Can politicians be pro-education and anti-ed reform? Maybe the answer is “no”.
This quote came from the WSJ Online 12-16-08:
"For the last decade or so, the Democrats have not been as strong on education reform as the Republicans have. The Republicans have been much, much better, in my opinion, on ensuring strict accountability for schools and for districts, for ensuring that people are held responsible for closing the achievement gap and significantly increasing student achievement levels for every single child. What worries me about the Democrats is that they tend to be softer on these things, and soft is not what we need right now. Allowing schools to continue to fail year in and year out without significant ramifications either to the district or to the school is doing a disservice to the children. . . . I don't think it's too much for the children of this country to ask for to have somebody who's leading the education system who is always going to put their interests first and foremost, who is not going to care about the politics, the political flak, how many adults get mad at them, keeping the adults happy" -- District of Columbia Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, on why despite being an Obama voter she is "somewhat terrified of what the Democrats are going to do on education," in an interview with NationalJournal.com's Amy Harder.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Pedernales Electric Co-Op Scandal Begs Legislative Action
One of the most offensive scandals of 2008 has been the Pedernales Electric Co-Op’s continuing saga of greed and corruption. The PEC has royally urinated on its “members” – captive customers of the utility.
It has been the subject of extensive coverage by the Austin American-Statesman. See the most recent article http://www.statesman.com/search/content/business/stories/other/12/17/1217pec.html
as well as the accompanying Editorial by the Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/search/content/editorial/stories/12/17/1217pedernales_edit.html
Like most scandals, the web is woven by a number of players, and the circle is often unbroken:
The alleged ringleader in the scandal is Bennie Fuelberg, the former General Manager of the PEC. Apparently, the PEC made some questionable payments to the law firm of Clark, Thomas & Winters that eventually made their way to Curtis Fuelberg, the brother of Bennie Fuelberg. Among his many clients, Curtis Fuelberg is one of the lead lobbyists for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
In the AAS story, the spokesperson for Bennie Fuelberg is none other than Jason Stanford. Stanford is one of the leading liberal opposition researchers in Texas, a perennial Democratic Party vendor and frequently works for the TTLA on various political campaigns.
It appears to me that Curtis Fuelberg and Jason Stanford may be getting paid with monies from ill-gotten gains.
This week, a 390-page investigation was released which is full of problems for the PEC executives – and the captive ratepayers.
There are few heroes when corruption is so prevalent and ongoing, but the Austin American-Statesman and reporter Claudia Grisales along with Sen. Troy Frasier and Rep. Patrick Rose are to be commended for shedding light on the problems, and encouraging action.
Let’s hope the legislature sees fit to release the customers of this failed monopoly and brings justice to the members.
Perhaps the PEC should be split up, sold and the members get the profits, along with opportunity to shop for another electricity provider.
It has been the subject of extensive coverage by the Austin American-Statesman. See the most recent article http://www.statesman.com/search/content/business/stories/other/12/17/1217pec.html
as well as the accompanying Editorial by the Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/search/content/editorial/stories/12/17/1217pedernales_edit.html
Like most scandals, the web is woven by a number of players, and the circle is often unbroken:
The alleged ringleader in the scandal is Bennie Fuelberg, the former General Manager of the PEC. Apparently, the PEC made some questionable payments to the law firm of Clark, Thomas & Winters that eventually made their way to Curtis Fuelberg, the brother of Bennie Fuelberg. Among his many clients, Curtis Fuelberg is one of the lead lobbyists for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
In the AAS story, the spokesperson for Bennie Fuelberg is none other than Jason Stanford. Stanford is one of the leading liberal opposition researchers in Texas, a perennial Democratic Party vendor and frequently works for the TTLA on various political campaigns.
It appears to me that Curtis Fuelberg and Jason Stanford may be getting paid with monies from ill-gotten gains.
This week, a 390-page investigation was released which is full of problems for the PEC executives – and the captive ratepayers.
There are few heroes when corruption is so prevalent and ongoing, but the Austin American-Statesman and reporter Claudia Grisales along with Sen. Troy Frasier and Rep. Patrick Rose are to be commended for shedding light on the problems, and encouraging action.
