| HEY, THERE! BIG BUCK-AROO ERDI CONSULTANTS ARE IN THE NEWS! IS IT THE SMELL OF MONEY THAT DRAWS THEM? By Peyton Wolcott - April 19, 2006 Ever since Scott Parks at the Dallas Morning News broke the story in July 2004 about the Education Research & Development Institute ("ERDI") and how it conducts its business by hiring public school superintendents to "consult" with businesses one-on-one at luxury resorts, the superintendents Parks named as ERDI consultants continue to be in the news. Let's catch up with a few: |
| Andre Hornsby, who has served as a school administrator in New York, Houston and most recently Prince George's County, Maryland, is "a guy who has made his reputation in two ways—by getting bounced from jobs amid charges of financial misconduct, and by raising minority test scores....Even as the [Washington] Post savaged the now-deposed chief for those repeated 'ethical improprieties related to contracts,' it never seemed to occur to the Post that a man who cuts corners in his financial dealings might cut corners with his test programs too." (SOURCE--Bob Somerby/The Daily Howler) What's Hornsby up to now? "With a company called Quality Schools Consulting Inc., which he launched six years ago, |
| Andre Hornsby |
| Hornsby is targeting a market created by the four-year-old No Child Left Behind law," and "said in a brief telephone interview that he was attracted by the size of the Maryland market. The state estimates as much as $28 million a year in public funds is available for the program." (SOURCE--Nick Anderson/Washington Post) Hornsby's making remarkable progress marketing his company. Just last month, Maryland's state education officials approved QSC in their fair state. " 'He met all the criteria; there is no legal reason why he cannot do this, and if circumstances change for any supplemental provider, whether it be issues that are proven and of concern, then we have to re-think it, but right now, those circumstances don't exist,' said state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick." (SOURCE--WBAL-TV 11) |
| Billy Cannaday, Jr. is departing his $188,871/year post as superintendent at Chesterfield County Public Schools (56,000 students) in Virginia to become Virginia's supe of public instruction--at only $158,000 per annum. Comments John M. Wiatt, Jr. of Henrico, regarding Cannaday's salary, "As long as we continue to distribute our resources as above, we should not expect to see our educational system in this country improve or even keep up." (SOURCE--Your 2 Cents/Richmond Times-Dispatch) Are you wondering as I am why an administrator would take a such a drastic cut in pay? Wondering if Mr. Hiatt knows about the federal funds expected to be funneling their way through Cannaday's hands this next year: |
| High schoolers - $18.3 million Reading First - $17.8 million. Highly qualified teachers - $51.7 million Annual assessments - $8.8 million. English learners - $9.8 million (SOURCE--United States Department of Education) |
| Federal education funding - $2.5 billion. NCLB - $383.3 million. Title I - $207.3 million. Title I School Improvement grants - $3.2 million. Special Ed grants - $281.1 million. |
| Billy Cannaday, Jr. |
| Mike Moses, former Texas ed head and former Dallas ISD supe, will be speaking at three upcoming "Friends of Texas Public Schools" forums in Houston promoting, guess what, public education in Texas, along with his longtime friend, attorney David Thompson. You'll recall Moses left DISD under a cloud when it was disclosed that Thompson's firm Bracewell & Patterson had paid then-DISD supe Moses "tens of thousands of dollars in consulting fees while simultaneously billing the district for more than $700,000 in legal fees." Moses and Thompson have also partnered in several superintendent searches with lucrative fees at locales such as Brazosport ISD and Hays CISD. In one notable search, Thompson and Moses teamed up to present a single candidate to Richardson ISD--Jim Nelson, a friend of Moses and Moses' successor as Texas ed head, the contract for which called "for the district to pay Bracewell & Patterson $20,000 plus expenses." (SOURCE--Scott Parks/Dallas Morning News) David Thompson is also "legislative counsel for the Fast Growth Schools Coalition, the Houston Independent School District and other school districts and education organizations" and was "associate executive director and director of governmental relations for the Texas Association of School Boards." (SOURCE--Austin Business Journal) Thompson continues to be active in the public school world. According to public records at the Texas Ethics Commission, he is currently a paid professional lobbyist for the following: Fast Growth School Coalition ($10,000 - $24,999.99 is his expected income this year from FGSC); Houston ISD ($10,000 - $24,999.99); Spring Branch ISD (less than $10,000.00); Stafford MSD (less than $10,000.00) and Texas Association of School Administrators (less than $10,000.00). |
| Mike Moses (above) and David Thompson |
| Among the "Friends of Public Schools" forums at which Moses and Thompson will be speaking is one set for Tuesday, April 25 8:00-9:30 a.m. at the Katy ISD Board Room. (For more about Katy ISD, please see April 14 commentary featuring Katy ISD supe--and fellow ERDI consultant--Leonard Merrell.) It's a shame the board room is located in the Katy ISD Education Support Complex rather than the Katy ISD Leonard E. Merrell Center which also houses Xpediant, LLC, KISD's technology vendor which as we mentioned here last Friday has not paid its franchise taxes since 2003. That many heavy-hitters in one room, they could have taken up a collection, helped Xpediant get those back taxes paid, get their corporate shield up and operational again. You'll also be wanting to know more about the "Friends of Texas Public Schools" group. Their board members include Gary Keep, CEO - SHW Group Architects; Annell Todd, Publisher - Texas School Business Magazine; Shirley Neeley - Texas Commissioner of Education (formerly supe-Galena Park ISD); and Scott Milder, Vice President - SHW Group Architects (formerly PR at Galena Park ISD). "Association Friends" of FTPS include the Ass'n of Texas Professional Educators, the Council for Educational Facility Planners International, the Texas Ass'n of School Administrators, the Texas Ass'n of School Boards, the Texas Ass'n of School Business Officials, the Texas Ass'n of Secondary School Principals, the Texas Ass'n for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Texas Council of Women School Executives, the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Ass'n, and the Texas School Public Relations Ass'n. Paints a picture. |
