Showing posts with label Akilah Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akilah Johnson. Show all posts

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Successor to Ed Marko? Broward School Board's 2nd round of interviews with General Counsel applicants set for Monday, after Integrity workshop


The Legal Services Committee of the Broward County School Board will meet on Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. -or the conclusion of the scheduled 1 p.m. workshop- in the
11th Floor Large Conference Room of their high-rise HQ at 600 S.E. 3rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, for the purpose of conducting the second round of interviews with applicants seeking to replace Ed Marko as General Counsel, a position he's held since LBJ was president.
Really.

Think about that.


Who, other than a person like Rep. John Dingell, who has been in Congress since the first term of President Eisenhower, succeeding his own father, who'd been elected in 1932, could possibly think that having the same person in place for well over 40 years was a satisfactory way of doing things?

Well, that is, unless you're a South American dictator, though to be factual, Marko was in his position in Broward many years before Pinochet was in power in Chile.

I found out about this meeting when I saw a small ad about it in Saturday's Miami Herald at the top of p. 6B.

But as has become a very bad habit with the the Herald the past six months, despite the fact that the public notice ads they are paid to run are also supposed to be posted at their online announcement page, http://newspaperads.miami.com/ROP/Subcat.aspx?cat=3328&subcat=3349 this ad was not.

And now that I think of it, neither, initially, was one I saw in Thursday's paper on p. 5B about an
important Hollywood City Commission meeting on the 27th at 6 p.m. about the long-running drama that is Block 55, the property of developer Chip Abele and his Block 55, LLP group.
That's the NE corner of Young Circle and the once-and-possible future home of a the new Publix and condo tower.
http://newspaperads.miami.com/ROP/Subcat.aspx?cat=3328


I eventually found the Hollywood ad and in a few days, will run it here along with some news about what's going on there.


Which is why I had to take a photograph of the ad -at top- instead of simply reproducing a clearer version of the ad here so everyone would know what's afoot.

My previous posts on the topic of Marko's successor were from July 13th:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/mea-culpa-on-marko-meeting-its.html
and July 12th http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/mea-culpa-on-marko-meeting-its.html

-----


The Broward School Board's three-headed "Integrity" committee released its final report on Friday the 17th.
Did you see any reporting about it locally, in print or on TV?
I sure didn't, and I was looking!

And that was supposed to be a big deal, remember?

The final recommendations will be discussed on Monday the 20th at the 1 p.m. Board workshop preceding the post-Marko era interviews I alluded to above.


The final "Integrity" report is here:
http://browardschoolsintegrity.org/core/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Complete-Report-as-a-PDF3.pdf

------

BrowardBeat
Deals With Insiders Continue At School Board
By Buddy Nevins

The Broward School Board might be suffering financially, but work must go on.

That includes deals with insiders.

The School Board is scheduled on Tuesday to renew a multi-million dollars lease for a 115,000-square-foot office building in Sunrise owned by the Stiles Corporation though two limited partnerships.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.browardbeat.com/deals-with-insiders-continue-at-school-board/

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Schools blog

Outside firm says school auditors doing a great job

Much of the recent talk—the last year or so—about the Broward School District’s Office of the Chief Auditor comes with a footnote to findings that stir up controversy and criticism.

Well, here’s some good news for the addendum: District auditors received high marks from an outside peer review.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/09/outside_firm_says_school_audit.html

-----

See also: http://akilahjohnson.com/ and
http://twitter.com/akjohnson2

Friday, March 19, 2010

March odds & ends about Broward Schools: audits, personnel cuts and School Board lobbyists who are leaving -or are they?

Last week I asked whether anyone else had seen
Broward School Superintendent James Notter's
appearance on CNN.
http://www.browardschools.com/

Well, it looks like I struck-out and it was beamed
only to my home in a super-secret location near
stately Wayne Manor.

There's no video of the appearance but here's
a transcript of the March 10th appearance.
http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1003/10/cnr.04.html

The Sun-Sentinel's Education Blog now has
a YouTube page that you may find worth
checking out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SSEducationNews
which I joined as a subscriber early this A.M.
becoming, apparently, their first subscriber,
so if you have an interest in things ABC,
you might want to consider joining as well.

As I've previously mentioned thru emails and
here on my blog, I'm somewhat frustrated
and confused by the newspaper's use of
their FLIP camera(s).
http://www.theflip.com/en-us?gclid=CI2M_Zz2xaACFY2F7QodqnYHfA
Not to play TV News Director or newspaper
Editorial Director or anything, but... well, I am.

To me, the cameras seem to be used too much
on covering the doings up on Andrews Avenue,
a few blocks north of the County Govt HQ,
at Fort Lauderdale City Commission meetings
and anything involving mayor Jack Seiler,
since I've never seen the camera in use at any
of the many Broward Ethics Commission,
Broward Legislative Delegation or Planning
Council meetings I've attended (and recorded)
since last September.

Personally, you'd think there'd be more general
interest in those topics than the routine City
of Fort Lauderdale meetings, though at some
of the Ethics meetings, I was the only member
of the Broward public present for more than
an hour or so at a time, so my use of the word
"interest" is used advisedly.

Frankly, why doesn't the Sun-Sentinel send
an intern to those meetings, which they must
deem a Junior Varsity event if a regular
Sun-Sentinel reporter can't cover it.
The interns can set-up the camera on tripod,
play cameraman and take notes so that the
other reporters/columnists can benefit from
seeing what's what at a later time.

Plus, the best parts, such as they are,
can be edited and put uploaded to their own
YouTube page where they can attempt to
grow their online presence.
That's what I'd do if I had anything to do
with it, which I don't, of course.

See video of Notter and Broward School Board
Chair Jennifer Gottlieb -running for re-election-
speaking to the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board;
video was posted on Feb. 23rd.

