| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n s ' e d u c a t i o n: o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . Copyright 1999-2008 Peyton Wolcott |
| Commentary - Education, Inc. and the Big Pot o'Money |
Education, Inc. is the name I give to the messy
intersection of education and business, the place where
noble values collide with greed and ambition--and the easy
grab at life's comforts.
There are vendors. Administrators' associations. School boards'
associations. Second-grade teachers' associations. There are the
intersection of education and business, the place where
noble values collide with greed and ambition--and the easy
grab at life's comforts.
There are vendors. Administrators' associations. School boards'
associations. Second-grade teachers' associations. There are the
businesses that sell their goods and services to public
schools: Computer technology and software,
curriculums, sporting goods, school buses, textbooks,
food service, on and on and on.
schools: Computer technology and software,
curriculums, sporting goods, school buses, textbooks,
food service, on and on and on.
| tion who just happen to be peddling goods and services have rented hotel and restaurant rooms for "receptions" where there are tables piled high |
| Administrators conferring in the Four Seasons lobby in Austin, Texas during TASA Midwinter Conference, Jan. 2006 |
There are consultants, and lots of them. There are
law firms and accounting firms and other professions.
There are motivational speakers and trainers.
There are the conferences educators attend at
taxpayers' expense where they attend seminars and
workshops, many of which are glorified pitches for
still more edu-goods and services.
Education, Inc. is also the companies that sell their
education programs to school districts. I personally
believe Dante reserved a special place in hell for
these folks.
For a look at how all the components work together
to weave a wicked spell, here's one hypothetical at
right.
law firms and accounting firms and other professions.
There are motivational speakers and trainers.
There are the conferences educators attend at
taxpayers' expense where they attend seminars and
workshops, many of which are glorified pitches for
still more edu-goods and services.
Education, Inc. is also the companies that sell their
education programs to school districts. I personally
believe Dante reserved a special place in hell for
these folks.
For a look at how all the components work together
to weave a wicked spell, here's one hypothetical at
right.
| Administrators from across the U.S., including Carlos Garcia--then Clark County public schools supe (Las Vegas, Nevada) at far right, who left shortly thereafter to join vendor McGraw-Hill, now San Francisco USD superintendent--on an educational tour of the San Antonio river on party boats such as this during the Feb. 2005 American Ass'n of School Administrators convention |
And this is how Education, Inc. has come to be the
place where education and children become the
means and the currency, not the end. So much so
that students are referred to as "units." And if they
have special problems, so much the better for the
administrators in charge because the "units" become
"weighted units" and worth as much as three times
as much money per head.
If all of this is starting to sound eerily like the Nazi's
weighing their victims' hair and teeth, you're not
alone.
For the administrators and everybody else caught up
in Education, Inc., it's about the money, not about
the kids. Ample evidence abounds on these pages.
Don't take my word for it. See for yourself.
place where education and children become the
means and the currency, not the end. So much so
that students are referred to as "units." And if they
have special problems, so much the better for the
administrators in charge because the "units" become
"weighted units" and worth as much as three times
as much money per head.
If all of this is starting to sound eerily like the Nazi's
weighing their victims' hair and teeth, you're not
alone.
For the administrators and everybody else caught up
in Education, Inc., it's about the money, not about
the kids. Ample evidence abounds on these pages.
Don't take my word for it. See for yourself.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU: THE EDU-LAYERS IN YOUR STATE
| Do you know how many layers of public education you're really paying for? State education bureaucracies (see Texas Education Agency's Austin office building above) go by different names from state to state: It's the "Department of Education" in California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Massachusetts and South Carolina, whose DOE was profiled on John Stossel's "Stupid in America." Elsewhere it's the "Department of Instruction" (Idaho) or "Department of Public Instruction" (Wisconsin) and so on. Whatever you call it, the state DOE is one very big and dark black hole. However, there's another layer of which fewer people are aware, and it's like a big expensive shadow government. Here in Texas it's called the "Regional Education Service Centers" (ESC's); elsewhere they go by different names. |
| Because they don't really have a purpose, this layer speaks in terms of "missions" and they have more visions than a fortune teller. Here's ESC Region 16's (Texas Panhandle) vision: "The Education Service Center will be an indispensable part of the educational community." Ah-ha. And Region 3's (Victoria) is to be "committed to providing world- class services and products that ensure students excel individually in a global economy, as they become contributing members in an ever-changing society." World class. Excel. Not just members but contributing members. Which society might that be in need of social engineering, LBJ's "Great Society"? |
| Although the Region 20 Education Service Center in San Antonio, Texas is an enormous compound occupying several city blocks, it's seldom if ever seen by most taxpayers. Note the barbed wire- topped security fences around the entire perimeter. |
| In most states, this layer's mission is to "help" school districts, whatever that may mean. But because the ESC's are not really responsible for anything, their primary role appears to be to absorb tax dollars then figure out how to spend them, including hosting receptions featuring alcohol and deluxe food at swank hotels during edu-conferences. San Antonio's ESC 20 (above) actually got its start in 1966 as an exhibit during HemisFair for a "School of Tomorrow" called the Inter-American Educational Center (IAEC) and was funded by Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. "Changes in direction |