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| TECH SPENDING UPDATE: WHO'S OVERSEEING KATY ISD'S $13 MIL TO XPEDIANT, LLC? By Peyton Wolcott - April 14, 2006 Katy ISD has paid Xpediant, LLC $13 million since June 7, 2002 for unbid work; also, KISD has applied for a patent it is developing with Xpediant for a curriculum management system which it plans to market to other school districts. (SOURCE--George Scott/Katy News) |
| Katy ISD's Merrell Center, home of Xpediant's officers |
| But according to sources within the Texas Secretary of State's office this morning, Xpediant, LLC, "in our world here doesn't have an active entity status" and has been in a state of forfeiture since February 13, 2003 because "they didn't do their state franchise taxes," with the result that Xpediant "has no entity status and no liability shield." Xpediant's 2003 return has not yet been received, making it almost three years overdue. An employee of the Texas Comptroller's office confirmed this morning that "Xpediant is not in good standing with us" although would not state the amount of taxes due, stating only that the formula was based on gross income receipts available only on the entity's IRS returns. The Secretary of State's records indicate that Xpediant, LLC was formed July 31, 2001 in Sugarland, Texas; the president is Scott Wright and the vice president is Jack Wayne Caskey, and both men are also directors of the company. |
| Wright and Caskey officing at KATY ISD? According to Katy ISD's website earlier today, both men are listed as KISD "technology staff," with Wright as "Executive Director, Technology Operations" and Caskey as "Director, Technical Services-System Engineering, Networking Engineering, Server Operations." Sources familiar with the district's operations indicate that both individuals occupy office space in the Leonard E. Merrell Center and have been allocated support personnel, as confirmed by George Scott's piece in tomorrow's Katy News. Neither Wright's nor Caskey's names appear on the patent application. |
| Katy ISD supe Leonard Merrell |
| Good news for Xpediant from the SOS The good news for Xpediant from the secretary of state's office is that once they've filed their late returns, paid their back taxes, and obtained clearance from the Comptroller, they can then come back to the SOS and file Form 801 ("Reinstatement Application"), pay the $75 fee, and they're then good to go. But the question for Katy ISD taxpayers is, where? The district, already charging Texas' maximum legal property tax rate of $2.00/$100 valuation, is operating at a budget deficit for the current school year and seeking voter approval next month for a $261.5 million bond issue which includes $30,351,000 for technology. Is this the intent of local taxpayers, to fund a technology company whose taxes and business status, according to state offices, appear to be in arrears? |
| FOLLOW UP. I have today queried Katy ISD supe Leonard E. Merrell (with copies to Katy ISD board members) as to the following: Where is Katy ISD's fiduciary duty of care in doing business with Xpediant given its apparent current state of forfeiture? What specific steps did you take to ensure that Katy ISD was doing business with a business entity in good standing? What are Wright's and Caskey's exact current employment status at KISD, their individual salaries, terms of their employment contracts including all perqs, and specifics as to Katy ISD personnel under the direct control of Wright and Caskey and any and all business arrangements between Xpediant and Katy ISD? FURTHER FOLLOW UP. I have also asked Wright and Caskey why they haven't paid their taxes and brought their corporate status current as the average person would assume $13 million would allow for sufficient financial wiggle room for those back taxes to be paid from. Will post their responses if and when. |
| NOTE: George Scott's articles on Katy ISD's technology spending and Xpediant, LLC appearing in the April 15, 2006 Katy News will be available online at EducationNews.org this weekend. |
| HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE CONNECTICUT CFO WITH 5 KIDS WHO FAKED HIS OWN KIDNAPPING TO HIDE A 3-DAY CRACK COCAINE BINGE? By Peyton Wolcott - April 13, 2006 By all accounts, Mark DeNicholas, 48, was a successful CFO doing a good job running Winchester Public Schools' $19 million annual budget. He was also someone having a string of really bad luck. Just a few years ago he was living in a million-dollar house on an $80,000 a year income with his wife and five kids. Then his wife divorced him and he filed for bankruptcy. Oh, and his mom sued him for $100,000. His side teaching job at Albertus Magnus College dried up last month shortly after his arrest, which came after he faked the aforesaid kidnapping in order to explain away his unannounced time off work for the aforesaid three-day crack cocaine binge. |
| Scenic Winsted, CT, home of Winchester Public Schools where they have no written policies for handling employee arrests |
| Currently DeNicholas, 48, is on paid administrative leave and consultant Gary Miller has been brougth in at $500 a day to work two days a week. DeNicholas, charged March 10 by Middletown police with interfering with police and falsely reporting an incident, both Class A misdemeanors, remains free on a $25,000 nonsurety bond pending a court arraignment. Perhaps if Miller can do an $80,000 a year job for $50,000 Mr. DeNicholas need not come back. These trying time frames "School board chairman Rose Molinelli said no one has any idea of how long it will take to decide DeNicholas' fate in Winsted. 'I think there are legal issues with regard to the time frame,' Molinelli said. 