Teachers: Illinois standards sub-par

The following piece was sent to us by Kevin Killion of the IllinoisLoop.org.

The weakness of the academic standards used in Illinois schools is no surprise to us, but when the American Federation of Teachers agrees, you know there's a problem!

In a brand-new report, the AFT says:

-- Illinois needs to create grade-specific content standards in reading and math for elementary and middle school
-- None of the Illinois' reading and math test documents match the standards
-- Reading and math standards are not grade by grade in grades 3-8 and the high school standards are weak.
-- The test documents for the elementary and middle level science tests do not match the content standards.

The next time some politician or school district honcho starts yammering about our "strong standards", just yell out, "The teachers don't agree!"

For more on the problems of the Illinois standards, and reviews of them by the AFT and others, see this page on the IllinoisLoop.org website.

Monies contributed to the Advance 300 group.

Thanks to our friends at the Family Taxpayers Foundation
for sending us the information below. Cal Skinner's blog McHenry County Blog.com also has some great information pertaining to this same subject.

A couple of interesting notes:
·         A Pre-Election report covering 1/1/06 to 2/19/06 was required to be filed by 03/19/06.  It is therefore significant that Arndt made this contribution just a few days after 2/19/06. 
·         Another requirement during the 30 days immediately prior to the election, which in this case would be 2/20 to 3/20, is that contributions in an aggregate of more than $500 must be reported within 2 business days.  The report used to do this is called an A-1 report.  Not only did Advance 300 fail to file this report within the required time fram, they still haven’t done so.
·         Advance 300 was evidently aware of this requirement.  During the same 30-day pre-election period, they filed 11 other A-1 reports for 15 other contributions as required.  The Arndt contribution is the only one that was not reported as required.  Other A-1 reports filed were:
o        A1 filed 2/27/06  B & H Industries            Contributed $1,000 on 2/25/06
o        A1 filed 2/28/06  TWJ Associates LTD      Contributed $1,000 on 2/27/06
o        A1 filed 2/28/06  Franczek Sullivan PC     Contributed $3,000 on 2/28/06
o        A1 filed 3/1/06   Robert Arthur Land Co.   Contributed $5,000 on 2/28/06    
o        A1 filed 3/3/06   Testing Service Corp      Contributed $1,000 on 3/1/06
DRH Cambridge Homes  Contributed $10,000 on 3/2/06
o        A1 filed 3/8/06   Morganstein Sanford      Contributed $1,000 on 3/7/06
o        A1 filed 3/10/06  HPI- Elgin LLC               Contributed $5,000 on 3/10/06
PHI- Hampshire Inc        Contributed $5,000 on 3/10/06    
o        A1 filed 3/12/06  Christopher Stanton       Contributed $750 on 3/12/06
o        A1 filed 3/15/06  Brier Hil Crossing LLC    Contributed $1,000 on 3/15/06
Kimball Hill Homes         Contributed $5,000 on 3/15/06
o        A1 filed 3/17/06  Aurora Venture/Crown    Contributed $10,000 on 3/17/06
KB Home IL Inc             Contributed $20,000 on 3/17/06
o        A1 filed 3/20/06  Grand Pointe Homes Inc Contributed $2,500 on 3/20/06
·          The only In-Kind contribution received during the 30 days immediately prior to the Primary election was $500 from Aramark Corp.  This did not require an A1 report.  Isn’t Aramark the vendor whose representative was heard stating that Crates may have solicited a contribution for Advance 300 at the time that this vendor’s contract was being negotiated with D300?
·         A1s are required for aggregate contributions of over $500.  Interestingly, there were several individuals that contributed up to that limit but not over it.  They include:
o        Joseph & Lynn Cavellaro of West Dundee - $500 on 3/14/06
o        Fred Fox of Carpentersville - $500 on 3/3/06
o        Gateway Barrington of Dallas, TX  (same address as Housing Resources Co LC) - $500 on 3/3/06
o        Charles and Karen Henderson of West Dundee - $500 on 2/22/06
o        Housing Resources Co. LC of Dallas, TX (same address as Gateway Barrington) - $500 on 3/3/06
o        Schain Burney Ross & Citron Ltd of Chicago - $500 on 3/14/06
o        Nancy Zettler of Algonquin - $500 on 5/3/06  (Nancy is President of Advance300)
·         A couple of other contributions of note:
o        Chuck Bumbales, D300’s Operations Officer contributed $300 on 3/3/06
o        John Court, D300 Board President (at the time) contributed $300 on 1/28/06 (appeared on Pre-Election report)
o        Cheryl Crates, D300’s CFO contributed $450 on 2/14/06 (appeared on Pre-Election report)
o        Walter & Denise Hay of Crystal Lake contributed $450 on 2/22/06.  Walter, a D300 Asst Supt, made $122,385 in 2005.  There is a Denise Hay working for D-214 with a salary of $115,358 for 2005.
o        Marce Kersten of Crystal Lake contributed $200 on 3/14/06.  Marce is a D300 high school teacher who made $68,216 in 2005.
o        David & Jill Scarpino contributed $400 on 2/22/06.  David is also a D300 Asst Supt.  He made $135,058 in 2005.
 
Truly, this was a case of developers, realtors, and educrats versus the taxpayers.

Unions Defend Bad Teachers'Tenure - At Students' Expense

The following article was written by Michael Chapman, published and copyrighted by Investor's Business Daily - National Issue.on September 21, 1998. We found this article at the Waking Bear.com.

This article stands the test of time.


Unions Defend Bad Teachers'Tenure - At Students' Expense

The teacher was caught drinking in the classroom. But public school officials in Northern Virginia couldn't fire her.

Why? Tenure laws.

''Everybody in the county knows she's a drunk,'' one parent told IBD. ''But they can't fire her. Yeah, she's got a problem and needs help. But you have to draw the line -for the kids. It's a drug-free zone.''

Such stories are commonplace. Bad teachers, poor learning - nothing seems to change. And despite complaints, it doesn't look like teacher tenure in public schools will change soon.

''I don't see that forthcoming,'' said Chuck Sambar, a member of the Glendale (Calif.) Unified School District board. ''I recognize that the power and muscle of the teacher organizations in California are so dominant over the state Legislature that the legislators are not too inclined to mess with them.''

What about the students?

A University of Tennessee study found that student test scores are lower in classrooms run by incompetent teachers.

The effects seem to last. The study showed that fifth-graders who had studied under bad teachers since second grade scored 54 to 60 points lower on math tests than students under good teachers. Scores didn't change much when the poorly performing students were placed with better teachers.

