| Northside ISD employee parking |
| Sandy Kress (above and below) with final CCRT presentation |
| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n: o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e COPYRIGHT 1999-2008 PEYTON WOLCOTT |
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| Conservative Commentary - Archives (November 2007) |
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 |
| THE BIG PICTURE |
| THE NATIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT HONOR ROLL ONLINE CHECKBOOKS 82 school districts! 6 states! $34.6 billion! How to ask your local school district Flyer History 1st Anniversary |
| CALIFORNIA Clovis USD - here ILLINOIS Carpentersville SD 300* Elgin U-46* Huntley CUSD 158* Naperville CUSD MICHIGAN Montrose CS - here MINNESOTA Milaca ISD St. Cloud ISD TEXAS** Allen ISD Alvarado ISD Anthony ISD Arlington ISD Bellville ISD Big Spring ISD Blackwell CISD Bremond ISD Center Point ISD Chester ISD China Spring ISD Comal ISD Conroe ISD* Corpus Christi ISD* Cypress-Fairbanks ISD* Dallas ISD Denison ISD Ector Co. ISD Electra ISD Franklin ISD Galena Park ISD Galveston ISD Grandfalls-Royalty ISD Greenville ISD Gunter ISD Hempstead ISD Highland ISD Holliday ISD Houston ISD* Hunt ISD Katy ISD Keller ISD* Kerrvile ISD Lackland ISD Lago Vista ISD* Leander ISD Leonard ISD Lovejoy ISD Lufkin ISD Madisonville ISD Malakoff ISD Marble Falls ISD Meadow ISD McKinney ISD Nederland ISD New Caney ISD Nordheim ISD North East ISD North Forest ISD Northside ISD No. Zulch ISD* Pasadena ISD Pearland ISD Quinlan ISD Richardson ISD Robert Lee ISD Roby CISD Round Rock ISD * Royce City ISD San Angelo ISD San Antonio ISD Schertz-Cibolo-U. City ISD South Texas ISD Spring Branch ISD * Teague ISD Texas City ISD Timpson ISD Tomball ISD Trent ISD Van Alstyne ISD Wharton ISD Wimberley ISD WISCONSIN Sun Prairie SD |
| COMMITTED El Paso ISD (TX) Harlandale ISD (TX) Miami-Dade CPS (FL) Somerset ISD (TX) Southside ISD (TX) Southwest ISD (TX) Temple ISD (TX) Ysleta ISD (TX) STATE DOE ONLINE Texas Education Agency MIDDLE EDU-LAYER St. Clair County RESA (MI) HONORABLE MENTION *** Michigan Intermediate School Districts WHERE PARENTS, TAXPAYERS, TRUSTEES ARE ASKING: Cedar Rapids PS (IA) ChippewaVall.SD(MI) Cleburne ISD (TX) Eanes ISD (TX) Lake Travis ISD (TX) Lancaster ISD (TX) LA USD (CA) Midway-Waco ISD (TX) New York CPS (NY) Omaha PS (NB) Rochester CS (MI) Santa Cruz CPS (AZ) Water Valley ISD (TX) Updated 11.27.07 ___________________ * 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. (Source for names of Texas districts: Houston Chronicle (6), San Antonio Express-News (6) ) |
| Roster |
| DEVELOPING . . . . o Joe Wise resigns in Florida . . . o Track shoes lose to PR in Pasadena USD . . . o Beth-meth principal John Acerra's boss Joe Lewis . . . o Surprise! Administrators continue to be surprised when their employees steal. |
| Portland, Maine schools' surprise $2.5 mil budget deficit result: Supe, CFO exit By Peyton Wolcott Friday, October 19, 2007 - 2:30 p.m. |
| 2006 OCT. 6: City auditors issue a report highlighting problems in the School Department's accounting that "lends itself to errors going unnoticed." 2007 MAY 3: City councilors learn that school officials failed to cut $500,000 from $82 million 2006-07 school budget as ordered. The money was used to hire 25 additional people. MAY 4: Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor says she instituted spending controls in February and expects the budget to show $500,000 reduction by June 30. MAY 9: Paul Colpitts, city financial administrator, notifies School Finance Director Richard Paulson of an anticipated $2.4 million deficit in the 2006-07 budget. JULY 10: O'Connor announces school department overspent budget that ended June 30 by $1.7 million. She calls it "regrettable but unavoidable." JULY 13: School officials warn that the 2006-07 budget deficit may climb as high as $2.5 million when auditors complete their review this fall. JULY 17: City and school officials plan to reconcile deficit through the city's reserve fund and to institute new budget review process. JULY 25: School Committee holds executive session in wake of deficit announcement. JULY 30: Paulson resigns; Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram asks judge to order release of budget-related documents from executive session. AUG. 1: O'Connor and City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. agree to have city staff oversee school finances, at least for short term. AUG 9: School Committee hires lawyer Bryan Dench, of Skelton Taintor & Abbott in Auburn, to investigate causes of deficit. AUG. 21: Judge rules that parts of July 25 executive session were illegal and orders school officials to release budget-related documents. AUG. 29: O'Connor resigns; city finance officials say school deficit is at least $1.7 million, but they're still figuring out grant spending. SEPT. 5: Dench's report attributes deficit to giving raises and hiring people not budgeted for; levels blame on O'Connor, Paulson and School Committee. SEPT. 6: School Committee appeals judge's decision on July 25 executive session. SEPT. 19: School Committee names Jeanne Whynot-Vickers, assistant superintendent, to replace O'Connor on interim basis. |
| So often it seems that when school districts are well run, they are run well in most areas; not surprisingly, those districts in the news for negative reasons gener- ally seem to have problems in other areas also. Portland's public schools are no exception. |
