How?

EDITORIAL


Sept 17-2007 - From the The Greenville Times, "How can schools prevent sexual crimes?"

Universities and public school administrators do take pains to encourage and enforce moral and ethical behavior on the part of teachers. In most all university education courses, for instance, prospective teachers are reminded that they are acting in loco parentis -- and must be good role models, maintaining high standards of conduct.

New teachers in South Carolina, meanwhile, are mentored through the ADEPT (Assisting, Developing and Evaluating Professional Teaching) system, which stresses high ethical and moral standards. All teachers and principals undergo some form of mentoring. Appropriately, the state is revising its ADEPT standards of conduct to even more aggressively emphasize high standards of behavior.

Principals, most of all, set the tone in a school. If there's anything to be done to prevent cases of teacher misconduct, it probably depends on principals making it clear that any sort of unethical behavior by teachers will not be tolerated.

TT - We find most of the teachers are arrested for sex crimes, are not 20-somethings, although there are a lot of those. Most are 30 and up. They are well-established, popular teachers, very effective, respected by their peers, often married with children. They attend all the annual lectures on classroom behavior, listen to advisories never to be alone with students, show up for the the styrofoam-cup-and blackboard chalk talks on what constitutes teacher misconduct and the consequences.

Flat out, we advocate random lie detector testing to ask teachers if they have been involved, or know of anyone involved, with a student. Because teachers know when other teachers are having sex with their students. They simply don't report it.

Pleasantville, NEW JERSEY

How does it cost $65 million every year to educate 3,600 children?

When you live in New Jersey, you don't ask those kinds of questions because it is a given that taxpayers are the best kind of Jersey cows - one that gives and gives and keeps right on voting for the crooks who steal everything that isn't nailed down.

September 7, 2007 - Without irony, the headline of the Philadelphia Inquirer story was, "Another 'horrible day' in Pleasantville district". They were playing off the words of the state monitor who oversees the schools. He wasn't kidding.

In this Atlantic County town's beleaguered school district, 13 superintendents have come and gone in the last decade, and allegations of fiscal mismanagement and corruption have been regular items on the school board agenda.

FACT: A state monitor was appointed in the spring by the state Department of Education after financial audits of the district found a number of discrepancies.

FACT: The district receives $65 million a year in school aid from the state for 3,600 students. (66% are black; 31% are Hispanic)

FACT: Last month, a county grand jury indicted board member David Thomas on charges of official misconduct involving his job as assistant director of public works in Atlantic City.

FACT: A law firm's investigation in the last year over a disputed bill accused several past and present school board members - including Adams, a former president - of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act with what appeared to be "pay-to-play" deals involving campaign contributions and contracts for insurance and roofing.

The law firm said the actions had involved more than 20 individuals and businesses, including officials aligned with another Callaway brother, Craig, a former Atlantic City Council president who was sent to federal prison this year on bribery charges.

Eleven officials were arrested yesterday. From the New York Daily News: Among those arrested yesterday was Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, 60, allegedly accepted $5,000 at a secret restaurant meet, offering to use his influence to name the dummy company Passaic's official insurance broker.

Rivera, a former cop with a checkered history, was also a featured member of Hillary Clinton's long list of campaign endorsements. He was on Clinton's Mayor's Council and her National Hispanic Leadership Council.

Also arrested: The Rev. Alfred E. Steele, 53, is the Assembly's deputy speaker and, until resigning under pressure Thursday, was a Passaic County undersheriff.
See yesterday's arrests posting.

Educators and CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

SENTENCED
"Every picture is a crime scene."



Teachers, administrators sentenced since mid-October 2006.

John Armstrong, 59, Arizona middle school teacher.
Sentenced to 10 years, registration as a sex offender.
School computer used to access pornography.

Jon Blaisdell, 41, pre-kindergarten teacher in Massachusetts.
Sentenced to 6 years.
Receiving and possession of child pornography.
Twenty-five notebooks of pornography and stomach-turning stories he'd written about raping children.

