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Reblogged: Kavips: Your DOE... What no one else will tell you

If you aren't reading Kavips this morning, shame on you!

http://kavips.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/your-doe-what-no-one-else-will-tell-you/
Category: 1 comments

Newark Charter High School Opens!

Vance Funk, Tom Carper, Others share in the Opening Ceremonies.

Photos here:  http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_155e6f56-c6db-54d7-92bd-f2addd317cf2.html
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From Moses to Joe Biden to Beau...

From Moses, we have heard on high:


Thank you to the News Journal for today's online snapshot: 
http://www.delawareonline.com/
 You win the Humor in Journalism Award!

Strangely, I don't think "My son Beau if fine" was the Vice President's utterance when this photo was snapped. 

Perhaps, you want to read the article - 
 http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130824/NEWS/308240032/Joe-Biden-My-son-Beau-fine-
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C&E 1st Blog List Grows by One: Parents of Christina

We are happy to announce the addition of a new blogger to our blog list - Parents of Christina.  The comments at PoC are not enabled, but the group also operates a facebook page by the same name where anyone can join in the conversation.

And in case you didn't know:

Thanks to an awesome blogger widget, the C&E 1st blog list serves as a conduit to the latest headlines at all of your favorite edu-political blogs.  We're the niche springboard for readers who don't want to a million RSS feeds flooding into their personal electronic devices.  At right, you'll find the blog list complete with the names of the blogs we follow and their most recent headlines.

Parents of Christina, Welcome to the List!
Category: 1 comments

In Cali - US ED SEC. Duncan Treads on States' Rights - Whew, it's smoggy out there!

By awarding a No Child Left Behind Act waiver to eight California districts, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has embarked on an experiment that redefines the federal role in school accountability—and that is sparking criticism from across the political spectrum and questions about whether the new flexibility goes too far.   www.edweek.org, http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/08/16/01corewaiver.h33.html?tkn=TQPF3qjhijjjcGavvTp016HgunOrRE9JxaoJ&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1
The State of Delaware, and the public schools contained therein, are already recipients of the No Child Left Behind Waiver.  It's the mechanism that gives our state freedom from the acheivement targets set under the Bush-era NCLB.  From a parental standpoint, the new waiver was most noticeable in two domains:
  1. In general, parents of children in DOE-defined failing schools:are no longer offered the ability to choice their student - with transportation provided at district cost - to a higher performing school; and
  2. The waiver allowed districts to cease offering the "free" tutoring provided at district cost by state-approved SES providers to students in the same identified failing schools.  Notably, at least 10 years of implementation failed to produce any data that supported the efficacy of these niche providers.
For schools/districts, the waivers really meant something else entirely - freedom from punishment for the failure to meet the federally mandated performance targets of the 2013-14 school year.

To be sure, these waivers came with strings - the kind the bind and garrote public education - including a state-made commitment to implement a teacher-evaluation system linked to student test scores. (For more on that cataclysmic abomindation, go read Kilroys.) 

And because some states refused the anti-educator-pro-federal infusion practice demanded by the waiver, Arne Duncan, created a new mechanism to insert his pro-capitalist stranglehold on those states who dared to defy his offer -  a district-direct waiver application process, a gift specific to these eight Cali districts. 
The first-of-its-kind waiver, good for one year, essentially allows the eight districts to set up their own accountability system outside of the state of California’s—and largely police themselves through their own board of directors. 
The districts, known as CORE, for California Office to Reform Education, will operate under a new school rating system that will eventually count nonacademic factors, such as absentee rates and parent surveys, as 40 percent of a school’s grade...
For the group of California districts, the most important flexibility the waiver brings is financial. A waiver will free up about $150 million in federal funds a year among the districts—money that’s now locked up in providing interventions such as tutoring and school choice in schools that do not meet annual academic targets...
As a result, districts are already canceling many of their contracts with tutoring providers, but electing to keep school-choice-based transportation—at least for now...
More strikingly, Duncan is finally getting some substantial push-back from his usually supporters for the creation of a program that essentially strips states of their rights and morphs his federal department into somthing not-quite-illegal, but borderline unconstitutional.
State schools chiefs collectively oppose the waiver as “usurping” state power. State and local teachers’ unions in California objected to being left out of the waiver process. Many members of Congress, particularly Republicans, are irritated that Mr. Duncan has used his waiver authority to hand out a special waiver just for eight districts in one state....
 Many education policy experts sharply disagree about this district waiver’s effect on the traditional relationship between local districts, their states, and the federal government. Public schools are primarily a state responsibility, and are financed mostly by state tax dollars.

