Fruad, Waste and Abuse in Texas Pulbic Schools

"Do you think public schools spend money in a wasteful
fashion?" was asked in a poll conducted by Baselice & Associates, Inc., in July
2003. Likely voters responded: 56% - yes, 35% -no, and 9% were unsure or
refused to answer. Parents, teachers, and taxpayers are interested in eliminating
wasteful education spending and want more education for our dollars before we put
more money into education!

Some education employees – teachers and staff – as well as parents and other
taxpayers have witnessed wasteful spending siphoning dollars from the classroom.
Though wasteful spending is widespread, many individuals are not speaking out for
fear of retaliation by administrators and the education bureaucracy.   Americans for
Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) wanted to provide a vehicle for these people to
anonymously share their observations -- so the Educator Witness Protection
Program was established.

In addition, many good investigative reporters have uncovered fraudulent and
wasteful education spending, which have bilked taxpayers and students out of
millions. Some of those investigations are ongoing. Recognizing that there is no
composite listing or central location for this information, we determined that not only
would we collect new information but would attempt to bring to the forefront, those
cases which have had received media coverage.   This listing is not complete but is
intended to alert taxpayers, school board members, voters and legislators of the
need for vigilance.

The objective of this compilation is not to provide a vehicle to advocate
cutting education spending, but rather to eliminate wasteful spending and
direct more of our education dollars into the classroom.

Quite simply, we want more education for our dollars,before we
put more dollars into education.

What people are saying about the Educator Witness
Protection Program:

Former school board member, Margie Raborn – "I am so thrilled that someone is
exposing the brainwashing that school board members go through – all in an effort to
insulate the education bureaucracy. During my tenure, I tried to be a good steward
of taxpayers' dollars only to find that questioning a school administrator was not in
my job description! I understand this same administrator will most likely go to prison
for fraud-I guess tax dollars will continue to pay his retirement while he watches TV in
jail. I received veiled threats on my life, was harassed in executive session
which could not be made public and was frequently reminded that the
superintendent sat on all the committees for local scholarships! Needless to
say, my son received no scholarships!

Parent, Jason Moore – As a commercial masonry contractor and as a taxpayer I
have become very aware of the enormous amount of money wasted just in my field
of expertise. Most people say “Wow! this is a really nice school”, never realizing that
every extra (and unneeded) “architectural feature” is another classroom of
books, another teacher, and an unnecessary increase in taxes. I have taken
time from my business to compile some very specific examples from a minute
number of schools just in my area. If these savings were extrapolated across the
state we will discover hundreds of millions of dollars of REAL MONEY that school
districts are wasting. Americans for Prosperity, (AFP) through the Educators
Witness Protection Program (EWPP) is providing a vehicle for taxpayers to regain
control of school spending and I am working hard in Midland-Odessa to recruit other
parents and teachers to join with me. The Texas EWPP is the first of its kind that I
know of, and frankly it should be nationwide.

Current teacher, Michael Pearce – "In February of 2002, my school district
launched its final of three installments of “Emotional Intelligence” training, designed
to make teachers, aides, bus drivers, custodians, food service personnel, and others
more aware of their feelings and emotions. We were encouraged to discuss our
personal lives, draw pictures, and share our thoughts about a variety of issues with
our colleagues. The workshop was a personal pet project of our superintendent,
who mandated the attendance of all 4,800 district employees.   Shortly thereafter, I
wrote a letter to the editor exposing the waste I had witnessed. As a result,
campus administrators made every effort to make my life a living hell.   No
one realizes what a hold the school bureaucracy has on those responsible
for teaching. If only we could teach and not have to worry about union agendas and
flawed social policy which lowers academic expectations, our children would be
better educated. I am happy to work with an organization that has the guts to finally
expose what really goes on in the education bureaucracy."

Current teacher, Anonymous – "In a few more years, I will be able to take early
retirement through TRS from public education. However, when I do, my job as an
educator will not be over. It will then be my responsibility to educate the public. I will
tell them why some of their children graduated high school without being able to
balance a checkbook or read a newspaper. I will tell them how an attorney,
disbarred for fraud, managed to hold a Texas Teachers' Certificate and
misappropriate thousands of taxpayer dollars. I will tell them how out-of-control
administrators can literally destroy school districts and force gifted teachers
to seek other professions. Until that time, I’m pleased that AFP has begun
this education process."