Joseph Briley, 40, a band teacher in Kentucky
Sentenced to 87 months, supervised release for life.
Downloading and possession of child pornography.

William Cockerham, 61, a Fresno biology professor.
Sentenced to four years, 10 years probation.
Admitted to addiction to pornography that led to child porn.

Dennis Wayne Casolari, 56, a sixth-grade teacher in Illinois.
Sentenced to 25 years.
Attempted sex act with a minor boy and pornography possession.

Zachary Daubenmire, 24, a special ed teacher in Ohio.
Sentenced to 5 years probation, sex offender registration.
Downloading child pornography.

Garland Eary, 54, fifth-grade teacher in West Virginia.
Sentenced to 42 months, probation for life.
Child pornography possession.
Three former colleagues wrote to the court to support him.

Christopher Ernest, 27, a Wisconsin middle school teacher.
Sentenced to 6 months, five years probation.
Downloading child pornography into a Yahoo group web site.

Waylon Kaus, 27, teacher, scoutmaster in Missouri, head of Head Start program.
Sentenced to 20 years without parole.
Production and distribution of child pornography.

Louis Konetski, 65, a teacher in Alaska
Sentenced to 5 years, another 8 1/2 suspended, 10 years probation.

John McColgan, teacher in New Jersey
Sentenced to 48 months.

Ron Nash, 39, a high school teacher in Washington.
Sentenced to 8 years.
Possessing and trading child pornography.

Curtis Oishi, 36, a child development teacher in California.
Sentenced to 1 year, 3 probation, registration for life.
Distributing child pornography.

Steven Rubinstein, 50, an assistant principal in N.Y.
Sentenced to 10 years, 5 years probation.
Trading child pornography, attempt to intice two minors.

Steven M. Smith, 55, a shop teacher in South Dakota
Sentenced to 6.5 years and sex offender registration.

David Stein, 48, Special Education teacher in California.
Sentenced to 4 years and registration as a sex offender.

Steve Dennis Thomas, 48, an elementary school principal in Alabama,
Sentenced to 12 years.
Possession of child pornography.
Including images of bestiality and rape of a 4-year-old girl.
Sent e-mails with personal information about his two neices to pedophiles.

Denzial Tittle, 50, science teacher in Texas
Sentenced to 14 years, without parole, 10 years probation.
Distribution and possession of child pornography.

Genaro Vela, 58, coach and Boy Scout Leader in Texas
Sentenced to 14 years.
Possession of child pornography. Faces charges of child molestation.

Dennis Vickery, 61, "baby porn teacher" in Pennsylvania.
Sentenced to 10 years, 10 years probation, registration as a sex offender.
100,000 child porn images, 30 of them infants, one as young as 1 -years-old.

Lawrence Scott Ward, 64, professor at Univ. of Pennsylvania.
Sentenced to 15 years, 3 years supervised release after incarceration.
Producing child pornography for importation into the United States.

Ron White, middle school science teacher in Florida.
Sentenced to 5 years.
Possession of child pornography.
Elected to City Commission 1987, elected Mayor 1989 -2004.

COURT REVIEW
Morton Berger, 52 at time of arrest, sentenced in 2004 to 200 years for child pornography.
U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his sentencing.
Arizona law requires that the sentences be served consecutively and that they be served without the possibility of probation, early release or pardon.

NEWEST SENTENCING

Daniel Platt, 50, sentenced to ten years in prison and lifetime supervised release for possession of hundreds of images of children involved in sexually explicit activities. He still faces charges for sexual abuse and sodomy of an 11-year-old girl.

William. T. Gardner, 66, Professor Emeritus, School of Educ. San Francisco. Sentenced to 63 months and three years of supervised release. There is no parole in Federal sentencing.

Wayne D. Kuklinski, 59, a Lake Zurich, Illinois football coach. Sentenced to two years probation and six days in jail. The pornography showed more than 50 images of children, as young as infants, engaged in sexual acts including sexual penetration and bondage.