What’s more, the NCLB law mainly governs the relationship between the federal government and the states. The law is the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
“For the secretary to unilaterally dispense with 30-plus years of state-led accountability is incredible,” said Andy Smarick, a partner for Bellwether Education Partners in Washington.
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Saint Nutter To Save Philly Schools, Guv. Corbett Vows to Hold District Students Hostage Until the Union Breaks

We've been following the Philadelphia School District budget crisis closely this week - as its gotten little play in the Delaware press.  The situation is remarkable for a number reasons - the superintendent's nuclear threat, a history of edu-nuclear meltdowns, the influence of Eli Broad the district's operation, the union busting governor who's witholding grant funding until the union capitulates and concedes collective bargain rights... And of course, the fall-out on students and parents in the impoverished urban district.

It appears that hope, in the form of Mayor Nutter, may finally be on the horizon:

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter on Thursday said the city will seek to borrow $50 million to avoid a delayed start to the public-school year for 136,000 students. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324823804579014773649474290.html

"We will avoid this disaster," Mr. Nutter said at a news conference. He said he was directing city officials to "take all necessary steps" to borrow $50 million on behalf of the school district. "I believe this mechanism is the best way to immediately get these needed dollars to the school district with virtually no financial impact on our city," he said.
Mr. Nutter also said he would deliver proposed legislation Thursday to the city council to implement an extension of a city sales tax that is due to expire. He said the legislation would include language allowing half the revenue from the tax to go to the school district, if the state Legislature approved changes in the distribution of the revenue.

However, not all is well and good:
Separately, Gov. Tom Corbett is currently withholding a $45 million grant to the school district until it negotiates major concessions with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. The funding was contingent on the school district making financial, academic and operational changes.
Category: 2 comments

Harry Curriden Shows CSD Board some Tough Love

REBLOGGED, Red text is C&E 1st commentary.

Harry, I have no beef with you.  In fact, we have a lot in common - you're a Harry, I gave birth to a Harry.  You have a special child, so do I.  We're both CSD parents. Please don't take my reblog with comment personally.  I just wanted to share a different perspective. 

http://www.parentsofchristina.org/

 

 

Thursday, August 15, 2013


Christina Board of Education - The script never changes!

As someone who has attended meetings school board meetings in several states and served on two such boards I know the routine well. The meetings of the Christina Board of Education follows a long established tradition. The administration carefully choreographs every step to minimize any risk of being embarrassed.  Board meetings are indeed choreographed. I'm sure there is a desire to minimize the embarrassment factor, but the meetings follow a predictable format to ensure the structure that prevents the meetings from becoming a free-for-all. As far as that embarrassment may seem to be an issue, the CSD board has always been especially skilled at embarrassing itself. As a former board member, it's true, whether or not individuals chose to admit it - we open our mouths and insert our feet. 

There the usual awards recognitions for students and staff. Often this is the most fulfilling part of the entire meeting. By the end of my four years, this was truly most rewarding part of the evening. Next there is public comment. Here you, the public, can make statements that are met with contemptuous silence. The silence is entirely by design.  The board cannot respond to every single person, individually at the meeting, who chooses to speak. CSD already holds the state record for the longest board meetings in history. However, there is also logic behind this policy - board members frequently are hearing one side of a story for the first time when a parent speaks at pubic comment. Good, bad or indifferent to the story, diligence requires that we hear both sides and realize that the truth minus the emotion usually lies somewhere in between the two. Notably, the current superintendent has been empowered by the board to facilitate introductions between commenters and district staff during the meeting to help begin the process of addressing concerns. And of course, if you go back to the embarrassment quotient, CSD board members frequently violate their own rules and speak to the commenters. Oh, if you say something that makes the administration uncomfortable the sound recording of the meeting is mysteriously “lost” and even the minutes are written so as not to reflect the topic of your statement. As one of two board members who fought to get CSD meetings recorded, this statement saddens me.  During my time - from the commencement of recording to the end of my term on June 30th - CSD had only one meeting where we encountered audio problems that prevented recordings.  And the policy directs that the meeting occurs regardless of whether or not the recording equipment is operating - the meetings proceed b/c the work that needs to be done is usually tied to deadlines, many of which are imposed upon the district by outside agencies such as DOE, state law/regs/code, etc. 
Harry does earn a pass on audio quality - sometimes speakers just can't get their mouths near enough to the mics and that makes some files hard to hear.