Background
As Texans consider revamping the school finance system and ending Robin Hood,
some big-government advocates are demanding taxpayers provide an
additional $6-8 billion a year for public education.

Texans support education and our spending reflects that commitment to Texas
schoolchildren. The amount of per-pupil spending has tripled over the last 30 years.
Yet as we spend more money on education, a decreasing amount makes it into the
classroom. Fully 1/3 of the state budget is spent on education, yet only about 50
cents of every dollar actually goes to classroom instruction. Texas ranked
second among 50 states in total public education expenditures for 2002-2003.

Some legislators and Texas Education Agency staff may consider high
administrative costs and wasteful spending a local control issue. We disagree.
Taxpayers all across Texas foot the bill for schools. Taxpayers resent the fact that
the education bureaucracy constantly lobbies the state legislators for more school
funding; each time the education bureaucracy aggressively declares that the issue of
school financing is a state issue. However, if parents and taxpayers take their
concerns to the same legislators and cite specific examples of waste, fraud, and
abuse of school funds, the taxpayers are told to take their concerns to their local
school boards because education spending is a local control issue.

One taxpayer reported, “Each and every time we contacted the TEA for assistance
in these matters, (fraud, waste, and abuse) we were told we had to go through the
proper channels within our district. Of course, those proper channels meant the
administration and then the school board, the very people who were
responsible for these abuses.” This school district subsequently came under
investigation for millions of dollars in potential fraudulent activities. Parents and
taxpayers were again told by legislators during a past hearing that fraudulent and
wasteful school spending was a matter of local control and that bond issues were
passed by the citizens. A taxpayer testifier, who was presenting at the hearing,
stated correctly, "It all comes out of the same pocket."

Wasteful and fraudulent spending is occurring for several reasons. Elected school
board members are brainwashed by the education bureaucracy not to interfere
with the Superintendents' decisions; this leaves the Superintendents free to spend
taxpayer dollars without careful oversight by the duly elected board members. Star
Telegram reporter Dave Lieber described one such school board meeting this way:
“Rarely can you attend one meeting and see so much of what is wrong with
Texas school governance."

Budgets are such that the general public and even local school boards cannot
understand them. The problem is worsened by school officials’ reticence to comply
with open records requests which is evidenced by charging the requesting party
outrageous copying costs to comply. The Dallas ISD presented a projected sum
of $28,000 for one open records request and when taken to court settled for
$65.

Parents are also inhibited by the education bureaucracy. On Nov. 21, 2003,
the Dallas Morning News reported, “The Plano school district has ended a four-year
court battle over a handout policy that was ruled unconstitutional when enforced, only
two weeks after taking steps to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Parents
said the district violated their free speech when they were not allowed to hand out
fliers critical of a math curriculum during after-school parent meetings in 1998. The
policy required district approval of any materials distributed on campuses. The
district agreed this week to pay $400,000 in attorney fees and costs to parents to
end a lawsuit filed in 1999. School board trustees also agreed to admit that their
handout policy was unconstitutionally applied during the parent meetings.”   This
pattern of intimidation occurs in other states as well and some of the stories
can be found in the OUT OF STATE section of this document.

If there is one thing that is clear, it is that the education bureaucracy controls
the education process in Texas. It intimidates parents, teachers, and school
board members. It lobbies with taxpayer dollars to get more of those dollars.
A recent article in the Abilene Reporter News stated that lobbyists have received
between 6.1 million and 13.1 million since Jan 1,2004. (Because reporting
mechanisms require only a range, exact amounts cannot be specifically
determined.) It is hard if not impossible to tell if those dollars are really needed and
the only way to begin to get an insight into local expenses is through listening to local
taxpayers.