'I don't really know all the regulations. I know that we must abide by those time frames.' " (SOURCE--Jim Moore/Republican-American) Interim Superintendent of Schools Clay Krevolin also wasted no time in reassuring the locals that all was well in the school district, saying, "I have no reason to believe anything inappropriate has occurred in the Winchester School System. We just went through a very comprehensive audit, and everything was in order. I really want to assure the community and your readers that we are taking this very seriously, that we’re investigating this as completely as we can, and at the same time following a process, working with our (school) district attorney, and we don’t want to be in a position where we’re violating any of Mr. DeNicholas’s rights," Krevolin said. (SOURCE-- Karsten Strauss/Register Citizen Staff ) Only in America. I don't say this like it's a bad thing, only quizzical. A father of five pulls a self-absorbed stunt such as DeNicholas has--pick your favorite part, the crack cocaine or the faked kidnapping--and his employer is worried about DeNicholas' "rights." Only in the world of touchy-feely American K-12 public ed where things touchy-feely and wrongdoers' "rights" trump reason along with all known rules for acceptable standards by adults. Your federal tax dollars at work As for what becomes of DeNicholas, "his two-page employment contract says nothing about the use of sick time, and the department has no written policies about arrest. Krevolin said DeNicholas has requested paperwork to apply for time off under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act." (SOURCE--Jim Moore/Republican-American) What DeNicholas has since described as "a bump in the road" that will "all work out" could in fact cost him three years in prison and up to $6,000 in fines. (Ibid.) |
| CELEBRATING NATIONAL POETRY MONTH By Peyton Wolcott - April 12, 2006 How is your local high school celebrating National Poetry Month? Are they holding poetry contests and readings to encourage kids to discover poetry on their own? Do your local superintendent and English department chair even know April is National Poetry Month? Or are your districts' teachers killing poetry, dissecting it to within an inch of its life, taking the life and the joy out of it in favor of establishing meter and motive? Here are poems by my two favorite living American poets; Lisel Mueller won the 1997 Pulitzer and Billy Collins was 2001-2003 U.S. Poet Laureate. |
| Lisel Mueller and Billy Collins |
| ANOTHER VERSION By Lisel Mueller Our trees are aspens, but people mistake them for birches; they think of us as characters in a Russian novel, Kitty and Levin living contentedly in the country. Our friends from the city watch the birds and rabbits feeding together on top of the deep, white snow. (We have Russian winters in Illinois, but no sleighbells, possums instead of wolves, no trusted servants to do our work.) As in a Russian play, an old man lives in our house, he is my father; he lets go of life in such slow motion, year after year, that the grief is stuck inside me, a poisoned apple that won't go up or down. But like the three sisters, we rarely speak of what keeps us awake at night; like them, we complain about things that don't really matter and talk of our pleasures and of the future: we tell each other the willows are early this year, hazy with green. |
| WALKING ACROSS THE ATLANTIC By Billy Collins I wait for the holiday crowd to clear the beach before stepping onto the first wave. Soon I am walking across the Atlantic thinking about Spain, checking for whales, waterspouts. I feel the water holding up my shifting weight. Tonight I will sleep on its rocking surface. But for now I try to imagine what this must look like to the fish below, the bottoms of my feet appearing, disappearing. |
| ANOTHER REASON WHY I DON'T KEEP A GUN IN THE HOUSE By Billy Collins The neighbors' dog will not stop barking. He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark that he barks every time they leave the house. They must switch him on on their way out. The neighbors' dog will not stop barking. I close all the windows in the house and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast but I can still hear him muffled under the music, barking, barking, barking, and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra, his head raised confidently as if Beethoven had included a part for barking dog. When the record finally ends he is still barking, sitting there in the oboe section barking, his eyes fixed on the conductor who is entreating him with his baton while the other musicians listen in respectful silence to the famous barking dog solo, that endless coda that first established Beethoven as an innovative genius. |
| THE POST-BERSIN AUDIT IN SAN DIEGO By Peyton Wolcott - April 11, 2006 Ah, to be in sunny San Diego, place of Pacific waters and a squabbling school board failed by its former superintendent, Alan Bersin. Now that he's gone, what more natural pursuit for San Diego USD than to finally look at his books? Loeb & Loeb's $75,000 audit, commissioned to examine $630,000 in tax-deductible donations made by individuals and corporations to a district education fund under Bersin's exclusive control and released March 31, hasn't yielded much of significance other than the usual living large expenses by a supe who clearly didn't suffer from entitlement issues: "$43,871 reimbursed to Bersin for travel, meals, entertainment and meetings over seven years....The audit said Bersin spent the money as he saw fit, often to reimburse himself for personal and business expenses." (SOURCE--Todd Milbourn/Sacramento Bee). Bersin also spent $42,500 on consultants, "without details or scope of the work performed." Shocker. |
| Bersin with Gov. Schwarzenegger (PHOTO--David McNew/Getty Images) |
| Regarding the timing of the audit's release, Bersin calls the audit "a political vendetta aimed at hurting his chances for Senate confirmation of his appointment to the state Board of Education, which is set for April 19" (SOURCE--Helen Gao/San Diego Union-Tribune), Bersin also deems the audit "a waste of taxpayer's money." (SOURCE--AP/Bakersfield Californian) Locals such as Marsha Sutton of Voice of San Diego are calling for "tightening internal controls and instituting better policies and procedures. " The good citizens and student of San Diego could have saved their $75,000 and Loeb & Loeb their time and effort by simply renting Casablanca from Netflix and fast forwarding to Claude Rains' line at the end, "Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects." Meanwhile, holding our breath and turning blue waiting for San Diego USD or any other major American school district to "tighten their internal controls" and "institute better policies and procedures." Anytime a senior partner in a major Los Angeles law firm such as Munger, Tolles & Olson abandons his lucrative practice of law in order to enter the education field, hold on to your wallets. We note in closing that Bersin is associated with the Broad Institute for Superintendents, a special place in the California edu-ocean where all good sharks can go to swim. |