Next there are the reports of various committees, some relevant while others are smoke and mirrors. Finally late in the meeting there are items that may require some discussion. The administrations hopes that by this time most of the public has left in case there is, God forbid, any discussion. I don't know what the admin thinks, but genuine board members and there are few on CSD's board want the public to stay for the discussion.  Trust me, it would make our lives a lot easier if they did!

As I said, I’m accustomed to the script used at schoo l board meetings. I don’t like it and when I had the opportunity I did all I could to change it. Of all the statements made at the meeting the most asinine is “YOU ARE OUR GUESTS”. This grand pronouncement by the board president at the beginning of every meeting is ignorant, insulting and......WRONG! To each his own. I see this statement as a reminder that the meetings have structure and need structure.  It also delineates the monthly board meeting as different than the public forums and workshops that the board holds where the public can participate freely, rather than observe as they do at the monthly meeting.

Public meetings of the Christina Board of Education, or any other public body in Delaware are public meetings. You and I have every right to be there and the school administration knows it. Of course as with any right it can be abridged for creating a disturbance, hindering the orderly conduct of the meeting etc. Yet, the statement “YOU ARE ARE GUESTS” is fundamentally a lie. The “YOU ARE OUR GUESTS” declaration is intended to intimidate, it has no other purpose. Disagree. But, again, to each his own. I don't take the statement personally, not as a parent/member of the public before I ran nor after as a district parent now.

To be sure there are quests at every meeting of the Christina Board of Education. These guests sit at a table with nice name plates in front of them, these guests are the members of the Board of Education. They sit there as a guest of the people who elected them and the children they are supposed to serve.. Every so often we need to be tell them “YOU ARE OUR GUESTS.” Disagree.  The folks with the goofy name plates (and you made me think that I should have kept mine - I totally forgot to ask for it when I retired) were elected to do a job.  They are on that stage trying to do that job. Yep, they serve at your pleasure. And if you don't like their performance, you can fire them every five years on a rotating election schedule. And there have been some that I would have loved to fire. 
Perhaps, Harry, it's time to throw your hat in the ring and put your boardsmanship experience to good use - win and reform the board. 

Harry

In retrospect, I realized that there are a few things that need to be added to my perspective: 

CSD will often suspend the rules of pubic comment when the community shows interest in an issue.  In the past, PC has been moved to the front of the agenda with awards ceremonies delayed to later meetings in order to allow for greater public participation.  Speakers are frequently recognized outside of public comment when they have indicated they possess information that they feel is important to a conversation (usually by raising their hand.) The board has waived the three minute limit countless times in order to hear out a constituent. In fact, CSD's public participation practices far exceed those that I have personally witnessed at a number of district and charter school board meetings. 


And that's my rant.


 

Category: 6 comments

Another day down... & Philly's Hite engages the Broad Playbook and alienates his teachers


With two days until funding judgment day in the School District of Philadelphia, officials are asking a state-controlled board to remove a rule that forces them to rehire staff based on seniority. This request comes as the district awaits $50 million in additional cash to open school on-time.  http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/School-Budget-Crisis-District-Asking-to-Suspend-Teacher-Senority-Rule-219611041.html

Super Bill Hite is asking the School Reform Commission, the joint Gov- and Mayor- appointed governing body for the school district to remove the seniority rule, a provision mandated in the unions collective bargaining agreement.  Hite cites a desire to want to restore the employment of previously terminated employees to the school from which they worked, should the district win $50 million at the slots between now and Friday (tongue in cheek, it's what his ultimatum amounts to - a convincingly random coin flip request in a state that legislated the destruction of the fourth largest urban district in the nation, guised as "education reform" before education reformer even knew the definition.)

