Friday, May 30, 2014

FCPS Bd of Ed: Compromise amid Disparagement

Fayette school board approves tentative budget 
despite parents' requests to wait for audit

Compromise found

A subdued Vice Chair Melissa Bacon called the Fayette County Board of Education to order Wednesday evening to deal with disputes over the Fayette County public schools proposed budget. Despite a dry and generally incomprehensible initial presentation by Financial Director Rodney Jackson the meeting was a well-choreographed refutation of the blistering charges leveled by Budget and Staffing Director Julane Mullins a day earlier.

Notably, Ms. Mullins was not present.

The upshot of Jackson's explanation was that there were no irregularities involving $20 million and  that the GASB 54 standards (required of all government financial accounting entities) are difficult to understand. This was backed up by Bill Meyer a partner with Strothman & Company, the district's hired auditor. Audit reports that I have seen in the past always had a disclaimer that states the audit is based solely on the numbers given to the auditors by the school district. Trash in? Trash out. If the numbers are bad, an audit can come back clean despite hidden problems. But two board members cited previous clean audits as assurance that nothing could be wrong.


In the end, the general consensus seemed to be that everyone was just going to have to wait for State Auditor Adam Edelen to make a ruling on the issue.

One issue of concern to special education parents has been the deployment of special education staff and services. A generalized fear that has been expressed by many parents in recent years was recently exacerbated by the district's association with the District Management Council, a group that advocates raising class sizes and reducing supports for special needs students. CAO Lu Young addressed the district's position.


Parents and business leaders spoke to various concerns and committed support for the district leadership. For example, Sandy Jones spoke emotionally about the needs of special needs students in the district and the plan to reduce paraprofessionals.



Perhaps the most cogent presentation of the evening came from former legislator (and Cassidy Dad) Bill Lear. While I think Bill overstated the avenues available to employees to call out problems - particularly wrongdoings - and survive within the organization, his presentation was eloquent, supported the proposed amendments to the budget, and provided a wider view of the issues.

Following Lear was former Lexington Vice Mayor Mike Scanlon who chose a bare knuckles religiously and politically-conscious approach; one laced with innuendo and character assassination. He apologized repeatedly to our public board because members were forced to endure questioning despite the fine job three of them were doing. He described imagined enemies who had the temerity to challenge district leadership - and went on to demonstrate the craft of character assassination in the hands of a master.

His personal attacks were allowed by acting Chair Melissa Bacon, one assumes because Scanlon did not call out anyone by name, which seems to be the limit of Bacon's scrutiny. However, the individuals he referred to were personally identifiable and he left no mystery about Ms. Mullins and her attorney. The same acting Chair who lambasted Sharon Mosfiled-Boswell for using a person's name to identify that individual's contract with the district, sat passively as Scanlon did his work. She apparently failed to realize that Scanlon's remarks disparaged individuals and violated the board's own policy. One is left to assume the application of the rule is dependent upon whom one disparages.



Then Scanlon went after Brenda Allen, attacking the lawyer "who was let go by the school system for reasons well-known to everybody."

Everybody knows? That's a dubious assertion.
Does everyone remember that the Fayette County Board of Education paid Allen $200,000 in exchange for her promise to forgo suing former FCPS Superintendent Stu Silberman? Allen had threatened to file suit against the board alleging that her position was eliminated as "a reprisal and/or unlawful retaliation" in breach of her contract and in violation of state law.
Allen had been tasked by Stu Silberman to draft the report that was used to push Peggy Petrilli out of her principalship at Booker T. Washington  Elementary School. But somewhere along the way Allen's objections to Silberman's tactics wore thin. Sources within the district office told KSN&C that Allen let it be known that a pivotal meeting in the Petrilli case should have been conducted differently, and might not have resulted in legal action at all, if it had been handled more competently by an attorney.

Eventually the superintendent went out and bought himself a flimsy report, from a management firm that promotes outsourcing, advising the board that it would be cheaper and better to outsource district legal services, leaving district principals in the lurch. Silberman realized that the district's effort to portray Allen's dismissal as a reduction-in-force wasn't going to stand up and the district settled. Allen took the $200 K and opened a restaurant and law firm in Frankfort. The decision to outsource all legal services was reversed by Shelton fairly early in his tenure with the district.

Since the former Vice Mayor got me thinking about it, here's the backstory on former FCPS legal counsel Brenda Allen.
Anyway, Scanlon's barbs drew a snappy response from Board member Doug Barnett.


Rounding out the evening, a somber Amanda Ferguson praised the courage of Julane Mullins and lamented her absence at the meeting.

Ferguson reminded the Board of it's anti-fraud policy which requires due diligence on the part of board members, and said that she could not in good conscience support the budget despite the adoption of changes she advocated.



This from the Herald-Leader:
The Fayette County school board restored some controversial cuts to the 2014-15 tentative budget before approving it 4-1 Wednesday night.

The tentative budget, now about $428.4 million, has been the subject of debate for months among parents, students and teachers. The board approved the budget even though some parents asked members to wait until Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen completes an examination of allegations made this week by the district's budget director that an irregularity in accounting led to a budget crisis.

The cuts to the budget now total about $17.5 million instead of the $19.1 million Superintendent Tom Shelton proposed in April. The adjustments the board made at Wednesday's meeting included:
■ Restoring cuts to band and orchestra programs.
■ Limiting reductions to the district's special schools and programs to 3 percent
■ Changing the staffing reduction for classified employees — such as bus drivers and maintenance workers — from 5 percent to 3 percent.
■ Restoring $56,000 for trips and activities for students who receive free and reduced-price lunches and otherwise could not afford to participate.
■ Increasing the reserves for the district's special education program from $1 million to $2 million. A proposal to cut 97 aides and add seven special education teachers remained.
■ Limiting the number of paid days that could be cut for an individual employee to five.
Wednesday's meeting was necessary because the board did not approve the budget May 19 after members Doug Barnett and Amanda Ferguson objected to cuts, including those to orchestra and band programs. Barnett changed his vote Wednesday, joining Melissa Bacon, Daryl Love and board Chairman John Price in voting yes. Price voted via videoconferencing from his hospital room at the Markey Cancer Center, where he is recovering from a bone marrow transplant.
Ferguson voted no. She said she was pleased about the restoration of budget cuts. But she said that District Budget Director Julane Mullins' allegations raised serious issues.

"I cannot completely disregard Ms. Mullins' 16 years of experience in the district budget and staffing office, particularly since she has absolutely no reason to fabricate these claims," Ferguson said. "In fact, she makes them at particular risk to her own professional reputation and likely with extreme personal discomfort."