Scott Beyer, 39, Michigan High School Teacher.Possession of child sexually abusive material. Sentenced to one year probation, registration as a sex offender.

Robert Michael Boyden, 60, Wyandotte “Teacher of the Year, sentenced to 12 months despite an agreement with Federal prosecutors to a sentence 51 to 63 months.

Richard Beebe, 68, a Maine school volunteer, sentenced to serve 60 days of a one-year prison sentence, as well as a two-year probationary period. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

David Chauncey, 58, an Arizona High School teacher, sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor younger than 15 and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor younger than 15.

Patrick Bogan, 42, gymnastics teacher, Baltimore (MD) Possession and receiving child pornography. Five cabinets in Bogan’s residence, including one that contained 49 videotapes and discs with hundreds of sexually explicit images of children, children's panties and evidence he was part of an international child pornography ring.
Sentenced to 6 1/2 years and ten years supervised probation.

Randy Scott Jennings, 43, business education teacher and coach, Charlotte (NC)
Pleaded guilty to five charges — three counts of production and distribution of child pornography, one count of electronic solicitation of a minor for sex and attempted indecent liberties with a child.
Sentenced to six months' in jail. New charges being pursued.

Michael Postma, 26, a third-grade teacher at an elementary school, Plantation, (FL)
Plea agreement to pornography distribution.
Sentenced to 17 and a half years in federal prison, followed by a life term of supervised release.

Paul Held, 68, retired middle school teacher in Connecticut.
Possession of child pornography.
Three to four million images of child pornography, also photographs taken under desks of students.
Sentenced to more than 10 years, registration as a sex offender and Federal monitoring for life.

Christian Cornwell, 34, high school teacher in Hawaii.
Possession of 10,000 child pornography, including infants.
Sentenced to seven years, three months.

Joseph Nurek, 58, principal at a Chicago charter school.
Pleaded guilty to downloading child pornography.
Sentenced to 20 years.

William Lee Hunter, Jr., 41, an elementary school teacher in Oklahoma.
Pleaded guilty to felony possession of pornography.
Sentenced to four years' probation.

Leland Easterling, 60, 10th grade geometry teacher in Texas.
Pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.
Sentenced to eight years and one month in prison.

Barry Ostrander, 43. Minnesota teacher.
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Hidden camera in his bathroom to videotape young girls.
Sentenced to 15 years in prison.

William Zwiebel, 63, a radiology professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Enhanced sentence for images of child pornography contained "sadistic and masochistic" behavior toward children.
Sentenced to 63 months in prison, followed by 10 years' supervised release.

Melvin Logan, 67, teacher in the 1980s with a child endangerment conviction.
Possession of child pornography.
Jury convicted of 19 counts of possessing sexually explicit material.
Sentenced to 18 months, followed by six years' intense supervision.

Richard Saunders, 55, a chemistry teacher in Florida
Convicted of possession of child pornography.
Admitted in courtroom to possessing 1 million pornography images
Sentenced to 15 years followed by 40 years probation.

James Mircovich, 45, former teacher in Texas
Left teaching after being accused of inappropriate touching and contact
Sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Enrico Tyler, 41, a 7th and 8th grade teacher in California.
Pleaded guilty to child pornography possession.
Sentenced to two years and registration as a sex offender.

Pedro Calderon III, 42, a teacher from Mission, Texas
Possession of child pornography obtained via the Internet.
Sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, followed by 2 yrs of supervised release.

Kollin King, 26, 4th grade teacher in Blasdell, New York
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and admitted using the internet for attempted seduction of a minor.
Sentenced to 8 years, 6 months.

Frederick Tom Robbins, 51, educational assistant in Cincinnati, Ohio
Sentenced to 9 years, 4 of which were for child pornography possession.

Thomas H. Moody, 56, Oregon elementary school teacher
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography while on probation.
Convicted 2005 of six counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Accused in 2004 of fondling and inappropriately touching 10 girls dating back to 1998.
Sentenced to 14 months in prison; and 15 years registration as a sex offender.

