE secretary
Arne Duncan a
white-hat cowboy or --
By Peyton Wolcott
Friday, June 19, 2009 - 12:34 a.m.
Developing  . . .
Tue., Sep. 22, 2009
PITTSTON AREA SD (PA)
Despite agreeing to being fired
for cause, exiting PASD supe
caught in FBI probe still gets
sick- and vacation-day payout
dollars
By Peyton Wolcott
Tue., June 30, 2009/2:30 pm
Ross Scarantino
(PHOTO--Scranton Times)
But, wait!  There's another big
'despite' to events this week
involving long-time Pittston Area
School District supe Ross
Scarantino's exit employment
status:   
Scarantino was the only person
from the Pittston Area School
District charged in the FBI’s
probe of Luzerne County school
districts and faces a maximum
penalty of 10 years in prison
and up to a $250,000 fine.  
(SOURCE--Times-Leader)
Perhaps Ross got the board's
sympathy vote for spending his
entire 42-year work career at
PASD.

Whatever the reason, when
school boards across American
continue to blindly agree to
school administrator
association-produced
employment contracts, we're
going to continue to have
situations where even
superintendents who have been
found guilty of violating the laws
of our land receive cash payouts
on their way out the door.
We're also going to
continue to have
situations where school
boards not paying sufficient
attention to the tax dollars
entrusted to them want to put the
embarrassing and self-
incriminating past behind them
and move forward.  

In fact, in the immortal words of
PASD board member Bob
Linskey, “I feel everything is
behind us now.  We have a new
superintendent. …We are ready
to move forward beginning with
the next school year to make
Pittston Area the best school
district it can be."  Dare we add,
the best school district in the
state?  On the planet?
Bob Linskey
(PHOTO--Pittston Politics)
Pittston HS athletics -1924
(PHOTOS--FamilyImages.com)
Senators John Cornyn (L) & Chuck Schumer (R)
(IMAGE--Peyton Wolcott)
CHARLES COUNTY PS (MD)
Cancel the stimulus
check!  Local Charles
County PS residents
can stop paying their
property taxes!
By Peyton Wolcott
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 / 2:03 a.m.
POLITIC BLOTTER
TEEN ARRESTED
BREAKING INTO SCHOOL
On June 26 at 12:12 a.m.,
Charles County Sheriff's officers
responded to Benjamin Stoddert
Middle School at 2040 St.
Thomas Drive in Waldorf for the
report of an intrusion alarm.

When officers arrived, they
discovered a rear window had
been broken out. A perimeter was
established and officers and a
K-9 began searching the inside
of the school.

As they searched, officers
observed the suspect flee
through a back door. He was
apprehended without incident.

A check revealed the suspect, a
15-year-old male from Waldorf,
stole gift cards and keys from the
school. He was charged with
burglary and theft. Officer S.
Weedon is investigating.
$1.5 million pay for top
6 Charles CPS leaders
With a total compensation
package last year in the
neighborhood of $387,000
and an executive team
consisting of a deputy supe
and four assistant supes
earning approximately $1.12
million, you'd think Charles
County taxpayers were paying
Mr. Richmond and his staff
well enough to mind the store.
 Oops.
Culinary Arts Lab / North Point HS
Charles County Public Schools
Margaret
Sanger
MORE:  Interesting link
connecting eugenics and high
stakes testing.
Hope you're enjoying
your summer -- and
live in or near a
wonderful small town
like Marble Falls;
here's our rodeo
earlier this month:
Nice if you can look out
for others; our daughter
leads a monthly sing sat
the local retirement
home that's a lot of fun
for everybody -- and
surprisingly good exercise!
We play with double nine
dominoes; it's a great way
to teach youngsters math
as they quickly figure out
for themselves the
practical advantage of
being able to add and
multiply in their heads,
without a calculator.