Let’s hope the legislature sees fit to release the customers of this failed monopoly and brings justice to the members.
Perhaps the PEC should be split up, sold and the members get the profits, along with opportunity to shop for another electricity provider.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Sky-high salary brings promises of improved student performance
Most businesses would wait until an employee's demonstrated value to the organization before giving them a raise or bonus. Not so in Round Rock ISD. There, school board members reward the Superintendent hoping that improved student performance will result. It appears the school board is rewarding his personality, not performance.
Survey examines pay for district supers
LAURI ZACHRY
Education Reporter
Round Rock ISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez's salary falls into the upper range of Texas superintendent salaries for the 2008-09 school year.
The average superintendent salary for the 2008-09 school year is $113,334, a 3 percent increase from the 2007-08 school year, according to the Texas Association of School Boards Superintendent Salary Survey released recently. Average superintendent salaries range from $79,493 in districts with less than 500 students to $272,347 in districts with more than 50,000 students.
Six percent of the responding districts gave a raise averaging 4.2 percent to their respective returning superintendent's for the 2008-09 school year, according to the TASB salary survey. The average bonus paid was $9,339 or 7 percent of the superintendent's salary.
The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees voted in February to increase RRISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez's base salary to $243,080 from $221,991. In addition, the board increased his business expense allowance by $1,000, giving him a total of $5,800 for the year. Chavez's contract was extended to June 30, 2011. His previous contract would have expired in 2010.
"This was an easy decision," RRISD Trustee Diane Cox said in February, after the board made the decision to give Chavez a raise. "He has more than proven himself with the board. He has developed such community support. You even hear at regional and state meetings good comments about him and how he is leading RRISD. He's a strong mentor, cognizant of needs and always willing to give of his time."
Since Chavez became superintendent in 2006, he has helped contribute to some memorable moments in the district. He said the highlights of the past two years have been:
• completing a bond study report with the community in early 2006
• passing the November 2006 bond for approximately $267 million
• reorganizing the district into elementary and secondary sectors
• standardizing the curriculum, programming and benchmarking tests
• adopting "Failure is Not an Option" as the district's school improvement model and developing curriculum around that model
"There is no doubt we as a district will improve and individual schools will improve," Chavez said in February. "Good things will happen in Round Rock."
The TASB Superintendent Salary Survey is a compilation of superintendent salary and benefit information submitted to TASB's Human Resources Services during the fall semester of the 2008-09 school year. TASB sent invitations to participate in the salary survey to 1,030 Texas school districts.
Survey examines pay for district supers
LAURI ZACHRY
Education Reporter
Round Rock ISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez's salary falls into the upper range of Texas superintendent salaries for the 2008-09 school year.
The average superintendent salary for the 2008-09 school year is $113,334, a 3 percent increase from the 2007-08 school year, according to the Texas Association of School Boards Superintendent Salary Survey released recently. Average superintendent salaries range from $79,493 in districts with less than 500 students to $272,347 in districts with more than 50,000 students.
Six percent of the responding districts gave a raise averaging 4.2 percent to their respective returning superintendent's for the 2008-09 school year, according to the TASB salary survey. The average bonus paid was $9,339 or 7 percent of the superintendent's salary.
The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees voted in February to increase RRISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez's base salary to $243,080 from $221,991. In addition, the board increased his business expense allowance by $1,000, giving him a total of $5,800 for the year. Chavez's contract was extended to June 30, 2011. His previous contract would have expired in 2010.
"This was an easy decision," RRISD Trustee Diane Cox said in February, after the board made the decision to give Chavez a raise. "He has more than proven himself with the board. He has developed such community support. You even hear at regional and state meetings good comments about him and how he is leading RRISD. He's a strong mentor, cognizant of needs and always willing to give of his time."
Since Chavez became superintendent in 2006, he has helped contribute to some memorable moments in the district. He said the highlights of the past two years have been:
• completing a bond study report with the community in early 2006
• passing the November 2006 bond for approximately $267 million
• reorganizing the district into elementary and secondary sectors
• standardizing the curriculum, programming and benchmarking tests
• adopting "Failure is Not an Option" as the district's school improvement model and developing curriculum around that model
"There is no doubt we as a district will improve and individual schools will improve," Chavez said in February. "Good things will happen in Round Rock."