David D. Koepp, 40, an Omro School District teacher
Pleaded guilty to charge of attempted receipt of child pornography.
Sentenced to five years in prison.

Justin Gillen, 26, an Oregon high school teacher
Pleaded guilty to child pornography possession.
Sentenced to 27 months, followed by three years supervised federal release.

Robert Lamascus, 39, a social studies teacher at a H.S. in Texas.
Pleaded guilty to possession of between 300 to 600 images child pornography.
Sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 7 years of supervised release.

Gilbert Telford, 68, a substitute teacher in Maine.
Pleaded guilty to possession of pornography.
Police seized 5 computers, found 7,500 images, 300 CDs, various books and spiral notebooks.
Sentenced to 6 months in prison and 10 years' probation.

Bradford Moore, 49, drama teacher in Aspen, Colorado
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
A backdated plea agreement allowed him to plea to one misdemeanor count.
Sentenced to three years' probation.

Ronald Garney, 59, a ninth-grade teacher in Amherst, Mass
Pleaded guilty to 11 counts of possessing child pornography.
Admitted he has collected for 10 years. Former president of teachers union.
Sentenced to 2½ to 3 years in prison a house of corrections.

Karsten Gronwold, 49, a second-grade teacher in Lake Tahoe, CA
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Sentenced to a "little more than eight years".
He will be deported to Australia after his sentence is completed.

Todd O'Brien, a Kingston, New York high school teacher
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Sentenced to 2 1/3 years in prison, 3 years supervised probation, registration as a sex offender.

Greg Watson, 46, a Michigan teacher
Pleaded guilty to child pornography possession.
Sentenced to one year and three months to 20 years behind bars.
He must register as a sex offender.

Marc Sardella, 48, a teacher at the Gardner-Dickinson Elementary School
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Sentenced to 78 months in federal prison and lifetime supervised release.

Barrett Keith Williams, 44, an elementary school teacher in Phoenix, AZ
Sentenced to three years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
He will be on lifetime probation.

David Davies, 53, a teacher in Brush, Colorado.
Sentenced to one year in jail for child pornography.
To be tried again in Missouri, then possibly two other states.

Stephen A. Spiese, 57, actor and part-time teacher at Lebanon Valley College, PA
Sentenced to one month to one year in Lebanon County prison and 11 years of state probation
Possession of child pornography.

Gary E. Rademacher, 53, teacher union president in Missouri.
Sentenced to five years probation.
Possession of child pornography.
Registration as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Mark Mason, 47, Lakeland, FL Catholic school teacher.
No contest plea to 50 counts of possession of child pornograpy.
Sentenced to five years in prison and five years' probation.

Tracy Meadows, a band instructor in Arkansas.
Sent child pornography to an undercover FBI agent.
Sentenced to 18 years in prison for distributing child pornography.

Kenneth Fire, 49, elementary school teacher in Florida.
Pleaded guilty to distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.
Sentenced to five years in prison.

Allen Julier, 54, a Scarsdale (NY) high school teacher
Pleaded guilty to possession of more than 100 images and more than 10 video files.
Investigators found 100 images and 500 videos of child porn on his computer.
Sentenced to 51 months in prison.

Ruben Renfrow III, 72.
Mississippi retired teacher and principal.
Jury verdict guilty of child pornography possession.
Sentenced to 15 years in prison and registration as a sex offender.

Michael Gogerty, 41, a Nevada elementary school teacher.
Pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Web.
Sentenced to more than 8 years in prison.

Chad Roby, 33, an Illinois elementary school teacher.
Pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography.
Sentenced to two years in prison.
Other charges pending in Indiana.

Edgardo Vilas, 42, special education teacher at a detention school in Calif.
Pleaded guilty to possessing more than 600 images.
Sentenced to three years in prison, 5 years parole.
Registration as a sex offender.

Anthony Ularich III, 60, a special education school teacher in Louisiana.
Sentenced to 7 years in prison for 275 counts of possessing child pornography.