We are finding examples of just how some in the education bureaucracy
abuse the process:

·        The best sales tools for bond passage in April 2004 in the San Angelo ISD
“were the students themselves, said assistant superintendent Joanne Rice.
“We went in and talked to the kids and said, ‘Let me tell you what this is going to do
to your school. Now go home and tell your parents,’” Rice said. (Abilene Reporter
News)

·        Recently students in the AISD school district testified before the school board
telling them they did not feel safe conducting experiments in their current science lab
as reported by the Austin American Statesman. Included in the bond package
which could grow to $453 million, is a performing arts center which would
rival Bass Concert Hall at UT.

·        It was reported in the Llano Ledger, in 1999, that students are given extra
credit for supporting school bonds. The ledger reports that letters to the
editor appeared in the local paper from students urging voters to vote for the bonds.

·        And some teachers have used student projects as an opportunity to lobby for
higher pay, more holidays and against school choice. Note: We have copies of
some letters written by 5th graders from several different teachers’
classes. The letters were delivered by a TSTA lobbyist and were
delivered to the wrong legislator. The legislator who received the letters
acknowledged that in writing when he forwarded the schoolchildren letters to the ISD’
s representative. Legislators acknowledge that they often receive letters from
schoolchildren lobbying them on issues.

·        Doug Stamps a Fossill Ridge teacher reports, that a flier from the United
Educators Association (www.ueatexas.com) directed to the Ft. Worth school
districts states, "One of the main arguments given for publicly-supported private
schools (vouchers) is that money will be saved on administration." The article goes
on to give misleading figures as to public school administrator salaries versus
charter school administrator salaries. In essence the UEA is “educating” its
members so they can respond “appropriately” to the growing concern over
school administrative costs. The teacher writes, “Such activity is appalling. I
would expect any reputable organization who delivered this manipulated information
to rightly inform educators of the truth”.

We have done that; and the following are examples of fraud, waste, and abuse of
taxpayer dollars gathered by the Educator Witness Protection Program. They come
from teachers, former teachers, current and former school board members, parents,
concerned taxpayers, newspaper articles, and professional and agency
publications. Runaway spending in the school system can be categorized into (1)
Administrative costs, (2) Wasteful spending, and (3) Fraudulent activities.

Administration Costs

In the 2001-02 school year, the Texas Education Agency through its PEIMS (Public
Education Information Management System) report released the following
information: "other support staff” increased 8,911 persons or an increase of
57.31%. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers increased 2.82%,
elementary teachers 2.74%, and secondary teachers 2.74%.

The newly released 2003-04 School Salary Data from the Texas Education Agency
(www.tea.state.tx.us/adhocrpt/) indicates that there are 289,481 teachers, and
285,810 other staff broken down as follows: 47,504 support staff, 58,741
educational aides, 159,679 auxiliary staff, and 19,886 administrators. Teachers'
salaries increased 1.26% from the previous year while administrators' salaries
increased 2.01%. The superintendent in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD earns a base
salary of $340,485 (enrollment of 74,877). The top charter school superintendent's
base salary at Two Dimensions Preparatory Academy is $210,000 (enrollment
542).

When Dr. Mike Moses was hired at Dallas Independent School District in the fall of
2000, he was given an annual base salary of $280,000 a year; an annual $10,000
annuity and an allowance to keep the Superintendent’s family in another city until one
of his children graduated from high school; a $1,000 per month car allowance; a
$450 a month cell phone allowance; and round-trip tickets “home” for weekends. In
2003-04, Dr. Moses' base salary was $337,500. The Dallas Morning News recently
reported that Moses had received tens of thousands of dollars in consulting fees
while the firm he consulted for was paid more than $700,000 by the district.
Update: Mike Moses recently resigned from his position as Superintendent
of DISD.

ISD savings can be realized – and can be significant. Based on recommendations
in the Performance Review, in 2002-03, Laredo ISD reduced its central office
administrators by eight positions, resulting in annual savings of $545,000. The
district also reassigned secretarial and clerical staff to vacant positions saving an
additional $250,000 in 2002-03.

