The Price of Failure – Ransom Captive Information
So let’s get this straight … South Carolina pumped a billion dollars in new taxpayer money into our “public schools” over the previous four years, only to continue leading the nation in stupid.
On top of that, our kids fell further behind kids in neighboring states, while at the same time our poor and minority kids fell even further behind our white kids.
Additional bad news on school report cards isn’t even available yet, because our worthless educrat establishment can’t even get its own report cards printed up without dropping the ball.
In light of this increasingly expensive ineptitude, it’s not surprising that South Carolinians are beginning to ask some pretty basic questions of people like State Superintendent Jim Rex and the eighty-five local “educrat mafia” bosses who continue opposing real reforms while perpetuating this debilitating status quo.
Questions like this one …
“What the f*ck did you idiots do with all that money?”
Well, in an effort to find out a few answers to that question, the S.C. Policy Council recently sent “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)” requests to all eighty-five local school districts in this state, with each FOIA seeking the same basic financial information.
Specifically, the Policy Council’s FOIAs asked for three things – “public records on employee travel, catered meals and training services,” which let’s be honest, shouldn’t be a terribly tremendous-sized slice of these districts’ ever-expanding pies.
Accordingly, it should’ve only taken one of the thousands of nail-filers who work for these districts about fifteen minutes to slap this data onto a spreadsheet and e-mail it back.
But yeah … that would have involved these people actually doing their jobs, which obviously isn’t something they’re putting a whole helluva lot of effort into.
And so in response to this simple request for public information – which should already be online, btw – South Carolina school districts demanded that the Policy Council fork over a whopping total of $600,000.
One district even cited a fee of $217,000, while another district (of identical size) cited a fee of just $464 to provide precisely the same information.
The average for our state’s eighty-five districts was $9,800.
You can click on the Policy Council report below to see the difference from district-to-district for yourself, but needless to say this is an unacceptable situation.
If these idiots are going to keep screwing up our kids lives, the least they can do is stop trying to hide how inefficiently they’re doing it.
Comments
By Toyota Kawaski on December 9th, 2008 at 10:42 am
getn near Christmas wont to make sure the Yankee voucher scum send fits a card
By baker on December 9th, 2008 at 11:23 am
“‘Educrat mafia’ bosses”?
Will, I know you’re a very bright person, and I’m sure you’re a reasonable guy down deep. But I think this sort of thing makes you appear pretty small-minded and silly.
By mijeel on December 9th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
This is all about accountability and transparency and has nothing to do with vouchers, school choice, etc. (”Yankee voucher scum”). Regardless one’s view on education reform or school choice, the fact remains that the constant obstruction to obtaining honest and meaningful information from public entities is maddening at best and criminal at worst. From the Policy Council report it is obvious that the Department of Education and most, but not all, of the local school systems are intent on obstruction and not transparency.
Unfortunately, the problem is widespread across so many of SC’s government agencies and not unique to the education sector. We need reform and restructuring of all of SC government to establish clear accountability and meaningful, transparent oversight.
By baker on December 9th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I don’t disagree, mijeel. Public school systems can be way too tight about information, and to ask for $200,000 or whatever just to look up information is obviously absurd.
One problem, of course, is that the Policy Council isn’t very interested in an open and honest discussion. When they talk in terms of “here’s how much money the public schools SIPHON off before it reaches the classroom…”, I think it’s plain propaganda that damages the P.C.’s credibility. Putting money toward guidance counselors — required by state law! — is “siphoning off money”? Putting money toward librarians — required by state law! — is “siphoning off money”? Those were the kind of expenses the Policy Council once claimed were non-classroom (hint: wasteful) spending. I assume they’re still in the non-classroom spending category in this Policy Council report.
And this business about 85 superintendents opposing “real reform”….non-sense. There are all kinds of innovations happening in districts all across the state, and they’re not all uniform or in lock-step philosophically. Some are likely better than others. Some may be hamstrung by politics or funding or mandates from the GOP-dominated legislature. But what I guess Will means is that they don’t embrace tax credits for private schooling….that’s the only “real reform,” in some people’s view, I suppose. (I won’t hash out here all the much-discussed hurdles and practical challenges that, in my opinion, make Put Parents in the Charge and the like unlikely to advance lasting positive change for our neediest students.)
By HP on December 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I like ‘educrat mafia’ bosses, and think it has SLED-investigative merit.
P.S. I hope President-elect Obama can pronounce bureaucracy. And it doesn’t come out ‘barackracy.’ Like President Bush’s nuclear always comes out nue-cu-lar.
P.P.S. Rush Limbaugh has solved the financial woes of the Big-3:
Roll out some cars with the Obama logo as hood ornaments, hub cabs, wheel covers…do it the American way — WORK for it. Y’all don’t think those things would sell like poke chops on a stick? Think again.
By Gene E. Nowak on December 9th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
No transparency = no accountability and with no accountability you can line your pockets at the public trough and no one can prove a thing.
It is not education they want it is control of the money and clout that comes with it.
By Frank on December 9th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
This should be no suprise to anyone with a G.E.D. or higher education the reason our education is hurting. When Jim Rex supported Senator Jakie Knotts for re-election, I just knew then that dumb always supports it’s own.
By GnuBerry on December 9th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Perpetuating the ever-expanding and debilitating status quo illustrates the increasingly expensive ineptitude of the educrat mafia idiots screwing up our kids [sic] lives.
By Frank on December 9th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
While our education continues to hurt, Senator “snakie” Jakie Knotts gave the Town of Lexington $10,000.00 of taxpayer’s money so the town can have a fishing tournament in June 2009. What does this translate to? It means that Jakie has found another way to have a party for him and his followers using the taxpayer’s money. Why could he not find money to give to education so teachers would not have their salaries frozen for the 2009-2010 year.
By BIN News Editorial Staff on December 9th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Just when BIN News was beginning to think Howie and his SCRG carpetbuggers had cut off sic(k) willie’s allowance, along comes this latest manure pile.
sic(k) willie, the voucher scam is dead in SC. Tell Howie.
We’re glad to see Howie is still feeding your habit, but you need to develop other revenue streams. Times are tough. No one is buying SCRG manure anymore.
MATH TEST. A prize for the reader with the correct answer:
Howie + SCRG + Voice for Scams + sic(k) willie = ????????
BIN News Editorial Staff
Always Flair and Balanced
By T4 on December 10th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I love blogs, anyone with an opinion and no creedence can voice whatever the hell they want.
The education problems in South Carolina will outlive any of us, who cares. This is South Carolina Sic, find a new state. All we care about is fighting Civil War #2, BMW concessions (and the like), and Clemson vs. Carolina. In the meantime, continue to report frivilous celebrity gossip and semi-nude photos, that’s what we really want!
By Frank on December 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Frivilous would indicate that giving $10,000.00 of taxpayer’s money for people to go fishing is not serious, but not finding money to avoid our teachers salaries from being frozen is not frivilous? Oh snap! wait a minute! you have the makings of becoming a real sorry Legislator one day. You would be doing what others have shown you and that is to ignore the citizens, do nothing to solve the real problems that our State is in, and go fishing on taxpayer’s money when serious problems need attention.
The future looks bright, I got to wear shades!!!!