As of today, the Miami Herald still lacks an
Education blog and what I deem to be their
VERY mediocre politics blog, Naked Politics,
still has no online video component


In fact, they run stories about Lauren Book's possible
candidacy for Broward School Board there since they
have no blog:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/


http://www.youtube.com/user/BrowardPolitics
http://www.youtube.com/user/adamsptimes1

http://www.youtube.com/user/actsofsedition

That ticking you hear is the Herald's future winding-down...
if they don't get relevant and
hyper-local toute-de-suite.


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/fl-school-construction-audit-20100318,0,7378161.story
Overpayments won’t be tolerated, Broward schools construction chief says

By Akilah Johnson, Sun Sentinel
March 18, 2010

After a blistering audit that detailed unauthorized work and overpayments to contractors, the Broward School District's interim construction chief said Thursday he has warned staffers such practices will not be tolerated.

"As long as we have a culture that doesn't hold these people accountable, you will continue to have audits like this one," said Tom Lindener, acting deputy superintendent of facilities and construction.

The 51-page report described a department that ignores or skirts policies, laws and contracts. It claimed overpayments cost taxpayers almost $1 million and that two employees earned $93,000 in overtime in the past two years without documenting when, where or what work they did.

The report went to the district's audit committee Thursday and goes before the School Board on April 20.

Lindener told the audit committee he has already demanded that Pavarini Construction Co. refund the district $290,683 paid for work done without a contract. He said he met with at least two other contractors identified as owing the district money.

And he now requires project managers to use picture IDs at schools to document when they arrive and leave.

His only disagreement with the audit centers on a recommendation to create new policies. The problem isn't that rules aren't there, he said, it's that they're not being followed.

"I will hold people accountable, and, in fact, have already started calling people into my office," Lindener said.

He said he has issued four oral reprimands and two letters of reprimand for mismanagement and personal accountability issues since taking over in January.

He noted that part of the culture change must involve a safety net for employees to do what's right or document that they were following the orders of a superior, including School Board members who "have reached down into middle management, project managers," without fear of retribution.

Superintendent James Notter said he intends to address this issue during the board's May workshop on ethics.

"I see a spirit of cooperation that we haven't seen before," said Henry W. "Hank" Mack, the committee's chairman emeritus. "What makes me feel particularly good is to get a response to an audit that is positive and not designed to make the auditor look like they don't know what they are talking about."

Chief Auditor Patrick Reilly said more construction audits are in the works.

Reader comments at:
http://discussions.sun-sentinel.com/20/soflanews/fl-school-construction-audit-20100318/10





Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/19/1536770/audit-finds-building-funds-misspent.html
Audit finds Broward school building funds misspent
By Patricia Mazzei
March 19, 2010


A scathing internal audit has found that the Broward school district's construction department overpaid hundreds of thousands of dollars to contractors, allowed unauthorized projects to move forward and kept sloppy employee overtime, attendance and mileage records.

Among the most troubling items:

Paying more than $1 million for bleachers for a high school because a contractor was paid twice.

Paying nearly $400,000 for drawings of middle school classroom additions before the projects had been approved.

Paying employees overtime without specifying what extra work was done.

The report expands on problems with Broward's construction practices raised since the September arrest of former School Board member Beverly Gallagher, who pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as consultants for contractors.

But in a striking departure from thorny reports in the past, members of the district's watchdog audit group praised Broward's acting construction chief, on the job since January, for agreeing with the criticism -- in some cases, bringing forth problems himself -- and promising to turn his department around.

"The culture, I think, is changing,'' said Tom Lindner, who was appointed to head construction after the Dec. 31 retirement of department chief Michael Garretson.

He said his goal is to enforce rules already in place and reprimand employees who don't stick to them.

"As long as we have a culture that does not hold those people accountable, you will have audits like this one,'' he said.

Lindner said he has sent letters to the overpaid contractors to try to get money back. He has also met with two contractors to sort out what work they did and did not do.

The report says a project to build 2,500 bleachers at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale cost more than $1 million -- after being budgeted for about $500,000 -- because a subcontractor, Seating Constructors USA, was paid twice.

The district is referring the case to law enforcement to see if "criminal negligence or fraud'' took place.

Three contractors began doing the same work because the district mismanaged the project, the audit says. Seating was paid by both the district and the project's general contractor, Grace & Naeem Uddin, Inc. -- though the building permit was issued to a third firm, Florida Blacktop.

"Internal controls do exist and were ignored,'' Lindner wrote in his response to the audit's findings.

Grace & Naeem Uddin, Inc. has since sued Seating and the district over the project, the audit says.

PROJECT CALLED OFF

In a separate instance, the district overpaid contractor Pavarini Construction $290,683 to design a classroom addition at Westglades Middle in Parkland that has been postponed indefinitely due to budget cuts.

Design work began without School Board approval and the district agreed to pay before the architect had turned in design drawings.

Lindner said the school system's attorney has gotten involved in the case.

The Westglades project was bid in April 2008 and work began in May of that year -- though funding was not set aside for the project until August 2008, and board members did not approve it until April of last year, according to the audit.

District records had previously shown facilities auditor Dave Rhodes refused to sign off on the project in January 2008 because the Parkland area didn't need the extra space.

According to this week's audit, the project moved forward ``based on informal approval'' from Garretson, the former construction chief, and his staff, even after a project manager had questioned whether the new classrooms were needed. Coral Springs Middle, two miles from Westglades, had 359 empty seats at the time, the report says.

With projections showing that Broward will have about 33,000 more seats than students by the 2013-14 school year, the state has ordered the district to stop building new classrooms.