A former teacher states, “Part of the reason why school costs have escalated is due
to the TEKS [curriculum standards for the state of Texas]. Because the TEKS are
unclear, broad, generic, and filled with education jargon, school districts felt
they had to hire a myriad of consultants and curriculum directors to try to
interpret the TEKS for teachers.   For example, I know of a Central Texas school
district in our area where student achievement had always been far above average
and where the student enrollment was stable; yet six new administrative positions
were created after the TEKS became law. Those six new jobs have cost the district
at least $350,000 per year.”

According to an Aldine ISD citizen website, the ISD projected a negative $10 million
shortfall for 2003 and more than $9.5 million of that went mostly for awards to the
Superintendent and one non-classroom administrator.

ISD savings can be realized – and can be significant. Based on recommendations
in the Performance Review, in 2002-03, Laredo ISD reduced its central office
administrators by eight positions, resulting in annual savings of $545,000. The
district also reassigned secretarial and clerical staff to vacant positions saving an
additional $250,000 in 2002-03.

2. Examples of Wasteful Spending

·        A teacher who prefers that even his district remain anonymous complains that
teachers are required to spend their budget every year or they won’t get as much the
next year. He explained that some years teachers need more than other years and
budgets they submit should be based on need rather than requesting a certain
percent more than they spent the previous year. We wonder how many hundreds of
thousands of dollars are wasted buying items at the end of the year so more money
can be requested the following year.

·        A teacher in East Texas has complained that $1.6 Million was spent for
“leadership training for administrators in a district with only one high school while she
has few resources for her special education children.

·        An inquiring parent found that $1 Million was being proposed to spend on
storage space to store hundreds of thousands of dollars of “obsolete” computers,
which could not be sold because the loan had not been paid off.

·        Ft. Worth just invested in a new discipline program called Cooperative
Discipline for $196,206 which states, “"Students won't always remember what we
teach them, but they will never forget how we treat them"!!!!! “Teachers are to build
relationships through kindness and praise.”

·        8 “E-teachers” complained of hundreds of thousands of dollars for distance
learning carts and materials but after purchase and extensive training, leaving
regular students with less teacher time, there were no distance learners and
therefore no additional money for the school.

·        After 9-11 schoolteachers in a district were called in at taxpayer expense to a
session on “cultural sensitivity” where they were coached to tell students the attack
could have been avoided if America had better understood the culture.

·        A commercial masonry contractor in West Texas estimated statewide that
school districts could save at least 20% or $400 to $500 Million annually on
school construction just by scaling down the posh, extravagant design of many
school facilities. “Recently, I bid a project in my area that included an ornate,
expensive cast stone entryway. As an alternate in the bid, we had to quote to the
school district what money they would save NOT by removing the fancy stone
entryway, but to take off 4 CLASSROOMS!!! This is typical in school districts all
across Texas.

One taxpayer observed that it was ridiculous that her daughter’s
school was much
more elaborate than the house she could afford to live in!

·        Several other people have complained about luxurious buildings. Following
are some examples:

1)    Midway ISD   – the Arena - see how this district spends its money http://www.
midwayisd.org.
Go to "Virtual Tour" (under Points of Interest) and "The Arena" -- it is not like Dad’s
basketball court!
2)    Keller ISD Natatorium http://www.kellerisd.net/swim/photos.asp
3)    Westbriar Elementary, http://www.fkp.com/portfolio/ProjectSheets/WESTBRIAR.
htm
4)    Brookline Elementary, Houston ISD – visit this architectural page to see many
school buildings
and designs. www.philipewald.com/projects/brookline.htm
5)    Garland McMeans Junior High, http://www.fkp.
com/portfolio/ProjectSheets/MCMEANS.htm

·        A citizen reports, “ I read in our local newspaper that Trindad ISD in
Henderson county was building a domed gym that would seat 800 people at a cost
of 1.3 million Dollars.   O yes, Trindad is a town of around 1000 people.”

·        Several teachers have complained that $4 Million was spent in one school
district for the Diana Day Discipline Management Program (http://dianaday.com/)
only to be cast aside because of its ineffectiveness. Day has no published
references or validated research results accessible by the public on her website.
One suggestion she offers is that teachers should send students who are discipline
problems to another teacher to handle. According to Diana Day's website, 24 other
school districts in Texas have also scheduled her services. There are no records on
how much Texas taxpayers have paid for this “fad” program.