Blessings --
Peyton
LIBERTY SCHOOL DISTRICT (MO)
Everything's good--until
there's a salary dispute
By Peyton Wolcott
Sunday, August 2, 2009 / 12:07 a.m.
The two faces of Phil Wright
Developing . . .
NEW NUMBERS COMING:  WELCOME, DELAWARE!   Public school checks now online in 32 states!  Total,USA:  463 districts!  311 in Texas!
Betsy Aldridge
Holocaust Museum (NYC)
+++++++
Public Relations
As Public Relations
Manager for New York
City's Holocaust
Museum, Betsy Aldridge
(above) sets a good
example for her brothers
and sisters in the
communications field.

Not only did Betsy
promptly answer the
phone but also provided
the complete information
I sought within the first
half hour of my asking.

Here's hoping school
public relations folks will
follow Betsy's leadership
in this area of responding
to the media.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Without online checks, we can realistically expect to see at least 10% -- according to vice
president Joe Biden --  of the fed funds going into districts and becoming administrators'  
personal piggy banks, as occurred from at least 1998 through 2007 in a small Indian
school in rural Oklahoma when Marble City's then-superintendent Larry Couch -- well, look
at the state auditor's findings:
Looking for more info
re transparency, real
courage and other
Best Practices?
They're archived here
Marble City
Elementary School
District No. 68C035
(Sequoyah County)
Special Audit
Report -
Audit Summary
Marble City, OK residents discuss their financial scandal;
(inset) superintendent Larry Couch
And without ready easily accessed transparency in the form of
online checks, Messrs. Obama and Duncan might as well join
these two Arizona elementary school administrators on a parade
float, throw dollars willy-nilly to the crowd and hope for the best.
The spirit of
America's still here,
friends, as is the faith
of our fathers that got
us off to such a great
start.  A reader from
another part of the
country sent this
photo below, spotted
on the back of a truck:
According to a
spokesman for the
trucking line, their
individual truck owners
are allowed to post their
own messages on the
backs of their vehicles.  
s m a l l    t o w n   
a m e r i c a
Good to remember also
to be kind to each other
as we travel together on
the roads we share
across the landscape of
America.  "Love" is not
a thing but an action
word.
MONROE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (FL)
The place to be Monday in Key West is not Hemingway's home
or a cruise ship but the courthouse for Randy Acevedo's trial
By Peyton Wolcott   -  Friday, August 21, 2009 / 10:00  a.m.
Given that the MCPS employee whose spending is in question is his wife Monique, we're
scratching our heads around here trying to figure out what suspended Monroe County
Public Schools supe Randy Acevedo's defense arguments might be at his trial on Monday
in Key West .  More here and here.
MONROE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (FL)
Suspended supe Randy Acevedo's jury trial to start this morning at
8:45 a.m.; Gov. Crist-appointed interim Burke sworn in Monday
By Peyton Wolcott
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 / 12:16 a.m.
KEY WEST'S 1-YEAR CLEAN UP GUY?  
Former Springfield, Mass. supe Joe Burke who
was sworn in Monday in Key West told
Springfield last year he only needed one more
year to qualify for Florida's educator retirement
system;according to journalist Bill Dusty,
Springfield let him go for failing to fix their
system despite $180K salary.(IMAGE--Peyton
Wolcott)
Suspended MCPS supe Randy Acevedo will
be on trial today for his role (three counts) in an
alleged cover up of his wife/employee's $180K
in district credit card spending; be sure to read
colorful local comments here.
Potential jurors line up outside Key West courtroom; hats off to KeysNet
reporter Sean Kinney for capturing this you-are-there image above.
Suspended Monroe County Public School supe Randy Acevedo (R)  during a break in the testimony
phase of his trial Wed,, Aug. 26, in Key West; his attorney Catherine Vogel at left.
(PHOTO--Sean Kinney/KeyNoter.com)
MONROE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (FL)
UPDATE:  
Suspended Key West supe Randy Acevedo's trial continues
By Peyton Wolcott   -   Thursday, August 27, 2009  / 7:39 a.m.
From KeyNoter reporter Sean Kinney:
More from yesterday's trial here.  Background here.
Sean Kinney
Reporter,
KeyNoter.com
Key West, Florida
BEST PRACTICES
CHECK REGISTERS
N  E  W     C  O  M  M  E  N  T  A  R  I  E  S
Key West, Florida is one
lucky community; not only
are their superintendent
and his wife being tried
for their alleged roles in
abuse of the district's
credit card but also
they've got reporter Sean
Kinney doing the kind of
news gathering every
town in America should
be so lucky to have.