''If an ineffective teacher isn't dealt with, children can be permanently harmed,'' said researcher William Sanders. ''They don't just bounce back.''

There are 2.6 million public school teachers. About 18%, or 468,000 teachers, are incompetent, according to Mary Jo McGrath, who runs McGrath Systems Inc. in Santa Barbara, Calif. McGrath, an attorney, has surveyed 50,000 school administrators and helped schools remove lousy teachers. Other estimates put the number of bad teachers at around 135,000, or 5% of the total. No one knows the exact number.

However, tenure makes firing bad teachers hard and costly. On average, it takes two to three years to dismiss a tenured teacher. Each case costs about $60,000. Appeals raise the costs.

A '94 study by the New York State School Boards Association found that it takes 455 days and $176,870 on average for a school board to fire a teacher in that state. If the teacher appeals, costs jump to $317,000.

Also, ''the public school bureaucracy controls the state legislatures' education committees,'' said Kay O'Connor, a GOP Kansas state representative. She's also head of the Kansas City-based Parents in Control, a school-reform lobbying group.

''Tenure is a very hot issue,'' she said. ''If a legislator brings it up, it's a battle royal. . . . Unless you're molesting children or robbing banks, you can't be fired. Unions fight for poor-performing teachers because then the schools hire more remedial teachers. More teachers equals more money for the union.''

A tenure reform in place in a few districts is ''peer review.'' Instead of principals watching teachers and deciding whom to fire, teachers evaluate teachers. It's a mentor- protege approach to tenure. Public school supporters see it as a plus. Critics, however, view it as a way for teachers unions to strengthen their hold over schools.

''Unions are aware of the criticism that tenure protects bad teachers,'' said education author Myron Lieberman, head of the Education Policy Institute. ''So, their attitude is, 'We'll take over the process.' If unions take over the review process, it'll make a worse disaster of the schools - if that's possible.'' He added that while such moves appear to be reform, they really aren't - the ''major practical effect will be to extend teacher union control over public education,'' Lieberman said.

About 80% of teachers have tenure. All states and the District of Columbia have tenure laws. The two major unions - the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers - negotiated these rules. The rules vary. However, most states require new teachers to go through a three-to five-year probation. Then they're tenured. Contracts may run to 100 pages.

School boards may try to dismiss a teacher for lots of reasons: incompetence, immorality, unprofessional conduct and, in California and Nevada, for teaching communism. Also, there are state and federal laws that teachers may use to hold onto their jobs or their teaching certificates.

Firing a bad teacher is tough. In Connecticut, for instance, superintendents cannot dismiss teachers without pay. This is ''tantamount to a paid vacation,'' reported the Yankee Institute, a regional think tank.

The suspended teacher gets full salary while the superintendent plans a due process hearing. This takes about six months. At the same time, the school has to pay for a substitute teacher. An Impartial Hearing Panel then must issue a recommendation. The cost of each hearing ranges from $400 to $750.

While this occurs, the teacher, backed by the union and its lawyers, may appeal. This delay raises the school board's costs, often by more than $100,000. Eventually, most schools either pay the teacher off or transfer him.

The Yankee Institute reported that a teacher in Ridgefield, Conn., continued to get a salary of $55,000 while suspended. The school board's hearing and legal costs totaled more than $250,000. The teacher then countersued under federal law, claiming age discrimination and alleged violations of free speech.

Another Connecticut teacher was essentially paid off. She resigned, withdrew her countersuits, and got $200,000 plus severance and legal fees.

''Our tenure laws protect ineffective and unmotivated teachers and administrators,'' said Republican New York state Assemblywoman Debra Mazzarelli. ''Removing a tenured employee from his or her position is so difficult, expensive and time-consuming that for all intents it is impossible.''
Mazzarelli introduced a bill in '97 to replace tenure with five-year renewable contracts. It didn't pass. ''The teachers unions were able to stop this,'' Dave Kinley, deputy executive director of the New York State School Board Association, said.

According to Tampa, Fla.-based Family First: ''Tenure creates an environment where there is simply no incentive to be a good teacher. . . . Serving time is what is rewarded, not teaching excellence. . . . Only truly egregious cases are likely to lead to attempts at dismissal. The reason is simple: It can cost local districts a fortune.''

Teachers may have needed union protection and tenure decades ago because of racial or religious bigotry. But there are so many laws to protect people today, Sambar says, teachers don't need the unions anymore. And the unions know this.

''The unions' mission is teachers, not children,'' said O'Connor, noting that there are more than 50 pro-union education lobbyists at the Kansas Legislature. ''They want as many teachers as possible making as much money as possible. This is why they support smaller classes. It means more teachers, more pay, more money for the union.''

Sambar agrees. ''Good teachers do not need tenure. Poor or incompetent teachers use it to protect their jobs.''
(The article " Unions Defend Bad Teachers" Tenure - At Students' Expense " was written by Michael Chapman,
published and copyrighted by Investor's Business Daily - National Issue.on September 21, 1998.)

Excessive fees violate information act

Cyndi Klapperich has a great FYI column in the Northwest Herald.

Excessive fees violate information act

[published on Tue, Jul 25, 2006]
If you're a representative of a public body charging 25 cents or more per page for Freedom of Information Act responses, you should read this.

You might want to invite Terry Mutchler of the Illinois attorney general's office out for a training session before a citizen complaint draws her attention your way.

Here's the law.

The Freedom of Information Act permits a public body to charge a reasonable copying fee "not to exceed the actual cost of reproduction and not including the costs of any search or review of the records."
That means it's acceptable, when a posted fee structure is in place as also required by law, to charge for the cost of your paper, ink and the operation of your machinery. It is not acceptable, in fact it is illegal, to charge for staff time.

If you truly believe that someone is using the Freedom of Information Act purely to harass, again, call Mutchler. It does happen. She knows. But she also can help you get beyond it without breaking the law in the process.

A message I received on my answering machine recently from Lakemoor Village President Virginia Povidas indicated that confusion reigns regarding the Freedom of Information Act and fees. And I'm certain Lakemoor is not alone in its confusion.

First, there's the fee itself. Lakemoor charges 25 cents a page, about 17 cents more than is charged by any of several for-profit printing companies I contacted in the McHenry area Monday. If a place that's out to make a buck charges 8 cents a page, and Lakemoor charges 25 cents, well, you do the math.
Lakemoor routinely has charged the Northwest Herald this fee in recent weeks, although a request for documentation of its copying costs was fulfilled for free.

