P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| Lax Oversight |
| THE UNHOLY FOUR, considered by some the major causes of what's wrong with American-- and Texan--education |
| A brief history of how we got to be in this mess: Oversight and accountability? Are you kidding? By Peyton Wolcott - Feb. 23, 2006 |
| TAKS cheaters? We ain't got no TAKS cheaters in Texas! (with apologies to Treasure of Sierra Madre) |
| IS TEA'S EDU-MISSIONER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE MESSENGER? By Peyton Wolcott - Updated Sept. 10, 2006/11 am |
| In so many ways public schools are just flat out of control. From bottom to top, there is next to none of oversight and/or accountability. At the top, we've witnessed unprecedented infusions of taxpayer dollars into public schools. Remember eRate (no thank you, algore)? Its legacy continues with weekly reports of eRate techno-fraud--too much easy money with next to no oversight. And now we have No Child Left Behind, an historic encroachment by the federal government into yet another area of our lives envisioned neither by our founder fathers nor our Constitution, an encroachment some of us were willing to tolerate on the grounds that it would introduce a degree of accountability to our public schools where state and local governments wouldn't and haven't. But at the first signs of resistance by state educrats such as our own public education commissioner Shirley Neeley here in Texas, the feds have already caved. "We want to give states the flexibility to design assessments that match the needs of their students," U.S. DOE secretary Margaret Spellings announced in December. |
| U.S.D.O.E. Sec'ty Margaret Spellings, Sen. Hillary Clinton, NCEE's Marc Tucker ("the Music Man of Education Reform" --Arthur Hu) and Mike Moses |
| PUBLIC RECORDS UPDATE By Peyton Wolcott-Feb. 2006 Here's what Susan Bushart (see "Success Stories") and I discovered today (Feb. 7, 2006) while poring through expense reports for several TEA executives, among records for their stays at New York's Waldorf-Astoria and various resorts: documen- tation for both Texas ed comm. Shirley Neeley and associate comm. Robert Scott's frequent visits with US DOE sect'y Margaret Spellings in a variety of venues--further suggestion that Texas edu-officials used our taxes to fund their lobbying against being held accountable. |
| Texas edu-missioner Shirley Neeley: Checking for gravy stains or getting rid of Caveon for findting TAKS cheaters? (PHOTO/Susan Bushart) |
| This is so classic. Caveon, the testing analyzers Texas edu-missioner Shirley Neeley hired to find TAKS cheaters, has found some. So earlier this week Joshua Benton of the Dallas Morning News reports that Shirl's going to fire them. Shoot the messenger? Think about the warning this sends to whomever she hires next, as in this imaginary conversation below at an eating estabishment near Caveon's replacement: |
| But then, what else can you expect from a Canadian-born DOE secretary who was not so long ago a lobbyist for one of the nation's most powerful state school boards associations (TASB)? Known then as Margaret La Montagne, our DOE sec'ty was also a doyenne of the Hillary Clinton/Marc Tucker/ NCEE-orchestrated Texas accountability system (TAAS, predecessor to our TAKS/TEKS) which introduced a further degree of dumbing down into our state education system. Their plan was "to change our nation's schools from knowledge- based, academically focused, objectively tested to performance- based, subjectively assessed institutions with an emphasis on multiculturalism, political correctness, and social engineering," as veteran teacher Donna Garner says. Throw then-Texas edu-czar Mike Moses into the mix and you have the recipe for our present disaster. |
| NAEP - "The Nation's Un- Report Card" |
| Scene: Shirley Neeley has finally found a replacement TAKS cheater testing company she likes the sound of, "Cave-In, LLC," whose motto is "We Find No Stinkin' TAKS Cheaters." The enterprise was founded earlier this month by two retired Texas supes and a well- connected buddy: Ted H. ("Tiny") Moseres Jim R. ("Teeny") Richardson Joe Bob ("Joe Bob") Scott Locale: "Billy Joe Bob's Mo'Better BBQ" blocks from Cave-In, LLC's HQ in Austin, Texas Time: The near future |
| NAEP has dissolved into a big joke which makes only those with a sick sense of humor laugh. It's yet another boon- doggle federal agency which accomplishes nothing because there are no standards. NAEP is comparing apples in New Jersey to oranges in California to avocados in Michigan. And everybody knows you can't grow avocados in Michigan. |
| TINY: {Sets tray on table, pulls report from hip pocket) Hey, guys! Heads up! Found some TAKS cheaters on this last series of TAKS tests! Lots of 'em! TEENY: (Puts finger to lips, looks around) Shhhhh. You want to lose us that account? (Wiping mouth on sleeve) No, there are no TAKS cheaters in Texas, Shirl says so. Some- body must have made a mistake. JOE BOB: (Looking up from BlackBerry) The Gov wouldn't be too happy to hear we've got TAKS cheaters. What'd they put in your Kool- Aid, boy? TINY: Sure, guys. Get your drift. (Erace, erace) Of course we got no stinkin' TAKS cheaters here in Texas. (Slaps forehead) What was I thinkin'? Maybe it's true what they say. Maybe I really am all hat and no cattle. |