In November, Garretson said he had urged his staff to get projects put to bid quickly knowing a state-imposed halt to construction was coming.

Separately in the audit, the district overpaid a third contractor, James A. Cummings Construction Inc., twice for design work: once $22,225.08 for a classroom addition at Seminole Middle in Plantation and a second time $79,025.08 for three classroom additions at Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Sunrise middles.

Both times the board had not authorized work to begin on the projects. The overpayment happened because the original scope of the additions was reduced.

The audit also found that some employees did not complete daily attendance sheets, padded their mileage for reimbursement, left vacation and leave request forms unsigned and did not get approval for overtime or compensatory time.

In a particularly egregious example, two employees routinely received two hours of overtime a day starting in 2005. In the last two years, that amounted to $93,000 in extra pay for those employees.

Lindner said he put a stop to those overtime payments. Auditors had pointed to overtime problems elsewhere in the district in a June report that found Broward has been paying employees who have two jobs within the school system overtime for their higher-paying primary job -- even if the overtime work was done in the second, lesser-paying position.

REPRIMANDS

Auditors plan to present a second part of their review of the construction department in May. In the meantime, Lindner said he has verbally reprimanded four employees and written letters of reprimand to two others.

"It certainly showed some material weaknesses,'' Superintendent Jim Notter said Thursday. "How does a division pay overtime and not necessarily document the hours that they were working? That's clearly not right.''

Still, members of the audit committee, which is made up of experts not employed by the district, were happy with Lindner's response.

"What makes me feel particularly good is to get a response to an audit that is positive and not designed to make the auditors [seem] like they don't know what they're talking about,'' said Henry Mack, the committee's chairman emeritus.

"And I see a spirit of cooperation . . . that we haven't seen before.''

Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/19/1536770/audit-finds-building-funds-misspent.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1
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Broward Beat
Another Browardbeat First: Key Lobbyists Drop School Board Registration
By Buddy Nevins

Two of the school system’s leading lobbyists, both connected to disgraced School Board member Bev Gallagher, are no longer registered to work at the school system.

It’s the end of an era.

Not able to represent clients at the School Board because they are not registered are Barbara Miller and Neil Sterling – who once were the go-to lobbyists at the school system.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://www.browardbeat.com/end-of-an-era-key-lobbyists-drop-school-board-registration/

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel

South Florida Schools blog
Parents lobby to save Broward elementary school specials
Posted by Kathy Bushouse
March 17, 2010 11:16 AM

Ever since news broke last week that the Broward School District is considering cutting elementary school specials, parents are writing letters, going to meetings and starting Facebook groups in hopes that they'll be able to save art, music, P.E. and media classes.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/03/parents_lobby_to_save_broward_elementary_school_specials.html

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

South Florida Schools blog

Broward Schools Superintendent on facilities audit
Posted by Akilah Johnson
March 17, 2010 04:55 PM

Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter stopped by the Sun Sentinel to talk about an audit that says -- and I’m loosely quoting Hamlet here -- something’s rotten in the state of school construction.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/03/broward_schools_superintendent_5.html

Here's something to consider, which explains
a lot of what passes for logic locally with the
Broward School system. The South Adminstrative
HQ that deals with schools in Hallandale Beach
and Hollywood is 14.6 miles from Hallandale
High School.


View Larger Map


But the distance from Hallandale High School
to the School system's Main Office in downtown
Fort Lauderdale, home of the School Board
600 S.E. Third Avenue, is 10.6 miles.
Yes, the South office is both north and farther
away from the school than the Main Office.


View Larger Map

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Broward Schools' incompetency: reductio ad absurdum. Writ large! Lack of Integrity!

On Monday, I will have for you here the official
answer
why this particular meeting will NOT
be televised on
the Broward School Board's
own channel, BECON-TV, Channel 63.

Just like the last meeting I wrote about before
and after
it took place.

Here's what's scheduled to run on
BECON instead:
http://www.becon.tv/becon-tv-schedules
6:00 pm Historic Hotels of America : Jefferson, The
6:30 pm Broward School Beat : Episode 45
7:00 pm Celebrate South Florida! : Farewell Show
7:30 pm Dateline Health Nsu : Dh#257 Emergency Medicine/M. Campbell & K. Nugent

At some point, you have to wonder why they

even bother with the pretense of caring.

No, not just the
BTU, James Notter, the
Broward School Board, their bureaucracy
and the Integrity Trio, but the local
reporters
in South Florida as well, especially
TV reporters,
who do stories on them that,
to varying degrees
of clarity and professionalism,
don't so much
illuminate as obfuscate the
larger issues here:
integrity, or rather the
lack thereof.


This is reflective of the great thinking that
led
to the 1977 AMC Pacer, below.


How many of those do you see on the road
these
days?
How many people rhapsodize about them?

Do you know of any museum that trumpets
their collection of Pacers?
No, instead, every time you see one featured
in a TV show
or film, it's designed to serve as
comic relief about that era.

There's a very good reason for that, isn't there?

In my opinion, the current education system

in Broward County is a 1977 Pacer.

Earlier this week I wrote about the paid ad

the BTU, Broward Teachers Union,
ran in the Miami Herald and, apparently,
since I didn't see it that day, the South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
as well.

An ad that was precipitated by a
Wall Street
Journal
article in early January about special
education funding and which specifically
mentioned what Broward Supt. James Notter
was doing with that money here.

The Wall Street Journal
EDUCATION
JANUARY 6, 2010

Special-Ed Funds Redirected
School Districts Shift Millions of Dollars to General Needs After Getting Stimulus Cash
By ANNE MARIE CHAKER

Florida's Broward County Public Schools saved as many as 900 jobs this school year. Nevada's Clark County School District just added more math and tutoring programs. And in Connecticut's Bloomfield Public Schools, eight elementary- and middle-school teachers were spared from layoffs.