| and thinking in the late 1960s brought about the establishment of twenty regional service centers throughout Texas. As many of the educational and cultural objectives on which education service centers were to focus were similar to those of the existing organization, IAEC became the regional service center for the south central region of the state. Basic to the center concept was its working in the development and implementation of comprehensive, exemplary products for education which would address themselves to the needs of the public schools and would provide the best possible education for all school children in the region....Under girding [sic] the provision of services and guiding staff in delivery are certain principles of public service: trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, caring, citizenship, fairness, and service orientation." (SOURCE--Region 20 ESC) Like I said, this intermediate level receives our tax dollars then figures out how to help us with them. Here's more along these lines from ESC 13 in Austin which began as a regional media center with three employees and now employs 170: |
| ESC 20 in San Antonio--so large it needs directional signs to "Media Center" and "Data Processing" and the receiving department. |
| Michigan's equivalent of the ESC is its Intermediate School Districts, not to be confused with local school districts in many states with the same ISD acronym. The Intermediate SD's in Michigan have been under the microscope for the past few years following former supe James Redmond's felony charges (for embezzlement and misconduct in office). As with local school boards, Michigan's intermedi- ate shadow level also suffers from the same lack of accountability including lax board and other oversight as with the ESC's in Texas. |
Many people do not realize that their property taxes support two school districts – the one that neighborhood kids attend, plus one of 57 Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) in Michigan. As the name suggests, ISDs are an intermediate level of bureaucracy between regular school districts and the state Department of Education. They are run by boards selected by the elected school boards of regular school districts within the ISD area, or in a few cases by direct election by voters. Prior to the passage of Proposal A in 1994, ISDs were heavily engaged in overseeing the wide variety of "categorical grant" programs. As a result of Proposal A these "categoricals" were mostly eliminated and replaced by basic per-student foundation grants to regular school districts. Since then, the ISDs have specialized in special education and vocational education programs. Most taxpayers also do not realize that Propo- sal A’s prohibition on new school operating fund millages contains a big loophole: ISDs. Unlike regular school districts, which can only request new millages for buildings and other capital improvement projects, ISDs can go to the voters for more taxes to pay for day- to-day operations — the very practice that led to the taxpayer revolt which brought about Proposal A . . . . (continued below photo) |
| MISSION: Initiate collaboration with our clients in the development of a quality educational environment.. Provide client-focused quality products and services in a timely and efficient manner which promote improved performance in schools. Initiate collaboration with our clients to close the gap between current and desired student performance. The regional education service center is a public institution created and authorized by the Texas Legislature. [PW comment: Thanks, guys.] In 1965, the Legislature authorized the State Board of Education to establish regional media centers by 1967. That same year, the U. S. Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide funds for supplementary educational centers....Region XIII Education Service Center (RESC XIII) was established in August 1967. RESC XIII opened with a staff of three....Region XIII is a service organization, not a regulatory agency. The center strives to provide excellent services and products to the 59 school districts in the 16 county area RESC XIII serves. Participation by schools is voluntary. The goal of RESC XIII is to achieve a high standard of excellence through leadership, responsiveness to client needs, and quality products that improve student performance....RESC XIII has a staff of more than 170 people and continues to grow to accommodate challenges and needs in the education field. [emphasis added] |
And then there's ERDI, in a class by itself.
As far as I'm concerned, Scott Parks' article should have gotten the Pulitzer Prize for
investigative journalism and at the very least should be required reading for every
taxpayer and school board member in every school district in our great nation. Even
though ERDI's structure has changed dramatically since founder Mike Kneale sold ERDI
in February 2006, there are lessons to be learned here. Heads up, America.
As far as I'm concerned, Scott Parks' article should have gotten the Pulitzer Prize for
investigative journalism and at the very least should be required reading for every
taxpayer and school board member in every school district in our great nation. Even
though ERDI's structure has changed dramatically since founder Mike Kneale sold ERDI
in February 2006, there are lessons to be learned here. Heads up, America.
| NOTE: I have contacted ERDI founder Mike Kneale on numerous occasions, via telephone, fax and email, in order to obtain more information, including an attempted in-person interview Feb. 20, 2005 at the ERDI conference at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. |
| E R D I |
Superintendents get $2,000
consulting fees to hobnob
with vendors
11:52 PM CDT on Saturday, July 17, 2004
By SCOTT PARKS / The Dallas Morning News
One in an occasional series
consulting fees to hobnob
with vendors
11:52 PM CDT on Saturday, July 17, 2004
By SCOTT PARKS / The Dallas Morning News
One in an occasional series
| ERDI - 2004 winter and summer participants Education Research & Development Institute documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News list the following school leaders as participants in its 2004 winter and summer programs. Texas school leaders are bolded: Arlene Ackerman, San Francisco Unified School District Anthony Amato, New Orleans Public Schools Brian Benzel, Spokane (Wash.) Public Schools Ken Bird Westside (Neb.) Community Schools Ed Brand, Sweetwater Union (Calif.) High School District Ken Burnley, Detroit Public Schools Billy Cannaday Jr., Chesterfield County (Va.) Public Schools Rudy Castruita, San Diego Office of Education Gerald Dawkins, Saginaw (Mich.) City Schools Ken Dragseth, Edina (Minn.) Public Schools Debra Duvall, Mesa (Ariz.) School District Jim Easton, Lafayette Parish (La.) Public Schools Mark Edwards, Henrico County (Va.) Public Schools Barbara Erwin, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Unified Greg Firn, Milford (Conn.) Public Schools Steve Farrar, Lincoln Unified (Stockton, Calif.) Mike Flanagan, executive director, Michigan Association of School Administrators Karen Forys, Northshore (Wash.) School District Alton Frailey, Cincinnati Public Schools John Fryer, Duval County (Fla.) Public Schools George Garcia, Boulder Valley (Colo.) Public School District Carlos Garcia, Clark County (Nev.) School District David Gordon, Elk Grove (Calif.) Unified School District Peter Gorman, Tustin (Calif.) Unified School District Carmen Granto, Niagara Falls (N.Y.) City School District Terry Grier, Guilford County (N.C.) Schools Annette Griffin, Carrollton- Farmers Branch ISD Barb Grohe, Kent (Wash.) Public Schools Bill Habermehl, Orange County (Calif.) Department of Education Jim Hager, Washoe County (Nev.) School District