It started when Randy
Acevedo, their elected
superintendent, hired his
wife Monique for an
administrative position in
his district (Monroe
County Public Schools)
for which she had no
apparent education,
experience, training or
expertise -- then allowed
her apparently
unrestricted use of a
district credit card.

Many superintendents'
spouses in many school
districts in America fit the
above mold; what's
different in Key West is
that
Discord seems to follow super-
intendent Arlene Ackerman as she
works her way across the country,
starting with her University City School
(MO) lawsuit in 1992 for $200,000 which
they settled then when they offered her
her old job back  with the concessions
she'd sought, she refused. (Source for
$200,000 figure: Jay Mathews/Washington Post.)  
Fast forward to Arlene's charging her
San Francisco USD employers -- the
SFUSD school board -- with harassment and that she was being "villainized" when they
finally started asking questions about her credit card bills ($45,000 on her
taxpayer-funded Diners Club prompted not by their own internal investiga-
tion but by a report by journalist Tali Woodward, Bob's daughter).  Now  as Philadelphia's
supe alarms have again gone off as she has not only requested that the district's
inspector general report directly to her but also she's demanding more accountability
disclosure of her staff--with no perceptible concessions on her part:  Arlene's
discretionary spending receipts are not online, nor are Philadelphia schools' check
registers.
MONROE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (FL)
Supe 'guilty' verdict
Heads up to all American superintendents:  Keep track of your district's
spending including credit cards:  who's got 'em & where are the receipts?
By Peyton Wolcott
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 / 12:52 p.m.
Handcuffing of Monroe County supe Randy Acevedo after reading of jury's "guilty" verdict
Friday in Key West. (PHOTO--Sean Kinney/KeyNoter)
seeing skyrocketing opportunities for waste and
fraud in our schools.  In fact, just up the road in
Palm Beach (photos at right) not one but three of
their school principals have gotten into serious
trouble over credit card spending this past year.

(5)  Unlike major corporations with floors of bean
counters poring over purchasing including credit
card receipts there is no corresponding
accountability in place in our public
school systems where until the recent economic
downturn there was always plenty of money to be
raised in the form of increased property tax
revenues.

(6)  Employees who need their jobs are often
afraid to come forward in cases -- and there are
many -- where the miscreants are the top brass.  
What Key West school employee for example
who valued their job was going to blow the
whistle on the superintendent's wife, especially
when the superintendent appeared content to
look the other way?  

For superintendents across America following
last week's legal proceedings in Key West, given
that Randy Acevedo's defense centered on his
not knowing how his wife and employee Monique
was using her district-issued credit card, Friday's
guilty verdict must be serving as a timely wake-up
call.
MCPS employee
Monique (Mrs. Randy)
Acevedo
Charges
Prosecutors say [she] stole
more than $180,000 from
tuition and other accounts
for adult education
programs she oversaw
since 2005. Charges are
also likely coming in
connection with around
$118,000 in allegedly
fraudulent purchases she
made with her school
credit card and purchase
orders.
Monique Acevedo faces up
to 60 years in prison if
convicted on the felony
grand theft and fraud
charges.
Randy Acevedo has
maintained he had no
knowledge of his wife's
alleged theft since
accusations were made
public in early March. The
scandal broke when
Finance Director Kathy
Reitzel informed state
auditors and board
members about the
Last Friday, a six-person Key West, Florida jury was willing to do for elected Monroe
County Public Schools superintendent Randy Acevedo what his own five-member elected
school board did not do:  hold him accountable for his school district's spending.  
Randy Acevedo was first handcuffed in June
following his arrest after a grand jury indicted him;
(inset) Randy watches wife Monique being
handcuffed last spring.  (PHOTOS--Sean Kinney/KeyNoter)
While the main charges against Monique have to do with mis-
use of  $180,000 in tuition and fees from cosmetology and other
tickets, $300 sunglasses and pink silk neck ties.  

