Public Records vs Media

The under card carries dangling participles vs convoluted commas, homophones vs straight quotes and flabby flaccid voices vs compacted colons.

The main event pits copy of Doug Erwin file vs. news article penned by Melanie Ave.

The match up provides interesting similarities in court preparation.


Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch: Oh, Don't Believe a Thing He Says. Everybody Knows He's Crazy

Diane Woodall -"I came upon a statement from Wayne Dashinger's report that stated that Gietzen indicated he was hired to make Doug Erwin look crazy."

Hillsborough: Whistle-blower says he was ignored

"Whistle-blower says he was ignored
An investigation came only after years of complaints, says the Hillsborough schools official.
By MELANIE AVE
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 7, 2001


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAMPA -- As authorities investigate complaints of wrongdoing in the Hillsborough schools grounds department, investigative files released Wednesday indicate that one whistle-blower had complained of irregularities as long as four years ago.

Director of operations Doug Erwin, a 33-year school veteran, told his bosses about missing inventory, stolen tractors and contractors working outside of their approved parameters.

"I had shared a whole bunch of information with all my superiors, got totally frustrated, got to the point that essentially . . . I was told if you can't prove it, don't say it," Erwin told district investigators as part of a 15-month school system inquiry into the 70-employee grounds department.

Erwin's comments were among boxes of investigative material made public Wednesday, and now en route to state and federal authorities.

The documents raise questions about how much administrators knew and whether they responded appropriately. They also paint a picture of employees afraid to come forward with suspicions of misconduct.

"You report wrongdoing and you are ostracized," Sickles High School assistant principal Elsa Tuggle said in the investigation.

Although Erwin said he lodged complaints for years, the district didn't begin its investigation until last year. The results of its probe were made public after increasing media reports and pressure from Erwin to take his concerns to the School Board.

At least $560,000 was possibly misused over the last two years because of fraudulent billing, improper spending and stolen equipment.

Retired grounds supervisor James McClelland is at the heart of the investigation. The Pasco County man has denied any wrongdoing.

Erwin's bosses, including superintendent Earl Lennard, deputy superintendent Jim Hamilton and assistant superintendent Jack Davis, all acknowledge that they were aware of many of Erwin's complaints.

Lennard said he met with Erwin twice and told him to forward his concerns to the human resources department. He encouraged him to research them "because he was making some serious allegations."

Administrators said many of Erwin's concerns were unprovable rumors.

"He never did come forward with specific names, dates and places, nor did he ever come forward with a real specific plan as to follow up and track those issues," Hamilton said in the investigation.

Erwin and other district employees, however, speculate that certain employees, including McClelland, were protected by district higher-ups.

Board members Joe Newsome and former board member Sam Rampello, now the district's federal finance director, acknowledge they are longtime friends of McClelland.

"McClelland couldn't be touched because he knew things on board members that would incriminate them, too," said trades worker John Brungard, who began tipping officials to problems in the grounds department last year.

Newsome and Rampello deny the allegations.

Newsome said he feels sympathy for Erwin. "I tried to the very best of my ability to be a friend to him," he told investigators. "I really think that he is mentally ill."

Erwin has scheduled a press conference this morning to tell his side of the story. A board workshop on the investigation has been set for Dec. 14."

*************************

I was there the night the lights went off on the cameras. There is an old saying that one should keep their friends close and their enemies closer. There are some familiar names in the Erwin trial and the first federal court Whitehead trial. Some are still around. What I always think about are the names that are never mentioned, but are still around.

I submit the same thing goes on with our Federal Government.


Who really runs the show?

Why Not Implement A "No Home Work Plan" For Teachers?

Plano officials consider alternative grading policy for middle schools | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

"Instead [of when students are caught cheating receive an automatic zero or failing grade on that assignment), teachers and school officials would set a different consequence so that student behavior doesn't pull down grades.

Students would be given homework, but teachers wouldn't grade all assignments.

Students who turn in late work wouldn't receive a lower grade under the proposed policies, in an effort to get students to finish the work rather than just take a bad grade and move on."

Recently there was discussion about our local Hillsborough County Public Schools Board changing the homework policy. Frequently, the public comments contain some pretty good ideas. In the above link, one person who claims to be a teacher wrote "This program WILL NOT WORK, with students who DON'T CARE".

According to the article, apparently there is some concern about grading "behavior" vs. grading "knowledge". In other words, is it fair to give a zero grade for knowledge just because a kid didn't do their homework?

For those who propose that homework is "practice" for the "game", check this out. To make it educationally relevant, substitute the word "homework" every time he says "practice" (20 times). Pay close attention to the last sentence: "How the hell can I make my teammates better by practicing".

The article also has this:

"The philosophy behind Plano's proposal is not aimed at diminishing student accountability or reducing academic rigor, said Jim McMillan, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University."

I had to read that sentence slowly a few times. The main reason I had to read it slowly several times was because it took me a while to run through my memory bank of how many different times I have heard from the education establishment that students and parents are not held accountable.