Those documents show that Lakemoor pays less than a penny a page for its copying paper. It's more difficult to calculate what its per-page ink costs are. But one receipt, from Canon Business Solutions, indicates a cost of slightly more than a penny and a half per metered page.

Further, Povidas said in a voice mail she left me that the decision to charge was because of the "time it's taking the girls to gather all of this information." Please reread the act, Virginia, or peruse it for the very first time. Charging for staff time is prohibited.

A quick check of just a couple of other public bodies indicates that Lakemoor is not alone in charging beyond what could reasonably be considered "actual copying costs." The village of Johnsburg also charges 25 cents a page, and Huntley School District 158 charges 50 cents a page.

Mutchler, the public access counselor for the Illinois attorney general's office, said anyone who believed that a public body was charging more than was legal under the act was welcome to file a complaint with her office. A few sentences generally suffice.

Call (217) 782-1090 or visit www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov for information.

Letter to the editor: Teachers not cutting it

The following letter appeared in the Northwest Herald and on Students First.

Letter to the editor: Teachers not cutting it

7/24/2006



Northwest Herald


Why on earth does this poor child need to have tutoring if the school is adequately educating him? How can the school continually push him through?

He is in the special-education program, which should be a very individualized program, yet he is catching up with tutoring. How sad. Five grade levels in one summer.

This boy seems to be teachable, and Greg Buchanan needs to know that learning is obvious and proven, not an appearance.

As a professional, I know that true knowledge cannot be staged. If this boy is learning with a tutor and moving up in grade-level comprehension, maybe Buchanan's objective data isn't so objective.

Maybe some of the teachers are simply doing a poor job. Buchanan needs to re-evaluate the program for students who aren't succeeding.

Tutoring should be as the story states, a means to do better. No one should need tutoring to move up five grade levels.


Deborah Foster

Crystal Lake

Nation’s first equestrian high school close to opening

Canned public schooling is failing American children. New Hampshire has an innovative school opening this fall. The following article appears in the New Hampshire newspaper the Union Leader.


Nation’s first equestrian high school close to opening
By JOHN WHITSON
Union Leader Staff
Sunday, Jul. 16, 2006

ROCHESTER – With federal grant money finally in the bank, what’s envisioned as the nation’s first public equestrian high school is much closer to becoming a reality.

Susan Hollins, superintendent of the New Hampshire Equestrian Academy charter school, deposited $189,000 in school accounts last month. The money will be put to work immediately, as school officials scramble to meet a self-imposed deadline of opening in September.

“This is the first school of its kind we can find in the public sector,” said Hollins. “There’s a great need and interest for a school like this, but the facilities issue is daunting. It’s understandable that a school like this doesn’t exist.”

Hollins compared the academy to schools for tennis or music prodigies, but she emphasized it will be first and foremost a college preparatory high school.

“It’s a college prep program with a complete equine studies career program,” she said.
Students accepted

Leslie Bryan, president of the academy’s board of trustees, said seven students had been accepted for the fall prior to a recent open house. That event proved successful, as the school now has 18 ninth- and 10th-graders lined up for the fall.

It will begin with those grade levels and expand to a full, four-year high school as the first class progresses toward graduation.

Although it doesn’t have its own facilities yet, the academy has a home thanks to the donation of land and use of buildings from Dr. Grant Myhre, owner of the 110-acre Myhre Equine Clinic.

Myhre runs the only large referral hospital for horses in New England. Over the past several years, he’s refocused his practice from veterinary surgery to primarily high-tech diagnostic work.

He said he has always been involved in education — he’s taught university courses and regularly holds continuing education conferences for farriers and veterinarians — so playing host to the equine academy feels like a natural fit.

Until the school can build its own facilities, Myhre will donate half a house for classrooms and two barns which now sit largely unused.

Grand plans
Through grant money and fundraising efforts, school officials plan to eventually build an academic building/conference center, an indoor arena, a small stable with school-owned horses, and a small building for equine studies classes.

Bryan said the academy must now hire two teachers qualified not only in various classroom disciplines, but who also meet criteria to lead the equine studies program.

A major hindrance in marketing the school and finding teachers to staff has been financial uncertainty, said Bryan.

Getting the grant money is nice — it’s essential — but she wishes it had arrived awhile ago. A little over $200,000 more will come the school’s way as part of the nearly $400,000, 36-month federal grant.

The state will also give the school about $3,700 per student, roughly one-third what “mainstream” public schools receive on average.

While money will probably always be a source of concern for charter schools, Hollins and Bryan said other aspects of the equestrian academy are on solid ground. Most importantly, they said, a challenging curriculum is being finalized.

“I wanted a high standard high school,” said Bryan, “where students would not only be prepared for any college in the country but they would also have a portfolio of work. The students we attract are incredibly bright students who also have a passion for horses.”

Heavy course load
Equestrian academy students will be expected to take more courses than their peers at other schools because there will be no drop-off in traditional classes and an additional requirement in equine studies.

Traditional classes will also be tweaked with an eye toward equines. For example, said Bryan, students will look at the role horses have played while studying world history, and literature choices will have an equine theme.

The academy will have an equestrian team, but Hollins emphasized that it shouldn’t be considered a riding school. “At least four of the students enrolling have said they want to be veterinarians,” she said.

The students, said Bryan, have come from across the state. A couple are planning to carpool each day from Keene. It’s that kind of commitment, she said, that will allow the academy to prosper.

“Horse people are just very creative and driven,” said. “We have done almost no advertising, but we have had interest, not only in New Hampshire, but all over the country.”

Hollins envisions the academy flourishing and becoming a drawing card for the area.
“The potential of this school to have an impact on the New Hampshire economy is really significant,” she said. “This is an events kind of school. Events planning and management is going to be one of the courses.”

Good example
As a model, Hollins points to the Big E, the huge two-week agricultural exposition held each fall in West Springfield, Mass.

“This school has many possibilities to help the state that people won’t realize until it’s open and running,” she said. “The potential to help Rochester and to help students develop the background to open their own business, should they chose to do that, is huge.”
For more information, email info@nhequestrianacademy.org.

State rips school district

The following article appears in the Chicago Tribune.

Jo Napolitano did an excellent job reporting on this story. The story below is not an uncommon story. Research and investigate your own district and you will find waste, fraud, corruption and/or patronage. Many people are doing this across Illinois. The find it to be enjoyable, educating and an enlightening experience. It is also tough work at times because you will might a wall of resistance. School districts will get away with whatever they can unless someone is watching over them. This all can be done in as little as one hour a week.