| Then-Portland supe Mary Jo O'Connor explaining her plan for the district's financial recovery to school committee at Aug. 7, 2007 board meeting (PHOTO--Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald) |
| Citizens were first alerted to problems with Portland schools' budget a year ago when "city auditors issue a report highlighting problems in the School Department's accounting that 'lends itself to errors going unnoticed.' " (SOURCE--Portland Press Herald) Among the triggers: loss of a Gates foundation "expeditionary learning" grant. A $2.5 million budget shortfall is never welcome news; for a district whose overall budget is only in the $82 mil annual range, such a shortfall means realistic talk about tough decisions. Instead, in August then-Portland supe Mary Jo O'Connor offered her board the following as part of her restructuring plan, its wording couched in what appears to be too much edu-speak and not enough delineating who's- responsible-for-what: |
| "It is my core competency, under the direction of the School Com- mittee, to articulate educational policy, design programs and educational infrastructures to implement this policy, and the allocation of resources to manage educational programs and infrastructures," O'Connor read from her plan . . . . After the meeting, O'Connor said that she did not intend to exclude financial management duties from her "core competencies." (SOURCE-- Kelley Bouchard/Portland Press Herald) |
| After the meeting, at which no public comment was allowed, O'Connor said she used " 'comp- etencies' to mean duties or responsibilities....City Councilors James Cohen and Edward Suslovic attended the meeting but were not included in the discussion. Afterward, they said they were surprised that no city finance officials were invited to the workshop or asked for their input in O'Connor's plan. They said that kind of collaboration is necessary in light of the city's current oversight of school finances and the pending consolidation of the city and school finance offices. Cohen described O'Connor's plan as vague and lacking steps to address the deficit." (SOURCE--Kelley Bouchard/PPH) Here's a comprehensive timeline compiled by the Portland Press Herald; note that CFO Paulson resigned July 30 and supe O'Connor resigned August 29. Also of note: The : |
| Hats off to the Portland Press Herald for their extensive coverage of the budget issue; more here |
| Jeanne Whynot-Vickers; Like Mary Jo O'Connor, Portland's new supe has academic, not financial, background |
| Heads up to grassroots school reform activists: Be smart, be effective By Peyton Wolcott Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 3:07 a.m. |
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| Meet Portland, Maine school board member "Zen-Ben" "Renaissance Man" Ben Meiklejohn By Peyton Wolcott Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007 - 10:00 a.m. |
| Remember John Kerry's "I voted for the war before I voted against it"? Last month, when he voted against contraceptives for Portland middle schoolers, Maine house painter/musician Ben Meiklejohn said "that he would have supported the measure if his vote had been necessary to ensure passage." (SOURCE--Kelley Bouchard/ Portland Press-Herald) |
| Benjamin J. Meiklejohn |
| I have a wide variety of interests and as I journey through life, I continue to get excited and inspired by the new things I learn. I am a musician, politician, writer, and recently a web designer, and have been described my my friends as a "21st Century Rennaissance Man". I've been known as "Zen Ben" since college when I apparently would say just the right thing at just the right time. |
| Most parents and taxpayers are rational beings whose lives work because we operate in them rationally. When we experience a precipitating incident which warrants our dealing with our local school districts, unfortunately most of us generally approach them armed with facts and the same rational thinking that enables us to pay for our houses and cars and the property taxes that pay for our local schools. Generally this is our first mistake. If we compound our mistake by also being angry, we might as well go stand in front of the administration building and shake a big bag filled with rattlesnakes -- it's no good to act surprised when the rattlesnakes react by hissing and trying to bite us. Watching pushback from schools, especially here in Texas, escalate over the past few years (more at right) leaves me troubled; I believe based on my own experiences and observation of others' that many of the difficulties parents and taxpayers are experiencing can be avoided by changing our approach. |
| A special heads-up to citizen journalists, bloggers The Internet is a tremendous gift. We've seen changes here in Texas public education in the past five years which I do not believe would have been possible without the Internet. Many parents and taxpayers are finding themselves pressed into service as citizen journalists who have no formal journalism background. Most often, it is these well-intentioned folks who appear to be getting into the most trouble. We've seen here in Texas in the past two years alone one SLAPP suit filed and another on the way, plus an amicus curiae by a third district. Worse, we've had onerous anti-sunshine legislation encumbered on all of us as a result during this past Lege. Citizen journalism 101: |