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| COACH-TEACHER-STUDENT-SEX HE WAS CUTE; SHE WAS FOURTEEN By Peyton Wolcott - April 10, 2006 There are two images I wish you'd keep in mind. One is easy--it's the photo here at right, as boyish-looking trusted basketball coach slash eighth grade math teacher Kevin Kayfes (32) at Duniway Middle School in Yamhill County, Oregon is being taken into custody after he was found guilty of raping his 14-year old student who still at age 17 during the August 2004 trial considered him the "love of her life." The other image is harder to conjure. It's his victim, the girl, also in handcuffs. The grownups had to force her to come to court to testify . The lines were blurred in this case early on: Kayfes was his victim's math teacher, traveling team basketball coach and mentor starting when she was 13. Sex, truth and audiotape Audiotapes were introduced at trial. In one, the girl, raised by a single mother who worked full-time to support her family, described the locales of their sex and in another Kayfes admitted his guilt. (SOURCE--Katie Willson News-Register) Presiding judge Charles Luukinen "said he found Kayfes' reaction to being caught even more troubling than the relationship itself. The judge admonished Kayfes for portraying a selfish interest during a phone conversation with the victim. A colleague of Kayfes called the victim and asked her to call Kayfes right away, testimony indicated. The girl did so in a conversation that was secretly taped by her mother and later played for the jury. In the conversation, the girl begged Kayfes not to hurt himself, the tape shows. When he told her it was too late, that he had already taken an overdose of pills, she began sobbing hysterically and vowed to follow suit. Kayfes made no attempt to talk her out of it, the tape shows. Instead, he cut the conversation short, saying he needed to take a call from his father." (SOURCE--KATU 2 News) A dozen high school students who came to the proceedings said "rumors had swirled for years." (SOURCE--Katie Willson/News-Register) Fast forward to the present So Kayfes is headed back to court, on April 24th. He wants out early, and is scheduled for release "in January with time off for good behavior." (SOURCE--AP/KGW.com) His victim reportedly graduated from high school this past spring and plans to attend community college. |
| Found guilty on nine counts of rape, sodomy and sex abuse by a jury, Kevin Kayfes heads for prison. (PHOTO/Tom Ballard/News-Register) |
| Pro-Kayfes Parents When Kathy Bernards, a CPA who chairs the district budget committee, was asked by prosecutor Sam Justice, "Do you think it's possible for an eighth-grader to have a healthy sexual relationship with an adult?," she responded, "Just about anything is possible," shrugging her shoulders...."Her husband, Steve, also took the stand for the defense. Known as a big athletic booster, he said he had gotten to know the defendant through golf outings, social events, dinners and trips with his daughter's basketball team. He said he considered Kayfes a phenomenal coach who knew how to draw out the best in his players. He termed Kayfes a moral, trustworthy man who would not have fallen into a sexual relationship with a child. Not even proof of sex between Kayfes and the victim would change his mind, he said. 'So you're telling me that someone who has sex with an eighth-grader can still have good sexual propriety?' Justice asked during cross-examination. 'Yes,' the witness responded." (SOURCE--Katie Willson/News-Register) |
| CENTRALIZATION AND TOO MUCH UNACCOUNTABLE MONEY: TIME TO KILL THE FATTED CALF, END THE FLOW OF DAIRY PRODUCTS By Peyton Wolcott - April 9, 2006 Randi Weingarten and David Herszenhorn have a fine old time in this morning's New York Times ripping Joel Klein's decision to import Chris Cerf among others to fix New York's public schools. While Cerf's an easy target given the failure of Edison to accomplish what it set out to do, none of the four get the problem, likely because all four have a vested interest in the problem's continuing--Weingarten in her powerful and well-paying position as head of the largest local teachers union in America, Herszenhorn as a paid-for reporter at the Times with its core commitment to all things liberal, and Klein and Cerf in their powerful paid positions at our nation's largest public school district. |
| Chris Cerf, new Big Cheese at NYPS (PHOTO/MuppetWiki) |
| Arguments put forth by all four are so many forms of discourse by medieval scholars pondering how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The problem is not how the money's dispersed but the flow of funds itself that creates centralization and the resulting big pot of money, and this applies to every school district in America. Klein may be talking the talk about decentralizing, but the fact remains that no matter what he says or does the money's still set to pour into a central holding pen under one person's control, and herein lies the problem, that Klein or anyone else with the title of "Chancellor" or "Superintendent" still gets to choose the what, the why, the where, the when and the how. |
| Change is effected only by those who are lean and hungry, as with our American Revolution. Neither Klein nor Cerf--or Weingarten or the New York Times--could be categorized as either. The true reforms necessary for getting our kids' education back on track will come from outside the system, not from within. In the meantime, let's call a banquet, find ways to cut off the sources of funds for the Kleins and the Cerfs and the Weingartens. |
| NOTE: The full title of the engraving at left is "Drafting of the Declaration of Independence. The Committee: Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman” Engraving after Alonzo Chappel, 1776. |
| Drafting the Declaration of Independence |
AS GOES YONKERS,
SO GOES THE NATION?