By approving the budget, the board met a May 30 deadline to submit a tentative budget to the Kentucky Department of Education. The board must approve a final budget by Sept. 30, and Shelton said there could be more changes depending upon revenues the district received.

The process that the district went through to get an approved budget was good, Shelton said, though it was challenging, creating "some emotional discussions" and "difficult conversations."

Earlier Wednesday, the presidents of two Fayette County Public Schools employee groups said they could not support the passage of the district's tentative budget until Edelen finished "special examination" into allegations of a $20 million irregularity in the Fayette Schools' budget. Edelen spokeswoman Stephenie Hoelscher said Wednesday that "this week we will send in auditors and begin gathering documentation, and we'll begin putting together the scope."

Fayette County Education Association President Jessica Hiler and Fayette County Education Support Professionals Association President Doug Botkin issued a joint statement Wednesday, saying "we cannot support the passage of any budget until this audit is complete." FCEA is a voluntary association that represents teachers. FCESPA is a voluntary association representing other school employees.

"Our members believe it is important that the community fully understand the reasons for the $20 million shortfall, so that we can be sure it does not happen again," the statement said.

Mullins said the district's current $20 million shortfall was caused by irregular accounting but worsened with "numerous acts of mismanagement," according to an email sent to school board members, as well as Edelen.

Mullins' email said a $20 million journal entry in 2011 was "irregular" because Rodney Jackson, the district's director of finance, made the entry on Dec. 6, 2011, six months after it should have been included.

Mullins said the late entry caused the working budget for 2012-13 to be approved by the board with numbers that were inflated by $20 million.

Shelton denied the allegations, as did Jackson in a presentation to the board at the meeting. Jackson told the board that $20 million was never missing. Jackson and Shelton, whose spending was also questioned in the email, said Mullins' accusations stemmed from misunderstandings of routine budgeting procedures.

Shelton reiterated after that the board meeting that the $20 million journal entry that Mullins mentioned had nothing to do with the $20 million budget reduction, which was due to the district overspending its revenue. Jackson said the journal entry did not affect the fund balance of Fayette County Public Schools either before or after the transaction. The district's outside auditor told the board that he had reviewed the allegations and Jackson's documentation and that there were no improprieties.

Jackson provided documents which he said showed that there was no erroneous or abnormal transaction. Mullins' attorney, Brenda Allen, has said Mullins was willing to share 1,000 pages of documents with investigators.

Attorney and former state lawmaker Bill Lear and business leader Mike Scanlon were among those asking the board to approve the budget despite the allegations.

In addition to Edelen's office, both Mullins and Shelton have asked the state Office of Education Accountability to investigate. Karen Timmel-Hatzell, OEA's acting director, said her office, which looks at violations of laws affecting schools, will wait until Edelen finishes his investigation "because we don't want to duplicate effort when we are all going to be looking at the exact same thing."
I would say that this was the most contentious issue a superintendent could be called upon to handle if it weren't for the looming redistricting effort that recently got underway. That'll bring angry displaced parents out of the woodwork.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/28/3262954/state-auditor-says-he-will-do.html#storylink=cpy

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Are you sick of highly-paid teachers?

This from the Daily Kos:
Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do -- babysit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and planning -- that equals 6-1/2 hours).

So each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585 a day.

However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET'S SEE....

That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees?

Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6-1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here!

There sure is!

The average teacher's salary (nationwide) is $50,000.

$50,000/180 days = $277.77 per day / 30 students = $9.25 / 6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student -- a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!)

WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Kentucky schools will use EXPLORE, PLAN exams for two more years

KDE says state gets special extension from testing firm
This from KSBA: 
Kentucky middle and high school staff involved in testing student achievement got some good news Friday: the state has been granted the OK to continue using EXPLORE and PLAN tests for another year, despite ACT Inc.'s intent to close out the tests after 2014.
In his Fast Five on Friday email to district and state leaders, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday announced the change.

"ACT, Inc. planned to discontinue production of both ACT EXPLORE and ACT PLAN after the 2014-15 school year. However, they offered both assessments to a limited number of states, including Kentucky, for one additional school year, 2015-16," Holliday said. "The current plan is for students across Kentucky to take the ACT EXPLORE and ACT PLAN in September 2014 and September 2015."

The commissioner also said a proposed business sale involving ACT Inc. won't change things for Kentucky schools.

"Recently, Cambridge Educational Services sent an e-mail notification that 'effective June 2014, it (ACT) will no longer offer its PLAN and EXPLORE tests.' This does NOT apply to Kentucky. Any resale of test documents Cambridge purchased from ACT is a legal debate between those two entities. It does not affect the contract KDE has with ACT to provide these tests in September 2014 and 2015," Holliday said.

In January, Education Week reported the Iowa City, Iowa-based ACT Inc. plans to replace EXPLORE and PLAN with a new test called ASPIRE. The ASPIRE exam reportedly would more closely align with measuring student mastery skills in common core standards subjects. Additionally, the ASPIRE test is to be geared for use in all grades 3-11.

Kentucky middle and high schools have used EXPLORE (Grade 8) and PLAN (Grade 10) since the 2006 General Assembly required new high school and college readiness measurements.

According to information on the KDE website, the EXPLORE program is a high school readiness examination designed to help eighth graders explore a broad range of options for their future. The exam assesses four subjects (English, mathematics, reading and science) and provides needs assessments and other components to help students plan for high school and beyond.

The PLAN program helps tenth graders build a solid foundation for future academic and career success and provides information needed to address school districts' high-priority issues. The exam assesses four subjects (English, mathematics, reading and science) and is a predictor of success on the ACT.

KERA 2.0

When they write the book on Kentucky school reform from 2008-2016 the story will actually begin in 1996 or so, with The Governors, Chiefs, Achieve, and the American Diploma Project. It was that foundation that made the passage of Senate Bill 1 possible in 2009. Absent those initiatives, Senate Bill 1 would have been little more that an effort to kill the CATS test as earlier unsuccessful versions of SB 1 will attest.

With that said, here's the Commissioner's view of Kentucky's place among reform-minded states.

This from Dr H's Blog:

Kentucky’s chapter in the education reform story

This week I had the opportunity to speak to education writers from across the United States at their national seminar in Nashville.  The Education Writers Association includes journalists, researchers, teachers, policymakers and others with an interest in improving the public discourse surrounding education. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of education coverage to create a better-informed society.  Several of the journalists who regularly cover education in Kentucky were in attendance.