| How to change rattlesnakes into teddy bears It starts with changing our mindset. After trying rational thinking, facts and figures, reports and studies with our local administrators, all to no avail, I realized a new way of doing things was necessary. Because of my experiences over the years as a volunteer organizing other volunteers for charity fund raisers, it was a natural next step for me to organize friends into a group. |
| 1. No adjectives. They tend to be inflammatory. 2. Ask questions rather than make accusations. 3. Be very sure of your facts before publishing -- have a paper record in hand. Wishing doesn't make it so. 4. Give your opponents an opportunity to respond. Note in your blog that your phone calls to the district were not returned, etc. Ask the person about whom you're writing if they disagree with any facts you're publishing and if so and can they please provide a paper record or some such supporting their factual disagreement. |
| Parisian ladies knitting at the guillotine |
| 5. Who are you? Put your photo and your goals on your home page along with an easily accessible email address. One site I looked at recently posted email addresses for all of the school district's trustees and top administrators -- then made visitors to the site fill out an obnoxious form in order to send an email to the site. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. A group in another state prides itself on its integrity -- yet operates completely anonymously whereas the people the group attacks (constantly) have all been willing at some point to come forward with their names and contact information. 6. Mind your manners. Attribute everything, and properly. 7. Curb your anger. Anger's a funny emotion. It permeates everything we do, renders our best-intentioned work useless, and leaves us worn out. If your administration's done something truly outrageous, sleep on it before posting an angry response. Remember: In order to accomplish anything you're going to have to organize however small a group which means being positive enough in your approach and outlook that people will be drawn to you and your cause. Negativity repels. Positive enthusiasm is a magnet. 8. No community comments. Several reasons. You may run hot for a while but when things start winding down and your local administrators see (0) comments again and again they will assume you have no community support. Also, a lot of anonymous venting can occur. Let your local newspaper handle this -- they can afford lawyers -- or talk to each other in the parking lot of your local barbeque joint or over the produce section at the grocery store. Venting is a form of gossip, and may or may not support your goal. Anything that takes away from your goal is a distraction and to be avoided. 9. Be nice. People will like you more and you'll sleep better at night. 10. Be friendly. Treat your administrators and/or board members and/or any other opposition as you'd like to be treated. I didn't make this up; it's called "The Golden Rule." |
| Rattlesnake (L), Teddy bear (PHOTO--Steiff) |
| Your good name The name of your group is more important than you can imagine. I do not recommend including any of the following in your name: Watchdogs, Concerned (as in "Concerned Citizens of Clearwater"), Watch (as in "We're watching you and we're never going to be happy with anything you do"). "Accountability" and "responsible" are also good ones to avoid. Same for "taxes" and "taxpayers." Better to choose an innocuous name that your district can't slam you on for being negative, something like "Friends of Clearwater Schools." Your district will learn what you're about soon enough. Here's something that I had a very hard time accepting: While a few people will give you a thumbs-up for your negative campaigns, most people want to associate with something they perceive as being positive and will run from anything they perceive as being negative. |
| Think of the scene from the musical, "Oklahoma!" in which Curley gives up his horse and his saddle -- everything he owns -- in order to buy Miss Laurey's box dinner. "It's for the new schoolhouse," says the auctioneer. We all love being part of something larger than ourselves, some greater good. In order to accomplish anything, you're going to have to have broad-based community support, and this only occurs with positive goals and campaigns. |
| Pick a goal, any goal Find a goal you and your small group can agree on, and distill it into one sentence. This is useful because when reporters come calling you'll already have your sound byte ready. Your goal should be important to you and your group and your community and one you can easily and quickly accomplish in a short period--two or three months and no more than six. If you're not sure where to begin -- the list is so long -- or can't agree among yourselves, a good first goal might be to ask your school district to post its check register online if it hasn't already. (How to here) It's an easy, quick goal. Think of yourselves more as guerrillas than Rotary. No fixed meetings every Tuesday, no announcing how many members you have or who they are, no lists of members, no lapel pins. Instead of meeting at meetings, communicate via email and phone. When you accomplish your goal, your community will sit up and take note, favorably. Then disband and take a breather for a while until you figure out what you want to accomplish next. Your next goal will likely mean different participants because not everyone will be interested in participating in everything. One more thing about goals Many times we want to start big and large, at the state level. Better to start small, start simple, start local. Prove that your idea can work locally and others will pick up on it, copy it. This is how ideas spread. |