Joe Hairston, Baltimore County (Md.) Schools Beverly Hall, Atlanta Public Schools Bill Harrison, Cumberland (N. C.) County Schools Patricia Harvey, St. Paul (Minn.) Public Schools Howard Hinesley, Pinellas County (Fla.) School District Peter Horoschak, South Orange-Maplewood (N.J.) School District Sandy Husk, Clarksville- Montgomery Schools Carol Johnson, Memphis Public Schools John Kriekard, Paradise Valley (Ariz.) School District Nadine Kujawa, Aldine ISD Michael Lannon, St. Lucie (Fla.) County Public Schools Pam Lannon, Lake County (Fla.) Schools Mary Leiker, Kentwood (Mich.) Public Schools Earl Lennard, Hillsborough County (Fla.) School District Dave Long, Riverside County (Calif.) Office of Education Ben Marlin, Collier County (Fla.) District School Board Elfreda Massie, District of Columbia Public Schools (former interim) Larry Maw, San Marcos (Calif.) Unified School District Max McGee, Wilmette (Ill.) School District Bill McKinney, Region IV Education Service Center (Houston) Frank McKinzie, Elmwood Park (Ill.) School District Gail McKinzie, Indian Prairie (Ill.) School District Ray McMullen, Department of Defense Education Activity Maggie Mejia, Sacramento (Calif.) City Unified School District Leonard Merrell, Katy ISD Hector Montenegro, Ysleta ISD Mike Moses, Dallas ISD Monte Moses, Cherry Creek (Colo.) School District Jim Murphy, executive director, New Jersey Association of School Administrators Connie Neale, School District U-46 (Ill.) Ruben Olivarez, San Antonio ISD Doug Otto, Plano ISD Stan Paz, Tucson (Ariz.) Unified School District Dennis Peterson, Minnetonka (Minn.) School District Lane Plugge, Iowa City Community School District Gerrita Postlewait, Horry County (S.C.) Schools Jim Rickabaugh, Whitefish Bay (Wis.) School District Stewart Roberson, Hanover County (Va.) Public Schools Stan Scheer, Littleton (Colo.) Public Schools Rick Schneider, Pasadena ISD Darlene Schottle, School District Five (Mont.) Althea Serrant, U.S. Department of Education, Region 2 John Simpson, Norfolk (Va.) Public Schools Kevin Singer, Grapevine- Colleyville ISD (recently left to lead Manheim Township (Pa.) School District) Dennis Smith, Placentia Yorba-Linda (Calif.) Unified Keith Sockwell, Northwest ISD Tony Stansberry, Lee’s Summit (Mo.) School District Jim Surratt, Klein ISD John Thompson, Pittsburgh (Pa.) Public Schools Frank Till, Broward County (Fla.) Public Schools Doris Walker, Clover Park (Wash.) School District Gene White, Washington Township (Ind.) Metropolitan School District Robert G. Witten, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 16 (Pa.) Alvin Wilbanks, Gwinnett County (Ga.) School District Clayton Wilcox, East Baton Rouge Parish (La.) Public Schools Joseph Wise, Christina (Del.) School District SOURCE: ERDI documents |
In addition to paying all expenses
for superintendents to attend the
conference, ERDI pays up to $400
to defray the expenses for a
spouse, Mr. Kneale said. Each
superintendent gets a flat $2,000
fee to attend. A "full participant" who
attends both summer and winter
meetings earns $4,000 a year in
fees, he said.
The corporate panels that form the
backbone of ERDI operations ran
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
They worked this way: Company
representatives spent three hours
in a hotel meeting room with five
superintendents. Information
revealed can be sensitive. The
companies sometimes roll out new
ideas for products. What is said in
the room is supposed to stay in the
room.
The companies set the agenda.
They can request the
superintendents they want on their
panel based on district size,
geography or desire to gain more
business in a certain district.
Karen Mortensen, executive
education consultant with
Sagebrush Corp., said
membership in ERDI is well worth
the fee. She said Sagebrush,
which sells software and school
library products, pays $22,000 a
year to attend two conferences.
"What we get is dedicated time with
key school leaders from across the
country," she said. "And we get to
mingle with them and other reps in
social settings. It would not be
acceptable to be pushing product
while I'm at ERDI. I would be
building relationships."
Ms. Massie, the Harcourt Achieve
executive, was interim
superintendent of public schools
in Washington, D.C., until April.
She said, "We use the
superintendents like a focus group.
It's a piece of our research-based
approach to business."
The agenda for Ms. Massie's
session included "What's Keeping
You Up At Night," "Federal
Legislation Update 2004" and
"Partnering With Your District."
Carol Wolf, another Harcourt
Achieve vice president, initiated a
conversation with the
superintendents on an issue not on
the agenda. How, she asked, does
a sales rep determine whom to
contact first in a district? All
bureaucracies are different, and
superintendents in large districts
are notorious for not taking most
vendor phone calls.
"How do you figure out who are the
decision-makers?" Ms. Wolf asked.
"In my job, I never purchase
anything," said Carlos Garcia,
superintendent of the 8,000-
square-mile Clark County School
District in Las Vegas. "But when
you're a superintendent in a small
district, you do it all."
'No play at all'
Superintendents might participate
in four or five corporate panels
during the three-day conference,
which would mean 12 to 15 hours
of work.
"There is no play at all," Mr. Kneale
said.
Dr. Otto of Plano and Dr. Griffin of
Carrollton-Farmers Branch both
said they took vacation time for the
Rancho Mirage conference, which
opened last Sunday with a
"superintendents only" meeting,
followed by an evening reception
with live orchestra music.
The fact that ERDI pays the
superintendents' expenses and
consulting fees – and that the
money doesn't come directly from
school district vendors – is an
important distinction, said Drs. Otto
and Griffin.
"ERDI assigns us to the corporate
panels, and we have no say in what
company we are meeting with," Dr.
Otto said.
But the distinction is lost on some
business ethicists.
"The superintendents must be
careful that ERDI is not just acting
as a shield for companies that want
access to them," said Dr. W.
Michael Hoffman, executive director
of the Center for Business Ethics at
Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.
"Ultimately, they are serving the
companies that are paying the guy
to put on the conferences."
Oversight
Business ethicists say school
board oversight is critical to
keeping school superintendents
within safe boundaries.
No one knows how much
superintendents tell their trustees
about their after-hours consulting
activities or how many questions
trustees ask about them.
Dr. James Campbell Quick, of the
University of Texas at Arlington,
likens superintendents to tennis
players and school board
members to umpires.
"Everyone needs someone to make
their line calls," he said.
"Aggressive, healthy players will get
close to the line and need help
remembering where the
boundaries are. The board's
responsibility is to ask enough
questions to determine what game
the superintendent is playing."
The News interviewed Mr. Tepper,
the Carrollton-Farmers Branch
school board president, and Mary
Beth King, president of the board
in Plano, about their
superintendents' participation in
ERDI.
