Peyton Wolcott - SB 597 / Testimony to Senate ed committee 03.22.11

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one school at a time.

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

"Trust but verify."
-- Ronald Reagan

Just because you can
doesn't mean you should.

H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n : o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . F o l l o w t h e m o n e y , h o n e y !

Texas Hill Country - Mesquite and Wildflowers
Boerne

Cosmos Foundation (Texas) - SB 597 / My testimony to Senate ed committee:

Bringing you the information and tools you need in order to improve public education and lower taxes and spending; during the past two decades of the voucher debate an entire generation has grown up in the public school system.
If you don't think this is important look at the Nov. 2008 election where folks voted based on emotions and hope rather than facts. Let's put a stop to the school-to-prison pipeline -- and keep our public schools locally run, strong and free..

The 13 states who have stood up
to the feds and declined to apply
for Phase II of Race to the Top:

Alaska
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Minnesota
North Dakota
Oregon

South Dakota
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wyoming

About the "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden flag:
"it was in the fall of 1775 when the United States Navy was
established. Their main job was to intercept British ships who
were attempting to deliver supplies to the British troups in the
colonies. To support the Navy, five companies of Marines
were mustered to accompany them on their first mission.
These first Marines originated from Philadelphia and carried
drums painted yellow with a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen
rattles. These thirteen rattles represented the original thirteen
colonies. The motto painted on these drums was "Don't
Tread On Me". This is the first recorded telling of what the
future Gadsden flag would symbolize. This flag was designed
and named after American patriot Christopher Gadsden."
(SOURCE)

March 2011

ONER U
CELEPCIKAY

MUSTAFA
ATIK

KADIR ALMUS

ELLEN A
MACDONAL

DR. SONER
TARIM

BILAL AKIN

CENGIZHAN
KESKIN

DR. IBRAHIM
SEL

Email at
University
of Houston

Joe Straus

Ken Paxton

actual
expenditures, all
funds

Wendy
Davis (SD
# 10)

Aledo ISD
Arlington ISD
Birdville ISD
Burleson ISD

Carroll ISD
Castleberry ISD
Crowley ISD
Eagle MtSaginaw
ISD
Everman ISD
Fort Worth ISD
Godley ISD
Grapevine-Colleyville
ISD
Hurst-Euless-Bedford
ISD
Keller ISD
Kennedale ISD
Lake Worth
ISD
Mansfield ISD
White Settlement ISD

$ 15,773
$    8,668
$ 12,471
$ 18,014
$ 11,790
$    8,908
$ 13,063
$ 14,527
$ 14,446
$ 10,884
$ 25,709
$ 11,255
$    9,013
$ 11,424
$    9,150
$ 13,056
$ 10,474
$    9,496

LINKS

Used to be, I'd file public records requests -- until
my school superintendent friends pulled me aside
and said, "We feel like you're attacking us. Please
just ask and we'll tell you." This is Texas, the
friendly state, so we took them at their word and
started asking them to please put their check
registers online. The good news is that they have,
in large numbers. In just over 4 years we've gone
from a handful of districts to over 2/3 of all local
Texas school dollars now available for public
viewing at ISD websites.

Following on this, when I
began receiving a great deal
of information about a certain
charter school operation I
contacted the superintendent.
This was June 2. On June 5
came an email saying he was
at an education conference
and would get back to me the
next week when he got back
to the office.

It's been 9 1/2 months and
still no response.

Here's the thing. Our Texas ISD superintendents,
who are hired by elected trustees, listened to their
citizens and trustees and put their checks online.

Our charter superintendents are appointed by board
members who are also appointed, and we have
only scant information about any of them, plus we
have to travel to Austin to get it. When someone
runs for our local school board we can ask them
lots of questions before we vote. We also require
that they be US citizens. Even though many
schoolchildren and many millions of dollars are
involved we do not collect citizenship information
on charter operator applicants. On applications for
this outfit in particular have noted reference to
"volunteer" accountants.

I'd be a lot happier with SB 597 -- would feel our
children's money is more carefully safeguarded --
if in exchange for the PSF guarantee we required:

These 3 small things would together represent a
positive step towards a meaningful dialogue with
our charter operators, a dialogue that's open,
friendly, responsive, transparent and accountable, a
dialogue in keeping with our great state's leadership
role in the national check register and financial
accountability movement.

* With a requirement that the audits be done in
accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP).

SAFEGUARDING OUR CHILDREN'S MONEY: Why it would be helpful for
Sen. Florence Shapiro's SB 597 to include a requirement for proof of US citizenship by
charter operator board members in exchange for the Permanent School Fund guarantee:

proof of US citizenship for all board
members and key administrators
outside third-party annual audits for the
term of the bond*
online check registers

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My name is Peyton Wolcott and I am here to register on SB 597. I'd be happier with this legislation if it contained a little more transparency and accountability
language; here's why. In verifying information I receive from a variety of sources for the no-ads website I maintain as a full-time self-funded volunteer, I
contact those involved, be they schools, vendors, lobbyists, elected or appointed officials.

Texas senators
Dan Patrick (L)
and Florence
Shapiro at public
ed committee
public hearing on
Tuesday, March
22, 2011.

L to R: TEA's Mary Cherry, who eds up the agency's
charter school division, and Lisa Dawn Fischer answer
senators' questions; behind Lisa-Dawn's left shoulder is
K12 founder & CEO Ron Packard waiting his turn.

This is me urging Florence Shapiro and her committee to
strengthen accountability and transparency in SB 597.

To listen to the
entire day's
testimonies --
called "public"
but attended
chiefly by
vendors and
lobbyists -- go
here & choose
March 22,
Senate
Committee on
Education ...
Part I or Part II.
It was a
long day.

Q: Were Davy Crockett and other heroes of the Alamo also featured
at this event attended by Texas taxpayer-funded charter school students?