By Peyton Wolcott - April 8, 2006
Another press release from New York Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi this week
announced another audit, this one of Yonkers Public Schools, one of a string he's
conducting following the $11.2 million Roslyn scandal.
SO GOES THE NATION?
By Peyton Wolcott - April 8, 2006
Another press release from New York Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi this week
announced another audit, this one of Yonkers Public Schools, one of a string he's
conducting following the $11.2 million Roslyn scandal.
| Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi (PHOTO--James Rogers) |
| On the surface, it appears to be just another audit of just another a public school district with much the same findings as always: lack of sufficient internal controls. But in the world of K-12 public education, things are seldom what they appear. Mayoral takeovers of public schools: Catching on or just catching? From all signs readable by the Earl Grey Green Tea leaves in my cup this morning, this audit is another salvo by Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone in his bid to take over the city's public schools, following on the heels of Bloomberg's takeover in New York City and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's attempt in Los Angeles. Nobody's saying public schools are perfect. I personally believe our public ed system here in the U.S. has grown so big and bloated--as much as any Eastern European dictatorship under Stalin--that it is about to implode under the weight of its own corruption. That said, centralizing control in the hands of politicians is a move in the wrong direction and will only make our public schools less accountable than they already are. |
| Have to ask Remember the last scene in Citizen Kane, where Rosebud the sled disappears within the bowels of a vast government warehouse? And remember seeing that same scene again at the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark? The more public records searches I do across America, and the more I uncover--or have difficulty uncovering--the more that scene comes to mind. And I wonder: How on Earth did Spielberg get permission from LA Unified to shoot that scene inside one of LAUSD's warehouses? |
| Warehouse finale in Raiders of the Lost Ark |
| When we're able to find some way to make the big pile of money disappear and instead have our school taxes wind up at one or two or three small schools local to those of us who are after all their financial source, the big pots and piles of money and warehouses disappear. When our schools are truly local again we'll have a better shot at making them accountable. |
| Lots lost in Yonkers There's school board president Bernadette Dunne in the photo at right doing her darnedest to put a good spin on the Hevesi/KMPG audit when it was released to the world Thursday. Background on Dunne: In addition to being a professional educator and a professor of education, she also served on the Yonkers school board when not only Andre Hornsby but also his successor Angelo Petrone were hired. As you'll recall, Hornsby departed his next post at Prince George's County Schools with the FBI closing in, and Petrone "departed Yonkers under a cloud and is serving five years' probation after pleading guilty last September to lying to the city's inspector general during an investigation of the hiring of an inexperienced accountant for a $90,000-a-year job." (SOURCE--Fernanda Santos/New York Times) Among the news Dunne had to report: "Poor technology, cumbersome processes: Financial systems are antiquated and not integrated with other management systems." (SOURCE--David McKay Wilson, Michael GannonWestchester Journal News) |
| Yonkers BoE Trustee President Bernadette Dunne. Standing behind her (L to R) are Congressman Herman Badillo, YPS Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio, and Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone. (PHOTO/Hezi Aris/Yonkers Tribune) |
| Also, "Former Schools Superintendent AngeloPetrone last year repaid the district nearly $10,000 in unused vacation time, which the Board of Education paid him but later found he was not entitled to—after he resigned and was indicted on perjury and records-tampering charges in connection with a hiring scandal involving a friend of his daughter's." (Ibid.) What the locals have to say here at Yonker Tribune online--worth the read. Now for the good news: Yonkers has abandoned its practice of hiring "A" first names for supe as it clearly wasn't working for them and moved on to "B's." It's small, and it's a stretch--and it's Yonkers, and it's a start. |
| FOLLOW UP: Have today queried Dunne and new Yonkers supe Bernard Pierorazio: What specific steps has Yonkers Public Schools taken to correct the problems reported by Comptroller Hevesi this week, including lack of sufficient internal controls and a bookkeeping system that apparently relies on 3 x 5 index cards? Will post their reply if and when. |
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BREAKING NEWS! A&E TV'S ROGER HAZARD REPLACES
MARGARET SPELLINGS AT DOE!
By Peyton Wolcott - April 7, 2006
At first glance, President Bush's choice of Roger Hazard to replace Margaret Spellings as
U.S. Secretary of Education might seem quirky, even idiosyncratic.
MARGARET SPELLINGS AT DOE!
By Peyton Wolcott - April 7, 2006
At first glance, President Bush's choice of Roger Hazard to replace Margaret Spellings as
U.S. Secretary of Education might seem quirky, even idiosyncratic.
| Roger Hazard |
But most of us agree it's time for a shakeup, what with the feds caving to the states on NCLB
exclusions and all. Besides, Bush's initial appointment of Spellings, a former professional Texas
Association of School Boards lobbyist, to look out for students and teachers and taxpayers always
seemed a personnel decision something akin to hiring a fox to guard the hen house, not unlike
Bush's appointment of Mike Moses as Texas Education Commissioner in 1995.
Here's how Hazard's appointment earlier today came about: Although it's commonly known that Laura Bush
is a genuinely nice person with a fondness for all things connected to reading, it's not so well known that she
also has a deep and abiding interest in interior design. In fact, the First Lady has become a fan of the current
spate of shows featuring residential do-overs for resale. She quickly noticed that designer Roger Hazard of A&E
TV's "Sell This House!" was accomplishing the same results as other similar shows--but for much less
money. For one example, where HGTV's "Designed To Sell" spends $2,000 per redo, Hazard's budgets
recently have ranged from $138 to just over $600--a tenth to a third less.