These cash-strapped districts covered the costs using a boost in funding intended for special education, drawing an outcry from parents and advocates of special-needs children.
Read the rest of the column at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html
Reader comments at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments

Let's be clear on one point: WSJ reporter
Anne Marie Chaker did a great job of bringing
this story to light.
She deserves to take a bow,

But nobody in South Florida's news media ever

bothered to pick up the ball and follow-up that
well-written and informative WSJ story with
the sort
of necessary connect-the-dots story,
column or TV investigative piece that should've
appeared shortly
afterwards
Nobody.

Surprise!
Except it is no surprise at all, is it?
Nope!
It's what we've come to expect from our local
media -nothing.

Since then, all manner of people have written

about the paid ad and some related matters,
but in my opinion, improbably, they have all
have managed to miss the forest for the trees.

They never wrote about
a.) special education and
b.) they never ask a very simple question:

Why is the BTU, having already repeatedly
failed
over two years to do their not-so-clever
mass email
as planned, continuing to repeat
their mistake,
over-and-over?
Plain and simple, it doesn't work.


What don't they understand about that?


At some point, as an organization, when you
continually fail, you have to admit that your
particular strategy
doesn't work and you
either need a new strategy
or a new general
Which one is it?

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/18/1485927/btu-ads-blast-superintendent-notter.html
Broward teachers, superintendent escalate hostilities
By Hannah Sampson
February 17, 2010

Long-simmering tensions between the Broward Teachers Union and the school district's superintendent escalated publicly Wednesday in morning newspaper ads and an afternoon news conference.

The union bought half-page ads in local newspapers accusing Superintendent Jim Notter of misusing school district money.

The allegations touch on use of stimulus money intended for kids with disabilities; job perks for Notter; rehiring of retired administrators and unnecessary travel on the taxpayer's dime.

They're all accusations the union has made before, but for the first time, Notter responded. He was appaled, he said, about the photographs of children that were used in the ad.

''When in fact you look at a paid ad and what looks back at you are children who clearly do not know and understand the untruths that I just shared with you, I will tell you that is wrong,'' he said, calling the children ''exploited.'' The ad, which cost up to $1,000 to run in each paper, features a picture of seven angry-looking children posing with their hands on their hips. They are the children of union members, a BTU spokesman said.

If not for the picture of the children, Notter said he would have ''maintained what leaders maintain, and that's taking the high road.''

Later, union spokesman John Ristow countered: ''It's time for Superintendent Jim Notter to stop misleading taxpayers and playing the blame game or take the high road out of Broward County.''

Teachers are working without a contract this school year as the union and district continue negotiations. The union wants raises for teachers, while the district says it could only afford to cover increases in the cost of health insurance for members. Negotiations last school year hit an impasse.

BTU spokesman John Ristow said Wednesday's ad was unrelated to the ongoing talks, however.

''Some things rise above contract negotiations,'' he said.

Some of the claims in the ad allege that Notter:

• Wasted $32 million intended for special education students;

• Got free health insurance for his wife while dependent insurance for employees went up 45 percent;

• Receives gas money for his ''new Corvette;''

• Rehires ''administrator friends'' who earn large paychecks;

• Took a non-essential trip for himself and other officials to an award ceremony;

• Has expense accounts for top administrators that exceed the yearly take-home salaries of many support professionals.

In the news conference, Notter addressed each accusation.

• He said the $32 million in stimulus money was used to pay part of the cost for special education that the district had paid for from its general fund.

• As part of a $26,000 reduction in compensation, he pays for his wife's health insurance and for gas for his 2002 Corvette, which he bought used.

• Since he became superintendent, 10 previously retired administrators have been rehired, with five making less money than before and the largest increase being $4,000 a year.

(However as retirees they still collect a pension).

• He traveled at the expense of the Broad Foundation to accept a prize of scholarship money.

• No one but him has an expense account, which amounts to about $260 per pay period.

Wednesday's ad wasn't the first one taken out by the union. It was just the latest volley in a series that has included baseball-themed protests, press events featuring piglets and fax, phone and e-mail campaigns.

''The ad is only one method that employees are using to try and educate the public about what's happening in Broward schools,'' Ristow said. ''They want the public to know that while Superintendent Notter cries poverty every day, he is wasting tens of millions of their tax dollars.''


Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/18/1485927/btu-ads-blast-superintendent-notter.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1


Above, the Hot Wheels representation of the
1969 General Motors Corvette


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-btu-suit-20100218,0,7445770.story
Teachers union files suit against Broward School Board for blocking e-mails
By Akilah Johnson
February 18, 2010


The battle between the Broward Teachers Union and the Broward School District is heading to court for the fourth time in the last year. This latest round is focusing on Internet free speech and a mass email campaign.

The case involves an electronic campaign by teachers seeking a pay raise. The union urged teachers to email administrators and the School Board, but 1,860 messages sent via a union website in March 2009 were blocked.

District officials told the union it blocks "mass emails or volume spam…which flood or cripple the School District website or e-mail system."

According to the lawsuit filed in the Broward Circuit Court on Wednesday, that "violates the civil rights" of the teachers. The district has "intentionally engaged in a continuing pattern or practice that limits Plaintiff's speech on a matter of public concern," the suit says.

School District Spokesman Eddie Arnold declined to comment Thursday, saying "we don't discuss lawsuits at all."

The relationship between the district and union began to sour in 2008 during contract negotiations and have continued to deteriorate. The teachers are now working without a contract and demanding a 4 percent pay raise, which the district says it can't afford to pay.

The three other suits and injunctions involved rising insurance costs, access to public records and district layoffs. Two of those cases have been settled out of court while the other is still active, the union said.