| Oklahoma movie poster |
| 1. You can be angry and upset -- however righteously so -- OR you can be effective. You can't be both. 2. Using a carrot is more effective than using a stick. Think about it. Would you rather have someone come after you with a carrot or with a stick? Don't you become defensive when somebody shakes a big stick at you? 3. Our school districts -- including administrators, board members and those profiting from friendly relations with them -- may say they want more parental involvement. For some of them this is true. For too many others, what they mean by parental involvement is "Come write checks and say nice things about us and don't question anything we say or do." 4. Our school districts may say they want to improve; here again, some really do want to hear from us; for many others, they don't really welcome your helpful suggestions even when you know you're right and they're wrong. As my wise school board trustee friend told me years ago: "When you criticize them, you're calling their baby ' ugly.' " Your administrators and trustees and their minions will take your factual comments and questions personally and attack you personally in response. 5. Our public schools are essentially socialist models and their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. 6. The world of public education is a world of feelings. Think about how often you've sat through a superintendent's budget presentation to his/her board and/or the community and at the end the supe says, "I feel good about this budget." For many of us who live in the rational world we're not much interested in our supe's feelings about the budget. We want to know that based on his expertise with budgets (too often, too little) he has presented a budget which will make ends meet. When you talk with educators, talk about your feelings about a topic rather than your thoughts about a topic. 7. In any endeavor, it's always a good idea to consider your opponent. Really look at them. If the product your company produces is packaged ice, you're not going to head north to Alaska to sell it. No matter how nice you are, they're not going to be interested up there. Along these lines, keep in mind that most school districts today are well-oiled (with your tax dollars) PR machines. The average parent wading in to engage with them armed with facts lubricated by some degree of righteous indignation stands little or no chance of winning. It is like watching lambs marching into the slaughterhouse. Further, public schools are generally the largest budgets in our counties; for this reason they have access to resources such as money and legal help. IMPORTANT: Because your schools can dominate any playing field available to them, you must pick and choose a different playing field. Emotions win over facts every time. No matter how well prepared your spreadsheet is -- you Spreadsheet Dads know who you are -- if you do not have some compelling facts to present to your community, facts which will grip their imaginations and hearts, your spreadsheet will accomplish little. 8. No matter how powerful you may be in your world, your work arena, school is a different arena. You're playing on someone else's turf and it behooves you to pay attention to how they play the game. Your rules don't work in their arena. The sooner and better you can master their rules including their jargon the sooner you can be effective. 9. The broader your base, the broader your focus, the more you want to serve rather than get (get something for yourself and/or your family -- or get even) the more likely you are to succeed in your goal of helping your district. 10. Let go of the idea you're a victim or you've been wronged. Both will hinder your efforts. |
| Austin, Texas courtroom: Lake Travis ISD SLAPP suit; plaintiff's attorneys (L) and defense (R). |
| "Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Imagine, all of this in one very modest person who appears to have spent his entire adult life attending school. |
| Time for another random round-up By Peyton Wolcott Friday, November 9, 2007 - 12:07 a.m. |
| Gambling on not getting caught? ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD PREZ |
| Barb Mende |
| "Gavin Elementary District 37 board President Barbara Mende has been charged with official misconduct and felony theft. Mende, 36, was charged Thursday with official misconduct by the Illinois attorney general's office after she was accused of splitting a $13,000 moving contract in two to avoid competitive bidding. In addition, the Lake County state's attorney's office charged Mende with felony theft because she is accused of padding her paycheck while working in the payroll department of the Lake County Fairgrounds....[Judge Potkonjak] also barred her from any type of gambling, which [state's attorney's office investigator Lou Archbold] said is where the money taken from the fair board is believed to have been spent." (SOURCE-- Tony Gordon, Lee Filas/Chicago Daily Herald) |
