Our county covertly laying off many teachers...to privatize with ACS.

[madfloridian]

I heard from a friend who teaches special education in our county, has for many years, that they are quietly turning over most of that part of our public school system here to a company called ACS Youth Services. It is hard to search on it because I keep getting American Cancer Society, America Chemical Society, etc. I believe this company is involved in the privatization of prisons here as well, and of delinquent youth services.

Could someone help me find out some of the owners or CEOs of this company? And perhaps if they have any ties to the Bush family? Here are a few articles I found, hard to find much.

This friend is being laid off due to the privatization, will have to retest, requalify, after 20+ years of teaching in this county. More are scheduled to be fired or laid off. Our paper has only covered the two schools mentioned in the bottom article. He said they are doing this covertly and sneakily. He say many schools are involved.

http://www.acs-inc.com/

http://www.nyc.gov/html/acs/html/support/support_foindex.html

http://www.sls-youthservices.com/

http://www.pbcalliance.com/youth.html

This article refers to the two schools that are being made known to the public.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050407/NEWS/504070392/1004

Move to Privatize Two Schools Under Way
Superintendent is looking for better results in alternative education programs.

By Andrew Dunn
The Ledger

LAKELAND -- Polk County School Superintendent Gail McKinzie wants to privatize two of the district's alternative schools, one of which has recently come under federal scrutiny.
McKinzie has invited ACS Youth Services, a company that specializes in alternative school management, to make a presentation to the School Board at its agenda study Tuesday. Any move toward privatization would have to be approved by the board.

She said she's interested in having ACS take over the Bill Duncan Opportunity Center in Lakeland, the Donald E. Woods Center in Dundee, and the county's expulsion programs, excluding the BEST schools. "I've been looking at other means that we might deliver the alternative education piece to our students," McKinzie said. "They (ACS) seem to have achieved great success."

The superintendent and three of her staff visited a school that ACS runs in Orange County.
"We were very impressed," she said. "We were taken around by students. They explained the program as they experienced it." ACS runs 11 schools in four Florida school districts.

McKinzie said that one of the problems she has seen at the district's alternative schools is low attendance. She said attendance percentages at ACS schools hover around the high 80s and the low 90s.

"In an alternative school, that's really good," she said. "In fact, I'd be happy if some of our (traditional) schools had that on a regular basis." She said ACS really makes attendance a priority. "Part of their success is that their payment system is based on attendance," she said. "So it's a great incentive for them."

[ulysses]

1. here it comes.

I'd love to know what ACS does to encourage attendance. Cash incentives?

[madfloridian]

4. For a superintendent to pick attendance over the many other problems....

makes me more sure they hired her for a reason. She was meant to come here to privatize all the schools that are not doing well.

NCLB is going to make a lot of schools failures...and they will thus be privatized. The two listed are only a part, and our paper is not writing about it. The teachers have already been laid off...they are in total shock.

God, I am so glad I am retired. I want to cry when I think about it.

[ulysses]

7. it's going to get a lot worse. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

25. ACS Incentives:

They send these guys out every morning to round up their charges .... er ... students

[NVMojo]

29. Your tax dollars pay for this company. Do a google like this:

ACS-Inc faith based


This company, in all of its manifestations, is a major TROUGH-FEEDING PRIVATIZED BUREACRACY!!!! Whether they are using federal grants or obtaining corrupt government contracts in healthcare, prison management, juvenile justice systems, billing and computer industry crap!!! It's time to blow the lid off the real LIBERALS in America!!! It's the CONSERVATIVES!!!

Must get a list of its stockholders!!!

...and you will see. We need to figure out how to do a search for their major funding sources. Are they private, non-profit or private, for-profit???

[FreedomAngel82]

32. So they're

going to brainwash them with faith? Of course it's the conservatives. It's never been us. They just use us since they've made "liberal" bad and tell lies about us. We have to put a stop to that now. People can't hide and be ashamed to be a liberal/democrat. They don't like social government funded programs because it's out in the open. They like everything privitaized because they can control things. If things don't go their way watch out.

[rzemanfl]

2. The Bushes would like to bring back pay toilets, anything to

make money for their contributors and buddies.

[elehhhhna]

30. Oh please! They sould not privatize toilets!

Just the tp and flush water. Sheesh.



sarc/off

[gumby]

3. Get Gail McKinzie out of office NOW.

That might be a start.

[madfloridian]

5. She just got there.

I think this was her goal. I need to make some calls to other special ed teachers I worked with. Just found this out last night.

[acmejack]

6. It is wholly owned subsidiary of this company

[BigTentDemocrat]

43. How did you make that connection?

Appreciate a link.

[mcscajun]

8. Here's a start

I followed the info you supplied to get the full name of the company, and looked them up on the Hoovers, Inc. (A Dun & Bradstreet Company) website.

I "tiny'd" the URL 'cause it was a beast: http://tinyurl.com/b8n5h

Some info here, follow the link above for more, although you'll see many lock icons indicating in-depth info is only available to subscribers (I'm not).

Chairman Darwin Deason
CEO and Director Jeffrey A. (Jeff) Rich
President, COO, and Director Mark A. King

They're a publicly traded company; stock symbol ACS

Interesting find here: http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ContributorsAndPaybacks/pioneer_profile.cfm?pioneer_ID=77

[DesEtoiles]

9. Well well, Darwin Deason gave $25,000 to the RNC

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?txtName=Deason&NumOfThou=0&txt2004=Y&submit=Go%21

[DesEtoiles]

10. ACS tied to contract fraud/Dallas GOPers - Eberle, Talon news?

February 23, 2005—There are interesting connections between the White House credentialed Talon News Service, owned by Houston-based GOP activist Bobby Eberle, Jr., and two other "Talon" entities. One is investment and management company Talon LLC of Detroit, co-founded by Michael T. Timmis, a major contributor to conservative Republican causes. Talon Equity Partners LLC is an adjunct of Talon LLC. The other GOP-connected "Talon" firm is Talon LLC of Houston, a "special purpose entity" established by the now defunct GOP bankroller, Enron.