The organization asked me to share Kentucky’s education reform story.  By all accounts it is a success, though we still have a long way to go to achieve our goal of college/career-readiness for all.  The following are some of the thoughts I shared with them as the reasons for our accomplishments.

When they write the Kentucky chapter in the book describing education reform, they will certainly mention the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. I hope they will also highlight the era of Race to the Top, Federal Stimulus Funds and No Child Left Behind Waivers. Kentucky’s leadership in education reform is well documented and is part of the culture for education in Kentucky.

The Kentucky chapter documenting the reform period from 2008-2016 should begin with the foundation that was developed through the passage of major legislation in 2009. Senate Bill 1 (SB1) passed with no dissenting votes. SB 1 required new college-ready standards, assessments, accountability systems, and support for educators in implementing. Perhaps the most unique part of the legislation was the requirement for collaboration between higher education and K-12 education on setting college-ready standards.

When the Kentucky chapter is written, a few key initiatives should be highlighted.

1. It really helps to be the first. Kentucky was first to adopt and 
        implement common core state standards, first to assess the 
        standards, and first to implement an accountability system 
        based on the standards. By being first we were able to 
        chart our own course. There was no major opposition since 
        we had 100 percent support from legislators and the 
        Governor. Also, there were no other states for people to 
        compare us to.
2. We worked to develop a broad base of support. We developed 
        a strong communications plan with key partners. Our 
        educators stayed involved and informed through every 
        phase. Parents received communication on why we needed 
        more rigorous standards and assessments and how this would 
        impact their children. Business leaders received packets of 
        materials from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to help 
        them lead the reform efforts in their communities.
3. From the very beginning we made a decision to involve 
        teachers in every step of implementation. We pulled more 
        than 1,300 teachers, principals, and district leaders together 
        every month for two years to help us plan for implementation 
        and monitor and adjust implementation plans. Every school 
        and every school district developed a comprehensive plan 
        for implementation and support for the new standards
4. We made a decision not to rush the teacher, principal, and 
        superintendent evaluation procedures. We heavily involved 
        educators to develop evaluation models linked to the new 
        standards and assessments. As a result, we have widespread
        support this year as every district piloted the new evaluation 
        systems and next year, all teachers, principals, and 
        superintendents will utilize the state evaluation procedures.
5. Finally, our state is committed to a continuous improvement 
        approach. We know we must continue to listen and learn from 
        students, parents, teachers, and community leaders. Just 
        one example of our continuous improvement approach is our 
        Kentucky Core Academic Standards Challenge which will launch 
        in August. We are asking every citizen in Kentucky to read the 
        standards and provide comments and suggestions on how to 
        improve the standards so we reach our goal of every student 
        reaching college- and career-readiness.

Finally, I hope the Kentucky chapter will close with the record of success we have enjoyed. Our high school graduation rate is among the top in the nation and our college- and career-readiness rate has improved from 34 percent to 54 percent since we adopted common core standards.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Fayette superintendent says there is no discrepancy in $20 million budget entry, didn't cause financial crisis

This from the Herald-Leader:
The director of budget and staffing for Fayette County Public Schools sent an email Monday to board members, saying a $20 million "irregularity" was the cause of the district's current budget crisis.

The email, provided to the Herald-Leader by board member Amanda Ferguson, said Julane Mullins sent the information about the irregularity to Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen and Marcia Seiler, Executive Director of the state Office of Education Accountability. Stephenie Hoelscher, a spokeswoman for Edelen's office, said he received the allegations Tuesday and was reviewing them.

"I feel compelled to provide this information to the board to shed light on the facts surrounding the current budget crisis and suspected violations of law and numerous acts of mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse of authority that have resulted in the current state of affairs," Mullins wrote in the email.

However, Fayette County Superintendent Tom Shelton said in response at a Tuesday briefing that "the allegations in the memo are untrue — mischaracterizations of very routine accounting procedures."

Mullins' email said a $20 million entry into the budget in 2011 was "irregular" because Rodney Jackson, the district's director of finance, made the entry on Dec. 6, 2011, six months after it should have been included.
Because of the late entry, Mullins said, the working budget for 2012-13 was approved by the board with numbers that were inflated by $20 million.

Jackson was in a meeting Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Shelton said at the news briefing that the working budget for 2012-2013 was not inflated because of a budget journal entry and that Jackson and other district officials had not made errors.

Neither Shelton nor other district official had committed mismanagement, he said.

However, Shelton said he had asked Edelen's office and the OEA to conduct a full review so the public can be assured that there were no improprieties. Shelton said he thought Mullins' allegations stemmed from misunderstandings. He said the $20 million journal entry that Mullins mentioned had nothing to with the $20 million budget reduction.

Earlier this year, Shelton said he needed to cut $20 million from the budget because the district was outspending its revenues and was draining its contingency fund. That announcement led to months of contentious debate, punctuated by a heated May 19 school board meeting where Ferguson and board member Doug Barnett refused to approve a $426.9 tentative budget that included $19.1 million in cuts. A board meeting has been called for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the district's Central Office on East Main Street to try to resolve the issues before Friday. That's when, by law, the district has to submit a tentative budget to the Kentucky Department of Education. On Tuesday, Shelton said he would provide specific information on Mullins' allegations to the board at that meeting.

Mullins, who said in the email she had worked in the Budget and Staffing office for 16 years and has been the Director of Budget and Staffing for 10 years, did not immediately respond to a telephone call from the Herald-Leader asking for comment about her email.

Mullins said in the email that when she discovered the irregularity, she met with Shelton on October 18, 2012, and showed him the error.

The email said Shelton, after seeing documents about the error, said to Mullins: "Are you telling me the budget for the last two years has been inflated by $20 million with recurring expenses"?

Mullins said she told Shelton that was correct, and once "Tom was made aware of the dire situation on October 18, 2012, he failed to advise the Board or to take immediate and decisive steps to address the critical financial situation that faced the district."

"Instead, he continued to spend as if there were no crisis and with some of the expenditures being in violation of board policy," Mullins' email said.

For example, Mullins said, Shelton granted significant pay raises to Chief Operating Officer Mary Wright and Vince Mattox, School Chief Officer of Community and Government Support, without board approval, and without adjustments in their position descriptions.

Mullins said money was spent for special programs like the STEAM Academy and the expansion of the Carter G. Woodson Academy. She said the district picked up additional expenses for Opportunity Middle College that was previously funded with a grant, implemented a 1 percent salary increase, spent $360,000 for a match for a grant called Spending Money Smartly and spent $80,000 for an administrator to oversee the grant.