Timothy Sheehan, 51, a middle school teacher in Seattle (WA)
Pleaded guilty to possession of 39 photographs of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Sentenced to two years - suspended, and sexual-deviancy tratreatment.
Registration as a sex offender.

Timothy Brumit, 48, a high school teacher in Batesburg, S.C.
Pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a person he believed to be a 13-year-old boy to engage in illicit sexual conduct and to transporting child pornography, via the Internet. Traded over 44,000 images of extremely graphic child pornography
Sentenced to 25 years, court supervision for the rest of his life.
Registration as a sex offender.

Geoffrey S. Hulburt, 32, a middle school teacher in Elmira, NY
Pleaded guilty to possession of more than 600 child pornography images.
Sentenced to 6 and a half years in prison and 8 years of supervised release.

Kenneth Kothe, 61, First-grade teacher, Lynwood, California
Guilty plea to possession child pornography.
Sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, ten years supervised release and sex offender registration for life.

Ronald Norris, 55, Frontier High School, Hamburg NY teacher
Guilty plea to possession of child pornography.
Sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison and five years of supervised release.

Werner Bloch, 41, a teacher in St. Petersburg, FL
Possession of child pornography. They found 16,000 pictures on his computer.
Sentenced to six years in prison and lifetime supervised probation.

Eric Don Standefer, 48, a middle school teacher in California
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Police found him using a hammer to destroy his laptop.
Sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison. Registration as a sex offender.

Michael Eugene Noel, 36, teacher in Tennessee
Guilty plea to child pornography.
Sentenced to 26 years in prison. Lifetime supervised release.
Still faces sex charges in Sullivan county.

John B. Shulick, 53, a Gainesville, VA, middle school teacher.
Pleaded guilty to producing child pornography.
Sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years supervised release.

Randy DeJaynes, 56, an English teacher in Illinois
Pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Sentenced to two years of probation. Molestation charges dropped.

Stanley McCleave, 51, an adjunct photography instructor at Maryville College.
Pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography.
Sentenced to 97 months in prison, registration as a sex offender and lifetime supervised release.

Coen Potts, 37, a Kansas elementary school art teacher.
Pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.
Sentenced to 85 months in federal prison.

Carlos D. Araiza, 44, a Pacifica, California, high school teacher.
Pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.
Sentenced to five years in prison.

Anthony Glinski, 31, a Solvay, NY, middle school teacher.
Pleaded guilty to felony charges of possessing a sexual performance by a child.
Sentenced to 10 years of probation.

Chad Michael Hutchins, 28, a middle school teacher in Texas.
Pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography possession.
Sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release and registration as a sex offender.

David Lista, 35, English teacher at a high school in Millbrae, California.
Pleaded guilty to felony possession of child pornography.
Pleaded guilty to taping the girls in the bathroom. (voyerism)
Sentenced to 16 months for possession of child pornography.

SEE Educators guilty but not yet sentenced.

READ FIRST

STYLE
Entries are not classic blog posts but updated to follow the cases as they proceed through the criminal court system. This format provides latest information for those who follow a particular case and also serves to illustrate the lengthy process that leads many to believe that most allegations of misconduct amount to false charges. That may be a comforting myth to educators, but it is not supported by public record.

DATES
Dates given are publication dates of the news item. When the link no longer works, you are encouraged to visit the news source archives.

CATEGORIES
In the coach or band category, we only label when it is apparent the teacher or coach was involved with the student through the role as coach or band instructor. Sometimes it is impossible to determine from the online stories. Nevertheless, we track as a study, not because we dislike band teachers or coaches.

We do not usually follow stories about coaches accused of physical assault on players as most stories seem to be overblown and result in little or no lasting damage. Physical contact is a component of sports and emotions run high. For some unfathomable reason.

We do follow stories that involve drugs or alcohol. We do because drunk driving kills. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of 15- to 20-year-old drivers who were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2005 had been drinking. (Source: SADD - Students Against Drunk Driving)
Peer pressure is hard enough to resist without having teachers serve as role models to drink and drive or do drugs.