State rips school district
Harvey-Dixmoor told to repay millions

By Jo Napolitano
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 20, 2006

The Illinois State Board of Education wants West Harvey-Dixmoor Elementary School District 147 to return more than $2.2 million in federal and state grants, saying the money was either unaccounted for or misspent.

It is unclear how the cash-strapped district would repay the money, but state officials say it could be deducted from future grants.

An inch-thick report from the monthslong investigation into how the district spent about $10.2 million in grants over a 3-year period ending in 2005 was released Wednesday. It includes numerous rebuttals from the district, although state officials deemed most of the claims "inadequate."

Robert Wolfe, head of the state board's external assurance division, said his office has a legal and moral obligation to make sure the grants "get to the kids who need it the most."

Although many of the district's employees may be working hard to educate children, the spending and record-keeping practices are unacceptable, Wolfe said. The state plans to regularly monitor the district, although no formal plan has been established, he added.

District parents say they are disgusted but not surprised by the findings. David Scott, father of two students, said Supt. Alex Boyd and school board members should be held accountable.

"I think [Boyd] should have stepped down a long time ago," Scott said. "And the school board needs to step down because they allowed it."

Kevin Gordon, an attorney representing the district, had not yet seen the state report but said the district stands by its claims.

"The school district's position is that it has not misspent those monies and that it will be reviewing this matter with the state board," Gordon said.

Neither Boyd nor Assistant Supt. Laurice Geanes could be reached for comment.

The state's attorney's office has asked for a copy of the report and is conducting an investigation of the district, said a source familiar with the probe. State officials say the $2.2 million includes more than $119,000 in meals, $157,000 in travel and $211,000 for salaries and benefits, none of which is allowable under terms of the grants. The district spent $119,491 on items including clown services, cameras, televisions, furniture and T-shirts, which are also not allowed.

Records show the state found more than 200 questionable expenditures in Title I funds alone. That money is earmarked for children from low-income families to help them meet state academic standards.

Almost 97 percent of the district's 1,715 students are considered low-income, and only 36.2 percent passed the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests in 2004-05. Statewide, almost 70 percent passed.

The district used Title I funds to purchase $250 worth of costumes and wigs for an end-of-the-year party, $562 for Fannie May candies and $471 for a pizza party for students with perfect attendance, records show. Thousands more was spent on electronic equipment, including a $328 digital camera.

School officials used the same grant to pay a visiting speaker about $7,200 to talk about student achievement. An additional $2,400 was spent on baby-sitters to allow parents to attend a school meeting.

Then there's the food.

Mini-Kaiser sandwich trays, chicken, salads and rolls and other meals added thousands more; a lunch cruise in February 2005 cost $1,800.

The district also spent hundreds on Christmas stockings, furniture and tote bags. Officials had trophies engraved, spent more than $1,200 on catering and flowers for a teachers' meeting and bought a mini-fridge, all with grant money.

They took numerous trips but didn't keep adequate records or receipts, state officials said. It's hard to tell who went where and for what purpose in some cases. As a result, the state has urged the district to come up with a more formal travel reimbursement policy.

School officials have long complained about a shrinking tax base and deteriorating state aid, but critics believe officials have squandered the funding they did get.

Scott said the district's leaders lost sight of their purpose--to serve the children of West Harvey/Dixmoor.

"It's about our students and their education," he said. "Are we concerned about our students at all? I think they deserve a chance."

Wayne Tellis, who lives in the district, is weary of what he termed the school board's double talk.

"I just think it's unconscionable that the officials have taken the citizens for fools," he said. "I'm not totally surprised because there were so many indications. I just had in the back of my mind, `There's something wrong here.'"

Tellis, whose wife teaches in the district, and Scott said they were suspicious of the district's spending practices in light of the reluctance to hand over certain financial documents that should be made public under the Freedom of Information Act.

Even school board members have said the district's leadership is unwilling to share basic financial information.

Board member Bonnie Rateree said she had not seen the state's report, but would research the matter on Thursday.

"That's my job; to find out and to hold people accountable."

----------

jnapolitano@tribune.com


Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

District 158 investigates $10,000 theft

Jeffery Gaunt of the Daily Herald
is the best education reporter in Northern Illinois. Once again he hits it out of the ballpark with the article below. The article below should make it clear to all readers that Larry Snow is the only District 158 board member who has the interests of the taxpayers and taxpayers' dollars in mind. But will anything change? Will apathy allow the other board members to remain seated and continue to be reckless with taxpayer dollars?

As school spending increases so does the number of people who benefit from the school spending gravy train. Administrators, teachers, janitors, busdrivers, support staff, legislators, retirees on the education pension dole, architects, realtors, contractors, newspaper owners, lawyers, accountants, public relation firms, auditors, consultants, suppliers of everything from milk to bleachers to school furniture, etc., etc., etc. We will reach a point where more people's pockets will be filled with school dollars than those that don't receive school spending dollars. This monster will be so big that referenda pushers and tax eaters will be able to easily pass any tax increase unless everyone from students, parents, retirees and voters get involved. It is time to stop re-electing legislators who except teachers union, union and money from anyone involved in benefiting from public school monies.

What do we get from all this spending? Poor graduation rates, poor performance on standardized tests, billions of dollars being spent on remedial education because the K-12 system failed to prepare students for college, America falling behind second and third world countries in science and math, students who have been through the K-12 system who are functionally illiterate, etc, etc.


District 158 investigates $10,000 theft
BY JEFFREY GAUNT
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Saturday, July 22, 2006

A former Huntley District 158 financial employee is under investigation for bilking the district out of as much as $10,000.

District officials contacted Algonquin and Huntley police on July 10, after an internal investigation revealed a staff member might have stolen money from the district.

Officials also said they were strongly advised by police not to discuss the details of the case during the investigation.

"This is a really sensitive issue," Superintendent John Burkey said. "We will be forthcoming. But we also have to protect the investigation."

Burkey said the employee is not now working in the district.

He said he couldn't comment on how much money might have been stolen, but a source close to the investigation said the amount likely is between $8,000 and $10,000.

Once the investigation is complete, police said they will turn all of the information over to the McHenry County state's attorney's office.

"I would expect in a few weeks," Algonquin Deputy Police Chief Ed Urban said. "I wouldn't expect it to take longer than that."

The investigation is the latest in a series of problems that have plagued the district's fiscal office in the past
several years.

The department's top two officers stepped down last year after the office came under fire for releasing false and misleading information regarding a 55-cent tax-rate increase.

When new chief financial officer Stan Hall came on board later last year, he discovered a series of missteps under the previous administration, including a $13 million loan that went largely unused and which cost the district $230,000 in interest.