Union President Pat Santeramo admits the frequent legal action "is rather extreme. We have not in the history of the BTU had to pursue any issue as vigorously as we've had to since Superintendent [ James] Notter is here."

The union says this latest court case has far-reaching implications that could affect the ability of the public-at-large to contact elected officials in this electronic age.

"If district officials within Broward schools can block e-mails of constituents to elected School Board members, what would prevent a staff member of a U.S. representative from doing the same thing or the staff of a governor from deciding ‘we don't want the governor reading this because they come in too quickly or there is too many of them,' "said union spokesman John Ristow.

Lawyers from the state and national union as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organization that defends digital rights, are helping with the latest lawsuit.

There's no dollar amount on how much this most recent legal battle will cost, but the tab is being paid by the dues of union members nationwide. If the union wins, it plans to ask the district to pay legal costs.

Reader comments at:
http://discussions.sun-sentinel.com/20/soflanews/fl-btu-suit-20100218/10


Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/20/1491665_teachers-unions-smear-campaign.html
Teachers union's smear campaign misses target
By Fred Grimm
February 21, 2010

J
ust an ordinary news story: Young hackers penetrated Broward school district computers and altered grades. You've read so many variations of the Feb. 12 piece that such stories hardly register.

Until the sixth paragraph of the Sun Sentinel story. Up pops a startling bit of vitriol: ``Union officials said teachers and principals knew about the alleged grade tampering, but didn't report it for fear of retaliation by district officials.''

Apparently, educators privy to the computer-hacking scheme at the four affected Broward schools were so terrified of the potential wrath of Superintendent Jim Notter they shrank away from exposing a cheating conspiracy.

The statement, of course, carried as much credibility as a Scott Rothstein testimonial. But the Broward Teachers Union proudly posted the story on its website. No one at union headquarters seemed to notice the collateral damage caused by the union attack on Notter, smearing teachers and principals as cowards.

ANOTHER NOTTER ATTACK

Last week, the BTU went after Notter again. The union purchased half-page ads in The Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel charging Notter, among other sins, with ripping off special-education students and using school funds to gas up his ``new'' 2002 Corvette. The advertisement featured a goofy photo of Notter and the headline: ``Did Superintendent Jim Notter really take money from special education students?''

Well, not really. But Notter barely had time to respond to the accusations before the union slapped the district with a lawsuit in Broward District court. The union, citing criminal wiretap statutes, charged Notter and the district ``have intentionally engaged in a continuing pattern or practice that limits plaintiff's speech on a matter of public concern.''

The school district's server apparently intercepts mass e-mailings -- not an uncommon policy, designed to keep the e-mail system from crashing down. But last year, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday, the union's mass e-mails protesting the stalled salary negotiations failed to reach the School Board. As if board members, robbed of an e-mail basket stuffed with several thousand identical protestations, never knew teachers were upset.

The lawsuit claims a violation of free speech. (Leaving the door open, I suppose, for a spammer to claim a constitutional right to peddle natural Viagra across the district). But the suit is really about union frustration with contract negotiations that have been at an impasse since the fall of 2008.

LEGISLATURE TO BLAME

Teachers want a raise. Deserve a raise. But it was the budget-slashing Florida Legislature, falling property values and the state's erratic tax base that left per-pupil funding at less than $6,900 a year. With more cuts coming. The union, going after Notter, ignores the very politicians who have failed to sustain education funding. Instead of going after actual villains, the union suggests the superintendent wasted and misappropriated the mythical millions required to cover a four percent teacher raise.

This was the same union leadership that claimed racinos would save Florida schools. That hit the streets in 2006 to protest ``attacks on Sheriff Jenne'' a few months before Jenne was hauled off to federal prison.

The union that vouched for Jenne now attacks Notter with all the dignity of a middle school grudge. The super might find solace in the absurdity of his enemies. Reader comments at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/20/1491665_teachers-unions-smear-campaign.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1


Above, taxpayers paying for the one on the left
and actually getting the one on the right instead.

The long and short of it is that Broward taxpayers

uniformly have buyer's remorse with education.
They know they've been had, but how badly have

they been conned, they're really not quite sure.
But they also know that a day of accounting is

approaching.

It's a similar strain to the infuriating anger
felt in
Hallandale Beach, where citizens feel
that the results of huge spending
and incompetent
policy by the geniuses at HB City Hall to help their
friends and developers are NOT what they
want.

That
point is driven home -I couldn't resist!-
most clearly by Assistant City
Manager
Mark Antonio, who actually tools around
town in a blue
Corvette.

Taxpayers feel like they have generally paid
enough over the years, and that the Broward
education bureaucracy is sufficiently large
enough,
that there ought to be Corvette
results more
than once in a while.

But instead, as far as their eyes can see,
the
results they see in exchange for their
taxes
are almost uniformly AMC Pacers.

Pacers that aren't safe, aren't reliable
and
which fare quite poorly when compared
to
results in other parts of the country,
regardless
of awards that the Broward
school system
establishment and their
educrat acolytes crow about,
even
throwing a party for themselves to celebrate.


And
Pacers which are always in need of
repairs or construction.
But it never seems quite enough, does it?

We need both a new model, a new strategy

and new generals, because the current
system
is broken with the current people
in charge.

That day of accounting is fast approaching...

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

BTU's ad in today's Miami Herald re Broward County Schools Supt. James Notter and Special Education funding; the so-called Integrity Committee


Published on page 5B of Miami Herald on 2/17/2010

The Broward Teachers Union ad above, which I didn't
notice until this afternoon, directly references my email
and Wall Street Journal article on Special Education
-and James Notter's handling of it- which I shared
with many of you on January 6th as first an email and
subsequent blog post.
I've copied and posted it at the bottom in case you
missed it the first time.