"All of these had significant budget implications," Mullins said in the e-mail.

Mullins said she was directed — she didn't say by whom — not to "flag" in documents prepared for the board, a salary increase for Chief Academic Officer Lu Young.

"I did as directed even though this is not consistent with the philosophy of 'transparency' with which Tom indicated that he would conduct the business of the school district," Mullins' email said.

Shelton said Tuesday that any raise he authorized was made with the board's approval. He said that he did ask Mullins whether the budget had been imflated by $20 million but he later determined that no error had been made and he told her that.

At the May 19 board meeting, Ferguson asked Jackson and Wright whether an irregularity had occurred with $20 million in 2011. Both said no. Shelton also told the Herald-Leader that no irregularity had occurred.
Meanwhile, Mullins' raised another issue in the email. She said board policy requires approval for transfers of more than $50,000. But Mullins said in May of 2013 Shelton wanted transfers in his budget in excess of $50,000 to include two $75,000 transfers to NaviGo, a career and college preparation company.

NaviGo was founded by one of Shelton's friends, former Kenton County Superintendent Tim Hanner, who has implemented a pilot program in Fayette County high schools.

Mullins said in the email that Shelton directed that these "budget transfers be made despite the fact that they violated the board policy requiring approval for such expenditures."

Shelton said that allegation was untrue and that he simply paid two $75,000 invoices to NaviGo from his budget.

"I realize that by providing this information to you, the Auditor of Public Accounts and OEA and requesting a full investigation, I risk being retaliated against by the superintendent," Mullins wrote to the board. "I also recognize that under state law, Board members cannot become involved in personnel matters and therefore cannot protect me. While I certainly hope that I will not be retaliated against, I have already retained counsel and am prepared to avail myself of the protections afforded by state and federal law."

Shelton wrote the board an email in response to Mullins' email to the board, saying he has "been made aware of the correspondence that was received by the Board from Julane overnight."

"I am astounded by these allegations," he said in the email, which also was provided to the Herald-Leader. "Please be assured that we will conduct a full investigation and provide a corresponding report in writing related to each of these concerns. If necessary, we can work with the State Auditor's Office and OEA, or any other external investigator as needed."

In regard to the $20 million budget entry, district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said Fayette school officials "have already reviewed these entries."

Deffendall noted that Mullins was only questioning the "timing of the entries, not the validity of the transfers or any related approvals."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/27/3261409/fayette-school-official-says-20.html?sp=/99/322/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

FCPS Budget Director sheds light on $20 million deficit citing suspected law violations, fraud, mismanagement and abuse of authority

"I am astounded by these allegations." 
-- FCPS Superintendent Tom Shelton

District says it will join Budget Director in requesting an audit 
by OEA and State Auditor
Read re here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/27/3261409/fayette-school-official-says-20.html?sp=/99/322/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

 "Once Tom [Shelton] was made aware of the dire situation on October 18, 2012, 
he failed to advise the Board or to take immediate and decisive steps 
to address the critical financial situation that faced the district. 
Instead, he continued to spend as if there were no crisis 
and with some of the expenditures being in 
violation of Board Policy..."
--FCPS Director of Budget and Staffing Julane Mullins


Long time FCPS Budget Director Julane Mullins blew the whistle Monday on the "irregularity" that led to the school district's current money woes. The bombshell was set in motion during the 2011 budget and landed one day before the district is set to review a contentious set of proposed budget cuts.

In recent months board member Amanda Ferguson had been pressing Shelton for a better explanation for the cause of the deficit only to be criticized sharply by some fellow board members, and dismissed by Herald-Leader columnist Merlene Davis as childish in a  condescending article. Along the way Ferguson questioned a couple of suspicious money transfers. She apparently had the wrong transfers, but the right idea.


Today the picture looks a lot different.

Tomorrow the Board is set to resume discussions. 

Anatomy of an irregularity

Whenever the school district asks the Fayette County Board of Education approve the escrow of funds, a journal entry is made. This entry removes funds from the general ledger (which is like a check book) and posted on a balance sheet (which is like your savings) account for future expense. 
It’s like taking funds from your checking account and  placing them in savings account for future of one- time expenses.

In this case, the Board approved the draft budget with a checking account total that was improperly inflated by the $20 million because - unbeknownst to them - it was still in the “checking account.” That would have been fine IF the $20 million had already been moved to the “savings account.” But that had to be done no later than July.  Once Ms. Mullins discovered the error, the district had to put the money back into the “checking account” to pay for expenses. Boom.


MEMORANDUM

TO: Fayette County Board of Education Members

FROM: Julane Mullins, Director of Budget and Staffing

DATE: May 26, 2014

RE: $20 Million Deficit

CC: Adam Edelen, Auditor of Public Accounts
Marcia Seiler, Executive Director Office of Education Accountability

I have worked in the Budget and Staffing office for 16 years and have been the Director of Budget and Staffing for ten years. In light of the current situation that is facing the Fayette County Schools, I feel compelled to provide this information to the Board to shed light on the facts surrounding the current budget crisis and suspected violations of law and numerous acts of mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse of authority that have resulted in the current state of affairs.

As is outlined in greater detail below, the Director of Finance Rodney Jackson failed to make a journal entry as discussed in the tentative budget discussions. Subsequently the journal entry was not made until December 6, 2011 six months after it should have been. By then, the Annual Financial Report had been sent to KDE (due July 25, 2011) which was expected to have those funds committed or reserved per our budget discussions in May.

Thus, the December 6, 2011 Journal entry for $20 million was irregular not because of the amount of the journal entry or the reasons for it. The Board had approved the escrowing of funds at its May meeting. We had established a practice of the Board approving the escrow funds in May, and Rodney making the transactions prior to the submission of the Annual Financial Report due to KDE on July 25th. The Journal entry was irregular because of the date of the entry. It is clear that Rodney knew of the significant problem with this journal entry. You will note he used the words “correct unreserved account” when his department made the journal entry.

However, rather than to alert anyone of this occurrence, and to lessen the financial implications for the district’s 40,000 students and 6,000 employees, Rodney sat silently by while Tom came in as new superintendent with a $13 Million spending plan.
Additionally, the Working Budget for 2012-13 had already been approved by the Board with numbers that were improperly inflated (by $20 million) due to his six month delay.