And his effort would seem genuine with the exception that his administration is also currently negotiating with the union their next contract.  The move has certainly excited the union leadership concerned that the district is NOT negotiating in GOOD FAITH. Its a fantastic twist on the Eli Broadian mission of decimating public education by weakening unions while eliminating public control of education for privatization.  Hite is a Broad graduate and comes to Philly well-schooled in union busting. So, it shouldn't come as surprise that he'd warp a financial meltdown into a capitalist opportunity schemed by Wallstreet's most elite. 


Meanwhile...

Philadelphia City Council has announced a plan to raise the money for the district through the purchase and resale of unused real estate. Officials have promised to provide the district with a guarantee of the cash by Friday, but with two days to go, nothing is set in stone.
State lawmakers have also admonished Governor Tom Corbett for not yet providing $45 million in promised aid to Philadelphia schools.
The Corbett administration has said it will not provide the money without the teacher's union agreeing to more than $130 million in contract concessions. A cutback union officials say they can't make.
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3 Days Left on Philadelphia Ultimatum - Update

With only three days until Sup. Bill Hite's threat to delay the opening of Philadelphia's schools becomes a potential reality, community activists are lining up behind  Hite to force the hands that fund the district's budget to anti up $50 million needed to provide enough adult oversight within the buildings to ensure student safety.

Don’t send your kids to school if the district doesn’t receive $180 million. That’s the message Reverend Dr. Kevin R. Johnson sent to parents Monday night during a town hall meeting on the Philadelphia School budget crisis. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Philadelphia-Schools-Chief-Addresses-Principals-Conference-as-Funding-Deadline-Nears-219246601.html

Pastor Johnson, representing POWER,  a coalition of 41 local churches, called upon officials to provide the district with the full $180 million that was originally requested to bridge the budget gap.  If the $180 million is not provided, Johnson called upon parents to boycott the schools.  POWER is also advocating for a permament funding formula for Pennsylvania public schools.


Meanwhile, life goes on:
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Even as Philadelphia school officials warn they may not have enough money to open schools next month (see related story), the School District of Philadelphia was hosting a back-to-school festival today in West Philadelphia. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/08/09/amid-budget-crisis-phila-school-district-holds-back-to-school-fest/
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If you like CBS' Under The Dome, You'll Love Del's Route 40

http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_dc5b18c1-6d37-5527-ba1f-ac3a2082c854.html

Any betters on whether or not Rt 40 will reopen before Christina's first day of school?
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Newark's Mayor Funk Shares more about decision to resign - special election expected in Nov.

http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_4e75c322-f114-5c87-b4bc-82960c07910e.html
Category: 0 comments

How Come So Many DE Schools have unclaimed property with the state's Escheat Office?

Take a look at the list below - It'll surprise you!

 http://php.delawareonline.com/news/2012/unclaimed-property/

Someone's not minding their Ps and Qs or their checkbooks~

It was rather surprising to find so much Unclaimed Property belonging to Schools in Delaware in the the custody of the Delaware Division of Revenue.  Unclaimed property is usually money.  Most often someone forgets about a bank account and after 3 to 5 years the account becomes dormant. After a while, state laws require asset holders, such as the bank, to report their unclaimed property to the state.  If the property is never claimed, ownership will eventually revert to the state, although unclaimed property can be claimed anytime. 

WHAT IS UNCLAIMED PROPERTY?

The most frequently asked question of an unclaimed property administrator is, "What is unclaimed or abandoned property?"

While state laws defining periods of dormancy (inactivity) vary, a wide range of reportable property includes but is not limited to:
  • Dormant checking and savings accounts
  • Uncashed money orders or cashiers checks
  • Unclaimed insurance benefits
  • Mineral royalty payments
  • Safe depository contents
  • Unused gift certificates
  • Dividends, stocks, or bonds
  • Utility deposits or refunds