State auditors later determined district officials falsely filled out several state aid claim forms. One led to the collection of an extra $666,000 in transportation aid, which the district is repaying. Another over-reported the number of students attending class and brought in as much as $325,000, which the district also must return.

The audits found the district owed the state $2.1 million.

Earlier this year, an independent auditor said the district lacked internal financial controls that would prevent employees from mishandling money - intentionally or unintentionally.

Completion of that audit was delayed because of problems with the district's accounting practices. The auditor and district officials still are unable to account for a difference of $16,000 to $20,000 between the district's ledgers and bank statements.

"The fiscal office had serious problems over a year ago," said Burkey, who started as superintendent July 1. "We all know that. I believe there has been significant progress in the last 12 months. However, I do believe there is still progress that has to be made."

The school board has balked at repeated calls from board member Larry Snow to hire a forensic auditor to investigate whether district employees have engaged in illegal activity.

School board President Mike Skala said Friday that despite news of the latest criminal investigation, he wasn't sure whether the board would change its tune - or even broach the topic in public.

"I don't think it's a dead issue by any means," Skala said. "I would like to bring it up in the future, and if it gets shot down again, it gets shot down."

But he said he would likely ask board members what they thought individually, rather than waste time discussing the matter in public, or asking administrators to work on it, if the majority of the board didn't support the idea.

Skala said that, like Snow, he supports an audit. But he prefers a special audit over a forensic audit, meaning the focus would be on where the money was spent, rather than possible impropriety.

In the meantime, he said the district's fiscal office is improving.

"There are checks and balances in place now where they might not have been previously," he said. "Not that it's going to be perfect right now. It's going to take awhile. You can't just do everything overnight."
jgaunt@dailyherald.com

School district official quits amid corruption allegations

The article below was sent to us by our friends at Parent Advocates.org. Don't think stuff like this is happening in your district think again.

James Fleming, California Superintendent, Resigns Amidst Charges

School district official quits amid corruption allegations



SANTA ANA, Calif. The embattled superintendent of Orange County's
Capistrano Unified School District says he's resigning after 15 years
on the job.

James Fleming's announcement comes amid accusations that he targeted
parents attempting to recall the school board he reports to.

Allegations recently surfaced that the county registrar improperly
allowed district officials to review the names of people who signed
recall petitions.

Fleming acknowledged the existence of spreadsheets listing parents,
teachers and others who received recall e-mails for the first time
Tuesday.

He said the lists were part of an effort to determine whether someone
had hacked into the district's computer system.

The head of a group that was seeking the district trustees' recall
called Fleming's departure "a great milestone."

But district officials lauded Fleming. They say his tenure was marked
by achievement advances and a near doubling of district enrollment.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

School Reformers Interested in Defamation Lawsuit

John Biver of the Family Taxpayers Foundation has another great post on the FTF site. This article points out why so many people do not speak out. But this is exactly the reason why people should speak out. School employees have become very powerful. Referendum's will pass if people especially parents and students do not speak out about the deplorable behavior of most school employees and many in the press.

School Reformers Interested in Defamation Lawsuit

By John Biver

An interesting case working its way through the court system has implications for school reformers. You may have read about Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Thomas’ libel lawsuit against the Geneva-based Kane County Chronicle (Click here for an AP article and here for a Sun-Times article). Government watchdogs who have been the subject of similar newspaper treatment are paying attention.

At issue in the Thomas case is a newspaper column that claimed Thomas had changed his position in a disciplinary hearing after alleged quid pro quo support was given to a judicial candidate that Thomas favored.

The Associated Press reports that the Kane County Chronicle is standing by its columnist. The AP also quotes Thomas as saying, “The one thing the law doesn’t protect is lying, and that’s what this was.”

What makes this case interesting for school reformers is a recent column by Jennifer Martikean in the Northwest Herald bashing D158 School Board Member Larry Snow for automated phone calls he had nothing to do with.
 
In her column, Martikean portrays Larry Snow in a false light, creating the impression that he cooked up a nefarious plot to hide a campaign expenditure.

To view the rest of the article click here.

Jersey County citizens law suit moves forward

The following was posted by Joyce Morrison on the Illinois Review website.

Jersey County citizens law suit moves forward

Taxpayers in Jersey County were victorious this morning when a ruling was given by the presiding judge before a packed court room for a "leave to file complaint." The request was filed by a citizens group against the illegal sale of school bonds by Jersey Community School District No. 100 and this ruling will permit the lawsuit to proceed.

This was music in the ears of Jeff Ferguson and his large group of followers. Ferguson has over 800 pages of documentation he has collected over the past three years indicating the two new schools, which were built against the wishes of the taxpayers, were also built by the illegal sale of bonds.

The attorney for the Jersey County Coalition for Public Awareness, stated that, " in 1999, School District 100 submitted a proposition to issue general revenue bonds for the building of a new high school which the voters rejected." The suit claims the school board and administration illegally sold Health and Safety bonds when they built two new schools in the district.

The attorney representing the school district in defense of the suit told the judge "the contractors are expected to be paid and the capital being discussed in this law suit is enormous."

The Jersey Community School District No. 100 was financially secure until the past 3 or 4 years and now they have been forced to cut programs and are facing millions of dollars indebtedness. School board member, Terri Kallal, with facts and figures in hand, has been the only school board member in the district trying to stop the spending frenzy.

Jersey County is not the only county facing this situation. School districts throughout Illinois are financially drained because of the building of new schools and the abuse of powers taken by their local school board and administration. Going to court against a school district is not an easy task but hopefully more districts will begin to defend their taxpayers and stop the corruption in the education system.

In conversation, one taxpayer compared the illegal building of schools to a theft. "A thief must pay the consequences. When boards illegally use my money, this is theft from my pocket just as sure as they had forcefully taken it from me."

On September 21, the summary judgment will be held where testimonies from both sides will be heard.

Underground History of American Education

For those who like to read a book on-line here is an education book for you. The book is Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto. Below is an excerpt of the book. Thanks to our friends at the Fair Tax Groups and Neal Boortz for the heads up on this book and link.

"You aren’t compelled to loan your car to anyone who wants it, but you are compelled to surrender your school-age child to strangers who process children for a livelihood, even though one in every nine schoolchildren is terrified of physical harm happening to them in school, terrified with good cause; about thirty-three are murdered there every year. From 1992 through 1999, 262 children were murdered in school in the United States. Your great-great-grandmother didn’t have to surrender her children. What happened?

