wendy harris Date sent: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 17:12:28 -0400 To: cjo@ior.com From: EducIntel@aol.com (by way of Cindy Omlin ) Subject: EIA Communique - 8/23 The Education Intelligence Agency COMMUNIQUÉ — August 23, 1999 On the Web at http://members.aol.com/educintel/eia + "Choice schools breaking the rules, opponents charge," read the + headline in yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. People for the American Way and the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP filed a complaint with the district, claiming nine of the 88 private schools involved in the city's voucher program had violated rules against religious activity, fees and selection processes. The organizations contracted with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council to have people pose as parents of potential students and ask private school officials a series of questions. Some voucher supporters have responded by noting that there haven't been any complaints from actual parents. Others feel PFAW's and the NAACP's undercover efforts went over the line. EIA disagrees. If this is the level of scrutiny that these organizations want for schools, EIA is all for it. Perhaps the Fair Housing Council could be hired to determine how many public school parents actually reside in the suburban school districts surrounding Milwaukee. Maybe it could find out why, in a district with a 78 percent minority enrollment, its teachers are overwhelmingly white. And since PFAW and the NAACP have placed their imprimatur on the practice of pretending to be someone you're not in order to ferret out wrongdoing in education, EIA may now have major new avenues of inquiry open to it. + Some wrongdoing PFAW missed: The Milwaukee Teachers Education + Association agreed to pay $5,000 to settle a civil lawsuit filed by Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley. Benkley charged MTEA with failure to fully disclose its payments for political ads. After settling the suit, MTEA filed an amended campaign finance report, revealing that it had spent nearly triple the amount on April's school board race than it had previously reported. The union now claims to have spent $152,000 on the election. "MTEA believes there is a growing need for campaign finance reform and not further litigation over the law," said Robert Friebert, an MTEA attorney, evidently with a straight face. + A Riverside Press-Enterprise investigation found that 700,000 + California fingerprint records go missing each year, enabling an unknown number of criminals to become day care center operators, teachers and school employees. One in five fingerprint records of arrestees never make it to the state Department of Justice, nor do up to 30 percent of the documentation of trial outcomes. Last year, the fingerprint check system turned up 77,000 applicants with criminal records, or about 7 percent of the total. + Bill Rojas, the new superintendent of the Dallas school district, went from the frying pan into the fire. Auditors from KPMG Peat Marwick referred 36 cases of payroll and treasury discrepancies to authorities for criminal investigation. Their next task will be to examine another 124 allegations involving contracts and vendors. "We think that's where the money is," lead auditor Mike Wilson told The Dallas Morning News. "We think there's millions of dollars there. We hope it's still there." The preliminary audit found that more than 400 former Dallas district workers had been paid a total of $475,000 after quitting, retiring, or being fired. Meanwhile in San Francisco, the district Rojas left to take the Dallas job, auditors found patterns of overspending and improper borrowing. State Superintendent Delaine Eastin called the findings "very serious," but failed to provide an explanation of how her staff had consistently approved the district's deficit spending year after year. + The Texas Veterans Land Board will offer lower mortgage interest rates + to veterans or their spouses who commit to becoming teachers. Both district and union officials support the idea. "We feel this is an ideal city for this program," Tom Cummings, president of the Bexar County Federation of Teachers told the San Antonio Express-News. Veterans who teach in Texas tend to stay in teaching longer, and more than 30 percent of them are minorities. + Enrollment the Edgewood Independent School District lost to CEO + America's Horizon private scholarship program: 4% Amount of budget lost because of lower enrollment: 3.5% "Everything is pretty preliminary, but it appears the Horizon scholarships haven't affected us one way or another." -- Leslie Lorenz, district spokeswoman. + Recommended reading: "The Three R's and the big P" by Kenneth T. Walsh + in the August 30 U.S. News & World Report. Walsh provides a "reality check" on three popular reforms: class size, preschool and accountability. He concludes that class size reduction's "academic payoff hasn't been nearly as impressive as the price tag." + Even your local car dealer can't match (in percentage terms) the cash rebate offers coming from NEA affiliates these days. The Wyoming Education Association joins the parade, offering $50 cash back to new members who commit to two years in the organization. + The Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (appropriate acronym N.U.T.) can't afford such pricey incentives. The union purchased 24 horsewhips to enforce a strike. The Africa News Service cited sources who said a patrol had been put in place and that "they will work round the clock to see that no Judas is found among the teachers." Gbenga Ajibade, the assistant secretary of the union, urged teachers to cooperate with union leaders. NEA sources denied rumors that Mr. Ajibade will be hired to help gather votes for the next attempt at merger with AFT and that his title would be (ouch!) "Majority Whip." + Quote of the Week #1: "There are too many agendas at the table besides educating our kids." -- Ron Felder, member of Cincinnatians Active to Support Education, reacting to news that the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers had filed a grievance against the district for hiring new teachers before assigning 28 veteran teachers. + Quote of the Week #2: "I don't want to hear how committed they are. I + just want them to do it." -- Mary Levy, counsel for Parents United, talking about reform efforts in the Washington, D.C. public school system. # # # The Education Intelligence Agency conducts public education research, analysis and investigations. Director: Mike Antonucci. Ph: 916-422-4373. Fax: 916-392-1482. E-Mail: EducIntel@aol.com