NameStreetCityStateZip CodeCounty
CAMPUS COMMUNITY SCHOOL21 NORTH BRADRD STREETDOVERDE19904KENT
DELMAR SCHOOL DISTRI200 NORTH 8TH STREETDELMARDE19940SUSSEX
DELMARVA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL150 AIRPORT ROADGEORGETOWNDE19947SUSSEX
FAIRVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL700 WALKER RDDOVERDE19904KENT
LONGNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLRD 10 BOX 452MILLSBORODE19966SUSSEX
MOORE (JOHN BASSETT) SCHOOL20 WEST FRAZIER STREETSMYRNADE19977KENT
SANFORD SCHOOLDUPONT LIBRARY 6900 LANCASTER PIKEHOCKESSINDE19707NEW CASTLE
SCHOOLEY TARA702 DALLAM RDNEWARKDE19711-0000NEW CASTLE
SELBYVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL80 BETHANY ROADSELBYVILLEDE19975SUSSEX
SMYRNA MIDDLE SCHOOL700 DUCK CREEK PKWYSMYRNADE19977KENT
ST ANN SCHOOL2006 SHALLCROSS AVEWILMINGTONDE19806-2220NEW CASTLE
TATNALL SCHOOLPAULA HAGER THE TATNALL SCHOOLWILMINGTONDE19807-2231NEW CASTLE
TATNALL SCHOOL BOOKSTORE1501 BARLEY MILL RDWILMINGTONDE19807NEW CASTLE
XAVIER A SCHOOL FOR YOUNG CHILDREN1315 N UNION STREETWILMINGTONDE19806NEW CASTLE 

EDISON CHARTER2200 N. LOCUST STREETWILMINGTONDE19802NEW CASTLE






  
ARCHMERE ACADEMYATTN: BILL DOYLECLAYMONTDE19703NEW CASTLE
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY750 OTTS CHAPEL ROADNEWARKDE19713NEW CASTLE
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY309 N DUPONT HWYNEW CASTLEDE19720NEW CASTLE
ST THOMAS MOORE ACADEMY133 THOMAS MOORE DRMAGNOLIADE19962KENT
URSULINE ACADEMY1106 PENNSYLVANIA AVE ACCTS PAYABLEWILMINGTONDE19806        NEW CASTLE          
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Phillie Superintendent Goes Nuclear - Give Us $50 Mil or Kids Don't Get an Education!

You couldn't have missed the news conference if you wanted:

Philly Chief Executive Officer/Super, Dr. William Hite  (Broad Academy, 2005), put it all on the line Thursday when he called out both the mayor and city council promising a nuclear threat - Give us $50 million (or at least commit to it) or - your children won't have schools to attend on September 9th.

In March 2013, the district announced a $304 Million deficit. Hite had been on the job nine months - barely long enough to incubate a baby.  He'd accepted the position following the tumultuous three-year term of Arlene Ackerman, less affectionately known as "Queen Arlene" for her oft-times arrogant administrative style. (Ackerman passed away in early 2013.)

The State responded to the deficit - since 2001 Philadelphia Public Schools have been remanded to the control and custody of the PA Governor who appoints the majority of the five members who compose the district's governing body, the School Reform Commission - in June with a cobbled together package of $104 Million devised in the Harrisburg Legislature who recessed before many of the details were finalized.

Now 14 months into his contract, Hite is prepared to drop the nuclear bomb - He will not open schools as scheduled on September 9th without a solid commitment for the funds needed to provide enough adults in his facilities to ensure that his students will be safe while in the custody of the Philadelphia School District.

Hite's fighting for the $50 million that will be generated by a 1% hike in the City's sales tax.  The state wants the funds to go to the city's schools.  But, the Philadelphia City Council led by Council President Darrell Clarke wants to split those funds between the education and the pension fund.

Despite the stalemate and the less than adequate finance package offered by the legislators in Harrisburg, Hite hasn't been idle.  He's laid-off thousands of teachers, assistant principals, aides, and other who are necessary to operate schools - efforts to reduce the projected deficit. But, the net effect of reducing the number of adults on the payroll has resulted in a substantial decrease in the adult presence actually within the schools themselves, creating a safety issue for students and staff alike.

Hite's hands are tied.  He has to bridge the deficit.  But, that bridge means unsafe and understaffed schools and this casts Philadelphia as the city that can't afford to educate its children. And this isn't the first time.

In 1975, Pennsylvania provided 55 percent of school funding statewide, in 2001 it provided less than 36 percent.[15] An analysis determined that increased district spending was limited by a state system which relies heavily on property taxes for local school funding. As a result, wealthier school districts with proportionately more property owners and more expensive real estate have more funds for schools. The result is great disparities in school system expenditures per student. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_District_of_Philadelphia
Former superintendent David Hornbeck threatened to close the city's schools in February, 1998.  The issue at hand was an accusation that the state was not providing enough funds to balance the district's proposed budget.  His threat was not welcomed.  On April 21, 1998, Harrisburg responded to Hornbeck's threat with a Act 46, a school funding package that include a takover plan. 