| Why didn't San Antonio ISD's Duron, 3 other SA-area supes put their check registers online? TEXAS TAXPAYERS REJECT TAX HIKES |
| Robert Duron |
| "Voters in four area school districts sent a clear message Tuesday, shooting down efforts to raise their property tax rates above a state-mandated limit and delivering a victory to anti-tax activists. ' I think the districts tried to mislead the voters and that never works out well,' said Bob Martin, president of the Homeowner-Taxpayer Association of Bexar County and a vehement opponent of the proposed tax rate. 'They were calling a tax hike a rollback, which wasn't true.' " Only Edgewood ISD voters approved the tax hike. (SOURCE--Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, Michelle De La Rosa/San Antonio Express-News) |
| Trip down recent Memory Lane: Anyone know where Randall Crane is now? OHIO COACH-STUDENT-SEX |
| Randall Crane (PHOTO/WKYC) |
| Akron didn't look very hard at Randall Crane when he applied for employment ten years ago; Manchester, his old district, didn't disclose much. In Manchester's files for Crane: "A lengthy investigation of Crane on accusations of inappropriate behavior: ' too much touching of girls...too much like boyfriend/ girlfriend...taking girls into rooms with the door closed." When he left Manchester, he signed this: "I will never be with a female student alone...I will not touch any students" and agreeing to resign." What Manchester sent to Akron: "Two glowing letters of recommendation--one each from the same superintendent and principal who investigated crane and forced him out. They included statements about Crane's 'outgoing personality' with the principal writing 'I would not hesitate to hire Mr. Crane again. ' " Then-Manchester supe Marco Burnette defended the discrepancy thusly: "It's a tough situation to be in. You don't want to pass problems on to other schools, but at the same time you weigh that against what you can say that causes litigation for your school too. You know how people are." (SOURCE--KKYC) People being how they are, anybody out there keeping track of Randall Crane? He was last in the news in June 2006. |
| QUESTION #1: Should public school administrators be allowed to hire their relatives? If so, to what degree of consanguinity? |
| Feb. 16, 2005: Morningstar Academy teacher Bobby Kennedy allegedly kisses a 15-year-old student in his classroom, according to the girl’s testimony to police. Feb. 19, 2005: Bobby Kennedy allegedly kisses and touches the same student while in a janitor’s closet. Shortly after, Morningstar principal Carolyn Kennedy calls the girl into her office, where the girl tries to tell her about the incidents involving her son and employee, Bobby Kennedy. Late April 2005: Bobby Kennedy allegedly asks a 14-year-old girl to take pictures of herself naked in the bathroom. May 6, 2005: Bobby Kennedy allegedly asks two girls to take pictures of themselves naked. He later admits to showing pictures of naked adults on his cell phone to others in his class. May 9, 2005: A Morningstar student tells police that she was molested by Bobby Kennedy. May 10, 2005: Apache Junction police arrest Bobby Kennedy. Search warrant is issued and property seized from Morningstar and Bobby Kennedy’s house. Aug. 11, 2005: Bobby Kennedy is indicted on 22 counts, including furnishing obscene materials to a minor, aggravated assault, child molestation and sexual abuse. Aug. 23, 2005: Last court appearance by Bobby Kennedy. He disappears afterward. Jan. 26, 2006: Carolyn Kennedy indicted. June 28, 2006: Carolyn Kennedy agrees to plead no contest to charges of failing to report abuse of a minor. Aug. 15, 2006: Carolyn Kennedy sentenced in Pinal County Superior Court to two years probation, community service and 90 days in jail (deferred). (Ibid.) |
| From top right: mom/principal Carolyn Kennedy's mug shot, son/teacher Bobby Kennedy mug shot (in Morningstar Academy "MSA" polo shirt; Morningstar Academy in Apache Junction, Arizona (PHOTO/Tim Hacker-- Tribune) |
| THE OTHER KENNEDY'S 'Last year, Morningstar Academy principal Carolyn Kennedy was sentenced for failing to report the abuse of one of her students. The charges stemmed from allegations that her son, Bobby Kennedy, a teacher at Morningstar and a youth pastor, had molested teenage girls in his class. Today, Bobby Kennedy, 29, is on the run from police and listed by Apache Junction police as one of their 'Most Wanted.' And Carolyn Kennedy, 53, who police say attempted to protect her son and conceal the abuse allegations, is still in charge of the Apache Junction charter school." (SOURCE--Krystal Marceau, Andrea Natekar, East Valley Tribune) |
| "Bobby Kennedy admitted to police during an interview shortly before his arrest that he hesitated to tell his boss about one of the incidents—which he said was initiated by the girl—because it was his mother. 'I knew I should (have) went to my mom and tell her . . . But, maybe if it would have been another boss it would have been easier . . . somebody, you know, I wasn’t related to and stuff,' he told police." (Ibid.) |
| Five years ago a situation occurred in Marble Falls ISD (an hour northwest of Austin) involving fourth-grade boys who allegedly had |
| QUESTION #2: What repercussions if any are there for administrators regarding the reporting of sexual abuse of students on a public school campus? |