Ms. King and Mr. Tepper said they
do not know how much ERDI pays
their superintendents or how the
fees are calculated.
"Quite frankly, we don't ask," Mr.
Tepper said.
Both school board presidents said
they feel well briefed about ERDI
and understand its program. They
expressed confidence in their
superintendents and said they had
no reason to believe personal
relationships with ERDI companies
influence decision-making on
contract awards.
"I know my superintendent [Dr. Otto]
and I know his ethics," Ms. King
said. "I do not perceive this as a
problem."
Mr. Tepper agreed. "I don't think
there is a conflict of interest or the
appearance of one and that is
because she [Dr. Griffin] has been
very forthright with us about the
ERDI situation," he said.
"I don't think Dr. Griffin can be
bought for what they [ERDI] are
paying."
E-mail sparks@dallasnews.com
for superintendents to attend the
conference, ERDI pays up to $400
to defray the expenses for a
spouse, Mr. Kneale said. Each
superintendent gets a flat $2,000
fee to attend. A "full participant" who
attends both summer and winter
meetings earns $4,000 a year in
fees, he said.
The corporate panels that form the
backbone of ERDI operations ran
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
They worked this way: Company
representatives spent three hours
in a hotel meeting room with five
superintendents. Information
revealed can be sensitive. The
companies sometimes roll out new
ideas for products. What is said in
the room is supposed to stay in the
room.
The companies set the agenda.
They can request the
superintendents they want on their
panel based on district size,
geography or desire to gain more
business in a certain district.
Karen Mortensen, executive
education consultant with
Sagebrush Corp., said
membership in ERDI is well worth
the fee. She said Sagebrush,
which sells software and school
library products, pays $22,000 a
year to attend two conferences.
"What we get is dedicated time with
key school leaders from across the
country," she said. "And we get to
mingle with them and other reps in
social settings. It would not be
acceptable to be pushing product
while I'm at ERDI. I would be
building relationships."
Ms. Massie, the Harcourt Achieve
executive, was interim
superintendent of public schools
in Washington, D.C., until April.
She said, "We use the
superintendents like a focus group.
It's a piece of our research-based
approach to business."
The agenda for Ms. Massie's
session included "What's Keeping
You Up At Night," "Federal
Legislation Update 2004" and
"Partnering With Your District."
Carol Wolf, another Harcourt
Achieve vice president, initiated a
conversation with the
superintendents on an issue not on
the agenda. How, she asked, does
a sales rep determine whom to
contact first in a district? All
bureaucracies are different, and
superintendents in large districts
are notorious for not taking most
vendor phone calls.
"How do you figure out who are the
decision-makers?" Ms. Wolf asked.
"In my job, I never purchase
anything," said Carlos Garcia,
superintendent of the 8,000-
square-mile Clark County School
District in Las Vegas. "But when
you're a superintendent in a small
district, you do it all."
'No play at all'
Superintendents might participate
in four or five corporate panels
during the three-day conference,
which would mean 12 to 15 hours
of work.
"There is no play at all," Mr. Kneale
said.
Dr. Otto of Plano and Dr. Griffin of
Carrollton-Farmers Branch both
said they took vacation time for the
Rancho Mirage conference, which
opened last Sunday with a
"superintendents only" meeting,
followed by an evening reception
with live orchestra music.
The fact that ERDI pays the
superintendents' expenses and
consulting fees – and that the
money doesn't come directly from
school district vendors – is an
important distinction, said Drs. Otto
and Griffin.
"ERDI assigns us to the corporate
panels, and we have no say in what
company we are meeting with," Dr.
Otto said.
But the distinction is lost on some
business ethicists.
"The superintendents must be
careful that ERDI is not just acting
as a shield for companies that want
access to them," said Dr. W.
Michael Hoffman, executive director
of the Center for Business Ethics at
Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.
"Ultimately, they are serving the
companies that are paying the guy
to put on the conferences."
Oversight
Business ethicists say school
board oversight is critical to
keeping school superintendents
within safe boundaries.
No one knows how much
superintendents tell their trustees
about their after-hours consulting
activities or how many questions
trustees ask about them.
Dr. James Campbell Quick, of the
University of Texas at Arlington,
likens superintendents to tennis
players and school board
members to umpires.
"Everyone needs someone to make
their line calls," he said.
"Aggressive, healthy players will get
close to the line and need help
remembering where the
boundaries are. The board's
responsibility is to ask enough
questions to determine what game
the superintendent is playing."
The News interviewed Mr. Tepper,
the Carrollton-Farmers Branch
school board president, and Mary
Beth King, president of the board
in Plano, about their
superintendents' participation in
ERDI.
Ms. King and Mr. Tepper said they
do not know how much ERDI pays
their superintendents or how the
fees are calculated.
"Quite frankly, we don't ask," Mr.
Tepper said.
Both school board presidents said
they feel well briefed about ERDI
and understand its program. They
expressed confidence in their
superintendents and said they had
no reason to believe personal
relationships with ERDI companies
influence decision-making on
contract awards.
"I know my superintendent [Dr. Otto]
and I know his ethics," Ms. King
said. "I do not perceive this as a
problem."
Mr. Tepper agreed. "I don't think
there is a conflict of interest or the
appearance of one and that is
because she [Dr. Griffin] has been
very forthright with us about the
ERDI situation," he said.
"I don't think Dr. Griffin can be
bought for what they [ERDI] are
paying."
E-mail sparks@dallasnews.com
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – The
Resort, perched on a sandy
hillside and surrounded by purple-
hued mountains, sat baking under
the desert sun last week.
Inside the luxury hotel on Frank
Sinatra Drive, school
superintendents from across the
United States – including the
Dallas-Fort Worth area – spent
three days talking business with
companies that want to sell their
wares to school districts.
Textbook publishers, food-service
vendors, computer manufacturers
and many other companies all
want to increase their share of the
lucrative educational market. The
school superintendents came to
California's desert to help them.
In return, the superintendents got
an all-expenses-paid trip and a
$2,000 consulting fee.
Business ethicists say the
conference creates the
appearance that companies and
superintendents have formed an
exclusive club with the potential to
affect the contracts awarded by
districts.