·        Teachers have reported this training is a huge waste of education dollars. The
Flippen Group (http://www.leadershipsolutions.com/) is another example of an in-
service training program which teachers claim is not research-based. Districts all
over the state have signed multi-year contracts for their school personnel to attend
sessions which are similar to psychological manipulation, and sensitivity training.
Substitute teachers have been hired, fancy resorts (e.g., Salado) have been booked,
expensive food has been served -- all at taxpayers' expense.   Many teachers who
have gone through the training never implemented it, and some teachers who did
buy into the program soon abandoned it in a few short weeks.

·        Teachers were upset when the Dallas ISD paid Stephen Covey $89,000 to
give a one-day motivational presentation -- not for teachers but for administrators.
The amount was hidden in the June 26, 2003, budget under "Liability Account.” One
parent commented that if high paid superintendents are not motivated enough by
their “compensation packages”, maybe they should try the unemployment line!

·        One teacher reports that Dallas ISD paid Voyager Learning Systems $4
Million. Voyager is a Dallas-based corporation and has sold its programs to Plano
ISD and other school districts. Until recently Voyager Passport had no independent
research of its program. Previously their "research" had been done by themselves
on themselves. The teacher states that only programs which have been validated
and replicated over a long period of time meet the criteria of No Child Left Behind
and this program does not meet that criteria.

·        A former teacher complained that Dallas ISD has a six-year, $18 Million
contract with Hewlett Packard to maintain administrators' computers -- not
computers for teachers, libraries, or computer labs. Dallas announced on April 13,
2004, a $123 Million grant to pay for updated technology infrastructure. Katy ISD
purchased more than $3 Million in new Hewlett-Packard technology support.
Houston ISD contracted with Hewlett-Packard for what could turn out to be a $120
Million deal. Richardson ISD in 2002 passed a $47 Million technology bond.

·        A teacher reports that after in-service training on Plato Computer Labs, none
of the English teachers in a Central Texas school district were convinced that the
system would result in students gaining grade-level skills. The district went ahead
and purchased the system anyway. The school board was told they would receive
progress reports from the staff as to the gains of students using Plato. As always,
nobody held anyone accountable. The system has now been discarded completely
-- more taxpayers' money wasted.

·        A parent reports that in a North Central Texas district, a superintendent
required an architectural firm, which was under contract with the ISD, to use the
superintendent's interior decorator for three school buildings. This interior decorator
selected expensive Italian marble tile for one school and costly features for other
schools.

·        The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports that during the past two years, the Keller
School District paid as much as $2,400 in club memberships for two employees
using an account that many district leaders thought was earmarked for student
activities.

·        The Waco-Tribune Herald reports that a Connally ISD technology coordinator
used a federally funded TEA grant to send 40 teachers, staff, and two Apple trainers
on a “technology training cruise” for five days and five nights on the Carnival cruise
ship “Celebration” leaving Galveston and going to Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and
Calica on Aug 6, 2003. (Waco Tribune-Herald, Aug. 12, 2003) Waco has three
institutions of higher learning which all have well-equipped computer labs and
advanced training courses.

·        A former teacher reports that an Austin-area TV station reported the Del
Valle ISD Superintendent spent thousands of dollars on a personal image consultant
to help him win “Superintendent of the Year." He won in his region, not thanks to the
good work of the image consultant, but because he was the only entrant.

·        A parent reports that after testifying against another salary increase for the
superintendent, Round Rock ISD parents were outraged when school board
members gave the superintendent $8,000 toward his retirement account saying, “It is
not a raise.” The Superintendent in 2003-04 made $176,000 base salary. His wife
and daughter are also employed by the district. Citizens have raised the issue of
nepotism. At a recent school board meeting, the superintendent challenged a
taxpayers’ right to question his actions by leaving his seat and standing in front of the
citizen, pointing his finger at him.