Although elected MCPS trustees questioned Mrs. Acevedo's
apparent lack of background, education, training, work
experience or expertise for the position, her husband continued
her employment.

Fiscal oversight and lax internal controls
Key West schools are not alone in the financial accountability
difficulties they are experiencing.

Several factors are at play:
(1)  A decade or so ago a series of so-called reforms swept
across the nation in which authority for making
decisions was largely removed from school board members
and given to the superintendent.

(2)  Any trustees that ask too many questions about spending
are accused of micromanaging; board members are supposed
to only "macromanage," meaning dream up goofy vision
statements and rubberstamp everything the superintendent
wants to do.  

(3)  Without tight controls on school board members' ethics, their
adult ed classes
she ran on behalf
of Monroe County
Public Schools;
an investigation is
also underway
regarding another
$100,000 in credit
card charges for
items which
according to
published reports
never showed up at
the schools,
including air travel
possible theft, after she
wouldn't sign a state
auditing document
attesting that the district's
financial records
contained no evidence of
fraud.
However, recorded
interviews with Reitzel
and other officials
released by prosecutors
last week suggest the
superintendent knew
about fraudulent spending
by his wife.
Randy Acevedo's
indictment lists the alleged
incident of official
misconduct occurring on
or about Feb. 11, 2009.
According to
investigators, Reitzel met
with Acevedo on Feb. 12
to discuss questionable
purchases on his wife's
district credit card,
including airline tickets in
her parents' names, an
XM satellite radio
subscription, Oakley
sunglasses, men's shoes
and purchases at grocery
stores during the
Christmas holidays.
Purchase orders
reviewed by Reitzel also
showed reimbursements
for a $1,699 bed delivered
to the Acevedo's Key
West home, among other
questionable purchases.
Investigators said Reitzel
gave documentation of
the purchases to Randy
Acevedo. On Feb. 17,
Monique Acevedo gave a
written response to the
issues raised by Reitzel
and handed over three
checks to reimburse the
district for five airline
tickets. (SOURCE--David
Goodhue & David Ball /
KeysNet.com)
silence and acquiescence is too often easily purchased by
superintendents and vendors.  Recusal on votes is not enough.

(4)  Thanks to aggressive marketing by banks to school districts
of so-called procurement purchasing credit cards we are
Jonathan
Prince, Guarn
Sims, & Jack
Thompson
(PHOTOS--Palm
Beach Post)
Key West (Monroe County)
schools background info including
community relationships here
SIGNS OF
AMERICA
LOUIS GERSTNER'S PROPOSED PUBLIC SCHOOL NATIONALIZATION SCHEME
What Mr. Gerstner gets wrong about nationalizing public ed
and its wild stew of supes, administrators, lobbyists, idealogy,
politics, money, power--and soft underbelly: vendors
By Peyton Wolcott
Friday, September 11, 2009  / 11:53:00 a.m.
Here's a thought:  In lieu of  Rahmbo "I Volunteered for the
Israeli Army But Not the U.S. Army So God Only Knows Where
My True Allegiances Lie"  Emanuel sending out any more
dead fish, perhaps they can instead call in Messrs. Rove and
Cheney to help them over this PR hump they've created for
themselves.  