| Dana Marable |
| oral sex in an elementary classroom while the teacher was in the room. The resulting notoriety was such that CNN came to town. Troubling as the incident itself was, local citizens, including at least one parent of an abused boy, questioned the manner and timing of then-superintendent Dana Marable's (later of Longview ISD and now interim at Temple ISD where she has succeeded Beto Gonzalez who is now assistant supe in Brownsville ISD) reporting of the abuse to authorities. According to the Austin American- Statesman on March 26, 2002: |
| Why was Carolyn Kennedy allowed to stay on at Morningstar as principal? State oversight As it turns out, the Arizona Board of Education says it has no jurisdiction. Charles Easaw, the chief investigator for the state BOE, said he could have investigated the matter if Carolyn Kennedy had a teaching certificate, as principals in district schools are required to have. “ 'Once we received a report that a teacher or administrator had failed to report child abuse, we typically will open an investigation to look into the matter, simply because our greatest concern is protecting kids in school,' Easaw said. But state certification is not a requirement for administrators at all charter schools, and Carolyn Kennedy wasn’t certified.... Meanwhile, the state Charter School Board said it can’t take action because Carolyn Kennedy’s crime—failing to report abuse, physical injury or neglect—was not listed on a set of criteria designed to deny a fingerprint clearance card, which is required for state employees who work with children. |
| "A child in the class told the teacher about the sex acts March 7, two days before spring break. The boys were suspended March 8. When they returned from spring break March 18, they were placed in alternative education. Police said they learned about the incident March 18. School officials said they notified authorities March 8, in compliance with a Texas law requiring that abuse incidents be reported within 48 hours." |
| Unfortunately, district officials were unable to produce documentation substantiating the district's claims that the reporting first occurred March 8, 2002; at the end of the day, the only official record available is the Marble Falls Police Department's verification that the incident was first reported to them on March 18. Interestingly, Marable participated the following year in a seminar at the TASB/TASA convention in Dallas |
| 43rd Annual TASB/TASA Convention Dallas - September 19–22, 2003 48 Hours or Jail: The Child Abuse Reporting Statute C154 Presenters: Holly B. Wardell, attorney, Schwartz & Eichelbaum, P.C.; and Dana Marable, superintendent, Longview ISD - If you think you understand your state reporting requirements, think again. Pulling examples straight from the headlines, this session explores the statutory definitions of “abuse” and "neglect” and reveals just how far-reaching the obligation to report is and the implications for educators who fail to report. Be prepared when the media comes around asking for an interview! (SBEC #4) |
| Dana Marable (far left) sitting on trustees' dais at Sept. 2006 Longview ISD school board meeting at which she resigned (PHOTO--KLTV) |
| "Police are investigating allegations that five fourth-grade boys performed oral sex on one another during class at least twice at Marble Falls Elementary School. School officials confirm that the incidents took place and that they are treating the acts as lewd behavior. The boys were suspended for a day, have been put in alternative classes for 10 days and will receive counseling, said Superintendent Dana Marable. 'It was a dare,' Marable said. However, at least one mother, who asked not to be identified to protect her son's identity, said the acts were done under threat. 'My boy didn't want to, and the other boys threatened him if he didn't,' she said." (SOURCE--Janet Jacobs, Jonathan Osborne/AustinAmerican-Statesman) |
| Side issues within the community were how often the incidents had actually occurred, and how and when the district's chief administrator--Marable--had reported the incident to authorities. |
| 11.12.07 NOTE: Questions regarding the foregoing issues, plus others, were sent to Dana Marable for her response, which she has today indicated is forthcoming. |
| MORNINGSTAR ABUSE ALLEGATIONS TIMELINE |
| Is Arizona's Carolyn Kennedy alone? Hardly. "Across the country, there have been similar cases of principals going to court after they failed to report abuse. Just last month, a high school principal in Connecticut was placed on administrative leave after being summoned to court over allegations he failed to report students’ claims of sexual abuse against a school suspension monitor. Valerie Reicheg, a board member of a national victims network that fights school abuse, said someone who fails to report neglect or abuse should 'definitely not' remain in a school leadership position. 'The principal is in a position of authority to protect the children,' said Reicheg, who works for the New York-based Survivors of Educator Sexual Abuse and Misconduct Emerge. 'She’s there to make it safe for students.' ” (Ibid.) |