If I demanded you give up your television to an anonymous, itinerant repairman who needed work you’d think I was crazy; if I came with a policeman who forced you to pay that repairman even after he broke your set, you would be outraged. Why are you so docile when you give up your child to a government agent called a schoolteacher?"

To read more go to Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto.

A Call to All - The state of Illinois public education is poor.

The following article appears on the Illinois Policy Institutes website.


A Call to All

The state of Illinois public education is poor.  Some schools excel, no doubt.  But writ large, the public education system is failing parents, students, and educators.  This does not have to be so - there exist reforms that can immediately improve the education system in Illinois.  But first, Illinois needs reformers.

Far beyond a capital development plan, far beyond decreased class sizes, a paradigm shift in the approach to public education is essential.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in rural Illinois.  The state’s most squalid schools are in urban areas, and on average rural schools outperform urban schools.  Rural students read better, and they perform better in math.  But beyond Cook County and the Metro East areas, the districts struggling most to even graduate high school seniors are overwhelmingly rural in number.

Of rural high school graduates, fewer attend college than their urban counterparts.  And even then, they remain in college for less time.  This pattern, more than any other phenomenon, is destroying the economy of rural Illinois.

While reform has been slow in coming to rural Illinois schools, so has research.  In this matter, however, Illinois is not alone in the dark.  Nationwide, there is a dearth of rural education data.  We know that the status quo is failing rural America, but there are few figures to suggest what can be done.  A report commissioned by the United States Department of Education put it plainly: “there is almost no rural education research that is rigorous enough to guide important decision making with the necessary level of certainty. For all practical purposes, the knowledge base about important rural education issues is nonexistent.”  And so, it is left to reformers to hypothesize as to which measures can best improve the lot of parents and students trapped in a failing school system. 

In this spirit, the Illinois Policy Institute will, in the coming days, weeks, and months, issue a series of policy briefs outlining a number of choice-based reforms that aim to bring immediate, positive change to rural Illinois schools.

However, the reform of rural Illinois schools cannot come through the work of a single organization.  State and federal lawmakers, local governments - especially school districts – must all look beyond the prevailing, convenient wisdom and look closely at innovative approaches that literally ‘re-form’ the delivery of public education. 

To view the rest of the article go to the Illinois Policy Institutes website.

Student sues Nevada school for silencing God reference

The story below is a follow-up to an early post .
This story appeared in the Chicago Tribune first published by the Associated Press.

Student sues Nevada school for silencing God reference

By Ryan Nakashima
Associated Press
Published July 15, 2006

LAS VEGAS -- A high school valedictorian whose microphone was cut off as she gave an address referring to Jesus Christ has filed a lawsuit against school officials, claiming her rights to religious freedom and free speech were trampled.

Brittany McComb, 18, said she was giving her June 15 commencement address to some 400 graduates of Foothill High School and their family members when the mike was unplugged.

"God's love is so great that he gave his only son up," she said before the microphone went dead. She continued without amplification, "...to an excruciating death on a cross so his blood would cover all our shortcomings and provide for us a way to heaven in accepting this grace."

McComb's lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, names the principal, assistant principal and the employee of the school in Henderson who allegedly pulled the plug.

McComb said she was warned that her speech would be cut off if she did not follow an approved script that deleted references to Christ and invitations for others to join the faith. But she memorized the deleted parts and said them anyway.

"In my heart I couldn't say the edited version because it wasn't what I wanted to say," she told The Associated Press. "I wanted to say why I was successful . . . . It involved Jesus Christ for me, period."

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that school officials deprived McComb of her rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments, according to The Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal group that is backing the lawsuit.

Clark County School District spokesman Dave Sheehan said district lawyers had not seen the lawsuit and were unable to comment on it.

School district lawyer Bill Hoffman said previously that the school was following 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rulings that have obligated districts to censor student speeches for proselytizing.

Allen Lichtenstein, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said the school appropriately followed the appeals court's decisions.

"Proselytizing is improper in school-sponsored speech at valedictorian graduations," he said.

John Whitehead, president of the Charlottesville, Va.-based Rutherford Institute, said this case differed from others involving the vetting of valedictorian speeches because the microphone plug was pulled as McComb veered into unapproved text. Students in other cases had accepted editing of religious content, he said.

"But What About Socialization?"

Yesterday's piece about the Chicago public school teachers' union concern about home schooling promoted us to rerun the piece below which first appeared in the New Oxford Review.

This is a cute little piece on homeschooling and socialization. This piece came from the New Oxford Review

Apparently, the problem with homeschooling is the socialization of children. In the Kolbe Little Home Journal (Fall 2005), there is a brief item called "Homeschooling Family Finds Ways to Adapt to a Public
School 'Socialization' Program." Here it is:


"When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering homeschooling our children, we are without fail asked, 'But what about socialization?' Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities. Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car. Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend
exploits with alcohol and immorality.... And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring up morals and values."


So much for socialization!--

"You can have Peace or you can have Freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at the same time."
--Robert Anson Heinlein

Home-based online schooling ripped

The following article appeared in the Chicago Sun Times.

According to the Illinois School Report cards in Chicago School District 299 only 31.7% of the students meet or exceed state goals on the Prairie State Achievement Exam. It is time for the Chicago Teachers' Union to let go of their iron grip on the Chicago Education System and give students a fighting chance to get a proper education. 15,587 dollars is spent per student to educate the children, the results are only 31.7% can meet or exceed state goals. The system is failing far to many students and society and our country pays the price. While teachers except no accountability and retire early on hefty pensions primarily funded by the taxpayers. It is time for reform.

Home-based online schooling ripped

July 14, 2006

BY KENDRICK MARSHALL Staff Reporter


A new Chicago Public Schools charter that would educate students online from home is illegal, the Chicago Teachers Union said Thursday, threatening a court challenge to the school, which has yet to receive state approval.

"This is not the answer for our students," teachers union President Marilyn Stewart said at a press conference Thursday at the union's Merchandise Mart headquarters. "This school is a step back in education reform."

The Chicago Virtual Academy was approved by the School Board in January and plans to enroll 600 K-8 students this fall.

However, as a charter school, it must receive state approval and Illinois State Board of Education officials said they have yet to receive its application.

Malon Edwards, CPS spokesman, said the application from the school operators arrived in March and was sent to the state this week. He could not explain the delay, but said it shouldn't affect the timetable for state approval.

Hindered socially, academically?

State Board officials will try to rule before the school year starts, a state board spokesman said.

The union contends the online setting would violate a state school code that mandates "non-home based'' charter schools. Virtual Academy president Sharon Hayes denied the program would be "home schooling children'' since they would learn in the classroom as well.