So on this issue, Special Education, where were our
Broward School Board members, Ann Murray or
Chair Jennifer Gottlieb, both of whom live in
Hollywood and both of whom are running for re-election
on August 24th?

Here's their official homepage with contact information,
why don't you ask them that question yourself?

Better yet, while you're at it, ask them why the next
scheduled public Integrity Committee meeting
on Monday the 22nd at Coconut Creek High School,
http://browardschoolsintegrity.org/
isn't
currently scheduled to be televised on the
Broward School Board's own cable TV channel,
BECON-TV
, and what they're personally doing
to change that decision?

It's the year 2010 and Broward taxpayers have
already paid for those TV cameras of BECON's,
yet the Broward School Board acts like it's 1910,
and rather than properly deploying those cameras,
they insist that you show-up in person to one of
their meetings if you want to know what's going on.
That attitude explains quite a lot,
don't you think?


http://www.browardschools.com/schoolboard/members/gottlieb.htm
754-321-2008

http://www.browardschools.com/schoolboard/members/murray.htm
754-321-2001


My comments are below the article.


The Wall Street Journal

JANUARY 6, 2010

Special-Ed Funds Redirected School Districts Shift Millions of Dollars to General Needs After Getting Stimulus Cash
By Anne Marie Chaker

Florida's Broward County Public Schools saved as many as 900 jobs this school year. Nevada's Clark County School District just added more math and tutoring programs. And in Connecticut's Bloomfield Public Schools, eight elementary- and middle-school teachers were spared from layoffs.

These cash-strapped districts covered the costs using a boost in funding intended for special education, drawing an outcry from parents and advocates of special-needs children.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html

Reader comments at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments

-------

January 6th, 2010
9:40 p.m.

Seriously, what does it show about the lackluster quality
of the majority of South Florida's print/electronic media
that they don't even pick-up on this 'till nearly 5 p.m.?
Exactly.

At least the Sun-Sentinel's Kathy Bushouse was
paying attention to mention it in their blog, so what's
everyone else's excuse?

And in case it had escaped your notice of late, in the
year 2010, the Miami Herald STILL lacks an
Education blog.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/blogs/

Guess they were too busy interviewing people about
the weather, and what was happening to the invasive
iguanas, to see a story that speaks volumes about the
consistently piss-poor judgment of people in power
here.

Say hello again to James Notter, another big reason
why large dynamic companies consciously choose NOT
to relocate to Broward County.
Yes, the sad, tragic but oh-so logical consequences of
having someone like him in charge are all around us.

So what do you think Notter is telling parents of
affected kids, to take one for the team?

As a well-informed person wrote me earlier this
evening about this matter, almost incredulously:
Do you know how many times they’ve told us
they’ve subsidized special ed from the general fund?
This is really outrageous.

Outrageous sure, but if nobody else knows about it
because the press has falling iguanas on the brain...
Aye, there's the rub.


----------

Sun-Sentinel
Schools blog

Wall
Street Journal: School districts, including Broward, redirecting special ed money
Posted by Kathy Bushouse on January 6, 2010 04:54 PM

The Broward School District is featured prominently in a Wall Street Journal piece on school districts using stimulus money meant for special education for other uses, such as saving teachers' jobs from layoffs.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/01/wall_street_journal_school_dis.html

Shortly after I sent most of the above out as an email
late this afternoon, I saw that CBS-4 did a segment on
their 6 o'clock newscast, curiously labeled:
Attack Ad Published Against Superintendent Notter
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=91715@wfor.dayport.com

Not mentioned at all in the segment is the whole issue
of what Notter did with Special Education funding,
which was the subject at hand in the WSJ story almost
six
weeks ago.
Naturally, no South Florida reporters have followed-up on
that!

Now about that truly underwhelming and under-performing
Integrity Committee
appointed by James Notter
so many months ago, now about to have their second
-yes, just their second!- public meeting...


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-broward-ethics-20100210,0,550836.story
Broward school district takes 2 months to pay ethics panel administrator Questions over contract structuring slowed pay, according to e-mails
By Akilah Johnson, Sun Sentinel
February 10, 2010

The staff administrator of the Broward Schools blue ribbon ethics commission worked for nearly two months without getting paid because the district was not sure how to structure his contract, according to e-mails to and from district administrators.

The three members of the independent commission – Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, attorney W. George Allen, and former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth — are donating their time. But the school district agreed to pay for staff and supplies to help the commission reform the district's purchasing practices and ethical training.

On Dec. 14, Paul Falcone, who used to work for Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom, was hired at $1,000 per week plus $433.35 a month for healthcare coverage. He is considered an outside vendor of the school system.

Falcone was finally paid by the district on Friday. Confusion remained regarding exactly how to construct his consultant agreement until Wednesday when Donnie Carter, the district's chief operating officer, sent an e-mail to the School Board.

According to the e-mail, commission costs are not expected to exceed $40,000, which include travel reimbursements, cell phone, computer, printer and $1,245 for the creation of the website, browardschoolsintegrity.org.

Falcone's agreement says his responsibilities include research and follow-up, creating an information book for each panel member as well as "logging public sentiment from public hearings, editorials, blogs and emails."

The fact-finding mission is expected to be completed by June, the e-mail said.

The panel – formally called the Commission on Education Excellence Through Integrity, Public Ethics and Transparency – was created after the Sept. 23 arrest of now-suspended School Board member Beverly Gallagher on corruption charges, including bribery, fraud and extortion.

Panel members say not knowing how to structure Falcone's contract is what happens when a large bureaucracy creates an unprecedented commission.