It was not until late June 2012 while doing routine end of year activities and while looking at expenses vs. revenue, that I discovered the December Journal Entry. I questioned Rodney, who insisted he had done everything right. Mary and I ultimately discussed it when Mary returned from vacation. Rodney downplayed the significance of the problem and told Mary that I was over-reacting.
As budget discussions continued in the fall, it appeared to me that neither Mary nor Rodney had notified Tom. With Mary’s permission I met with Tom on October 18, 2012 and showed him the documentation. He said, “Are you telling me the budget for the last two years has been inflated by $20 million with recurring expenses.” I indicated “yes.” Once Tom was made aware of the dire situation on October 18, 2012, he failed to advise the Board or to take immediate and decisive steps to address the critical financial situation that faced the district. Instead, he continued to spend as if there were no crisis and with some of the expenditures being in violation of Board Policy as outlined below.

In December and January, Rodney, Mary, Tom and I met for the 2013-2014 Draft Budget. I asked if we were going to work on a plan to reduced expenses to stop the fund balance from further decline. Tom indicated yes, I suggested $10 million per year for the next three to get us to a point where we were operating with recurring expenses only and give us an opportunity to build our fund balance to a level of safety to be able to cover summer payrolls and any unexpected expenses such as unfunded mandates and midyear budget reductions. He indicated that he wanted to start with budget training for cabinet. This was done over a period for four to five weeks and had minimal impact upon the significant problem.

Tom’s spending continued despite the critical situation. During the tentative/working budget we added STEAM, 2nd Year of Expansion for CGW, picked up additional expenses for Opportunity Middle College previously funded with a grant, 1% salary increase, $360K for a match for spending money smartly grant and $80K for administrator to oversee grant, $165K for Chief Academic Officer and Rodney even added another position for Financial Services to the general fund. All of these had significant budget implications.

When reviewing information in my office, we realized there were several problems with Financial Service’s accounting practices. They were posting revenue against expense accounts; this practice makes it impossible to truly see how much a program costs to operate because it appears that they are spending less than they really are therefore you can never budget properly. We also found where Rodney had posted revenue against budgets in Financial Services to free up additional funds in their budget. I presented Mary with documentation about this and she indicated that she would contact the internal auditor. I was never asked to provide any information.

In addition to the above, however the salary Tom had promised to Lu Young, the Chief Academic Officer was not consistent with our current salary schedule. I was directed to expand the Hay Additive in the Salary Schedule and not to add the information regarding the increase to the cover memo presented to the Board so as not to “flag” it. I did as directed even though this is not consistent with the philosophy of “transparency” with which Tom indicated that he would conduct the business of the school district.

In a manner not consistent with past practices on taking such matters to the Board, Tom also granted significant pay raises to Mary Wright and Vince Mattox without Board approval, without adjustments in their position descriptions.

Also, Board Policy requires Board approval for transfers of over $50,000. In May of 2013, Tom wanted transfers in his budget in excess of $50,000 to include two $75,000 transfers to Navigo and directed that these budget transfers be made despite the fact that they violated the Board Policy requiring approval for such expenditures. In July, 2013 he added a change in this policy to the annual policy revision so that he could continue to make transfers in excess of $50,000 without the knowledge or approval of the Board. A few of the documents that support the facts I have outlined are attached.

In sum, I recognize the serious and significant situation that all of us have been placed in and I am concerned that once this critical information was given to those that could address it, they failed to do so, continued to make expenditures that only compounded the problem and began implicating me and my department. So, in addition to providing this information to you, I have provided it and additional information to my attorney, to the Kentucky State Auditor of Public Accounts and to the Office of Education Accountability and am asking for a full investigation relative to the district’s current situation including my concerns of violations of law, mismanagement, fraud waste and abuse of authority.

While you have heard a great deal of concern from employees about a fear of retaliation for speaking out, I do believe that is a valid concern and I realize that by providing this information to you, the Auditor of Public Accounts and OEA and requesting a full investigation, I risk being retaliated against by the superintendent. I also recognize that under state law, Board members cannot become involved in personnel matters and therefore cannot protect me. While I certainly hope that I will not be retaliated against, I have already retained counsel and am prepared to avail myself of the protections afforded by state and federal law.
Supporting documentation on pay raises here, and on the budget irregularities here.

This from the Herald-Leader:

Fayette school official calls for investigation, 

says $20 million 'irregularity' led to budget crisis

The director of budget and staffing for Fayette County Public Schools sent an email Monday to board members, saying a $20 million "irregularity" was the cause of the district's current budget crisis.

The email, provided to the Herald-Leader by board member Amanda Ferguson, said Julane Mullins sent the information about the irregularity to Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen and Marcia Seiler, Executive Director of the state Office of Education Accountability. Stephenie Hoelscher, a spokesman For Edelen's office, said he received the allegations Tuesday and was reviewing them.

"I feel compelled to provide this information to the board to shed light on the facts surrounding the current budget crisis and suspected violations of law and numerous acts of mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse of authority that have resulted in the current state of affairs," Mullins wrote in the email.

Mullins did not immediately respond to a telephone call from the Herald-Leader asking for comment.
The email said a $20 million entry into the budget in 2011 was "irregular" because Rodney Jackson, the district's director of finance, made the entry on Dec. 6, 2011, six months after it should have been included.

Because of the late entry, Mullins said, the working budget for 2012-13 was approved by the board with numbers that were inflated by $20 million.

Jackson was in a meeting Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mullins said in the email that when she discovered the irregularity, she met with Fayette County Superintendent Tom Shelton on October 18, 2012, and showed him the error.

The email said Shelton, after seeing documents about the error, said to Mullins: "Are you telling me the budget for the last two years has been inflated by $20 million with recurring expenses"?

Mullins said she told Shelton that was correct, and once "Tom was made aware of the dire situation on October 18, 2012, he failed to advise the Board or to take immediate and decisive steps to address the critical financial situation that faced the district."

"Instead, he continued to spend as if there were no crisis and with some of the expenditures being in violation of board policy," Mullins' email said.

For example, Mullins said, Shelton granted significant pay raises to Chief Operating Officer Mary Wright and Vince Mattox, School Chief Officer of Community and Government Support, and without board approval, and without adjustments in their position descriptions.

Board policy requires approval for transfers of more than $50,000. But Mullins said in May of 2013 Shelton wanted transfers in his budget in excess of $50,000 to include two $75,000 transfers to NaviGo, a career and college preparation company.

NaviGo was founded by one of Shelton's friends Tim Hanner, who has implemented a pilot program in Fayette County high schools.

Mullins said in the email that Shelton directed that these "budget transfers be made despite the fact that they violated the board policy requiring approval for such expenditures."