| Carolyn Kennedy's view When Carolyn Kennedy was indicted on charges of failing to report child abuse, "she insisted to police that the school simply had some 'problem girls.' Carolyn Kennedy maintained she was unaware of any conduct issues involving her son, according to court records. She reached an agreement with prosecutors that allowed her to plead 'no contest' to a misdemeanor instead of going to court to fight felony charges." (SOURCE--Jill Jones/Apache Junction) |
| Morningstar changes policy "The charter school’s change in policy entitled Personnel Policy upon Criminal Indictment allows for an indicted employee to be placed on administrative leave and/or removed pursuant to Arizona Revised Statues provisions. It also spells out the requirements for notification of the governing board should charges be filed against an employee." (Ibid.) |
| brushes with the law are concerned. "On Tuesday September 4th 2007, Tad Honeycutt and Charles Steven Cox were arrested after being indicted by a special grand jury for their alleged roles in the collapse of the California Charter Academy.... Cox could serve 64 years. Mr. Cox along with Mr. Honeycutt have been indicted on a total of 147 counts. Some of the counts include misappropriation of public funds and grand theft. Cox's bail has been set at $1 million dollars [and] law enforcement officials have also frozen their assets. "Mr. Cox's private corporate American Express charges were questionably reviewed by auditors from 2001 to 2003...Auditors stated he had spent a total of $712, 813." (SOURCE--Wikipedia) |
| Following up with Steve Cox In September "Arizona State Board for Charter Schools refused...to allow a charter-school company to change its name after its owner was indicted on felony-theft charges in California. C. Steven Cox owns Educational Administrative Services, which operates Morningstar Academy, an elementary school, in Apache Junction. "Cox was indicted Sept. 4 in San Bernardino on 56 felony counts of misappropriation of funds and 56 felony counts of grand theft while operating the now-defunct California Charter Academy, run by the for-profit Educational Administrative Services. Cox was indicted along with a Hesperia City Council member, and both pleaded not guilty. California shut down the school in 2004 after auditors found that the owners had drained the school's coffers of millions of dollars to provide high executive salaries and perks and give questionable contracts to friends and family members. Arizona agreed to sign a contract with Cox in 2003 to open the Apache Junction elementary charter school. "The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools on Monday tabled a request to allow Educational Administrative Services to change its name, citing the board's recent suspension of Cox's fingerprint card pending the outcome of the indictments. The board will sit down with Cox to discuss reorganizing ownership of the school, said DeAnna Rowe, the board's executive director." (SOURCE--Pat Kossan/The Arizona Republic) |
| Local oversight According to Steve Cox of Educational Administrative Services Corporation--holder of the school's charter-- when this situation was evolving in March 2006 he didn’t think it was necessary to remove Kennedy, whom he felt was being “harassed” on charges that “sounded trumped up.” (SOURCE--Jill Jones/The Apach Junction- Golden Coupon News) |
| However, as it turns out, Cox may have reasons of his own to be lenient where others' foibles including |
| Steve Cox (PHOTO--Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) |
| QUESTION #3: THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE. Who is David Conley and did he use the Delphi technique in the course of his official capacity while facilitating the Vertical Teams College Readiness Project (VTCRP) for the Commission for College Ready Texas' drafting of the English Language Arts and Reading standards for the new Texas standards (Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills)? |
| ANSWER #3: 11.16.07 UPDATE: Responses have been received from David Conley and we are exchanging emails regarding his use or non-use of the Delphi method/technique in facilitating the work of the vertical teams. of cause for particular concern to many conservatives around the U.S. is Conley's listing on his website of his expertise with Delphi, given the negative impact use of Delphi had on the 1997 TEKS (see educator Donna Garner's comments below right). Although he has stated he did not use the Delphi method, there are several outstanding questions (see above) regarding what appears to be Delphi in different clothing, the "nested professional judgment model." What's Delphi? More here. |
| Dave, have a few questions I'm hoping you can help me with regarding EPIC and the Vertical Teams College Readiness Project (VTCRP) and the Commission for a College Ready Texas (CCRT). (2) DOCTORAL DISSERTATION Looking at your extensive CV am unable to find the title of your doctoral dissertation. What might that be and would it be possible for you to send me a copy? RESPONSE: Conley, D. T. (1986). Certificated Personnel Evaluation in Colorado: A Policy Study of Practices and Perceptions at the Time of the Implementation of the Certificated Personnel Performance Evaluation Act (H.B. 1338). Unpublished. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder. (3) ENGAGEMENT: What is the approximate total for the amount of fees charged by you/EPIC through the end of 2007 for your participation in the above-named projects? Expenses? Is your/EPIC's participation limited to the VTCRP? Did you follow the RFP process or were your services solicited by Shirley Neeley and/or Ray Paredes and/or someone else and if so who might that be and under what circumstances? RESPONSE: David Conley has asked me to obtain this information from the THECB, which I contacted yesterday. (4) DELPHI Your website mentions that your "methodological strengths include . . . Delphi processes (convergent consensus)." Please describe how you have used the Delphi technique in your work with the VTCRP including any contact with CCRT. RESPONSE: David Conley states that he did not use the Delphi method in his work with the vertical teams. |