If School Boards think that homework policies are educationally relevant (provide your own definition of educationally relevant), then why don't they apply that same policy to their teachers? No more behavior of grading papers at home. No more behaviors of lesson plans. And just think, merit pay would not be based on a behavior either. Merit pay would simply be based on "consistent and specific feed back".

You teachers need to take this to your union, I mean association, and get this in the works. One sure fire way to get it passed is to tie the Superintendent's bonus to every teacher that doesn't have to do "home work". You will be amazed at the statistical outcomes.

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."

Found here: Latest News

Losing Money One Free Cheese Sandwich At A Time

I was going to just make a sarcastic statement that the way for the Hillsborough County Public Schools to deal with the problem of students and parents cheating the free/reduced lunch system would be to just give free meals to all. Isn't that the politically correct way? Don't want to embarrass one group, so reduce the goal to the lowest common denominator and simply socialize the action, be it food or GPA's or "fun Friday's".

I decided to look at the stats and see if I could find some tricky schemes.

I would assume that HCPS has some pretty smart statisticians. That assumption makes me wonder if I am interpreting the stats the same way they do.

Let's take this part of the article:



Too many free lunches for those who can pay? | WFTS-TV:


"But 289 families, or 52%, of the applicants failed to respond to the audit and were dropped from the program."

For Hillsborough County it was 59.1% year 2007-2008 and 53.5% for 2008-2009 did not respond. According to the article, these students were dropped from the program. Sounds like a significant cost cutting event until you study the complete picture.

This 59.1% and 53.5% is only applicable to the 3% sample of the verified set.

Someone else can complete the math, but if the District can cut over 50% of 3%, how much money would they save if they cut over 50% of 100% of the free/reduced lunch kids?

Maybe it costs too much to survey? In other words, is the cost to verify more than the savings?

Or maybe "they" just don't want to challenge the status quo?

Just askin'

PSA for Free

Public Service Announcements should be for the benefit of the common good.


DetentionSlip.org: Progress Report: WTF is up with hitting students?!

"The mission of DetentionSlip has always been to increase awareness of the issues facing our students, and we can't think of a better one to expose than corporal punishment. As such, we are going to be rolling out the "Heavy Hitter of the Weak" award, for administrators who go above and beyond the call of duty to hit their students. Send anonymous nominations to tips@detentionslip.org"

I would assume that our public education systems are short on money. Difficult budget cutting decisions are made with the idea that only the most necessary expenditures that are aimed at classroom success are supported.

Does anyone know how much money we are saving by cutting behavioral supports?

And of course the next question would be how much of these savings support the common good.

Teaching Disrespect And Callous Disregard Of Authority?

In keeping with today's national vernacular, I will no longer be known as a broad-brush attacker. I am now a generalized misguided purveyor of misinformation.


Tell me this isn't so. Is it a coincidence that the below article came out the same day as my previous post?

Thanks to The Gradebook for the below link:


Hillsborough County kindergartner traumatized after being taped to desk, lawsuit says - St. Petersburg Times:



According to the article, Mr. Murman is the HCPS school board's attorney. I can just hear the water cooler, er, uh, texting discussions that must be rampant throughout the district: "Could the attorney be advocating that a student disobey the authority of a teacher who tells the student to "sit!"?"

"'Your client could have stood up since the tape was not truly a restraint,' Murman wrote. The teacher said the tape was in place for only two minutes, he said, and was used to keep her sitting during 'quiet time.'"

Times aren't good. Apparently this issue has been going on for over two years. Parent bashers will no doubt point out that the parent is acting just like the kid. System mockers will ask where were the professional behavioral supports.


Who wants to wager that a simple apology would have taken care of this issue two years ago?

No winners for either "side".

Two Broad-Brushes Do Make A Cauldron Bubble

First, the links for reference in case you need them:

It's hard to fire teachers, even if they are bad - St. Petersburg Times:

PRO on HCPS: I Never Realized How Important The Lack of Tenure Can Be

The comments from Thomas in the latter link has led me to an interesting idea. In 1997 or '98, after I once again had spoke at a school board meeting, I was publicly labeled a "broad-brush attacker" by the then Superintendent. That action fit the template of how systems minimize critics to discount the credibility of the charges. My perceptions were based on years of experience as a parent along with my personal participation in a myriad of groups within the District. While my degree in Sociology and a $1.19 will get me a cup of coffee, having the background framework that those studies provided me may have aided my ability to conceptualize the many different experiences I had in many different settings.

I submit that Thomas' statements represent the other side of the coin in providing a "broad brush defense" of accused teachers. As with myself, Thomas has personal experience that lends support to his perception.

Public education systems and the public are begging for respect for and from each other. As long as either side perceives that there are broad-brushes involved, there will be a white washing of problems that are real to both sides.

It's hard to fire teachers, even if they are bad - St. Petersburg Times:

"It's not just their students who suffer. Bad teachers sully the reputation of hard-working teachers and lower their morale. And the inability of public schools to purge them feeds perceptions that schools are resistant to change and tolerant of mediocrity."

The other side may be:

"It's not just their students who suffer. Bad parents sully the reputation of hard-working parents and lower their ability to advocate. And the inability of parents to purge them feeds perceptions that parents are resistant to change and tolerant of mediocrity."