BOTTOM LINE:  Here's hoping these same awakened parents
will work to persuade their local districts to voluntarily post
their check registers online in order to begin a meaningful
two-way dialogue regarding the who, what, when, where and
why of school spending.
Anthony Amato
(IMAGE--Willamette
Weekly)
Director of the Institute of
Effective Education at the
University of York

It's not closely aligned with
scientific empirical reading
research; it's old hash
warmed over.  doesn't
inlcude a sequentlal
presentation of phonemic
awareness/decoding skills.

They've lost some of the
market and so they've had
to go to ERDI to coalesce
some administrators into
purchasing it.  


Even though potentially these meetings can
be tied to millions of dollars of business
deals, to be best of my knowledge reporter
Scott Parks of the Dallas Morning News --
who went to an ERDI conference in California
armed with a cameraman and was allowed
by then-ERDI owner Mike Kneale to sit
through a round table session -- and I are the
only two journalists who have bothered to
look in on them.
The trail of $4.3 million from Utah's Davis School District to Susan G.
and John Ross via two shell companies (Research & Development, Inc.
and Notable Education Writing Service, Inc.) depicted at right in local
NBC TV station KSL's graphic omits two crucial groups:  (1) The United
States Department of Education which sends billions in Title I and other
federal funds to school districts such as Davis SD and (2) Davis SD
superintendent W. Bryan Bowles and his 7-member school board who
bear ultimate responsibility for spending and overseeing the millions
receives in Title I -- and other state, federal and local -- funds.
Last December, with a socialist Democrat
president about to be installed in the White
House, former IBM CEO Louis Gerstner
issued a call in the Wall Street Journal for the
nationalization of our schools.

Mr. Gerstner cited the usual economies-of-
scale argument, claiming, "We will save
billions by consolidating the operations of
15,000 school districts" without offering up
any facts to back up his assertion.  How
could he? There are none available in the
public school world because short-term
gains disappear after the first year.
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
(PHOTO--BrianSmialowski/
Wall Street Journal)
Part of Title I money flow
(SOURCE--KSL.com)
administration building
might sound good on paper,
such encounters also occur
far from parents' and
taxpayers' questioning eyes.

At ERDI conferences the
consultants meet
one-on-one or in small
focus groups with district
vendors or would-be
vendors.  Given that the
conferences are held at
expensive resorts, there are
many side opportunities for
superintendents and folks
selling education products
to meet across drinks or
dinner or at the golf course.  
the chief ingredient being superintendents' education-industry
side jobs.  In this case, it is Amato's long-time work as a
consultant for privately owned and Illinois-based Education
Research and Development Institute ("ERDI"), an outfit that
delivers "access to educational leaders" to its corporate clients
at conferences

What is ERDI?
While an opportunity for vendors to talk to clients or prospective
clients away from the hustle and bustle of a school district's
BOTTOM LINE:  He/she
who writes and funds the
national standards controls
the outcome.  
Not only will consolidating not save us a single sou (more re why
below), but for self-governing free citizens of a representational
republic, nationalized schools are also a bum notion.

With Mr. Obama's address earlier this week to America's school-
children, away from their homes and parents, coupled with new
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's wasting no time calling for
nationalized standards -- the first
and most crucial step towards
federal takeover of our local
schools -- this is a good time for
us to examine the two chief
pratfalls in Mr. Gerstner's
consolidation and nationalization
scheme.
Arne Duncan (L), Barack Obama
Consolidation detriment #1: But whose standards?
Because we as a nation have no previously agreed-on absolute
national standards already set in place, far from being a strictly
educational change, imposing any now after 233 years would
slide us into oligarchy, socialism and fascism.  Put another way,
there's no there already there  in American public schools.  
Victorian classroom
of a precise set of national standards might likely hold a certain plausible appeal for CEOs like Mr.
Gerstner, kind of like running a corporation without having to answer to shareholders, extrapolating this
out, such a CEO might also enjoy living in a dictatorship -- provided he gets to be dictator.