| Lone Star Education Conf. Educator Donna Garner - Austin, Texas / Dec. 2000 It was "consensus building" that massaged and shaped the Texas English / Language Arts/ Reading (ELAR) into the "mush" that today is known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). When I was first appointed in the summer of 1995 to serve on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) writing team for English / Language Arts / Reading (ELAR), I was naive enough to believe that the way to deal with a national education crisis would be to do what the health community does when a national health crisis occurs. Experts and practitioners are brought together to discuss the problems in the field and to study the latest research. A protocol is adopted based upon the research. The health professionals are then dispatched back to their communities to implement the protocol. Scientific assessments are utilized to track the results. Did the writing team use this approach? No. Instead a professional consensus builder and other specially trained facilitators in the Delphi Technique greeted us writing team members at our August 1995 meeting. This technique uses psychological manipulation and peer pressure to gain group conformity and was pioneered by the Rand Corporation. Many well- documented articles have been published which indicate that an open, systematic, research- based process did not occur in Texas when the ELAR standards were developed. (Please go to http://www.edweek.org/ ew/vol-17/12texas.h17 to read the article in Education Week entitled "Double Standards" by Drew Lindsay.) In fact, the entire process was driven by facilitators who made sure that certain pre-determined standards were produced -- standards which were filled with education jargon, which were written in grade clusters, and which were full of performance- based (e.g., constructivist, project-driven) standards. Since personnel with the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE), the New Standards Project, and the Chief State School Officers all helped to orchestrate the TEKS process, it is no surprise that our ELAR/TEKS standards look mysteriously like most of the other states' broadly worded standards. |
| "The Delphi Technique in Texas" by Donna Garner December 13, 2004 When the Texas Education Agency orchestrated the writing of the public school curriculum standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills -- TEKS -- adopted in July 1997), the Delphi Technique was used on the writing team members. I, as one of the writing team members for the English / Language Arts / Reading (ELAR) standards, experienced the Delphi Technique up-close and personal. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff was trained in the Delphi Technique by the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) at a pricetag of $1.5M. The Texas State Board of Education never approved the large expenditure by the TEA to NCEE. A professional consensus-builder from Washington, D. C. was hired to manipulate our English / Language Arts / Reading writing team. Representatives from the Chief State School Officers were brought in to our meetings, plus there were other various and sundry individuals at every table -- to the right of us, to the left of us, all around us. We never really knew who these people were, but they would hardly let us go to the bathroom by ourselves. The "lightning rods" (such as myself) were immediately located, and we were put through various psychological strategies. First, the facilitators tried appealing to our egos. When that didn't work, they tried peer pressure. Then we were labeled as "the bad guys" and were treated with disdain and downright antipathy. Soon the other writing team members didn't want to be around us because we were considered the troublemakers. |
| QUERIES SENT TO DAVID CONLEY NOV. 6-14, 2007: |
| SHADES OF 1995-97: WHY A FACILITATOR'S USE OF THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE WOULD BE CAUSE FOR ALARM AMONG TEXANS |
| Some basic things to think about: |
| Delphi method / technique and "synthesis" By Peyton Wolcott Monday, November 19, 2007 - 9:01 a.m. When David Conley stated in our correspondence that neither he nor his staff used the Delphi technique with the vertical teams, because he features information regarding his use of the Delphi method on his website I asked what he/they used instead. In the course of describing the "nested professional judgment method" (when you Google this there are no hits) David included the word "synthesis," which is when alarms went off for me; as one example, when you Google the "synthethis Delphi method" string, you get not zero but 290,000 hits. Here is David Conley's further response this past Thursday, November 15, 2007: |