Other categories change as needed or where need is indicated.

COMMENTS
We welcome comments.

Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the blog administrator.

Posts that attempt to identify victims by name or indication will be deleted.
Posts that denigrate or demean victims will be deleted.
Posts that attempt to shut down debate by threatening other posters will be deleted.
Posts that are determined to be excessive and non-productive rants will be deleted.
It happens sometimes that someone will post a comment that they later regret that self-identifies and creates discomfort. Contact us. We will delete.

Our comments at stories are usually in this color.

UPDATES
If you have an update or a correction, please e-mail us at mediaskeptic@hotmail.com
Sending links is preferable. We do not open attachments. Ever.

Posts are derived from published items found online. Sometimes news sources do not bother to follow a case beyond the initial arrest story that was based upon the press release from the police. If you find an entry that needs to be updated and no story is found online, we suggest three things:

- Contact the newspaper or news staff that published the original story.
- If you have trouble determining who you should contact, contact us. We'll help.
- Ask them to print a follow up story to set the record straight. If you need, we will help you write a request.

They owe you that much. We do, too, and we guarantee to act immediately.

SUGGESTIONS
Your suggestions are welcome. This blog wouldn't exist without readers who send us updates every day.

ADMITTED BIAS
We are unashamed supporters of the victims and their families. For one, minors lack the maturity to appreciate the consequences of their actions. That's why we have age of consent laws and limit their legal decisions. But it's also because the student who complains is excoriated by fellow students and teachers alike. That makes them double victims. When they appear in court, the defense usually victimizes them all over again in the most public forum possible - again, without the support of fellow students or teachers. It takes great courage to come forward when it would be so much easier to hide the truth.

It would take less courage for fellow teachers to come forward to voice their suspicions about their colleagues before it gets to the point of criminal conduct. That they do not do so in large numbers speaks poorly of their decency.

AND NO, WE DON'T HATE TEACHERS
Every student has a favorite teacher they remember even 60 or 70 years later. The teacher may not have been a favorite at the time, but, usually, for most of us anyway, they were the person who most believed that learning was a joy, education was a wonder and expected more of us than just about anyone else. They also asked more of themselves and did the same for us. That's the true definition of a teacher.

To the Miss Plunkett's of the world, you made a difference in the world.

Thank you.

Talking Points

TALKING POINTS about the Proposed 2-year policies. (I know that is a lot of information so please use what you feel comfortable stating.)

Did you know that double dipping for education legislators was eliminated in 2002 by an opinion of the Alabama Ethics Commission?

Is there any need for these policies? Just make sure that the Ethics Commission ruling is followed.

Is it right to punish every two-year employee if only one or two have done something wrong?

Did you know that these policies essentially eliminate flextime for all two-year college employees?

Do you realize that the policies will eliminate the strongest supporters of education in the Legislature?

Who is left to protect the Education Trust Fund from raids, protect the funding of PEEHIP, or protect the integrity of the Teachers' Retirement System?

These policies are flagrantly discriminatory against educators.

Lawyers can work and serve. State employees can work and serve. Doctors can work and serve. Bankers can work and serve. Car dealers and insurance salesmen can serve, but under these policies, educators will be prohibited from serving if they are employed at a two-year college.

Legislators employed or contracting with universities are not prohibited from legislative service.

Since 1819, no occupational class of Alabama citizens has been denied the right to serve as a legislator in the state's part-time legislature.

These polices will deny any and all employees of a two-year college from serving on county commissions, city councils, or public utilities, or even getting reimbursed for mileage or food for going to a district Boy Scout meeting, helping United way, or taking children to a church youth group retreat, if they go more than 10 times in one year. If a two-year college employee helped during a disaster like Katrina and was given food or reimbursed any expenses, they would be in violation of the policy and subject to dismissal.

These policies override the Alabama Constitution that sets the qualifications for serving in the Legislature. It is up to the people of Alabama to determine who serves, not the governor, or the chancellor, or any other executive.