"I'm glad they actually took the position [of] 'We'll ask questions first and write the check later'," said Seiler. "I would have been more concerned if they cut a check to Paul and said 'Gee, should we have done that?'"

There are "real problems in the district," Seiler said, mentioning spending by the facilities and construction department, misuse and overuse of change orders, and employees too scared to speak on the record for fear of retribution.

The commission is holding a series of public hearings as part of its fact-finding review. The next hearing will be held on Feb. 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Coconut Creek High School, 1400 NW 44th Ave., in Coconut Creek.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Monday night's public meeting of Notter's Three Amigos -Bring hand warmers! Where are BECON's TV cameras?

Last Wednesday we got word that...

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1411248.html


Broward ethics panel to take public comments

By Patricia Mazzei
January 6, 2010

The three-person panel tasked with proposing improvements to how the Broward public school district does business will hold its first public hearing next week.

The Commission on Education Excellence Through Integrity, Public Ethics and Transparency will seek public input at 6 p.m. Monday at the Dillard Center for the Arts, 2501 NW 11th St., Fort Lauderdale.

The independent group was convened after the September arrest of suspended School Board member Beverly Gallagher in a federal corruption probe. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to charges that she took $12,500 from undercover FBI agents for a promise to influence a decision on a school construction project.

To serve on the commission, Superintendent Jim Notter chose former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth; Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, a former state legislator; and attorney W. George Allen, who filed the lawsuit that forced the district to desegregate almost 40 years ago.

Reader comments at
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1411248.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1


Then on Friday we heard...

My emphasis in red below


South Florida Sun-Sentinel

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-school-ethics-panel--20100109,0,1614300.story

Ethics panel set for first public hearing on school district

By Kathy Bushouse, Sun Sentinel
January 10, 2010

In the past few months, the Broward school district has been hammered by the arrest of a School Board member, allegations of contractor ripoffs and an investigation of a transportation department besieged by accusations of nepotism and sexual harassment.

On Monday, the panel created in October to scrutinize the district's policies and practices will have its first public hearing to set priorities on what it should investigate.

"We're going out to see what the people want," said attorney W. George Allen.

Allen, former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler are running the Commission on Education Excellence Through Integrity, Public Ethics and Transparency.

They have not set a firm timetable for the investigation.

The panel was created by Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter and School Board member Maureen Dinnen after the Sept. 23 arrest of Beverly Gallagher on corruption charges involving school construction, and shortly after board member Stephanie Kraft disclosed her husband's business ties to School Board lobbyist Neil Sterling.

The Florida Commission on Ethics also is investigating a complaint against Kraft that she misused her position to help Prestige Homes developer Bruce Chait.

Chait was arrested in December and charged by state prosecutors with bribery, unlawful compensation and perjury.

Earlier, in the summer, district auditors alleged two contractors ripped off more than $750,000 after Hurricane Wilma repairs.

The auditors said there were signs of collusion and coercion, as well as inflated and falsified documents so the companies could be paid.

After the panel was formed, the school district began an investigation into its transportation department.

The department's top two administrators — Ruben Parker, director of transportation services, and Lucille Greene, director of student transportation — were reassigned. Officials won't discuss specific reasons for the investigation.

But the Broward Teachers Union asked Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum for independent investigations last month. The union said the transportation department's problems included kickbacks in exchange for jobs, bus safety issues, nepotism and sexual harassment.

The governor forwarded the union's complaint to the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor.

That office is the "best entity to not only review the material but also to intitiate any necessary investigations," said Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey.

McCollum's office said the union's concerns are outside the attorney general's jurisdiction. McCollum's office reccomended the union contact the state's ethics commission, auditor general or the statewide grand jury, according to a letter dated Dec. 17.

Allen said the group spent the past two months getting organized. Now that the group is ready to work, he hopes to move quickly and make recommendations the district will adopt.

"I would hate to do work and then just turn it in as a written report, and nothing happens," Allen said.

Notter said the district would not automatically adopt all of the panel's recommendations but will consider them. He said all the district's operations and policies are open for review.

"They're going to come back with items that we need to revise, revamp, tweak, or frankly, maybe initiate brand-new," Notter said.

Monday's hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Dillard Center for the Arts, 2501 NW 11th St., Fort Lauderdale. For those unable to attend, the commission also is working on a website with an e-mail address and telephone number so people can send in tips.

The panel was promised complete independence from the district. Its leaders won't be paid, but the district will foot the bill for the staff.

Butterworth, Seiler and Allen were picked because of their long histories of community service.

Allen's selection raised some questions because he is registered as a lobbyist representing Bencor Inc., a company that offers alternatives to Social Security for district employees.

Allen said he didn't view it as a conflict because he hasn't lobbied for the company for years.

So far, the panel has met with some skepticism. One teacher sent e-mail to Seiler, saying she was concerned that Notter and Dinnen "handpicked a three-man (no woman) commission for a 90-day fact-finding analysis."

But such panels can be a step toward restoring public confidence in a beleaguered institution, said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

"I think that putting together a group like this is probably a good idea, especially where you've had many instances of alleged corruption or ethical violations," Jewett said. "… I'm not going to say that empanelling a group of citizens to look at this is going to solve all the problems, but it is a good step."

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4556.

How did Broward Schools Supt. James Notter's
Three Amigos NOT already have some means
of broadcasting or webcasting Monday night's
meeting figured-out by 5 p.m. last Friday?
Seriously.
Talk about gross incompetentcy!


(FYI: That's at the SAME time and date as
Broward County's previously-scheduled first
official Census 2010 meeting of social/religious/
community activists, which happens to be at
the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center.
See http://www.broward.org/eventhighlights.htm )

If these Broward School geniuses had any
common sense, they'd grab
some of those
BECON TV cameras that Broward taxpayers
have
ALREADY paid for and truck them
to
Dillard to air Butterworth & Co. LIVE
on Channel 63.
That would be so easy, and yet...