The planned school would enroll students citywide and serve physically disabled and gifted students or those from underperforming schools as part of the city's Renaissance 2010 initiative. Students would work primarily from home with the help of a parent or another responsible adult.

One of the union's biggest concerns is that students would be hindered socially and academically.

According to Hayes, students will spend 25 percent of their time online with laptops and materials provided by the school, the rest of the time they will complete workbook exercises and hands-on activities as well as interact with a state-certified teacher and other students once a week at a downtown learning center.

Ex-CPS official indicted over bribes

The following story appeared in the Chicago Sun Times.


Ex-CPS official indicted over bribes

July 12, 2006

BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter


A former Chicago Public Schools official who is the brother of a high-ranking mayoral aide was indicted on charges he took bribes in exchange for handing out millions of dollars worth of school contracts, officials disclosed today.

James Picardi, former assistant manager of operations and operations manager for the school system, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Picardi, 51, of Wauconda, is the brother of Michael Picardi, the city's Streets and Sanitation commissioner.

Federal authorities said James Picardi and two others scammed the schools out of money tied to fencing contracts.

Picardi received weekly payments totaling $5,000 in exchange for helping James Levin, a fence company executive, land contracts with the schools, authorities said.

Levin, former president of Tru-Link Fence and Products Co., and Tru-Link Commercial Inc., was charged with one count of wire fraud and tax evasion. Also charged with conspiracy to commit bribery is Arthur Miller, who owns All Power Electric.

CPS paid more than $2.6 million to Tru-Link between 1998 and 2000 for 106 fencing projects.

nkorecki@suntimes.com

New Century Project - John Kasich Chairman

The information below is from the New Century Project.

"I do not believe that there is any way to fix the public school system without opening it up to competition and parental choice. Our bureaucratic one size fits all public school system has lost its ability to encourage and nurture the uniqueness of each child. What is so radical about the idea of giving parents the power to send their child to the best possible school? I understand that this will bring huge change to our public schools, but I do not fear this change. The only thing I fear is the status quo."

- John Kasich in a speech to the Urban League

The education our nation's children is the most important civil rights issue in America today.

New Century Project supports school choice because it empowers parents to provide a better education for their children. It also increases the accountability of educational institutions and helps to restore local control over schools.

NCP continues to support initiatives and ideas for more accountable education, as well as elected leaders who are fighting for school choice, local control, and more accountability.

Our chairman, John Kasich, has a consistent and ongoing commitment to school choice.

To read more about John Kasich and the New Century Project go to New Century Project website.

Time to Face our Education Crisis by Newt Gingrich

The following is a letter from Newt Gingrich. This is a good start but he should put the finger at the teachers' unions just as Dole had when he was running for president.

Time to Face our Education Crisis

School is out for the summer, but as a grandfather and former college professor, the education of our children is never far from my mind. My own grandchildren are young -- ages 6 and 4 -- and have their entire educational experience ahead of them. I saw a report recently that makes me worry about the education system they will inherit. It makes me worry what kind of country they will inherit. And it makes me ask this question: When it comes to educating our children, at what point are we willing to face the truth and declare that the education system created for the industrial era is failing to prepare our children for the demands of today's information age?

If a 21.7% Graduation Rate Isn't Failure, What Is?

The education bureaucracy likes to play a game with statistics. They usually publish data on educational successes or failures only on a statewide basis, so parents and teachers have no way to hold the education bureaucracy accountable where it counts -- on the district level. But a new study sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation took a different approach, and the results it reported are deeply troubling to those of us with a concern for the future of American children.

The study looked at graduation rates on a district-by-district level and found that they are shockingly lower than previously reported by the education bureaucracy. In big-city public school districts like Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and Denver, fewer than 50 percent of high school students graduate on time. In three districts, the public schools graduate fewer than 40 percent of their students: In New York City, the graduation rate is 38.9 percent; in Baltimore, it's 38.5 percent; and in Detroit, incredibly, only 21.7 percent of students who enter public high schools will graduate.

Failing Four Out of Five Students

Consider this finding for a moment. If only 21.7 percent of students graduate from Detroit schools on time, that means that 78.3 percent of students fail to graduate. Almost 80 percent of students -- four out of five -- are failed by our educational system. Why do we tolerate this level of failure? The fact is, in most aspects of life, we don't. If a private company took the money from its customers and then failed 80 percent of them, it would be closed in a day.

I am a firm believer in establishing measurable standards of success (or failure) and constantly assessing the wisdom and workability of policies against these standards. One of the most basic measures of the success of our school system is high school graduation. A high school diploma is the minimum requirement for successful participation in American life. The failure of our schools to graduate their students isn't limited to Detroit or to our big cities. Nationwide, it is estimated that three of every 10 students who start high school won't graduate on time. For minorities, these numbers are far worse. One of every two African-American and Latino students won't graduate on time or graduate at all. So dramatic is the failure that today there are more African American males in prison than there are in college -- a fact that is a national disgrace.

First, Save the Children

We've all heard the rallying cries of "Save the Whales" and "Save the Rainforest." My view is that reports on our public schools like this latest one should have us all shouting "Save the Children." Every time we allow policies that favor the education bureaucracy over our children, we not only hurt our children, we hurt our country and our prospects for future safety and prosperity.

Here's a case in point. One of the favorite talking points of the left-liberals is that more money will cure what is wrong with our education system. But here is just one of the facts that exposes this for the lie that it is. Nationally, our education bureaucracy is receiving more than $440 billion a year of our tax dollars to fund our schools, but only about 61 percent of this is actually spent in classrooms. In a state like Michigan, that number is even lower -- only 57 percent of education funds are actually spent on teachers and teaching. The rest goes to the bureaucracy for undefined, unaccountable "overhead." It cannot be overstated, that unless and until we make it a priority to put the welfare of our children over the welfare of the education bureaucracy, our education bureaucracy will continue to consign our children to future poverty and our nation to future failure.

The Valedictorian Who Flunked Out

America has many great public schools and many, many dedicated teachers. And we have more than our share of education success stories. The problem is that too often these successes are achieved in spite of our current education system, not because of it.

I am reminded of a tragic story I heard about the valedictorian at a high school in New Orleans who couldn't graduate because she had failed the math portion of her graduate exit exam five times. She had a near-perfect grade point average -- and had even received an A in an advanced math class her senior year. But when she took the test required of all Louisiana students before graduation, everything her school system had supposedly done for her was exposed as a lie. She hadn't been educated -- she had merely been processed, passed up the line from grade to grade in order to avoid exposing the failure of the very institutions and officials that were entrusted with her future.