Being also a practical soul, the First Lady started taking notes and by Sunday afternoon had come up with the
following:
exclusions and all. Besides, Bush's initial appointment of Spellings, a former professional Texas
Association of School Boards lobbyist, to look out for students and teachers and taxpayers always
seemed a personnel decision something akin to hiring a fox to guard the hen house, not unlike
Bush's appointment of Mike Moses as Texas Education Commissioner in 1995.
Here's how Hazard's appointment earlier today came about: Although it's commonly known that Laura Bush
is a genuinely nice person with a fondness for all things connected to reading, it's not so well known that she
also has a deep and abiding interest in interior design. In fact, the First Lady has become a fan of the current
spate of shows featuring residential do-overs for resale. She quickly noticed that designer Roger Hazard of A&E
TV's "Sell This House!" was accomplishing the same results as other similar shows--but for much less
money. For one example, where HGTV's "Designed To Sell" spends $2,000 per redo, Hazard's budgets
recently have ranged from $138 to just over $600--a tenth to a third less.
Being also a practical soul, the First Lady started taking notes and by Sunday afternoon had come up with the
following:
Roger's Rules
1. Clean house.
2. Get rid of what's extraneous.
3. Focus on the best of what's already there.
4. Make only the most necessary changes, and those for the least amount
of money possible.
As smart husbands do, the president got her point immediately and the rest
is history.
1. Clean house.
2. Get rid of what's extraneous.
3. Focus on the best of what's already there.
4. Make only the most necessary changes, and those for the least amount
of money possible.
As smart husbands do, the president got her point immediately and the rest
is history.
As for what will become of Spellings, she's already packed her bags. But
instead of heading back to her native Canada, Margaret's heading back to
TASB. They're in swell-elegant new digs just north of Austin and need a
decorator.
instead of heading back to her native Canada, Margaret's heading back to
TASB. They're in swell-elegant new digs just north of Austin and need a
decorator.
| TASB headquarters |
| NOTE: The foregoing is a spoof and only a spoof--although some of us believe that a budget-minded interior designer could perhaps do at least as good a job of running the DOE as what we're getting now. Unfortunately, the part about TASB having recently treated itself to a new office building is all too true. |
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MORE ABOUT LULAC'S REAL ROLE IN STUDENT PROTESTS,
AND A SMALL POINT ABOUT GRATITUDE
By Peyton Wolcott - April 7, 2006
Henry Rodriguez of the League of United Latin American Citizens stated during our
interview Wednesday that his position as state civil rights director for LULAC is a
volunteer position and that his paying job is for "LULAC Home Services" which does
home health care. Presumably Mr. Rodriguez meant LULAC Health Services.
Curious about the kind of paying job which would allow a person sufficient latitude to
take off in the middle of a work day to spend several hours marching with student
protesters, I telephoned LULAC Health Services earlier today; the woman who
answered the phone would give her name only as "Raquel" and did not know Mr.
Rodriguez' title but was willing to look it up on their roster: "LIASON." Got her to spell
it twice. "L-I-A-S-O-N."
Certainly nobody expects obeisance from the protesting students at Lanier High
School, but you have to wonder if it ever occurred to Mr. Rodriguez and LHS principal
Richard Solis and the same students to stage a march to express their appreciation
to San Antonio ISD taxpayers for coughing up $12 million over the past decade for
improvements to Lanier High including $5.4 mil for a new band hall, the remainder for
a new library and other similar.
AND A SMALL POINT ABOUT GRATITUDE
By Peyton Wolcott - April 7, 2006
Henry Rodriguez of the League of United Latin American Citizens stated during our
interview Wednesday that his position as state civil rights director for LULAC is a
volunteer position and that his paying job is for "LULAC Home Services" which does
home health care. Presumably Mr. Rodriguez meant LULAC Health Services.
Curious about the kind of paying job which would allow a person sufficient latitude to
take off in the middle of a work day to spend several hours marching with student
protesters, I telephoned LULAC Health Services earlier today; the woman who
answered the phone would give her name only as "Raquel" and did not know Mr.
Rodriguez' title but was willing to look it up on their roster: "LIASON." Got her to spell
it twice. "L-I-A-S-O-N."
Certainly nobody expects obeisance from the protesting students at Lanier High
School, but you have to wonder if it ever occurred to Mr. Rodriguez and LHS principal
Richard Solis and the same students to stage a march to express their appreciation
to San Antonio ISD taxpayers for coughing up $12 million over the past decade for
improvements to Lanier High including $5.4 mil for a new band hall, the remainder for
a new library and other similar.
| New band hall at Lanier HS, part of $12 million in recent SAISD taxpayer- funded refurbishments |
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WHAT'S MISSING
FROM THESE PHOTOS?
By Peyton Wolcott - April 5, 2006
Where are the faces of the adult organizers in
any of the dozens of images we've seen this
past week? Instead, all we've seen are kids,
kids and more kids--presumably students who
should be in class somewhere rather than
protesting our nation's attempt to control illegal
immigration.
FROM THESE PHOTOS?