Parents and educators have been arguing over what and how kids should learn ever since socialist
progressive idealogues began selling questionable and expensive curricular programs to public schools
paid for by increased taxation.  The irony of these arguments is that curriculum-purchasing decisions rest
in the hands of the superintendent and the number of majority votes he or she needs on the school board.
Sheryl Crow
Consolidation detriment #2: Fraud & waste
Fewer school districts -- Mr. Gerstner wants only one per state
plus another 20 for each of our biggest cities (like Detroit or
Chicago, maybe?) -- will result in bigger piles of money with fewer
eyes watching not only the money but also the pencils, erasers
and laptops.  Ever-larger piles of money attract ever more comers.
 It may surprise you to learn that not each and every vendor is
putting our kids' and taxpayers' best interests ahead of their own.  
And we've seen from public school scandals involving federal
funds that bureaucrats are at best indifferent stewards of other
people's money compared to the people paying the taxes.
BOTTOM LINE:  He who writes and funds
the standards controls the outcome.
Top left, conference-attending school administrators toting vendor goodie bags, many of them
containing cards with more perqs like, "Stop by and pick up a bottle of fine wine" or "Collect your gift
card for a full-day spa visit from our office later."  Below left, Sherry Washington's gallery sold $1.6
million in original art to cash-strapped Detroit Public Schools; neither she nor they have been willing to
No-account accountability
Unlike IBM and every other major viable American business where there are floors if not buildings filled with bean
counters making sure every purchase has all the I's dotted and T's crossed, just the opposite is true of public
schools.  Whether it be three-way transactions involving moonlighting superintendents and 501(c) corporations, or
embezzlements involving millions including unsupervised Title I funds, or a fishing boat used as a lure for a major
urban district's technology chief and E-Rate dollars, there are examples aplenty for those willing to look for  why
de-consolidation is the better direction for public education, including these recent  ones below.  
While it's easy to see that the implied neatness
and Excel spreadsheet mathematical tidiness
Traditional or fuzzy?  History or social studies?  What kind of math will Mr. Gerstner's proposed national standards include?  Will it be time-proven traditional
math which teaches facts or will it be the National Classroom Teachers of Mathematics' fuzzy non-traditional standards emphasizing process instead, such
process contributing to half the kids now entering college needing remedial instruction in core subjects such as math?  Facts or style, which will it be, Mr.
Gerstner?  Both sides have persuasive advocates convinced they're right.  
supply an inventory even though at least three
DPS board members have pressed their past
two superintendents for one.  Center, Texas
A&M University which sells a variety of services
to educators took over an Austin restaurant for
a reception at a January 2006 Texas
administrator conference.  Right, "Corporate
Sponsor Spotlight" signage from the same
conference.
VENDORS & SCHOOL DOLLARS
MOONLIGHTING SUPE'S TIES TO 501(c) VENDORS (CALIFORNIA)
You're tempted to pity poor Anthony Amato.   
Success for All founders
Richard Slavin (L) and Nancy Madden
First it was New Orleans, then Kansas City, now it's his new gig as superintendent of California's
Stockton USD (located between San Francisco and Yosemite).  

The trouble this time appears to arise from Anthony's recommendation that Stockton USD spend $12
million on a product from a client of his part-time employer, Education Research & Development
Institute (ERDI), a 501(c) corporation, the same product he also recommended to prior bosses in
Kansas City and New Orleans where he testified last month in the bribery trial of Mose Jefferson, the
brother of former Congressman William Jefferson, regarding the selling of yet another 501(c)
corporation's education product, "I Can Learn" software.  (SOURCE--Michael Luke/WWLTV.com)

The Stockton product, produced by Success for All, one more 501(c) corporation, turns out to have not
been approved by the State of California; when SUSD discovered this they dropped the product.   
(SOURCE--KCRA.com)   In Anthony's defense, Success for All's product is included in the What Works
Clearinghouse, part of the United States Department of Education.  In what can only be described as
interesting timing, WWC just last month released a new report on Success for All.  Propitious, that.
MOONLIGHTING ADMINISTRATORS' TIES TO TITLE I FUNDS (UTAH)
Federal prosecutors have charged long-time educators Susan G. Ross and her husband John Ross
with taking advantage of lax state, federal and local oversight of Title I funds intended for disadvantaged
minority and disabled students, funneling $4.3
million into their private coffers during 2000 to 2005.