"I realize that by providing this information to you, the Auditor of Public Accounts and OEA and requesting a full investigation, I risk being retaliated against by the superintendent," Mullins wrote to the board. "I also recognize that under state law, Board members cannot become involved in personnel matters and therefore cannot protect me. While I certainly hope that I will not be retaliated against, I have already retained counsel and am prepared to avail myself of the protections afforded by state and federal law."

Shelton did not immediately respond to questions from the Herald-Leader about the salaries or the NaviGo contract.

But Shelton wrote the board an email in response to Mullins' email to the board, saying he has "been made aware of the correspondence that was received by the Board from Julane overnight."

"I am astounded by these allegations," he said in the email, which also was provided to the Herald-Leader. "Please be assured that we will conduct a full investigation and provide a corresponding report in writing related to each of these concerns. If necessary, we can work with the State Auditor's Office and OEA, or any other external investigator as needed."

In regard to the $20 million budget entry, district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said Fayette school officials "have already reviewed these entries and the only question is the timing of the entries, not the validity of the transfers or any related approvals."

"We will be requesting that OEA and the auditor's office review the situation as well," she told the Herald-Leader.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/27/3261409/fayette-school-official-says-20.html?sp=/99/322/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

Monday, May 26, 2014

Childish display by school board won't benefit students

This from Merlene Davis in the Herald-Leader:


I got chills watching the recent Fayette County School Board meeting concerning proposed program and personnel cuts to balance the 2014-2015 school budget.

Amanda Ferguson
It seemed we had suddenly returned to the era of personal attacks and petulant behavior that caused us to live through four superintendents and two interims in five years.

That dysfunction between 1999 and 2004 helped no one then and it won't anyone now.

During the May 19 board meeting, anger seemed to emanate from two board members — Amanda Ferguson and Doug Barnett — that seemed less about nurturing students and more about playing to the crowd.
For his part, Superintendent Tom Shelton seemed to be giving both of them enough rope to hang themselves, rather than trying to invite a modicum of maturity to the scene.

Barnett was focused on the possibility that the cuts too closely mirrored suggestions written in a book penned by a consultant with the Gates Foundation's "Spending Money Smartly" grant, which Fayette County received in 2012. The book urged districts to "focus on formulas, not faces," Barnett said, and he couldn't support any budget that hampered student achievement or that decreased support for band, orchestra, music or the arts.

"Are we for consultants or for kids?" he asked. Then he declared, "I urge you to reject this budget tonight."

Barnett then rocked back in his chair and received applause from the audience.

Shelton later calmly said the book that so agitated Barnett had not been used in developing the school's budget.

The book may not have, but the grant did.

Fayette County applied for the grant "to help guide as we scrutinize spending and ensure that we are using best practices to weigh these critical decisions," according to the schools' website.
Couldn't Shelton have said that? Couldn't he have defused some of Barnett's anger by noting there were similarities between the book and the purpose of the grant?

Doug Barnett
Then it was Ferguson's turn to direct her anger toward Shelton, with board vice chair Melissa Bacon receiving some of the shrapnel.

Ferguson insisted Shelton had not warned board members of the shortfall prior to this year's proposed budget planning sessions. "This is not a good position to be in and I don't appreciate being put into this position at the last minute," she said.

Shelton said he had warned the board last year and was backed up by board member Daryl Love.
Like Barnett, Ferguson decried any cuts to music even after Shelton pointed out the cuts would be minimal, about 3.3 positions districtwide.

Meanwhile, Bacon entered the fray by pointing out the cuts were discussed at a previous meeting that Ferguson had missed. Miffed, Ferguson said, "I was on a field trip with my daughter. I'm not perfect like you."

I recall saying something like that when I was 14.

Earlier, when Bacon mentioned Ferguson walking out of another meeting, Ferguson retorted, "It wouldn't have happened... if I hadn't been talked to like I was an idiot by the superintendent."
"He works for us," she said. "And he seems to forget that sometimes."
It was embarrassing.

Bacon didn't need to point out Ferguson's absences and Ferguson didn't have to be snippy.
The only saving grace about the whole episode was that a majority of the students who were present at the beginning of the meeting, showcasing their talents, had left by then.

But it didn't stop there.

"I don't think the full story has been told," Ferguson said. "Perhaps someone would like to share it with us."

When Shelton asked what she meant, Ferguson inferred something was crooked in Central Office and maybe even with the auditors who are hired to catch irregularities.

She brought up two money transfers that occurred in November and December 2011 that totaled about $20 million. She asked Rodney Jackson, director of financial services, and Mary Wright, chief operating officer, if there were irregularities about those transfers.

Both said no. If there were, Jackson said, the annual audit would have pointed it out.

Tom Shelton
"Auditors we probably have had for too long, based on best practices," Ferguson said.

What was that all about? Was that a "gotcha" moment that landed flat?

If there have been problems with money being taken from the school system, shouldn't she have asked the auditors, the superintendent, and the financial director prior to the meeting?

If that move was too intimidating, couldn't she have voiced her concerns to the state auditor in Frankfort and asked for a review?

That's what most people would have done if they truly had a concern about pilfering from the school coffers.

Having an open and transparent process that leads to a working budget doesn't mean the folks involved should show their underwear.

Obviously the childish display was so disconcerting, the ailing school board chairman, John Price, sought a way to vote remotely so as not to endanger his health by coming in person to the next meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, leaving only two days for a tentative budget to be passed by the state's May 30 deadline.

After the shrill, immature display I saw last week, I'm not putting any money on that happening.
From Facebook:


Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/24/3257958/merlene-davis-childish-display.html#storylink=cpy

Ky. can't break out of economic doldrums without fixing tax system

This from the Herald-Leader:
This is an election year in a poor state, five years into a slow recovery from a devastating recession. No wonder everyone is talking about jobs.

Political talk about jobs is often just that — talk. But two recent economic reports offered insight that candidates and officeholders should take to heart.

One says that places with an educated, trained work force not only attract more and better jobs — no surprise there — but also that they recover more quickly from economic shocks.

The other report shows that Kentucky has been slower than the rest of the nation to emerge from the recession, producing fewer and less desirable jobs than most other states.

But the truly bad news is that unless policy makers are willing to do the hard work of tax reform, this downward cycle will not change.

Gov. Steve Beshear offered a tax reform package — based on the work of a task force led by Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson — to the General Assembly this year that went nowhere. There is a profound unwillingness among lawmakers to accept short-term personal political pain for collective long-term economic gain.

Beshear, in his second term with no plans to run for another public office, can take the message to voters, and those they elect, that tax reform is an essential first step in any serious, long-term jobs plan.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, and Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, should also work with their chambers and their caucuses to get this done for Kentucky.