By Peyton Wolcott - April 5, 2006
Where are the faces of the adult organizers in
any of the dozens of images we've seen this
past week? Instead, all we've seen are kids,
kids and more kids--presumably students who
should be in class somewhere rather than
protesting our nation's attempt to control illegal
immigration.
| What the mainstream media wants us to believe about this past week's student protests: Students acting on their own. |
For whatever reason, the San Antonio Express-News has broken
ranks with the rest of the liberal media and published--albeit on
page 8B--a photo (right) identifying LULAC official Henry
Rodriguez as a participant in yesterday's protest activities which
included a march, a press conference and a meeting afterwards
at San Antonio ISD's Lanier High School.
Interviewed earlier today, Rodriguez said that he and Lanier
principal Richard Solis had walked the length of the protest
march route along with the students as they made their way from
Lanier to Fox Tech (Louis W. Fox Academic and Technical High
School) then downtown, where they met with a San Antonio City
Council member--none other than Democrat Patti Radle.
Why Patti Radle?
Rodriguez' granddaughter being one of the Lanier protesters, it's
not difficult to connect all the dots when you know that the
manager for Radle's field office is Lourdes Galvan, listed on
LULAC's organizational page under her prior name, Lourdes
Rodriguez, as one of two directors for LULAC's District 15. In
fact, Rodriguez-Galvan lists Radle's field office telephone as her
work number on LULAC's contact page. Further, according to
Rodriguez, Radle scheduled a press conference today regarding
her advocating for the students.
The students then marched to the Bexar County Courthouse
downtown, where they then turned around and marched together
back to Lanier.
By his own admission, Rodriguez said after the students returned
to their school, he then met inside the school with the students at
approximately one o'clock. "I told them, we're there for them.
Sometimes people have to do what they have to do," adding that
the students were "motivated by that movie, Walkout." After
sharing his views with the students, Rodriguez then invited them
to attend LULAC's march next Monday, which the group is
delaying until 5 p.m. "so kids can come."
According to Rodriguez, while Solis didn't "condone" the students'
march, "he sympathized with the kids."
Is this new SAISD policy?
After speaking with Rodriguez, I contacted Carmen Vázquez
González, SAISD's executive director/communications along
with Lanier principal Solis and SAISD supe Ruben Olivarez
regarding whether this is new SAISD policy, to allow outside
political organizers to speak to students on campus during the
school day. Second question: Because SAISD has allowed
LULAC apparent near-exclusive visitation with students, is
SAISD's next step to allow, say, the Young Republicans and other
such groups equal time with the kids on campuses during the
school day?
None of the three education executives were available for
comment.
ranks with the rest of the liberal media and published--albeit on
page 8B--a photo (right) identifying LULAC official Henry
Rodriguez as a participant in yesterday's protest activities which
included a march, a press conference and a meeting afterwards
at San Antonio ISD's Lanier High School.
Interviewed earlier today, Rodriguez said that he and Lanier
principal Richard Solis had walked the length of the protest
march route along with the students as they made their way from
Lanier to Fox Tech (Louis W. Fox Academic and Technical High
School) then downtown, where they met with a San Antonio City
Council member--none other than Democrat Patti Radle.
Why Patti Radle?
Rodriguez' granddaughter being one of the Lanier protesters, it's
not difficult to connect all the dots when you know that the
manager for Radle's field office is Lourdes Galvan, listed on
LULAC's organizational page under her prior name, Lourdes
Rodriguez, as one of two directors for LULAC's District 15. In
fact, Rodriguez-Galvan lists Radle's field office telephone as her
work number on LULAC's contact page. Further, according to
Rodriguez, Radle scheduled a press conference today regarding
her advocating for the students.
The students then marched to the Bexar County Courthouse
downtown, where they then turned around and marched together
back to Lanier.
By his own admission, Rodriguez said after the students returned
to their school, he then met inside the school with the students at
approximately one o'clock. "I told them, we're there for them.
Sometimes people have to do what they have to do," adding that
the students were "motivated by that movie, Walkout." After
sharing his views with the students, Rodriguez then invited them
to attend LULAC's march next Monday, which the group is
delaying until 5 p.m. "so kids can come."
According to Rodriguez, while Solis didn't "condone" the students'
march, "he sympathized with the kids."
Is this new SAISD policy?
After speaking with Rodriguez, I contacted Carmen Vázquez
González, SAISD's executive director/communications along
with Lanier principal Solis and SAISD supe Ruben Olivarez
regarding whether this is new SAISD policy, to allow outside
political organizers to speak to students on campus during the
school day. Second question: Because SAISD has allowed
LULAC apparent near-exclusive visitation with students, is
SAISD's next step to allow, say, the Young Republicans and other
such groups equal time with the kids on campuses during the
school day?
None of the three education executives were available for
comment.
| "Lanier High School senior Marcos Gomes, 18—with Henry Rodriguez, state civil rights director for the League of United Latin American Citizens—speaks to students after a march to protest immigration reform." (CAPTION--San Antonio Extress-News) (PHOTO--Robert McLeroy/SAEN) |
| FROM BEN JOHNSON AT FRONTPAGEMAG.COM The leftist media have tried to portray this weekend’s massive protests against House measures to curtail illegal immigration as the uprising of 'The Other America': forgotten, humble, hidden Hispanic members of the working poor simply demanding their 'rights.'. . . The real legwork was done by a more eclectic group of organizations: leftist labor unions, George Soros-funded agitators, Open Borders lobbyists, Roman Catholic clergy, and teachers unions. Los Angeles predictably had the largest turnout–and the most disruptive. Half-a-million people crowded the streets demanding the “right” to flaunt this nation’s immigration laws, and underage students ran onto a California freeway, risking their lives and shutting down interstate traffic....Latino organizations did not act alone. The media has failed to report that organized labor directed the illegals and minors. The L.A. Times revealed the rally’s 'security' was handled by a union identified only as 'Local 1877.' That would be local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the far-Left union founded by New Left radical Andrew Stern, which called for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq in June 2004 and worked in concert with Ted Kennedy to roll back anti-terrorist Homeland Security measures. |
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TEACHER-STUDENT-SEX
By Peyton Wolcott - April 5, 2006
Schoolteacher Rachel Holt is 34 years old and exactly five feet tall. We know this
from her rap sheet. She has a rap sheet because she had sex, often, during one
week last month with one of her students.