| COMPARE AND CONTRAST: In this photo above, Llano ISD's supe (Dennis Hill, in center in white shirt and tie) sits in the middle of the board dais and runs one of the three mics. NOTE: Mr. Hill, with $27 million at his disposal as the district's chief administrator, chooses to provide eight people with a total of only three microphones. Then-board president Mark Chapman (at left, in dark blue shirt) remains silent and in fact as in this example must wait for Hill to relinquish the mic before he can speak. The dynamics are different at the Marble Falls ISD board meeting below, where supe Ryder Warren has not only made individual mics avaiable for all seven board members in addition to his own, but sits at a separate table off to the far right, with then-board president Richie Giesecke (gold shirt) in the center of the dais with his own mic--clearly running both the agenda and the meeting. |
| I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell. ~ Harry S. "Give 'em Hell, Harry" Truman |
| LAX OVERSIGHT: An overview-- Too many $375,000 and $781,000 cooks |
Too many cooks are stirring the broth
and nobody's responsible for anything--this
is called teamwork and it only works in
baseball. We've allowed a climate to be
created in public education of
anything-goes--and get what you can while
the gettin's good.
At the local level, nominally the school
boards run things, although not really. The
supe's got an iron-clad contract provided de
rigeur by the state school boards association,
and it's a contract that protects only the
supe; for one small example supes can leave
their district in the lurch, high and dry, at any
time, whereas a board has to pay off a supe
handsomely to leave as in the case of San
Francisco USD and Arlene Ackerman (see her
bio in "Administrators on the Move") to the
tune of $375,000 or Diana Lam's departure
from San Antonio ISD for $781,000 (see
"Where Are They Now"). There is the state
and nobody's responsible for anything--this
is called teamwork and it only works in
baseball. We've allowed a climate to be
created in public education of
anything-goes--and get what you can while
the gettin's good.
At the local level, nominally the school
boards run things, although not really. The
supe's got an iron-clad contract provided de
rigeur by the state school boards association,
and it's a contract that protects only the
supe; for one small example supes can leave
their district in the lurch, high and dry, at any
time, whereas a board has to pay off a supe
handsomely to leave as in the case of San
Francisco USD and Arlene Ackerman (see her
bio in "Administrators on the Move") to the
tune of $375,000 or Diana Lam's departure
from San Antonio ISD for $781,000 (see
"Where Are They Now"). There is the state
| hope. Additionally, those same board members may or may not (a) do their homework enough to know their own board policies, or (b) bother to read their board packets ahead of time, or (c) insist on the CFO's bringing a balanced checkbook to board meetings. They may or may not be very bright. They may or may not be able to balance their own checkbook. They may or may not be doing bidness with the school district above or under the table. Regardless of their campaign rhetoric, they may or may not even care about kids. This is the climate in which you exist so this is where you start. What to look for You can file public records requests to check on your board members' continuing education requirements, which usually are not current. You can examine their conflicts-of-interest forms, which are generally not current either; we had one fellow who hadn't even signed his. You can see how they're spending your money on out-of-town board trainings and retreats, and circulate this information throughout the community. You can also file public records requests to look at your superintendent's expense reports, always fertile ground. I've never met a supe yet whose out-of-town trips could stand much public scrutiny. Again, this information needs to be circulated throughout the community. These public records are good to have in hand at the read the next time the supe asks for more money. In the meantime, little things can mean a lot, as these photos above show from two local Texas school board meetings and one in California. Which board and which superintendent would you have more trust in? |
education agency
ready to swoop in if any
member of the local
board attempts to exert
its boardly
prerogatives, and
there are the regional
service centers whose
ready to swoop in if any
member of the local
board attempts to exert
its boardly
prerogatives, and
there are the regional
service centers whose
| Diana Lam Photo/Scholastic Administrator |
chief job definition is to "help," and who
often remind me of nothing so much as the
"Maude" episode where the charity for which
she'd arranged a telethon canceled and she
was left to raise money just for the sake of
raising money. There are supes' associa-
tions on top of principals' associations on top
of eastern region associations on top of
western region associations, with each one
hosting state, regional and national
conferences annually, monthly and mid-
season. There is the state ed head. And
there are businesses and consultants and
law firms eager to step in at every juncture.