In 1997 and 1998, both the City and the District filed lawsuits to address funding inadequacies.  The first suit contended that Pennsylvania did not provide a "thorough and efficient" education and was quickly dismissed by the state court.  The second case, a civil rights suit filed in the Federal District Court, argued that the state's funding practices discriminated against districts with significant populations of non-white students.  Then-mayor John Street would later put this litigation on hiatus when he negotiated a "friendly" state takeover of the district that promised additional state funding.

With financial pressure mounting, Hornbeck resigned in 2000.  In the wake of his departure, the superintendency was eliminated for a model that split the responsibility between a Chief Academic Officer and a Chief Executive Officer.  In 2001, the district faced a crisis when it was unable to make payroll and owed roughly $30 million to vendors.   Governor Mark Schweiker, under Act 46 as passed in 1998, in conjunction with Mayor Street who temporarily suspended the civil rights suit, took control of the district - the state takeover of the fifth largest urban school district in the nation was then viewed as the most radical education reform effort yet attempted.

The "friendly" takeover was anything but... negotiations stalled over the governance of the district.  The state wanted the City to anti-up some additional funding to help bridge a $216 million budget gap while the city fought for the right to appoint two of the five members of the soon-to-be-created School Reform Commission and to retain control of the employees within the district administrative office.

In the end the City won the two appointees and coughed up $45 million for the schools.  On December 21, 2001, Secretary Charles Zogby of the Pennsylvania Department of Education signed a Declaration of Distress, the mechanism created to invoke state control of the district. 

The Next Move? It's anyone's guess in this saga of cat and mouse games played with children's futures.

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DOE on Moyer Watch: School has until August 30th to present documentation of facilities purchase

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130810/NEWS03/308100035/New-Moyer-Academy-under-scrutiny
Category: 0 comments

Newark Mayor Vance Funk Announces Retirement Effective 12/13

The Newark Post is reporting through their Facebook Page that Newark, DE Mayor Vance Funk, beloved citizen servant, has announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2013.  https://www.facebook.com/newarkpost?hc_location=stream

We are tremendously saddened by this news.  Newark has been well-served by this inspirational gentleman who truly loves his community.





Category: 0 comments

Philadelphia School District May Sue Banks over Financial Losses

Philadelphia Schools are mired in debt with many on the brink of closure, driven to apocalyptic desperation, some claim, by the stewardship of Broad-trained capitalists who've descended upon urban districts peddling their wares of education reform.

In the latest round of the war for education redemption, the district is being encouraged to pursue a lawsuit against big name banks the likes of Wachovia/Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley and could expand to include Citi, JPMorgan, RBC, BofA, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, RBS, and UBS, according to the Naked City Blog at the City Paper.net. (http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/nakedcity/Philly-schools-consider-suing-Wall-Street-banks-for-fraud-induced-losses.html)


Philadelphia schools lost $161 million from interest-rate swaps, according to a 2012 report by the left-leaning Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Interest-rate swaps set borrowing costs for bond issuers (such as municipalities and school districts) at a fixed rate. The banks — and this is where it gets confusing — then pay the bond issuer based on a floating interest rate, determined by an index such as Libor, short for London Interbank Offered Rate.

Swaps protect public entities from rising borrowing costs. But after the federal government drove interest rates down to spur economic growth in the wake of the economic crisis, cities and school districts were stuck paying banks at a high interest rate even while banks paid public entities at a low one. Cities and districts often paid heavy termination fees to exit the costly agreements. One 2012 report from the Refund Transit Coalition finds that 1,100 swaps with public entities — including fiscally distressed SEPTA — cost taxpayers $2.5 billion each year.

The issues are convoluted at best - Did Philly and similar districts engage in a risky lending practice?  Could have the financial stewards foretold the recession and the artificial manipulation of interest rates to help drive the recession recovery?  Probably not.  

Banks on the other hand, many of the ones listed above, have been tied to the manipulations, specifically libor fraud, that cast the country into the Great Recession:
But recently, the moral and political case against interest-rate swaps has gained a sharp legal edge: It was revealed that banks were manipulating the Libor, an index tied to $300 trillion in financial instruments set by banks with no external oversight. Banks report how much they would pay to borrow from other firms on a given day. On the honor system.