·        A grandparent from a North Dallas school district complained that his
granddaughter and other children were being declared ADD by their ISD. After
having his grandchild tested for three hours at Scottish Rite Hospital, preliminary
results showed no problems. He states, "Looks like an extortion racket to me. They
used to put people in prison for long terms when they did that kind of stuff. Today it's
just called education." (This is not the first time the issue of over diagnosing for ADD
has come to our attention. It is worth noting that schools do receive more money for
children diagnosed as ADD. )

·        As many as 10 complaints have come in concerning curriculum and
what some teachers have termed “extreme waste of taxpayer money” spent on “fad
curriculum” including “new” math.

·        One former teacher laments that since the late 1990's, Texas has spent $550
Million on programs to improve the reading skills of young children. She states that
her daughter-in-law who has never had a college education course in her life has
taught her three children how to read, write, and spell from a book entitled Reading
Reflex by McGuinness. This book is complete in itself, costs only $11.20 and can be
ordered online or in bookstores.

·        A taxpayer writes: “Trinidad ISD, in Henderson County,” is “building a domed
gym that would seat 800 people at a cost of 1.3 million Dollars.   Trinidad is a town
of around 1000 people.

·        A teacher writes: “You guys are right on the money … I can tell you that we do
copy lots and lots of material, while the technology department gleefully provides us
with technology we neither need nor want, all for the sake of appearance. Our
superintendent is paid a king's ransom, while teachers who were 1st or 2nd year
teachers on probationary contracts lost their jobs this year. We are able to pay
central administrators huge salaries, but we can't afford an art class for our
alternative school.”

·        A teacher writes to complain about the TAKS and the TEKS and the cost to
implement
them: She writes: “I would like…to find out…how much we spend each year on
theses texts. I suspect that someone sold someone an accountability bill of
goods and we the taxpayers are providing the funding.”

·        Carroll ISD has recently uncovered budget irregularities according to the Fort
Worth Star Telegram. Accounting problems resulted in at least $2.1 million in
errors. Between 1999 and 2003, administrators spent $6.2 million from the
reserve fund without school board approval. As a result the district has cut $6
million to avoid a deficit and replenish savings.   Although accounting and
overspending are a major part of the districts problems, school board members
were not informed on a regular basis.

·        One parent reported that their district holds bonds elections separately and
they are usually in the school cafeteria. She says separate elections cost
$80,000 and up. Since voter turnout is usually low, votes by school officials and
teachers decide the election. Voters are also intentionally “worn down” by the school
bureaucracy. If bonds aren’t initially passed, (if they are not held as a separate
election) the bond elections continue until they are passed. The Abilene Reporter
News recently reported that one district is “studying” how bond elections are passed
in other districts since this district’s taxpayers voted against a proposed bond on
three different elections! Taxpayers don’t have a chance!

·        Austin ISD has yet another $420 million bond package they plan to put
before voters in September. In 1996, voters approved a $369 million bond package
for 11 new schools, major renovations and technology upgrades. Because the
district has no performing arts venue with more than 500 seats, the committee is
expected to recommend building a $7 million, 2,000-seat performing arts center that
would rival Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas. Bass Concert Hall is said
to be too busy and costly to accommodate school performances. Instead of the
district renting churches, churches could rent space from the district the
Superintendent said.

·        A parent complains that Round Rock ISD bought a $30,000 engraving
machine, will pay $5,000 to train an employee and pay five times as much as an
engraving shop would charge to do the same job. She says when the districts'
engraver retires or leaves, the district will sell the $30,000 machine for approximately
$400 or scrap it when a new model is out to then buy a newer engraver! The school
plans to use the engraver exclusively to engrave the numbers on the doors.

3. Examples of Fraudulent Spending and Allegations of
Fraudulent Spending

·        A scam that went undetected for six years cheated a
Fort Worth area school district out of $10 Million in construction
(concrete supplier) kickback schemes involving an associate
superintendent, an assistant athletic director, and contractors.

·        The Diana Day Discipline Management Program is one we continue to
hear horror stories about from teachers and those who have investigated have found
millions in wasted tax dollars. Yet Texans continue to buy it. One teacher said it was
even worse than he had heard. Another said “RUN!!! RUN for your life!! Our
school spent tons of money on the program and NO ONE USES IT!!!