Kentucky's tax code gives away more revenue in loopholes than is collected, and captures virtually nothing from the rapidly growing service sector of the economy.

With this scenario, it's inevitable that General Assemblies will continue to cut education at every level, further undermining Kentucky's work force preparedness.

The two economic reports mentioned earlier make this clear.

It isn't news that education drives employment but the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, whose district includes Kentucky from Lexington eastward, documented that education also plays a role in how rapidly an area emerges from a recession.

Louisville economist Paul Coomes, in a study for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, found our state has been slower than the nation to emerge from the recession.

But that slow recovery hasn't been universal. The Cleveland Fed observed: "Places like Lexington ... which have high shares of adults with bachelor's degree, have also seen some of the strongest employment gains during the recovery."

Lexington outstrips the nation in high-school graduates and those with a bachelor's degree or higher. But Lexington is an outlier in Kentucky, which lags the nation in both categories.

Perhaps even more disturbing for all of Kentucky is where our jobs have been created in the last four years, according to Coomes' analysis. The leader by far is "employment services," more commonly known as temp agencies. Coomes' list also includes government and auto manufacturing — sectors that generally provide living wages and benefits — but is rounded out with sectors like food service and nursing homes.

Any job is a lifeline to someone without one. But too many of Kentucky's jobs leave people treading water, getting nowhere. And that's the way it will be as long as Kentucky's leaders avoid setting our tax structure on a course that will sustain adequate work-force training and education.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/25/3258363/ky-cant-break-out-of-economic.html?sp=/99/349/#storylink=cpy

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Senior prank puts Ky. high school up for sale

This form USA Today:
Simon Kenton High School's graduating seniors have an enterprising plan to pay for college expenses. They just put their school up for sale.

According to a Craigslist ad posted around 9 p.m. Wednesday, the graduating class of 2014 is selling the school for $2,014, in the housing, office and commercial section of the classified advertising website.

The ad, which has been deleted, states, "Going off to college, so i dont (sic) need it anymore, need to save up my cash to pay off all these loans coming up. Will consider trades for a big truck, life time supply of chaw, a country boy, or a state championship in something other than bowling."

The ad lists attributes of Simon Kenton such as "persistent cigarette smoke smell in freshman boys bathroom" and an "excellent" football field, as well as a "pool on the roof," and "comes with its very own day care."

The sale includes trucks, "concrete farmers," "lots of used chaw, and empty chaw cans," "laptops that never work," and "textbooks (not many, not in very good condition)."

Simon Kenton Principal Martha Setters said she's not entertaining any offers.

"It was meant as a prank. It is an exaggeration," she said. "We are still focused on instruction throughout the remainder of the school year."

School ends on May 30.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Kentucky Court of Appeals Dismisses Anti-Common Core Case

TEA Party Appellant Unable to Make a Case against Common Core

On its own Motion, the Kentucky Court of Appeals (8 May 2014) quietly dismissed TEA Party activist David Adams' appeal of his unsuccessful anti-common core suit.

Poof. That's it.

For all of his bluster and suggestions of brilliant double-secret legal strategies, when it came time to put up in court, David Adams shut up.

That's understandable. There was really nothing he could say.

Doomed from the start, Adams' dream of derailing Common Core adoption in Kentucky turned out to be just that. A pipe dream.

Common Core has now withstood a legislative attempt (by two original sponsors of Senate Bill 1 which opened the door to Common Core to begin with) and one court challenge - both designed to kill the curriculum standards. As a result, Common Core has been galvanized into the classrooms of Kentucky for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for your help, David.


This from the Kentucky Court of Appeals:



Postmortem


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Don Quixote Sues Kentucky Over Common Core

From time to time Kentucky Tea Party activist David Adams takes a break from trying to shut down the government and obsessing over poor Kentuckians access to healthcare and wanders into my area of interest - public education. Last week, David announced on Facebook that he had filed suit against the state of Kentucky over Common Core arguing that the state's adoption of standards before they were finalized constituted an unconstitutional mismanagement of the schools. Ha!

We had a little exchange. 

Richard Day Wow. Talk about frivolous crap clogging the court system! This is a pristine example. You may want to at least read SB 1 where the General Assembly took affirmative action opening the door for Common Core. Are you planning to argue that the legislature can't pass laws governing curriculum? This lawsuit is going nowhere, Don Quixote.

David Adams: SB 1 took no affirmative action to commit Kentuckians to signing over their rights to the federal government with little to no appropriate due diligence.

Richard Day: Sorry David. Your argument won't fly. The Gen Assembly with a Republican sponsored bill required an internationally benchmarked curriculum that CCSS matched. Time will tell...but you're looking at a loss here.

David Adams: SB 1 doesn't lock us in to Common Core and the Kentucky Constitution requires we get out.

Richard Day: No, but it allows the choice.

David Adams: Signing up for something to find out what's in it is not a choice, it's the dictionary definition of waste, mismanagement and political influence.

Richard Day: Give me a break. The record clearly shows that while the draft was not "final," the department knew very well what was in it. And the Commissioner, who serves on the Chief State School Officers Board for goodness sake, should have been an indispensable party, but you left him out for some reason. The mismanagement discussion in Rose v Council was fiscal - it's a school finance case after all, and you should know that. You seem to be trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. If that's what you want to do, so be it. But please, be a man and don't whine when the effort falls flat.


David Adams: Richard, if you don't recognize the fiscal implications of Common Core you should probably just go back to being not interested.

Richard Day: The fiscal implications are no different from any other curriculum the state might adopt - except that if Kentucky had tried to build its own internationally benchmarked curriculum with college and career ready standards, also permissible under SB1, it would have likely been much more expensive and taken much longer to create. When was I not interested in public school issues, or more particularly, the Rose case?

David Adams: Do you really think we have solved any real problems with Common Core? Wouldn't it have been cheaper and likely more effective to just borrow what Massachusetts already had?

Richard Day: David: Perhaps, but it doesn't mater what I think about CCSS. The authority rests with the elected General Assembly and they get to choose. As you know, the US Constitution makes education a province of the states (many more debatable points exist here). If the states have the power to control education, they also have the power to throw in together and cooperate in grants, multi-state programs, or in this case, multi-state curriculum development (which was a Republican idea to begin with). The state constitution makes the General Assembly responsible. The General Assembly didn't direct the state to adopt the Massachusetts curriculum. Instead they approved a Republican sponsored bill that called for a particular type of curriculum, and the state agencies zealously went to work on it. Now, three years later, you have suddenly become interested...following the RNC's lead I might add. One might argue that your action here, as elsewhere, is explicitly political. According to your tortured logic, if your suit is construed as political - is it therefore unconstitutional? We both know that your suit won't be thrown out because it's political. There are several other reasons the court might choose...beginning with standing.