Yep, the honor system.  This lack of regulatory oversight has led to an estimated $176 billion in libor fraud. Of note, the City of Philadelphia has already filed suit and the banks named are all part of the British Banker's Association.  

Now all eyes on the school district - Will they sign on?  And will a suit such as this one even work its way completely through litigation before today's kindergarteners are high school graduates?



Category: 2 comments

Roger Roy Goes All Roy Rogers for Red Clay! A lobbyist with too much influence?

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130804/NEWS02/308040041/Traffic-root-NCCo-state-fight

Long before the Red Clay community got its first look of the new school - to be located at the confluence of Graves Rd and Newport Gap Pike - the project was already mired in debate between parties who question the direction the district is growing.  On one side, Title I advocates cited the new school as a way to draw already privileged suburban students further from the district's poor urban schools which are currently below capacity and could accommodate more students if feeder patterns were redrawn. Clearly the losing side, these advocates have been pitched against those taking up residence in the growing affluent communities in the suburbs who demand more capacity closer to their homes.



While no party has been successful in delaying the new school's construction, recent activity in the hallowed halls of Dover have pushed the future William Cooke Elementary front and center into the public consciousness - not for its furtherance the segregation of poor students from affluent ones, but because ONE VERY POWERFUL DOVER LOBBYIST managed to convince legislators that the project should not be bound by the construction requirements that were in place when the county initially approved the project.


From today's News Journal:
The Delaware Department of Transportation notified Red Clay in November 2012 that 16 intersections would be studied for traffic impact for its proposed William F. Cooke Elementary School in Mill Creek.                                                                                             That study changed in July, shortly after lobbyist Roger Roy successfully persuaded the General Assembly’s bond committee to slip in a change in a larger state funding bill that allowed the district to study only four intersections in its traffic study. Roy, a former legislator, served as head of the bond committee for 22 years that considered state transportation spending.

Red Clay, apparently through no fault of their own - the district denies engaging Roger Roy as their lobbyist and Roy openly admits that he received no payment for his "work" on the district's behalf - has become the latest poster child for the growth and planning problems plaguing the County Executive, County Land Use, and Del DOT.

The superficial problems present:
  1. as in-fighting between various parties driven by the County Exec's campaign promises to reign in growth that has long been driven by the lobbyists of wealthy developers at the expense of the public; and
  2. Red Clay will receive a financial reprieve if the impact studies are reduced by 12 as each impact study will likely generate a list of required improvements to the intersections in question that the district will be required to fund in conjunction with the construction of the new school.  Clearly improving four intersections will be less costly than improving as many as sixteen.
However, there is a much deeper question that needs to be addressed:  How is it that one man acting as a self-described "concerned citizen" was able use his influence to convince the legislative bond committee to circumvent the will of the entire county to the benefit of one organization?

I would hazard to guess, as I have recently driven several of the roads in the area from which Cooke Elementary will likely draw its students, that the community would have much preferred improvements to as many intersections as possible.
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Leaked from the Inner Circle: Coach to Name Carwell's Replacement in Charter Accountability Office

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Delaware Charter School Network Expands

DCSN is moving up in the world;  just check their twitter feed:

  • Here we grow again!! The DCSN is moving to a bigger office in the Community Service Building - Suite 308. The phones are up and running and the door is open. Stop in to say hello!
    Yesterday at 12:20pm 


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Reach Makes Its Move to Lukens Drive -




July 23, 2013
Good Afternoon, I write to bring you with exciting news. If you have not already heard, the State Board of Education has approved our request to relocate the school to New Castle.This means that Reach Academy for Girls will NOW be located at 170 Lukens Dr, New Castle, Delaware. Originally, a new student orientation was scheduled for this Wednesday, July 24th. However, since we will begin moving immediately, the orientation for ALL students will be on August 1, 2013 from 6-8 pm. This orientation will be located at the new building at 170 Lukens Dr., New Castle,DE. All information student packets have been mailed. If you have not received a student packet please call the office at 302-792-6400 and speak with Mrs. Barker. Again, it's official, The Reach Academy for Girls is moving to New Castle. I look forward to see everyone in our new building on Aug. 1st.                                                                                                                                                Tara Allen, School Leader Reach Academy for Girls
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