A Blast From The Past and Cars of The Future

How far the Hillsborough County Public School system has come.

There is a belief among some that societies can predict their future course by analyzing their past course. Having said that, now that our Commander In Chief is the Chief Executive Officer of our auto industry, how long do you think it will be before we start seeing cars manufactured that will replicate the same social, economic and political characteristics of the Volkswagen (peoples car)? I know, "Hybrid" sounds so much more elite, so maybe I just don't see the elevated intellectualism of this new course.

Back to the subject du jour.

We don't see attention grabbing headlines like these old forgotten mothballs. Do we?


These newspaper articles can be found on an old, failed campaign blog (link is at the bottom):

School Board to public: Go away Series: EDITORIALS
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; May 21, 2002;

Abstract:
The change brings into focus a troubling development of the modern-day public meeting - almost all are scripted well in advance. Elected officials don't have to defend themselves publicly or think on their feet. And in this case, turning off the cameras is the board's way of having it both ways - claiming to protect a person's right to speak, but only after the cameras are off and "the official meeting of the School Board is concluded."



Full Text:

Copyright Times Publishing Co. May 21, 2002




You would think the Hillsborough County School District, which has been embarrassed by allegations of mismanagement and waste, would be doing everything possible to improve its tarnished image. But instead the School Board is quieting its critics.

Under an offensive policy change, citizens who want to address the board during the public comment portion of meetings must wait until the official business is closed. Then the cameras go off, meaning that people who watch the televised meetings at home cannot hear what constituents said.

School Board member Glenn Barrington, who supports the new policy, said the public comment period tends to draw people to the meetings with something to say. Can you believe this? It's not asking too much of School Board members, or any other elected official, to take a few minutes of public criticism. It's part of the job, part of what we teach our kids about democracy.

If it's time Barrington is worried about, he should ask his chairman to speed the board meetings along. The three-to-five minutes a citizen has to speak is nothing compared to the time consumed by the board members' own self-serving commentary.

The change brings into focus a troubling development of the modern-day public meeting - almost all are scripted well in advance. Elected officials don't have to defend themselves publicly or think on their feet. And in this case, turning off the cameras is the board's way of having it both ways - claiming to protect a person's right to speak, but only after the cameras are off and "the official meeting of the School Board is concluded."

The district, which is struggling to regain public confidence after mishandling a whistleblower's complaint, should reconsider this policy change. The board can act only at an official meeting; shunting off the public comment portion until that meeting is concluded leaves the public with no influence on the School Board agenda. This makes public comment meaningless. But maybe that's exactly what the board had in mind.

Florida Jury Awards $600,000.00 to Parents of Handicapped Child

School District Failed to Provide FAPE; Retaliated Against Parents and Child

APRIL 3, 1998. Five years after they requested a special education due process hearing. Andrew Whitehead's parents had their day in court.

The trial continued for almost two weeks. Andrew's father told Pete that the jury retired at two o'clock on the afternoon of April, 3, 1998. Less than two hours later, they returned with a resounding verdict for the parents.

Although the jury did not find that the school board intentionally discriminated against Andrew, they did find that the school board retaliated against the parents for attempting to protect their son's rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The jury awarded each parent $300,000.00.

On Saturday morning, The Tampa Tribune reported that the Hearing Officer . . . found that school officials discriminated against Andrew because of his disability and that their low expectations led to the boy doing worse in school. But Friday, the jury of five women and three men found that the school system did not discriminate against Andrew . . . (but) that the school system retaliated against the boy's parents when they tried to become involved with his education."
You can read this article at The Tampa Tribune web site: http://www.tampatrib.com/news/satu1018.htm

Radcliffe v. School Board of Hillsborough County, Florida, 38 F.Supp. 2d 994
(M.D. Fla. 1999).
1. Student who did not have a current IEP filed a motion for TRO and preliminary injunction requiring district to convene at IEP meeting. Court denied the motion for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
2. Held: Failure to exhaust could not be excused because of state's alleged failure to follow the required procedure for an impartial due process hearing when the student has not requested one.
www.copaa.com/decisions/1999decisions.html#radcliffe


Leto High waging war on rats
By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times, published March 20, 2002
Students say they're fed up with rodents scurrying around. A school official says the problem is under control.
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/20/TampaBay/Leto_High_waging_war_.shtml

Minority contract oversight shaken up
By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times, published March 3, 2002

In recent years the school district has spent $450,000 on consultants in a program criticized for lax oversight. "It's a bunch of garbage," said Harry Pinero, president of the Hispanic firm H.P. Allen Constructors. Pinero said he has never heard from a consultant even though he runs one of the few minority-owned drywall and stucco firms in Hillsborough County. "I don't understand what they're trying
to do."
Critics say four of the six former and current consultants employed by the school district's Office of Supplier Diversity program have significant problems: Consultant Mike Garrick was recently dismissed from the program for improperly soliciting funds from subcontractors. Bob Morrison of Morrison & Associates was suspended from the practice of law by the Florida Supreme Court for ethical breaches that include taking client funds while ignoring
his legal duties. Garrick and Deadrea Reese Sampson of Deadrea Reese & Associates have both filed
for personal bankruptcy. GPM Inc. received work as both a consultant and a subcontractor, an
arrangement that ended only recently. Their minority status is now being reviewed by Hillsborough County officials.
In 1999, the district spent $54,217 on minority consultants. So far this school year, spending has reached $172,941. The Hillsborough County School District has paid private consultants almost $450,000 in the past three years to boost the number of minority contractors working on school projects. But the district did not have specific qualifications for their hiring and did little oversight of their work. Now critics are calling for changes in the program.
Here is a breakdown of the district's spending on minority consultants since 1999:

1999-2000:
Mike Garrick of AEI Management Consultants: $17,150
Deadrea Reese Sampson of Deadrea Reese & Associates: $13,693
Jonathan Graham and Thomas Bradley of GPM Inc.: $23,374
Total: $54,217

2000-2001:
Cheryl Hawkins of Brentika: $14,418
Deadrea Reese Sampson of Deadrea Reese & Associates: $86,829
Jonathan Graham and Thomas Bradley of GPM Inc.: $30,448
Mike Garrick of AEI Management Consultants: $90,285
Total: $221,980

2001-2002: Cheryl Hawkins of Brentika: $31,755
Jonathan Graham and Thomas Bradley of GPM Inc.: $56,381
Mike Garrick of AEI Management Consultants: $37,125
Thomas Huggins of Ariel Business Group: $8,812
Bob Morrison of Morrison & Associates: $38,866
Total: $172,939 (as of Feb. 26)

Three-year total: $449,136 Source: Hillsborough County School District
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/03/Hillsborough/Minority_contract_ove.shtml

School Board May Get Earful in Probe of Money Misuse
A school district investigation of financial wrongdoing has drawn in state and federal law enforcement as a veteran administrator vows to reveal more problems at the next school board meeting. The investigation has produced audit reports accusing James McClelland, the recently retired school grounds department chief in Hillsborough County, of misusing more than $560,000 in district money and property, officials said Wednesday.
By MARILYN BROWN, Published Nov. 29 2001-The Tampa

School Leader's Probe Backed By Colleagues
"WE'RE READY TO STAND UP' FOR ERWIN, TEACHERS SAY
A week ago, many who have known Doug Erwin during his 33-year Hillsborough County
school career were hunkered in classrooms, trying to teach despite concern about looming budget cuts. Now they say they're ready to emerge to help a man they trust and admire.
By MARILYN BROWN, Published December 3, 2001-The Tampa Tribune

EDUCATION OVERSIGHT IRREGULAR AT Best
TAMPA - With the Legislature slashing money for education, this is supposed to be a time when state and local officials are pinching every penny to help children in the classroom. It bothers taxpayers to learn, through the third investigation in three years, that the Hillsborough County school district has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from insider crime and mismanagement. By Marilyn Brown The Tampa Tribune December 9, 2001

Hillsborough Schools Advised To Cut Administrators
By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune
Advice and criticism are pouring into the Hillsborough County school district these days, but now comes an unexpected shot from the state. Although it's still in draft form, a state audit of the district recommends Superintendent Earl Lennard should get rid of both his deputies and deal directly with more of his senior managers.

Robles Teachers Chide School Board
By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune
Robles Elementary School teachers admonished the Hillsborough County School Board on Tuesday pleading unsuccessfully to reverse plans to "dismiss" current staff and convert the neighborhood school into a fundamental academy in August. Robles consistently graded a D on the state report card, needs drastic change, the teachers concurred. But they angrily said they shouldn't have had to learn about the planned conversion in the newspaper last week.
"We have longed for assistance," said first-grade teacher Michelle D'Intino. But where was the help, she asked, when teachers had to staple fabric over cabinets damaged by termites or when portable classrooms were condemned and children slid backpacks through a hole in a door?

Multiple Hands In School Probe Lead To Criticism Among Investigators
By JOHN VAUGHAN, The Tampa Tribune
From a misplaced memo to a bullet-proof vest, from innuendo to invisible trees, the school district's latest probe into employee wrongdoing features so many contradictions it's not surprising questions remain unanswered.But another big problem, investigators suggest, involves the use of many investigators.
At least six from private outfits or school departments tracked leads during various stages of the case in Hillsborough County. Their disappointment or distrust in one another is evident among thousands of documents made public Wednesday. School Security officers grumble about being pulled off the case. The district's internal inquiry chief blasts the work of a private eye. The lawyer hired to compile a report concludes changes are needed in the security department. And that's just some of the commentary.

"There's a lot of debate over this business of bringing in outside investigators in, you know, and I'm personally not all that in favor of it myself," Wayne Dasinger, internal investigations manager for the district's standards office, said in interviewing a school security officer in July.

"I think if we were given the chance to work this case, said the officer, Fred Ferraiuolo, "we have the capability of coming to a conclusion, one way or another. The way they took us off it, it left a lot of doubt."

Education Oversight Irregular At Best
By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune
With the Legislature slashing money for education, this is supposed to be a time when state and local officials are pinching every penny to help children in the classroom.It bothers taxpayers to learn, through the third investigation in three years, that the Hillsborough County school district has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from insider crime and mismanagement."It makes me angry," said Frank Entis a social studies teacher at Hillsborough High School. "Here the county is starving for funding and sacrificing the education of children, and at the same time people are taking huge amounts of money."

School Officials Confirm District Lacks Building Contract Policy
By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune
A lingering dispute over how the school district chooses architects, engineers and construction managers for its lucrative building contracts finally got a formal hearing Tuesday.
Hillsborough County district officials confirmed they have no school board-approved procedures for determining which applicants get those jobs and how a selection process works.
No rule requires contractors to be scored with "any kind of specific point system or any kind of specific grading system," said school board attorney Crosby Few. "I don't believe there is anything in the statutes requiring anybody to score anything."

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