The Delaware school where Rachel teaches is not a high school. It's not a middle
school. Rachel Holt, until her arrest Monday night, taught at Claymont Elementary
School. Rachel's student is only 13. Alcohol and another little boy, 12, were
involved. (SOURCE--TheSmokingGun.com)
This is one to watch for several reasons, the boys' ages being primary. Will
Rachel's attorney tell the judge she's too pretty to go to jail? Will she be allowed to
surrender her teaching credentials then spend the next three years under house
arrest followed by seven years on probation? Pinky-promise?
FOLLOW-UP: Have earlier today sent the following query to Brandywine School
District's supe Bruce Harter and board members, plus Claymont's interim
principal, Betty Pinchin and will post their response(s) when received: Bruce,
Betty, and board members, I'm contacting you regarding your teacher Rachel Holt
and your administrative practices both within the district and at Claymont
Elementary. What sort of guidelines do you have in place for teachers' fraternizing
with students off-campus? How do you enforce those guidelines? Bruce, you
state on your Leadership Jazz webpage that "educational leadership is today a
collaborative, experimental activity." In light of Ms. Holt's arrest, do you feel that
perhaps less collaboration and experimentation and more direct leadership and
supervision from you of your employees might be in order? Could this same
"collaborative, experimental" leadership model be the administrative version of
fuzzy math where students are asked to use a team approach to figuring out basic
math sums?
By Peyton Wolcott - April 5, 2006
Schoolteacher Rachel Holt is 34 years old and exactly five feet tall. We know this
from her rap sheet. She has a rap sheet because she had sex, often, during one
week last month with one of her students.
The Delaware school where Rachel teaches is not a high school. It's not a middle
school. Rachel Holt, until her arrest Monday night, taught at Claymont Elementary
School. Rachel's student is only 13. Alcohol and another little boy, 12, were
involved. (SOURCE--TheSmokingGun.com)
This is one to watch for several reasons, the boys' ages being primary. Will
Rachel's attorney tell the judge she's too pretty to go to jail? Will she be allowed to
surrender her teaching credentials then spend the next three years under house
arrest followed by seven years on probation? Pinky-promise?
FOLLOW-UP: Have earlier today sent the following query to Brandywine School
District's supe Bruce Harter and board members, plus Claymont's interim
principal, Betty Pinchin and will post their response(s) when received: Bruce,
Betty, and board members, I'm contacting you regarding your teacher Rachel Holt
and your administrative practices both within the district and at Claymont
Elementary. What sort of guidelines do you have in place for teachers' fraternizing
with students off-campus? How do you enforce those guidelines? Bruce, you
state on your Leadership Jazz webpage that "educational leadership is today a
collaborative, experimental activity." In light of Ms. Holt's arrest, do you feel that
perhaps less collaboration and experimentation and more direct leadership and
supervision from you of your employees might be in order? Could this same
"collaborative, experimental" leadership model be the administrative version of
fuzzy math where students are asked to use a team approach to figuring out basic
math sums?
| Teacher Rachel Holt; Claymont School 'Home of the Cougars.' Below, Brandywine supe Bruce Harter. |
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THE NEW ALSACE-LORRAINE
ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN BORDERS:
WHYOUR STUDENTS NEED TO LEARN HISTORY
By Peyton Wolcott - April 4, 2006
Nothing happens in a vacuum.
The spate of student riots this past week had their origins in at least two
events, the first being our southern states' long-standing practice of admitting
any and all students, legal or not, for the head count money they represented.
The other was LA Unified's thoughtfully providing school buses and district
employees last November so that 800 students could skip school to attend an
anti-Bush rally at the federal building in Westwood. LAUSD's supe,
Democratic former governor of Colorado Roy Romer, may have had reasons
of his own for sanctioning the "The World Can't Wait-Drive Out the Bush
Regime" event, but the result was to illustrate to students graphically that it
was okay to be loud and noisy and skip school.
Across our republic this past week many administrators fell in line with
Romer's approach, folks like fellow Coloradan Tom Stumpf,
ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN BORDERS:
WHYOUR STUDENTS NEED TO LEARN HISTORY
By Peyton Wolcott - April 4, 2006
Nothing happens in a vacuum.
The spate of student riots this past week had their origins in at least two
events, the first being our southern states' long-standing practice of admitting
any and all students, legal or not, for the head count money they represented.
The other was LA Unified's thoughtfully providing school buses and district
employees last November so that 800 students could skip school to attend an
anti-Bush rally at the federal building in Westwood. LAUSD's supe,
Democratic former governor of Colorado Roy Romer, may have had reasons
of his own for sanctioning the "The World Can't Wait-Drive Out the Bush
Regime" event, but the result was to illustrate to students graphically that it
was okay to be loud and noisy and skip school.
Across our republic this past week many administrators fell in line with
Romer's approach, folks like fellow Coloradan Tom Stumpf,