"I find it troubling that money from
the private sector is finding its way
into superintendents' pockets,"
said Diane Swanson, a business
professor and founding chair of the
Ethics Initiative at Kansas State
University. "There is something
wrong with blurring that boundary
with a cozy group of people who
may not be operating at arm's
length."
The superintendents, dressed in
colorful casual attire, arrived here
from small districts (Whitefish Bay,
Wis., with 3,000 students) and
large (Clark County Schools in Las
Vegas with about 280,000
students). They characterize
themselves as tough-minded
professionals who feel no
obligation to buy from the
companies that paid to bring them
to this Palm-studded oasis.
"If a company comes here to sell,
it's here for the wrong reasons,"
said Doug Otto, superintendent of
the Plano Independent School
District. "If it's a good product, it
stands on its own."
Annette Griffin, superintendent of
Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD,
said interacting with company
executives gives her a chance to
stay on the cutting edge of product
developments that help students
learn. She said she donates some
of the money she earns to a
scholarship fund.
"I'm looking for the magic bullet,"
Dr. Griffin said during a brief
interview in a meeting-room lobby
overlooking the hotel pool.
"This is the only organization I've
found where companies come to
us with new ideas and we have the
opportunity to say how they can be
structured to better serve children.
We are not here to make the
vendors feel good. We are brutally
honest with them."
Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike
Moses didn't travel to Rancho
Mirage, but he was listed among
the participants in last winter's
conference in Oakland, Calif. So
was his brother, Monte Moses,
superintendent of Colorado's
Cherry Creek School District.
Dr. Moses, who resigned his job
with the Dallas school district last
week, was unavailable for
comment on his consulting work.
In some states, the law requires
superintendents to disclose their
sources of income on publicly
available questionnaires. Texas
does not require financial
disclosure for superintendents.
The Dallas Morning News has
examined employment contracts
for superintendents in 26 of the
largest school districts in Texas.
Twenty of them, including the
contracts of Drs. Otto and Moses,
contain language that allows
outside employment. Dr. Griffin's
contract also allows her to take
outside employment, said John
Tepper, president of the
Carrollton-Farmers Branch
school board.
Some contracts require
superintendents to get school
board approval before accepting
consultancies. Others say the
outside work cannot interfere with
the superintendent's official duties.
Pots of money
Big dollars are at stake.
Most people view school districts
as places that educate children.
But they also can be viewed as big
pots of taxpayer money with plenty
of companies trying to get their
share. The annual operating
budget for Dallas ISD is $1 billion.
The U.S. Department of Education
says the combined budgets for
public school districts exceed $500
billion a year. Wal-Mart, the world's
biggest retailer, is less than half
that size. The gross domestic
product of Argentina is less than
$500 billion.
A big chunk of a school district's
budget goes for teacher and staff
salaries. But another big chunk
also goes for a multitude of
contracts with private companies.
Elfreda Massie, vice president of
strategic relationships for Harcourt
Achieve in Austin, came to The
Resort to talk about her company's
instructional materials and
professional development
programs for teachers. During one
meeting, she told superintendents,
"We are trying to take the market for
products and services for English-
language learners."
Privately owned
Educational Resource and
Development Institute Inc., a
privately owned company in
Grand Island, Neb., brings
superintendents and company
executives together twice a year: a
summer conference and a winter
conference.
ERDI is the brainchild of Mike
Kneale, a former superintendent
and motivational speaker. He
founded the company 18 years ago
and runs it with his son, Mike Jr.
"The whole concept was to create
a forum where educators can learn
from the companies and vice
versa," Mr. Kneale said. "We want
to make products more
appropriate for the school setting."
ERDI literature lists 72 companies
and more than 80 superintendents
and other school leaders on its
participant rolls. Some of them
attended last week's conference.
Another group will attend a second
conference in Rancho Mirage this
week.
Because ERDI is not publicly
traded, little information about its
finances is available. For example,
Mr. Kneale declined to discuss
how he structures the fees he
charges his client companies.
He said he makes deals with
competing companies in a market
segment – two or three textbook
publishers, for example – to
Resort, perched on a sandy
hillside and surrounded by purple-
hued mountains, sat baking under
the desert sun last week.
Inside the luxury hotel on Frank
Sinatra Drive, school
superintendents from across the
United States – including the
Dallas-Fort Worth area – spent
three days talking business with
companies that want to sell their
wares to school districts.
Textbook publishers, food-service
vendors, computer manufacturers
and many other companies all
want to increase their share of the
lucrative educational market. The
school superintendents came to
California's desert to help them.
In return, the superintendents got
an all-expenses-paid trip and a
$2,000 consulting fee.
Business ethicists say the
conference creates the
appearance that companies and
superintendents have formed an
exclusive club with the potential to
affect the contracts awarded by
districts.
"I find it troubling that money from
the private sector is finding its way
into superintendents' pockets,"
said Diane Swanson, a business
professor and founding chair of the
Ethics Initiative at Kansas State
University. "There is something
wrong with blurring that boundary
with a cozy group of people who
may not be operating at arm's
length."
The superintendents, dressed in
colorful casual attire, arrived here
from small districts (Whitefish Bay,
Wis., with 3,000 students) and
large (Clark County Schools in Las
Vegas with about 280,000
students). They characterize
themselves as tough-minded
professionals who feel no
obligation to buy from the
companies that paid to bring them
to this Palm-studded oasis.
"If a company comes here to sell,
it's here for the wrong reasons,"
said Doug Otto, superintendent of
the Plano Independent School
District. "If it's a good product, it
stands on its own."
Annette Griffin, superintendent of
Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD,
said interacting with company
executives gives her a chance to
stay on the cutting edge of product
developments that help students
learn. She said she donates some
of the money she earns to a
scholarship fund.
"I'm looking for the magic bullet,"
Dr. Griffin said during a brief
interview in a meeting-room lobby
overlooking the hotel pool.
"This is the only organization I've
found where companies come to
us with new ideas and we have the
opportunity to say how they can be
structured to better serve children.
We are not here to make the
vendors feel good. We are brutally
honest with them."
Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike
Moses didn't travel to Rancho
Mirage, but he was listed among
the participants in last winter's
conference in Oakland, Calif. So
was his brother, Monte Moses,
superintendent of Colorado's
Cherry Creek School District.
Dr. Moses, who resigned his job
with the Dallas school district last
week, was unavailable for
comment on his consulting work.
In some states, the law requires
superintendents to disclose their
sources of income on publicly
available questionnaires. Texas
does not require financial
disclosure for superintendents.
The Dallas Morning News has
examined employment contracts
for superintendents in 26 of the
largest school districts in Texas.
Twenty of them, including the
contracts of Drs. Otto and Moses,
contain language that allows
outside employment. Dr. Griffin's
contract also allows her to take
outside employment, said John
Tepper, president of the
Carrollton-Farmers Branch
school board.
Some contracts require
superintendents to get school
board approval before accepting
consultancies. Others say the
outside work cannot interfere with
the superintendent's official duties.
Pots of money
Big dollars are at stake.
Most people view school districts
as places that educate children.
But they also can be viewed as big
pots of taxpayer money with plenty
of companies trying to get their
share. The annual operating
budget for Dallas ISD is $1 billion.
The U.S. Department of Education
says the combined budgets for
public school districts exceed $500
billion a year. Wal-Mart, the world's
biggest retailer, is less than half
that size. The gross domestic
product of Argentina is less than
$500 billion.
A big chunk of a school district's
budget goes for teacher and staff
salaries. But another big chunk
also goes for a multitude of
contracts with private companies.
Elfreda Massie, vice president of
strategic relationships for Harcourt
Achieve in Austin, came to The
Resort to talk about her company's
instructional materials and
professional development
programs for teachers. During one
meeting, she told superintendents,
"We are trying to take the market for
products and services for English-
language learners."
Privately owned
Educational Resource and
Development Institute Inc., a
privately owned company in
Grand Island, Neb., brings
superintendents and company
executives together twice a year: a
summer conference and a winter
conference.
ERDI is the brainchild of Mike
Kneale, a former superintendent
and motivational speaker. He
founded the company 18 years ago
and runs it with his son, Mike Jr.
"The whole concept was to create
a forum where educators can learn
from the companies and vice
versa," Mr. Kneale said. "We want
to make products more
appropriate for the school setting."
ERDI literature lists 72 companies
and more than 80 superintendents
and other school leaders on its
participant rolls. Some of them
attended last week's conference.
Another group will attend a second
conference in Rancho Mirage this
week.
Because ERDI is not publicly
traded, little information about its
finances is available. For example,
Mr. Kneale declined to discuss
how he structures the fees he
charges his client companies.
He said he makes deals with
competing companies in a market
segment – two or three textbook
publishers, for example – to
| Oakland Intermediate School District [administrative offices above] an example of ISD abuse The Oakland Intermediate School District (OISD) is an example of this, and of much else that is wrong with ISDs. On Sept. 25, 2001, OISD voters were asked to approve special education and vocational education millage increases of 1.1704 and 0.2279 respectively. The Oakland Press referred to this vote as a "stealth" election, because less than 8 percent of registered voters participated. The cost to run this special election was approximately $300,000. Passage of the new millage meant that the owner of a home worth $150,000 is now paying an additional $104.87 in new taxes each year: $87.78 for special education and $17.09 for vocational education programs. Within weeks of the vote, OISD announced it was building a new $29 million headquarters [photo above] to house its nearly 600 administrators. Of the $29 million, $18 million came from the new taxes imposed for special and vocational education. Some have referred to the new building as a state-of-the-art "taj mahal." This abuse of the public trust was partly responsible for the ouster of James Redmond, the OISD superintendent at the time. When he was fired Redmond was collecting $270,000 a year in salary and "stipends." On top of this he was reimbursed for his Social Security taxes, and had an unrestricted expense account, on which he rang up $133,588 in 2002 alone. An example of the many questionable expenses picked up by taxpayers was personal flying lessons for Redmond. Redmond may be gone, but his big compensation package is not unusual at OISD. State Rep. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, represents citizens and taxpayers who live within the area covered by the district. She chairs a House subcommittee that has been granted subpoena power in its investigation of OISD shenanigans. Among other things, Johnson has discovered that more than 20 OISD employees have gross annual salaries of $100,000 or more. |
The amounts include unexplained "stipends" of up to $30,000. Johnson has uncovered many other abuses, including boatloads of outrageous travel and entertainment expenses paid for by taxpayers. She reports that the district has apparently gone to great lengths to hide evidence of these expenses, for example, hiding travel records in a file labeled with the name of a low-level employee. (Note: Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act requires governments to give citizens records upon request, but citizens need to know which documents or files to ask for.) The Oakland intermediate district is emblematic of the larger problem with ISDs—their lack of accountability. Redmond’ s dismissal was a necessary first step for OISD, but much more needs to be done there. For example, the district’s board has either been asleep at the wheel, or complicit in the abuses. The individual members should resign and the district should adopt a system of direct election of board members by the public, instead of the current one of appointment by the boards of the regular school districts which make up the OISD. Next, the $29 million building constructed with tax dollars raised under the deceptive 2001 millage vote should be sold to a private developer, and the proceeds returned to the taxpayers . . . . Michigan's Intermediate School Districts 'have become purposeless bureaucracies in search of a mission' These reforms are a start, but they do not go far enough. ISDs have become purposeless bureaucracies in search of a mission, with abuses such as those at OISD the result. No one has dug into other ISDs yet, the way Rep. Johnson has in Oakland County, but it would be surprising if OISD turns out to be much different from the rest. As mentioned, the Genesee ISD is also wrapped up in a current controversy, this one over some $245,000 in travel expenses. Intermediate school districts should be eliminated altogether. To the extent that there may be opportunities for regular school districts to realize economies of scale in the joint provision of special education, vocational training, or other programs, nothing prevents them from doing so on a case-by-case basis. They can do this and skip the overhead expense imposed by a permanent additional layer of bureaucracy. Michigan’s 554 school districts already have enough problems reining in their own bloated bureaucracies: More than 10 percent of the $12.5 billion school aid budget is spent on bureaucratic overhead, and only 58% of all school spending is directly related to instruction. (Some of the non-instructional spending is necessary overhead, such as heating bills, etc.) Another superfluous layer of government bureaucracy — which each year imposes some $878 million in additional property taxes statewide — is the last thing schools or taxpayers need. |