David Adams: Keep talking, Richard.

Richard Day: Was that a response?...or a punt?

David Adams: A suggestion. And one I wish you would seriously consider. Volumes have been written about both taxpayer standing in Kentucky courts and legislative responsibilities in carrying out their duties. You are unaware of these things, as your continued typing demonstrates.

Richard Day: Tell you what...you selected the venue. And I'm satisfied to let the court decide. Let's see who turns out to be correct. In the meantime, I'll take your advice, and as time permits, I'll track your progress on Kentucky School News and Commentary. tap tap tap tap tap

 

Monday, December 16, 2013

Don Quixote's Day in Court



13-CI-01316 ADAMS VS. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Adams wants the Franklin County Circuit Court to tell the Kentucky legislature that it must stop implementation of Common Core State Standards because he doesn't like Common Core. He knows that the court won't do that. So his solution is to claim that the state system of schools is inefficient, and use the Rose case to stop implementation until such time as Kentucky has an efficient system of schools. Despite Rose being a school finance case, he makes no claims about the underfunding of the schools as a means of showing the systems inefficiency. Adequate funding is a specific constitutional requirement under Rose. Neither does he seem to examine the curriculum sections of the decision where the court discussed specific competencies required of the state curriculum.

As predicted, Plaintiff Adams was immediately challenged on his standing before the court through a Motion to Dismiss. Senate President Robert Stivers also apparently objected to the General Assembly being sued through his office alone, and asked to be removed as a defendant.

 

Monday, January 06, 2014

Is the Suit Challenging Common Core Adoption in Kentucky on its Deathbed?

In November, after I opined that David Adams' case against Kentucky's adoption of Common Core was doomed from the start, he asked me to seriously consider following the case. I suspect he wanted to teach me a lesson or two in constitutional law. Here's my take on the case so far:

The frivolous lawsuit brought by Don Quixote de Nicholasville (otherwise known as TEA Party activist David Adams) challenging Kentucky’s adoption of Common Core State Standards seems close to being over already...

 

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Kentucky Judge Strikes Down Common Core Suit

Adams v Commonwealth DISMISSED with prejudice

TEA Party activist failed to establish Standing

Failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted

Adams says, "Franklin Circuit is hardly 'the court'"

In Kentucky's Franklin County Circuit Court today, Judge Phillip Shepherd struck down TEA Party activist David Adams' suit challenging Kentucky's adoption of Common Core State Standards.
Adams v Commonwealth (13-CI-01316) went from Complaint to the Judicial Graveyard in just two months (which is lightening speed, especially during the holidays, for a court to receive the complaint, hold a hearing, allow for responses, and rule). The quick dispatch is indicative of the stunning weakness of the plaintiff's case, and the court's recognition of "Don Quixote de Nicholasville's" obvious attempt to use the court to advance his own political agenda.

Judge Shepherd wasn't buying any of it.


Judge Phillip Shepherd

 

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Judge dismisses plea to have Kentucky Core Academic Standards halted, tells activist to make case elsewhere 

In his decision, first reported Tuesday by the blog Kentucky School News and Commentary, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip J. Shepherd said, “The Court system is not the proper forum to resolve disputes over the educational philosophy of the core content standards. Here, it is clear that the legislature enacted a statute requiring the adoption of the core curriculum standards, and the state Board of Education properly adopted an administrative regulation as to the core curriculum."

 

 

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Don Quixote Twitches. 

As sometimes happens, the dead can twitch. Still dead, some random electric impulse causes the body to flinch. Such is the case with Adams v Commonwealth where Don Quixote de Nicholasville (David Adams) did the only thing he could do to prolong his ill-fated case. He asked the judge to reconsider his decision.

 

 

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Why Judge Shepherd Will Scrap David Adams' Motion to Reconsider

Denied or Struck - it hardly matters. Adams' Motion is Doomed.
In these last days of Don Quixote de Nicholasville's ill-fated anti-Common Core suit, Governor Steve Beshear responded to TEA Party activist David Adams' Motion to Reconsider with panache. He not only wants Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd to deny Adams' Motion, but he wants to have it struck from the record for various procedural and legal defects. I can't think of any reason Judge Shepherd won't do just that.

 

 

Friday, February 14, 2014

Judge Shepherd Denies TEA Party Activist in Anti-Common Core Case



Plaintiff lacked standing, Failed to state Claim

Suit Ends in Circuit Court

Adams to Appeal 
Before the ink was dry on Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd’s order – indeed, even before the Judge had signed the court order denying Don Quixote de Nicholasville’s Motion to Reconsider - TEA Party Activist David Adams had filed a notice of appeal with the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

 

 

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Anti-Common Core Case On Appeal



Case: 2014-CA-000267 – an appeal of 13-CI-01316
Appellant: David Adams
Appellee: Commonwealth of Kentucky
We should be within a couple of weeks now. David Adams’ has promised an appeal of his anti-Common Core case, which was thoroughly pummeled by Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd. What brilliant strategy could Adams find at this late date which might persuade the Court of Appeals to take up his case? And if the Court accedes, how on Earth could Adams win?
David Adams

 

 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

TEA Party Activists' Appeal Stalls 

We don't know if this is a case of excusable neglect, or the more typical everyday kind of neglect we have seen from David Adams as he framed his anti-Common Core law suit. Soundly rejected by Judge Phillip Shepherd in the Franklin County Circuit Court, Adams vowed to appeal. He even sent an urgent notice to his Facebook friends asking for emergency monetary support.

Since then, crickets. Adams told KSN&C that the reasoning for his appeal would be forthcoming in a Prehearing Statement which was due to the court somewhere around March 5th. chirp. chirp.

 

 

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Adams Fails to Respond to Court of Appeals

Did TEA Party Activist Abandon his Anti-Common Core Suit?
After losing his anti-Common Core suit in the Franklin Circuit Court, TEA Party activist David Adams promised an appeal that would set the record straight.

He put out an emergency request to his Facebook friends for funds to support his suit before the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The cost to file the appeal was $175, he asked for $200 (for what? ...stamps? ...a nice lunch in Frankfort?), and likely received more.


Then, he did nothing.


Saturday, May 24, 2014

Kentucky Court of Appeals Dismisses Anti-Common Core Case 

 TEA Party Appellant Unable to Make a Case against Common Core