As Utah's former state coordinator of Title I and
Migrant Education for the Utah State Office of
Education, in his next gig as Davis School District's
federal grant writer, John was in a unique position to
identify and funnel funds to his wife via two shell
corporations they allegedly established, Research &
Development Consultants, Inc. and Notable
Education Writing Service (NEWS).  Susan had
worked for Davis schools from the 1970s until 2006
when "auditors found federal money was going to a
company that didn't appear to be a viable business.

Developing . . .
March 2007 report from Utah state auditor:
In United States v. John and Susan Ross filed in U.S.
District Court for Utah in December 2006, John and Susan
Ross allegedly embezzled 4.3 million in Title I federal
education funds from the Davis County School District, a
subrecipient of the Office of Education, by producing
illegal, substandard copies of textbooks over the course of
6 years (2000 – 2005).   

The litigation alleges that Susan Ross, who was the district’
s Title I director, created a scheme in which she arranged
to produce pirated, photocopied versions of textbooks. She
then sold them to the school district at inflated prices
through two shell companies – R&D, Inc. and Notable
Education Writing Services (NEWS). Her husband, John
Ross, worked as the district’s federal grant writer and often
allocated federal funds to his wife, according to the
allegations. The case is currently being litigated in the U.
S. District court system and a probability of a potential
liability to the State for the return of Title I funds, if any, is
not yet determinable.
Susan G. and John Ross  (PHOTO--Sarah Ause/Deseret News)
Another federal indictment "charges that Susan Ross' secretary, Stella Smith, had a separate scheme
running. According to a 37-count indictment, Smith submitted paperwork to the school district to have
E.B. Smith Co. approved as a vendor. Using that company name, Smith submitted purchase orders for
books that had not been requested by district employees.  Once purchase orders were issued,
according to the indictment, Smith mailed fraudulent invoices showing that E.B. Smith Co. had supplied
the books. However, no such books were delivered. The indictment says that Smith collected about
$338,000 in fictitious book purchases between 1999 and 2005. Smith faces up to 20 years in prison for
each count of mail fraud.  (Ibid.)
NEWS.  Davis superintendent Bryan Bowles said he immediately asked Susan Ross — John Ross had
already retired —about embezzlement and she denied it. Bowles said the next day she went on vacation
and never returned to work." (SOURCE--Tiffany Erickson, Jennifer Toomer-Cook, Joseph M. Dougherty/Deseret Morning News)
Pilfering may have begun in 1985;
Susan's secretary's copycat case
"Federal investigators suspect that the Ross's pilfering dates to
1985, and they fear that millions more will remain unaccounted for.  
With audits required yearly and school-board approval needed to
sign off on most purchases, the question looms of how John Ross
and his wife, Susan, could have carried out the alleged scheme
year after year, according to prosecutors."  (Ibid.)  
The Rosses (PHOTO--Sarah Ause/Deseret News)
Although it's been almost three years since Susan and John were charged in a 47-count indictment, their case is still slowly making its way through the
courts.  Citing lack of money, in 2007 John asked for a court-appointed public defender; according to Deseret News court records show Susan has retained
three attorneys.  This past February the couple requested separate trials, and an August court date has come and gone.  Davis School District now requires
employees to sign ethics statements.
ANOTHER MOONLIGHTING SUPE'S TIES TO OTHER 501(c) VENDORS (TEXAS)
BOOKKEEPER'S $3.3 EMBEZZLEMENT FORCES 4-DAY SCHOOL WEEK (NEW MEXICO)
Although long-time Jemez Mountain School District bookkeeper Kathy Borrego has yet to go to trial for
her alleged embezzlement of $3.4 million during a seven-year period ($500,000 each year from a $4.2
annual operating budget), the loss has already had at least two major effects:  Along with closing an
elementary school, the district has had to move to a four-day school week.  