| Jack McHugh is legislative analyst for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, and editor of MichiganVotes.org. Brennan Brown is former director of operations and advancement for the Michigan School Board Leaders Association and holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Central Michigan University |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
| QUOTES |
| FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of education issues vital to a republic. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., Chapter 1, Section 107 which states: the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright," the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use" you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
| ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: Every attempt possible has been made to verify all sources and information. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately. Thank you. |
| Copyright 1999-2008 Peyton Wolcott |
| POP QUIZ: Does your supe wake up each morning, look in the mirror, and say, 'I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be able to serve my students and taxpayers this fine beautiful day' or does your supe look in the mirror and exclaim, 'It's GOOD to be king!' |
No Child Left Behind, while embracing admirable goals, constitutes a federal intrusion into state control of education on a scale never seen before. --Derek Schmidt (R) Kansas |
New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. --John Locke |
The fault is not with the teachers, it is not with the children, it is not with the parents, it is with the monopoly character of the market for educational services. Government schools are established by law. Elected and appointed public officials nominally have authority over them. In practice, however, actual authority is typically exercised by professional bureaucrats and the teachers' unions. Teachers' unions and school administrators have become skilled at managing the political process by which public officials are named, laws that govern schools are enacted and budgets are established. The result is a government-run school system that does not reflect the voices of parents but of career lobbyists and educational bureaucrats. --Milton Friedman |
| COMPARE & CONTRAST: Here's my personal barometer as to how much education has changed in the past eight decades. Above, the small pitcher for holding pencils and now- rusty old bell used by my late mother-in-law, a rural Texas school teacher in the 1920's; the rest of her equipment consisted of some desks and chairs, a chalkboard and some books. At right, Texas' massive state edu-agency occupies an entire city block in downtown Austin. |
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. -- Winston Churchill |
A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. --Gen. George S. Patton |
Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. -- John Wayne |
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned--this is the sum of good government. --Thomas Jefferson |
| QUERY THE STATE SUPE |
| UPDATE: Texas Edu-missioner Shirley Neeley was gone from office by mid-summer 2007 without responding to the following query, although she responded quickly to at least one other individual: |
| TO: SHIRLEY NEELEY TEXAS EDUCATION COMMISSIONER DATE: DEC. 28, 2005 Shirley, you stated in an April 2004 interview that you needed for citizens to be candid with you, and that when there is a problem, to bring a solution.* I appreciate your candor in so stating. I've been giving both the issue of our great state's public school funding and the voucher situation some thought, and here's my solution: Why not use your position as "head cheerleader" for Texas education to propose to the next legislature that they enact vouchers for all students who legally reside in Texas? |
| However, a public records search shows that Mrs. Neeley DID respond to someone else on the subject of vouchers---a newsy response, it would appear--to Scott Floyd, who teaches at White Oak ISD and just coincidentally is East Texas Regional Director for the Ass'n of Texas Professional Educators, the largest U.S. independent ass'n for public educators. And Mrs. Neeley's response came within five days to union exec floyd. |
| STATUS: No response |
Texas Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley's May 5, 2004 five-day response to ATPF exec Scott Floyd: Dear Mr. Floyd: Thank you so much for your email dated Friday, April 30, 2004 concerning school finance. Before I address your concerns, please allow me to share with you a little of my background in education. I started my teaching career in 1971. In my 33 years of education, I have been an elementary school teacher, assistant principal, principal, director or elementary education, assistant superintendent for pupil services and superintendent of schools for a district of 21,000 students, until appointed Commissioner of Education in January of this year. Mr. Floyd, I believe today, even more strongly than I believed it 33 years ago, that we teach as much by our behavior as by our words. I believe that and I also believe that society judges public education by the behavior and actions of those who represent us. In response to your comment, “I can’t believe that at a crucial time of funding public schools that you, as the leader of public education, would come out and approve of the passage of vouchers,” I would like to share with you what I recently shared with a reporter of the Texas Lone Star regarding my opinion of vouchers. “Most school districts with several elementary, middle, and high schools have been practicing school choice for many years. Most school superintendents provide choices for parents. We’ve been practicing school choice for a long time. I certainly believe that parents and grandparents should have confidence in their schools. If the school their child attends is low-performing or unacceptable, I believe that parent or grandparents should have the choice to send that child to a better school. My dream and my goal is for all the public schools to do such a good job and to work so closely with parents that their public schools will be their school of choice. But that is utopia. The realist in me tells me that you can’t please all the people all the time. If for some reason a parent is very unhappy with their public school, I don’t see how you are ever going to have a win- win solution if you force that parent to send their child to a particular school. My whole mantra is if you are doing a good job, you have no reason to fear school choice. Our mission needs to be that we do such a good job reaching out to parents, making them feel welcome, making them feel like they are our partners and making them well aware of our high standards, that they do view the public schools as their schools of choice.” Mr. Floyd, I appreciate you expressing your concern. I want to make sure that there is always an open door when issues arise – because the one thing we know is that there will always be other issues. Texas will continue to prosper because educators like you Mr. Floyd understand the critical importance of keeping the main thing the main thing. We may disagree about the particulars of one school finance plan or another and yes, we may argue from time to time about the benefits of one instructional method or another. But at the beginning of each and every school day, educators across this great state will be there to greet children when they walk through the school doors of our Texas public schools because you understand what the public expects. You have my word that I will continue to keep pushing for the best, every day, with every child, and without excuse. We are not going to rest until our good is better and our better is best. |