·         Investigations are ongoing in the Keller School District. Allegations of
kickback schemes and bid rigging following stonewalling on open records requests,
led to the resignation of the superintendent. He was recognized as Superintendent
of the Year in 1998, by Texas Association of School Boards (TASB.)

·        A series of scandals, widely reported by the local media, embroiled the
Dallas school district in 1997 and 1998. Thirteen employees were indicted on
conspiracy and embezzlement charges in a case involving more than $168,000 in
overtime pay for hours claimed, but not worked.

·        The Ft. Worth School Board decided to pay their Superintendent termination
pay of approximately $500,000. They were dissatisfied with him because they
blamed him for the fact that a contractor had embezzled $10 Million from the district.
(Superintendent contract buyouts are an enormous drain on education dollars.)

·        After allegations and investigations forced him to resign, the Keller
school superintendent got a $122,000 settlement and received a paycheck for
approximately four months.

·        The Keller ISD, where the former administrator is potentially facing charges for
financial mismanagement, was issued a report by the TEA showing that the district
had achieved the highest level of financial integrity under the Schools FIRST
(Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas) rating system developed by the
TEA.

·        Carroll ISD received the same TEA highest level of financial integrity rating,
but two months later found $5 Million in excessive, un-approved spending.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD discovered conflict of interest purchases.

·        It was reported in the Dallas Morning News that thousands of dollars of
musical instruments have been stolen and pawned in the Dallas ISD since 1986, and
the district is just now doing some aggressive investigation.

·        A former teacher reports that a major abuse of financial programs designed
to help students is abused. She reported some schools cheat on achievement
profiles. Students continue to pass and then require remedial classes; this means
more money for “tutors,” special classes, etc.

·        Bremond ISD has a $500,000 shortfall this budget year; the previous
superintendent resigned under suspicion he had misused district funds. A special
audit commissioned by the district found that the superintendent and a former
business manager owe the school more than $200,000 and that the superintendent
had charged on the school credit card such things as alcohol, and trips to Hawaii,
California, and Cancún.

·        Carroll ISD school trustees did not approve expenditures of nearly $5 million
over a four-year period, according to the President of the school board. As
indicated in the Carroll ISD website in a publication called "Breaking News:
February 2004," a new audit firm was hired last summer and found that the district's
savings account was $1.5 Million lower than previously reported during the 03-04
budget cycle. Previous employees have been blamed for the errors.
(http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/news/city/tarrant/stories/022904dnnorcarrollmess.
a1f33.html)

·        In a 1996 news report, Edinberg ISD employees were accused of stealing
more than $100,000 in goods, including food meant for use in a low-income lunch
program.

·        El Paso investigators said the Socorro School District was defrauded of
more than $4 Million in a costly background checks which were not needed. A
former school district official was sentenced.

·        In 2001, Tarrant County College Trustee Gwen Morrison pleaded no contest
to tampering with government records in connection with a dispute over $1,500 in
duplicate travel claims. She had been accused of accepting travel money from both
the college and her employer, the Fort Worth School District. She received six
months’ deferred adjudication probation which allowed her to avoid a criminal record.

·        A wide-ranging investigation by the Texas Rangers revealed kickbacks
and bid-rigging involving several San Antonio-area school districts, a community
college, and City Hall. In 2002, nine people were indicted. In a 22-page confession,
a man who worked as a bond project manager and architect for school districts
described how, for years, he and contractors had bribed public officials for work.

·        Santa Rosa ISD administrators were indicted in late April 2004 and charged
with extortion, conspiracy to extort and mail fraud, according to the McAllen
Monitor. If convicted, the former Superintendent and his brother who was President
of the School Board, each face a maximum of 30 years in federal prison and fines of
up to $250,000.

·        Some Aldine ISD citizens have accused some administrators of
manipulating testing criteria for students so that the district can achieve
Recognized or Exemplary ratings, which affect bonus amounts and opportunities for
administrators. It seems as though children were promoted from 9th to 11th grade
thereby bypassing the 10th grade where the TAAS test is counted toward
administrative bonuses.