To Rescue the Future, We Must Remember Our Past

From New York Times bestselling author William J. Bennett, comes America: The Last Best Hope, Volume 1. More than a history book, America: The Last Best Hope is a thrilling account of why America is the greatest country on earth, what made her so, and why she should prevail.

"The role of history is to inform, inspire and sometimes provoke us, which is why Bill Bennett's wonderfully readable book is so important."

- Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life


Had this story ended here, it would have been just one more tragic tale of how our education system is cheating kids and lying to their parents. But thankfully, the story of this young woman didn't end in failure. Even though she had been humiliated in front of her peers and the nation when the press picked up the story, she didn't give up. She persevered and, on her seventh try, passed the state graduation exam and received her diploma.

America abounds with more energy, resourcefulness and innovation than any nation in the history of mankind. We deserve an education system that nurtures and develops these qualities. I've said it before and I'll say it again: We owe our children and grandchildren an America at least as prosperous and secure as the one our parents and grandparents fought and worked to give us. "Save the children" isn't just a slogan, it's a call to win the future for all Americans, starting with our children. Let's not wait to get started.





Your friend,

Newt Gingrich

Can Political Leaders Find the Courage to Liberate Education?

The following article was published in The Heartland Institute's publication School Reform News.


Can Political Leaders Find the Courage to Liberate Education?

Author: Michael Strong
Published: The Heartland Institute 07/01/2006

Editor's note: This is the final installment of a seven-part series showing why charter schools do not have the freedom needed to create significant educational improvements through innovation.
Educational innovations leading to performance improvements were the goal of introducing school choice in the first place. It is possible that if Moreno Valley High School (MVHS)--a charter school in Angel Fire, New Mexico--had replicated its program across the state, SAT scores and AP enrollment statewide might have increased as additional Socratic Practice charter schools opened, staffed by faculty trained at the proposed MVHS Socratic Practice teacher training center.

Over the course of a decade or two, New Mexico might plausibly have moved from 50th in the nation educationally into the top 10. At MVHS, Socratic Practice programs have resulted in 120 point average annual gains on the SAT, compared to 40 point average annual gains for the United States as a whole, according to The College Board.

Legions of students currently incapable of college-level work, with SAT verbal scores below 300, could become legions of students with SAT verbal scores above 500, higher than the average entering college freshman's. New Mexico could have the highest percentage of students taking AP courses of any state in the nation.

Why accept failure? If indeed MVHS has such a good program, why can't the state replicate it statewide and reap the benefits of its innovative program?


Blocking the Way

Note the obstacles to such an approach:

Exactly the same program is perceived to be excellent by some, educational malpractice by others.
Although some parents, students, and educators love the program, the state regards it as largely a failing program due to noncompliance with regulations.
The program, despite its solid, measurable achievements, is similar to progressive pedagogies with a long history of failure and little documented success outside of MVHS and a limited track record even there. It is not a "research-based" reform.
In order for the program to be successful, it must be staffed and supervised by expert, highly intelligent Socratic educators, most of whom are not state-licensed and who must be trained in an institution that does not yet exist and if it did, would be completely outside the official university credentialing system and therefore an affront and a threat to that system.

Staking Careers on Change

In short, though some parents and educators are willing to stake their children's education and livelihoods, respectively, on this program, it is unlikely that bureaucrats and politicians, who must answer to majorities, media, and opponents, would stake their careers on it. It is just too controversial and too risky.

In addition, insofar as MVHS is staffed by non-credentialed personnel and uses an approach that does not teach to state standards, the public education establishment has both the incentive and the ammunition to undermine support for such a program.


Seeing Like Bureaucrats

Learning to "see like a state" means learning to see like the politicians and bureaucrats who constitute the state. To achieve political success, it is crucial to appear to be a leader, on the one hand, and to avoid appearing to be responsible for highly publicized disasters, on the other. Both President George W. Bush, with No Child Left Behind, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), with his reform program that required all charter school personnel to be licensed, were able to portray themselves as strong, assertive leaders in educational policy.

In the hunter/gatherer communities in which humans evolved, the decisive leader was the good leader. A politician who supports diverse experiments, especially in an area of such importance as education, is apt to appear weak.

Worse yet, if some of those educational experiments fail due to "inadequate" regulatory oversight, the media and the politician's opponents will blame the politician for allowing the failure to happen. Therefore it is much safer to support tightly regulated programs than to support diverse experimentation.

We are all constantly impressed by the world of technological innovation. Read Wired, Technology Review, Popular Science, or Popular Mechanics, or visit Sharper Image or Radio Shack, to be dazzled by the rate of technological change. But the road to the dynamism of the world of technology is paved with untold numbers of failed experiments, failed technicians, failed entrepreneurs, and failed companies.


Experimenting with Children

Critics of school choice sometimes indignantly claim that the public task of educating children is too important to be allowed to a chaotic marketplace in which schools operated by uncredentialed amateurs might fail. But without experimentation, great innovations will not come into being.

Because of the policies supported through the responsible leadership of Bush, Richardson, and the New Mexico Department of Education, MVHS is now on track to be a successful school in the eyes of the State of New Mexico.

The same parties are also responsible for ensuring that New Mexico will likely remain among the poorest and educationally lowest-achieving states in the nation during the coming decades.


Demanding Freedom

Freedom is a prerequisite for innovation in every field of human endeavor. Silicon Valley, "the greatest legal creation of wealth in human history," was created out of math, sand, and freedom. The Soviet Union had the best mathematicians on Earth and plenty of sand, but in the absence of freedom they were unable to produce innovative information technology. By the mid-1980s, any decent university in the United States had more computing power than the entire Soviet Union.

If we want to create the greatest development of human intellectual power in human history, we will have to allow for much greater educational freedom.

As long as we are led by "responsible political leaders," regardless of political party, who protect the public from educational malpractice, we will never have amazingly good schools. Until the public supports politicians in liberating education from state control, regardless of whether that means we'll have public schools, charter schools, vouchers, or tax credits, risk-averse politicians will be forced by the public to support "responsible" policies that prevent innovation and thereby ensure mediocrity.

Michael Strong (michael@flowidealism.org) is CEO and chief visionary officer of FLOW, Inc. (http://www.flowrealism.org), a group working to achieve world peace, prosperity, happiness, and sustainability in 50 years.

For more information ...

The College Board's "Retaking the Test" report is available online at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/understanding/retaking.html.


THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE
19 South LaSalle Street #903
Chicago, IL 60603
phone 312/377-4000 · fax 312/377-5000
http://www.heartland.org