Diane Swanson, business ethics professor at Kansas State University, interviewed re ERDI _____ "The door is open to a slippery slope," Swanson told us. What she finds most troubling is the superintendents were paid to offer advice to companies that want to do business with the school districts. Those companies sell everything from textbooks, to computers, to soda pop and all are looking for a piece of the millions of dollars schools spend in taxpayer money. "There is an open door to cronyism towards some people," Swanson said. "It should be a competitive bidding process so the school district gets the best quality products for the money." Here's the deal: Companies that want to rub shoulders with superintendents pay ERDI to attend its conference. ERDI hires the superintendents and pays their way, plus a $2,000 honorarium and even offers $400 to pay for a spouse. ERDI operates out of Grand Island, Nebraska, but no one returned our phone calls. "Why open a door to channel money from the private sector into school superintendents pockets?" asked Swanson. "It doesn't look good." (SOURCE--FOX 13) |
$ Pots of money Big dollars are at stake. Most people view school districts as places that educate children. But they also can be viewed as big pots of taxpayer money with plenty of companies trying to get their share. The annual operating budget for Dallas ISD is $1 billion. The U.S. Department of Education says the combined budgets for public school districts exceed $500 billion a year. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is less than half that size. The gross domestic product of Argentina is less than $500 billion. A big chunk of a school district's budget goes for teacher and staff salaries. But another big chunk also goes for a multitude of contracts with private companies. --Scott Parks Dallas Morning News |
Trustee business ties prevalent, nettlesome As some push to make deals illegal, others say districts should decide Houston school district trustee Lawrence Marshall once earned $6,000 a month consulting for a company that held a multimillion-dollar contract in the district. It was completely legal. Mr. Marshall says he resigned his consultancy with Community Education Partners in February. But he played two roles simultaneously for five years– elected school board member and paid employee of the company. Under Texas law, all he had to do is publicly disclose his financial interest in the company and abstain from any school board vote pertaining to the company.... "All of my work for them was external to HISD," he said. "Most of the work was in other states. And I never discussed CEP business with my fellow board members." A Dallas Morning News examination of school district records and a review of more than 80 school district audits show that Mr. Marshall is not alone among the 7,500 elected school board members in Texas. Bankers serve as trustees in districts that deposit funds in their banks. Architects serve in districts that use their firms to design schools. Construction company owners help govern districts that use their companies to build schools. "There is clear evidence that board members are benefiting from these contracts," said Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who started out in politics on the Austin school board. "We have no way of knowing precisely, but our best estimate is that an average of between one and two members of every board have conflicts." If her estimate is anywhere close, more than 1,000 trustees in 1,045 school districts have financial ties to companies that sell to their districts. Ms. Strayhorn says districts should be prohibited from contracting with those companies. "This is about educating our children and not cashing in on them," she said. The Texas Association of School Boards, which is active in legislative affairs in Austin, disputes Ms. Strayhorn's assessment that conflicts among board members are pervasive enough to require tightening of ethics laws. --Scott Parks Dallas Morning News Oct. 25, 2004 |
| PW COMMENT: NOTED, MRS. NEELEY |
| child read this year!!!" variety, and reassuring, "You are so important to the educational career of the children in your schools because without YOU, the children back home in Snow City wouldn't be learning the valuable and exciting and meaningful things they are learning back home in Snow City." Before of course half of them drop out between 9th grade and graduation. Oh, back home in Snow City. Big reality check. The supe starts feeling a little guilty. The conference fees and dues, airfare, hotel and meals are all paid for by taxpayers. Three to four thou worth. Just then, a friendly education consultant happens over with a big smile and a handshake and says, "Hi there, fellah, why don't you sit a spell here and have a margarita, rest up a bit. This is sure a big old place, ain't it." They start talking and what with one thing and another, pretty soon the supe's boarding the plane back to Snow City with his wife and the golf clubs he got to use after all--and a brand-new reading program that's got more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at, so many bells and whistles that maybe the board won't notice the expense of the conference. Of course, the program's based on faulty reasoning and unproven by any real science. But boy, oh, boy, them bells and whistles, they are a wonder, ain't they. Plus the consultant has indicated that what with the size of the Snow City school district's student population, the supe could well be in line for an award at the company's awards ceremony as early as next July; of course, the supe would have to pay his own way. But it is VAIL, after all. and Nebraska's hot in July. Besides, his board never turns him down. Didn't even question the $568 dinner tab at last year's state school boards conference. Sweet. _________________________________________ * Superintendents in larger areas can hire each other's wives for administrative positions; not only is the wife freer to travel with her husband, but also her air fare can be charged to the district. Slick. |
Here's the scenario: Sometime during the depths of winter an otherwise well-meaning superintendent goes to, let's say, Tampa, Florida from, let's say, Snow City, Nebraska to attend an education conference. |
READ ALL ABOUT IT:
'SNOW CITY SUPE HEADS FOR SUNNY TAMPA'
'SNOW CITY SUPE HEADS FOR SUNNY TAMPA'
| Education, Inc. By Peyton Wolcott Updated Monday, March 3 23, 2008 |
| year anniversary with his current district and the honeymoon's over to the point that his trustees are starting to ask questions regarding why he hasn't achieved the goals he mentioned when he interviewed with them. "World class schools for a world class city, my foot," he says to himself in the odd moment. "These hicks wouldn't recognize a lofty idea if it bit them in their hay barn." In Tampa there's even a helpful "Resume Center" next to the vendor hall. The seminars are stimulating, of the "We're going to help EVERY |
Brrrr. February in Nebraska is mighty cold and snow's everywhere and everybody knows it's going to last at least another few months. Timing's not bad--the district's between semester finals, and budget planning doesn't start for another month or two--so he and his wife hop a plane for sunny Florida. She can stay in his hotel room for free and in some larger districts if he was able to swing a job* for her, her air fare's covered, too. Might even get in a round or two of golf so he takes his clubs, just in case. Tampa is one party after another. People with a genuine interest in educa- |
| with bounteous platters of crab cakes and shrimp and fresh fruit--and bartenders standing three-deep eager to help. Our supe does a little networking, starts putting out a few feelers for his next job; he's about to hit his three- |
2005 - San Antonio
| Below right is a great article by Jack McHugh and Brennan Brown of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy; among their conclusions: Michigan's Intermediate School Districts "have become purposeless bureaucracies in search of a mission." Worse, at least one became a purposeless bureacracy in search of opportunities for corruption, as in the example of former Oakland ISD supe James Redmond. < |