·        A parent writes that school administrators blatantly abuse state
attendance laws in a zealous attempt to insure funding. This parent claims that
although he had a doctor’s excuse for his son, the administrator did not wait the
required amount of time for the note and sent false information to the local JP, who
issued and served an embarrassing summons in a public place.   Although proof
was submitted the JP would not dismiss the case until the local attendance clerk told
her it was ok.

The parent asks,
"Does the school exist for the children, or do the children exist for the
school?"
We’ve often wondered the same thing.

OUT OF STATE

We have receives scores of e-mails from teachers and parents from out of state.
Largely their complaints are the same as those we hear from in Texas. Since
there seems to be a pattern to abuse of education dollars nationwide, we are
including some of the out of state stories here to demonstrate similarities.

·        A teacher from Atlanta writes that she spoke out about Millions being spent
on the E-rate program. She was moved in mid-year and ultimately forced to resign.
Recently that district has come under investigation for overpaying for goods and
services because the district did not competitively bid the E-rate work to obtain the
best price. In addition, certain equipment and services could not be accounted for.

·         A parent from New York writes that after reading about the chief financial
officer helping himself to $7 Million in school money, she and another parent began
to delve into their school budget. After bringing to light some information in one of
the school board meetings, The Superintendent who obviously didn’t appreciate her
involvement, put out a public e-mail that she was uninformed and had made their
district appear like the “Jerry Springer” show. These parents haven’t stopped
however, and wrote us to find out how to become citizen watchdogs in NY State.

·        A teacher in California writes - The HISD dropout scandal is similar in many
states. Across the country, many of the kids illegally pushed out or who dropped out,
were kids classified as having disabilities. Schools and districts keep them -
illegally - on attendance and enrollment lists until right before they have to report test
scores for them. Or the schools just don't report scores at all for them for a year or
two, and TEA doesn't care. Then they are "discharged," and fraudulently reported as
having moved or transferred to another school or GED program. There have been a
number of official investigations about this around the country. In NYC, staff was
secured through submission of fictitious enrollment figures were many, including two
"Deans of the Cafeteria" administrators.

·        From Chicago, a former teacher writes -What we see around the country is
that districts' lawyers actively work with superintendents to keep school boards from
looking at what's really going on in a district. The current Roslyn, NY multi-million
dollar scandal wasn’t reported by the Board because their District's outside counsel
advised they didn't have to report the crime. They then retained a friendly outside
lawyer, who was a retired Asst. District Attorney, to give an opinion letter to that
effect. A national law, that any government. employee/official, MUST report any
possible or actual crime to the appropriate authorities, and to not do so is, in itself, a
crime called "misprison of a felony." Needless to say, the NYS Education
Department, like the TEA, doesn't want to know about school crimes.

·        A former teacher from Hamilton Georgia writes, one of the biggest wastes
of money in the school system where I used to teach is Staff Development. They are
time-consuming and expensive and ineffective. Our system spent thousands on the
CRISS program and it was not worth it. I am now facing dismissal.

·        A former teacher from New York writes about “Administrator owned
Educational Consultant Firms. She states that although she is a certified reading
teacher (by several different entities) that the Administrator insists that she and
others attend sessions to teach them how to read and write essays. She claims that
Superintendent’s convince the public that teachers are unqualified and need this
instruction. Taxpayers are convinced that Administrators are addressing the problem
of low test scores when in fact it is only about Administrators making money on
kickbacks.

·        A parent from Montana writes that a former cook at the school told her that
while she was employed by the school that officials sold food sent to the school by
the USDA which the district doesn’t pay for. The head cook sold this food cheaply
for cash to employees.

Each of these instances of waste, fraud, or abuse represent dollars diverted
from teacher salaries or from programs which help schoolchildren in Texas.
No doubt many school administrators, teachers, and board members are striving to
be good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars and to provide a quality education for
Texas schoolchildren.

These are only a few of the complaints and allegations we have received through the
Educator Witness Protection Program. These revelations provide some insight
into why ISD budgets and operations need public scrutiny and why
measures such as increased transparency in ISD budgeting and
expenditures are needed.

Americans for Prosperity Foundation - (formerly CSE Foundation)
807 Brazos St, #210, Austin, TX   78701-9996
phone: 512/476-5905; fax: 512/476-5906