Although the tiny (485 K-12) students district was chronically behind in its bookkeeping, audits have
been clean, including one released three months ago, and the loss was not discovered until New
Mexico State Auditor Hector Balderas stepped in.   The scheme appears to have centered on 538
checks stolen from the district and made payable to Kathy and others; the district's superintendent for
much of the period involved was her cousin Robert Archuleta, now working elsewhere.  Balderas has
also announced an investigation of Northwest Regional Educational Cooperative #2 where Kathy also
worked as business manager.

The Rio Grande Sun has called for the resignation of the entire school board (see greybar at right) or a
recall election.  Although board members have refused to take responsibility for their roles, trustee Mark
Valdez said recently, "Now, obviously, I really want to educate myself more on finances.”  No telling
when he'll get the chance as the state DOE has taken over Jemez bookkeeping.
Kathy Borrego,
Robert
Archuleta
08.28.09 RIO GRANDE SUN EDITORIAL
We can write-off a few months of
skimming as someone who just didn’t care
and knew they’d get caught. If it went on
for a year, one must question how it went
on without someone’s knowledge. Again
most readers are screaming “checks and
balances.”  However, when a business
manager can allegedly shift $3.3 million out
of the District’s bank accounts by writing
many checks to many different people (as
yet unnamed), you’ve got to look up and
see who was over her. There had to be
some knowledge somewhere up the chain,
possibly down also.
During Hector Montenegro's brief (six-month) tenure last year as Arlington ISD superintendent he
persuaded his cash-strapped district (they were $20 million in the hole at the time) to purchase $240,000
in education programs from 501(c) vendor HOPE, an outfit he'd also accepted speaking honorariums from
-- in violation of a new state law.

As it turns out another issue was Hector's relationship with two other 501(c) vendors, AVID and Education
Research & Development Institute (ERDI); although he sought legal opinions from Texas Association of
School Administrators attorney Neal Adams, the opinion apparently came too late as Hector quit his
contractual employment agreement with Arlington ISD without a buyout after his dispute with his board
became the stuff of local headlines for months.

Contracts resulting from his ERDI, HOPE and AVID contacts were potentially worth millions to the vendors.
Hector Montenegro (above left) at Texas Association of Latino Administrators January 2008 reception in his honor at TASA MidWinter conference.   (PHOTO--Peyton Wolcott)
Franklin were "clever because they all
had voracious appetites for knowledge,
but they also had a prodigious habit of
retaining knowledge. They had huge
contexts of remembered facts to
connect and expand their ideas.
Creative thinking means pulling a large
and diverse array of knowledge up into
our frontal lobes where we can
manipulate it. Then the trick is to forge
connections among seemingly unrelated
ideas. And that's precisely where
computers put creativity itself under
assault.  Computers detach memory
from our minds.  More here.
Developing . . .
FACT OF THE WEEK:  Hands-off financial oversight by school boards creates misuse and embezzlement opportunities for
superintendents, administrators and staff with serious consequences:  state takeover (Key West, FL superintendency) ....possible
bankruptcy (Detroit, MI)....4-day school week (Jemez SD, NM)....furloughs (Newport-Mesa USD, CA)....and FBI investigations  
(El Paso ISD, TX)     SIMPLE CURE: (1) Publicly signed ethics pledges for all trustees and (2) Post all district check registers online.
Remember
memorization?  
University of Houston
engineering prof John
Lienhard (R) reminds us
that da Vinci, Newton and