And not one of them accomplishes anything
real to which you can point, nor are they
willing to be responsible or accountable for
anything.
often remind me of nothing so much as the
"Maude" episode where the charity for which
she'd arranged a telethon canceled and she
was left to raise money just for the sake of
raising money. There are supes' associa-
tions on top of principals' associations on top
of eastern region associations on top of
western region associations, with each one
hosting state, regional and national
conferences annually, monthly and mid-
season. There is the state ed head. And
there are businesses and consultants and
law firms eager to step in at every juncture.
And not one of them accomplishes anything
real to which you can point, nor are they
willing to be responsible or accountable for
anything.
In fact, there's no accountability
anywhere
Whether it's curriculum or finances or a
combination or something else entirely,
we've seen parents do hard research
(expensive and hard to obtain given the
climate of fierce opposition from school
districts and their employees) only to run
into a series of brick walls when they attempt
to take the incriminating evidence to those
who should be accountable: State
edu-agencies. State comptrollers. State
auditors. State attorney generals. Local
district attorneys. Look at the 23 places the
Bremond Moms went looking for and didn't
find accountability (multi-colored boxes
down the page a bit).
anywhere
Whether it's curriculum or finances or a
combination or something else entirely,
we've seen parents do hard research
(expensive and hard to obtain given the
climate of fierce opposition from school
districts and their employees) only to run
into a series of brick walls when they attempt
to take the incriminating evidence to those
who should be accountable: State
edu-agencies. State comptrollers. State
auditors. State attorney generals. Local
district attorneys. Look at the 23 places the
Bremond Moms went looking for and didn't
find accountability (multi-colored boxes
down the page a bit).
For help filing your first public records request, go to "How To File a Public Records Request." The Earth really will NOT reach up and swallow you whole; this is merely the impression your supe and his/her secretary would like for you to have. You really can do this, and you'll meet some terrific people. And next time you look in the mirror you won't look away. You'll know that when the time came--as it does for us all-- you were willing to step up to the plate and do something important that mattered to your community and your nation. |
| Files produced during a recent records search at North East ISD in San Antonio |
Start where you are
The best single fix begins with your local
school board. It's populated by a variety of
people who run for office for a variety of
reasons, not all as honorable as we first
The best single fix begins with your local
school board. It's populated by a variety of
people who run for office for a variety of
reasons, not all as honorable as we first
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
| F o c u s i n g o n a c c o u n t a b i l i t y f i r s t : T h i s i s 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 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott |
AASA - American Association of School Administrators ASA - Association of School Administrators CSD - Consolidated School District DOE - Department of Education ES - Elementary School HS - High School ISD - Independent School District JHS - Junior High School MS - Middle School MSM - Mainstream media NSBA - National School Boards Association NSPRA - National School Public Relations Association PS - Public School(s) SBEC - State Board for Educator Certification SD - School District Sup't - Superintendent TAKS - Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills TASA - Texas Association of School Administrators TASB - Texas Association of School Boards TASBO - Texas Association of School Business Officials TEA - Texas Education Agency TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills USD - UnifiedUnited School District |
| GUIDE |
| 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. |
| QUOTES |
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. For five years, Houston trustee Lawrence Marshall was an elected official and an employee of Community Education Partners. "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." --Scott Parks Dallas Morning News Oct. 25, 2004 |
| Helping parents & taxpayers implode Education, Inc. |
| 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 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott |
| POP QUIZ: Who runs your district's board meetings, your board president or your supe? A clue: Does your supe sit off to the side or does he plant him/her self in the middle of the board's dais? Also, who's more familiar with your local board's policies, your elected board president or your supe? Because most board presidents do not know their own board policies they are content to let the supe call the shots-- the cart pulling the donkey. |
David v. Goliath: How America's Moms & Dads are taking on Education, Inc. PEYTON WOLCOTT |
| And then there's the Davis Joint Unified School District in California (below); then-board president Marty West (far left) and the other four elected board members sit on a dais. Facing them, with their backs to the audience, are the school district's administrators. Unlike the above two examples, the superintendent does not sit with the elected board but instead sits with the other administrators, ready to be called upon and supply answers to the board's questions. |
| MY BOOK |