The TASB Superintendent Salary Survey is a compilation of superintendent salary and benefit information submitted to TASB's Human Resources Services during the fall semester of the 2008-09 school year. TASB sent invitations to participate in the salary survey to 1,030 Texas school districts.
Texas Ranked #1 in Consumer Choice in Electricity
A newly released study reveals that Texas is the top state in the U.S. in competitive electricity. And that competition has benefited consumers. Consumers win when they are given choices in the marketplace. The study confirms the benefits of consumer choice.
Electricity competition has given Texans the freedom of choice in providers, services and pricing of electricity among numerous power producers and retailers.
While much of the electricity in Texas is generated by natural gas, and those prices have been volatile, Texans have been insulated from some of the price surges other states have seen, largely due to the competitive marketplace.
Some of the recent criticism of competitive markets (by folks like the liberal AARP) is also addressed in the report. Critics claim that "rates are increasing in competitive markets" when rate fluctuations are really the result of fuel price increases that can be exacerbated by regulatory or legislative decisions to artificially depress prices below market costs.
We also need to open the municipal electricity and co-ops to competition. These are currently monopolies and residents served by munis and co-ops are held captive to those providers and have no electricity provider options.
The study can be accessed at: http://www.defgllc.com/news/news.asp?show=VIEW&a=66
Electricity competition has given Texans the freedom of choice in providers, services and pricing of electricity among numerous power producers and retailers.
While much of the electricity in Texas is generated by natural gas, and those prices have been volatile, Texans have been insulated from some of the price surges other states have seen, largely due to the competitive marketplace.
Some of the recent criticism of competitive markets (by folks like the liberal AARP) is also addressed in the report. Critics claim that "rates are increasing in competitive markets" when rate fluctuations are really the result of fuel price increases that can be exacerbated by regulatory or legislative decisions to artificially depress prices below market costs.
We also need to open the municipal electricity and co-ops to competition. These are currently monopolies and residents served by munis and co-ops are held captive to those providers and have no electricity provider options.
The study can be accessed at: http://www.defgllc.com/news/news.asp?show=VIEW&a=66
Texas Cities line up in DC for money
Texas Cities line up for federal dollars
The country's mayors went to Washington this week to hand Congress a wish list worth $73 billion. And Texas mayor were lined up at the trough.
The Wall Street Journal wrote: “But before taxpayers give them a dime, let's see the mayors rank those 11,391 goodies -- I mean "infrastructure" projects -- based on effectiveness and potential return on investment for taxpayers:
- Arlington, Texas, needs $4 million to expand its tennis center.
- La Porte, Texas, wants $7.6 million for a "Life Style Center."
- Euless, Texas, wants $15 million for the Midway Park Family Life Center, which, you'll be glad to note, includes both a senior center and aquatic facility”
Robert Poole from Reason Foundation penned the piece which ended the with:
“It was very nice of the country's mayors to hand taxpayers a wish list worth $73 billion. But before taxpayers give them a dime, let's see the mayors rank those 11,391 goodies -- I mean "infrastructure" projects -- based on effectiveness and potential return on investment for taxpayers.”
Read it all here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122887075956093233.html
The country's mayors went to Washington this week to hand Congress a wish list worth $73 billion. And Texas mayor were lined up at the trough.
The Wall Street Journal wrote: “But before taxpayers give them a dime, let's see the mayors rank those 11,391 goodies -- I mean "infrastructure" projects -- based on effectiveness and potential return on investment for taxpayers:
- Arlington, Texas, needs $4 million to expand its tennis center.
- La Porte, Texas, wants $7.6 million for a "Life Style Center."
- Euless, Texas, wants $15 million for the Midway Park Family Life Center, which, you'll be glad to note, includes both a senior center and aquatic facility”
Robert Poole from Reason Foundation penned the piece which ended the with:
“It was very nice of the country's mayors to hand taxpayers a wish list worth $73 billion. But before taxpayers give them a dime, let's see the mayors rank those 11,391 goodies -- I mean "infrastructure" projects -- based on effectiveness and potential return on investment for taxpayers.”
Read it all here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122887075956093233.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)