The majority of legislators who are educators will be immediately affected during the next session, yet almost all legislators were employed as educators when they were elected.

The practical elimination of flextime means that legislators will be forced to choose between providing for their families and serving their citizens.

Policy 609-04:

Prohibits any postsecondary employee, including the presidents and support staff, from using annual or personal leave as they wish, although these employees have earned this leave and the law says they can use it as they please.

No two-year college employee can use personal leave or annual leave to make money no matter how small an amount.

The policy says that legislators who are employees must use unpaid days only, and that they are allowed only 10 unpaid days per year.

This policy will supersede all other polices previously adopted without regard to past practices, traditions, or custom, or the directives of the members of the elected members of the State Board of Education.

This policy disregards the recommendations of a statewide policy committee made up of properly elected postsecondary employees.

All authority regarding employment rests with one man, Bradley Bryne, without oversight or accountability to anyone. Flextime is essentially eliminated unless you curry the favor of the chancellor.

Policy 220-01:

Eliminates employees of two-year colleges from serving in the Legislature.

Prohibits legislators, with as little as a 5% interest in a company, from contracting with any college in the two-year system. Does this mean that a car dealer who won the state bid on cars could not sell the same car to a two-year college and remain in the legislature?

Policy 602-01:

Gives the chancellor unfettered power to reverse any appointment or assignment of personnel that has happened or ever will happen at his whim without oversight or accountability to anyone, although state law gives the authority for personnel decisions to the presidents of two-year colleges. This policy is an attempt to override state law.

Even if a 30-year employee of the two-year college system has done a great job, and some fault is found in the past hiring practice, no matter how minor, this policy would allow the chancellor to initiate termination.

Janice J. Charlesworth
Executive Secretary
Alabama Education Retirees Association, Inc.

Stages of a Criminal Case

From FindLaw: Stages of a Criminal Case

Arrest
Booking & Bail
Arraignment
Plea Bargain
Preliminary Hearing
Pre-Trial Motions
Trial
Sentencing
Appeals

How Bail Works from Apollo Bonds

Standardized Testing

Continued from TT blog.

TT - Where to begin? Education isn't horse race; it's a process of learning and accomplishment. Testing is a tool that measures accomplishment. The National Report Card isn't a competition between states but a means of trying to curb the 30-year trend of dumbing down state tests to disguise lower expectations for students and hide the lack of classroom instruction.

Every excuse in the book has been used. For 30 years schools have complained that the problem was that poor students, students whose first language isn't English, or students who were victims of cultural deprivation were the reasons for turning out illiterates who then moved on to college and spent one year taking remedial classes just to perform at high school level. Only to drop out. It's been happening since the 1970s.

Educrats in every state asked for a pass so that special category students could be treated separately, but unequally, on tests catered to "their needs." As if the students were mentally unfit to learn. We weren't spending enough money. Classrooms were too crowded. Eubonics would help communicate better.

The influx of Asian immigrants in California and other states challenged that smugness. These students suffer from the same language deficiencies but perform at the top of their classes. Sites like GreatSchools.net show the average classroom sizes and, guess what? Schools with 12 students to a teacher are no more likely to test well than schools with 30 students. The money that the District of Columbia spends on education is the highest in the nation. Their failure rate is also the highest in the nation.

The District of Columbia spends a staggering $13,280 per student. The pupil/teacher ratio is 14.2 Their scores are abysmal. Unless you're an outright bigot and believe that blacks and Hispanics are incapable of learning, how do you explain such colossal and expensive failure?

Money isn't the answer. It's the problem.

We don't have Public Schools anymore. Public Schools were created to assimilate and teach immigrants to give them an opportunity for upward mobility. Public Schools taught children and were proud of their achievements and the achievements of their students. Public Schools hired professionals and established standards of conduct and performance that guaranteed teachers of impeccable character and purpose.

What we have now are Government Schools. Think DMV. Cause that's what we've got.