I'd call Ann Murray's School Board office
to find out why this isn't taking place if I
thought I'd get a straight answer out of her,
but...

Maybe if every official person with a Ed.D.
after their name is shivering in that room at
Dillard Monday night, someone downtown
will get off their butt and finally fix the
thermostat that controls school room temps,
so it's not as cold inside as it is outside.

Wow, that should've been the media
lede last week:
clueless Broward Schools HQ!


See Akilah Johnson's blog post on that
from Thursday at bottom.

If you're going to tomorrow night's meeting,
I recommend a visit to Target beforehand,
and get some Coleman-brand hand warmers
-they're excellent.



South Florida Sun-Sentinel Schools blog
Broward classrooms just as cold as outside, teachers say

Posted by Akilah Johnson
January 7, 2010 05:40 PM

Students and teachers in many Broward County public schools didn’t shed their scarves and gloves once this week’s lessons began. Instead, they shivered inside classrooms nearly as cold as the weather outside.

Read rest of this at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/01/broward_classrooms_just_as_col.html#comments

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Slipshod Broward Schools continue to deteriorate, and irritate and obfuscate Broward taxpayers at every opportunity

In the case of the controversial Lincoln Park school in Hollywood,
a.k.a.
Elementary School C, is the stage being set for Jennifer
Gottlieb
and Ann Murray, both running for re-election next year,
to come to the rescue, or for them to be shown as ineffectual,
once again?
I know which side of the equation I'd bet on.

This issue comes before the Hollywood City Commission at 6 p.m.
tonight.
Excerpt from http://www.hollywoodfl.org/docdepotcache/00000/941/R-2009-392.PDF

6:00 PM
24. R-2009-392 -
Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood,
Florida, Approving And Authorizing The Appropriate City Officials To Execute
The Attached Second Amendment To The Lease Agreement Between The
School Board Of Broward County And The City Of Hollywood For The Property
Known As Lincoln Park. Staff: Director Of Parking And Intergovernmental Affairs


QUASI-JUDICIAL ITEMS
(Rules of Procedure Attached to Agenda)
6:00 PM
25. R-2009-393 -
Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood,
Florida, Approving An Amendment Of Concurrency Notation On The "Lincoln
Park/Elementary School "C" Plat", Revising The Restrictive Note On The Plat
From A 110,506 Square Foot Public Elementary School And An Existing 3.51
Acre Park To A 110,506 Square Foot Public Pre-Kindergarten To 8th Grade
School And An Existing 4.7 Acre Park, To Reflect The Proposed Uses Thereon.
(P-10-01) Staff: Director Of Public Utilities

Logically, South Florida TV stations should send someone
to cover this story and then head over to Hallandale Beach
for the contentious vote on the Diplomat Country Club,
but I suspect that Hollywood will get the coverage and HB
will once again get zero.

I'll take photos of any reporters I see and recognize -if any.


View Larger Map
----------------


South Florida Sun-Sentinel

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/hollywood/fl-hollywood-schools-20091215,0,118637.story
School Board, Hollywood differ over school
City wants more seats than board approves


By Akilah Johnson, Sun Sentinel

December 15, 2009

Hollywood Commissioner Heidi O'Sheehan warned the School Board on Tuesday that it may have a fight on its hands because it isn't providing the city enough seats in a new Montessori magnet school opening next fall.

At first, Elementary School C, at Lincoln Street and 24th Avenue, was going to be a traditional neighborhood school serving students in the Lincoln Park area. Now the magnet school will educate students in kindergarten through eighth grade; students must apply to attend the school and live south of Interstate 595.

Hollywood is the landlord. The School Board amended its lease with Hollywood on Tuesday, changing the school's grade levels and program model. But the board didn't approve the city's request for more seats.

Hollywood is getting space for 150 children who live there. The capacity of the new school will be about 750 students.

"What we're asking for is a very reasonable — higher — number of choice seats," O'Sheehan told the board. "We're asking for half."

Who attends the school — and how many attend it — are the school's most critical issues, said Steve Welsch, president of the Hollywood Council of Civic Associations.

"Not only is this fair to the residents of Hollywood, it also addresses some of the traffic and safety issues resulting from school bus congestion," Welsch wrote in a letter to the city.

But the school attendance area is an issue better dealt with during the district's annual school boundary review, not from the dais, board members said.

Board member Ann Murray, who represents Hollywood, said the competitive, high-end new school could be a draw for students to attend traditional schools

Hollywood also wants to set 3:30 p.m. as the start time for the city to use the park after school lets out. That request also was rejected, in favor of no definite time.

If the School Board and the city don't resolve their differences soon, O'Sheehan said, the situation could deteriorate to "a contentious battle."

The city is set to amend its part of the lease agreement Wednesday. Welsh asked Hollywood to reject the lease if the board didn't agree with the changes the city wants.

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

Broward Beat
Witch Hunt Against Broward Principal Fails

By Buddy Nevins

Imagine working for 35 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.

Then right before you retire, you are called in front of the school cops. You are told you are being investigated.

You are ordered not to talk about the investigation. The cops refuse to tell you what you are being investigated for.

It was the start of a 22 month-long nightmare for Rebecca Dahl, former principal at Sunrise Middle School, that ended just weeks ago.

North Korea? East Germany? Cuba?

No, this Kafkaesque scene was the work of the Broward County Schools Special Investigative Unit – the school cops.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.browardbeat.com/witch-hunt-against-broward-principal-fails/

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

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/12/former_principal_gets_apology.html
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Schools education blog

Former principal gets apology from Broward School Board

by Kathy Bushouse on December 15, 2009