In April 2000, Enron and LJM2, a co-investment entity headed by Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow, set up Talon LLC. Fastow was later indicted and found guilty of multiple counts of fraud. His boss at Enron, CEO Ken Lay, a close friend of and contributor to George W. Bush, was also indicted and is awaiting trial. The Talon entity experienced a 370 percent annualized return on an original investment of preferred Enron stock and made $41 million for LJM2. Investigators in Houston are still trying to determine what happened to Enron's original profits before its stock tanked. There are suspicions that much of the money ended up in well protected and hidden Bush family and GOP coffers.


....


One of the Defense Department contractors cited in the Abu Ghraib scandal was Titan of San Diego. It has subsequently been discovered that GOPUSA.com, the parent company of Talon News Service, had Steven Findlay on its board of directors. Findlay was the founder of a Marshall, Texas-based defense contractor called Titan Dynamics. In 2002, Allied Defense Group bought Titan Dynamics. In 2002, federal investigators stepped up their ongoing investigation of Titan of San Diego for engaging in fraud on software contracts at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. Titan's contract partner, Dynamics Research, also came under investigation. Investigators used the term "Titan Dynamics" in describing their investigation at Hanscom.


Another firm tied to contract fraud was Affiliated Computer Systems (ACS) of Dallas, Texas, a company with close ties to Bush and the GOP. In 1992, ACS's chairman Darwin Deason settled with the government on charges relating to the transfer of $61 million of computers and other assets from two Texas savings and loans, First Texas Savings and Gibraltar, just prior to the thrifts' failure. In 2002, 64 percent of ACS's political contributions went to Republicans.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/022305Madsen/022305madsen.html

[madfloridian]

17. I am sending this whole thread of info to local paper reporters.

They usually at least look at what I send.

This is outrageous:
"Another firm tied to contract fraud was Affiliated Computer Systems (ACS) of Dallas, Texas, a company with close ties to Bush and the GOP. In 1992, ACS's chairman Darwin Deason settled with the government on charges relating to the transfer of $61 million of computers and other assets from two Texas savings and loans, First Texas Savings and Gibraltar, just prior to the thrifts' failure. In 2002, 64 percent of ACS's political contributions went to Republicans."

[FreedomAngel82]

33. Of course

It all makes sense. Everybody that is involved to this administration has ties or is from Texas. So therefore has ties or is involved to Poppy as well.

[madfloridian]

12. Good work. I could not even figure what the ACS stood for. Goldsmith

Stephen Goldsmith
Appointed To Special Advisor for Faith-Based Initiatives; Corp. for Nat'l & Community Service Board
Industry Electronics
Employer Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.
Occupation Senior Vice President
Address Indianapolis, IN
Status for 2000 Raised at least $100,000
Status for 2004 Ranger

Payback time for Goldsmith for sure.

[lostnfound]

40. Are you sure that's right? ACS Youth Services

http://www.sls-youthservices.com/

I don't see anything that ties this to the ACS you've mentioned.

[BigTentDemocrat]

45. They've got the exact same symbol

So they must be joined at the hip.

[mcscajun]

47. Yes, the trail leads directly from ACS Youth Services up the corporate

chain to the organization I mentioned.

I'll try and find the links I followed yesterday.

[mcscajun]

51. Anatomy of a fact hunt

B-)

1. I started with the phrase "ACS Youth Services" and came up with this information pretty quickly, from two separate sources:

2. ACS Youth Services (a division of ACS Inc., formerly Excel Alternatives, Inc.) is a national provider of services for in-school and out-of-school youth.

3. ACS Youth Services
520 W. Lake Mary Blvd., Suite 301
Sanford, FL 32773
URL: www.helpingyouththrive.com
Contact
Contact: Terri Leisten, Director of WIA Youth Initatives
Tel: [phone] x127
Fax: [phone]<br>[e-mail]

4. Noting the "ACS-INC.COM" e-mail address, I knew I'd found a connection to the acs-inc link provided by the original poster, but I kept looking for a direct link.

5. Checking the "Excel Alternatives, Inc." connection to ACS Youth Services, I found this story:

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/mergers/20707-1.html

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has acquired Excel Alternatives Inc. to boost ACS’ work-force service offerings, the company announced. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Excel of Sanford, Fla., is an alternative education provider founded in 1994 that services youth enrolled in Workforce Investment Act programs. The company has 253 employees and annual sales of about $12 million.

The Excel management team will be integrated into ACS’ State and Local Solutions group under the company’s Welfare and Workforce Services line of business. All Excel employees have been offered jobs with ACS, and Timothy Giannoni, founder of Excel, will join ACS as a subject matter expert to lead the company’s youth and alternative education efforts.

6. So then I did some searching on "Affliated Computer Services, Inc." and that's how the Hoover link got posted.

Tada!

:smoke:

[lostnfound]

52. Thank you.

I didn't want to pass it on to a reporter without that.

[mcscajun]

62. Ah. Now I get it.

Certainly a good enough reason to need the full background.

Hope it gets some traction for you.

[mrdmk]

11. This one is going to be a ruff ride

You need to organize a grassroots group to stop the momentum of this movement. This will be like looking for a job, word of mouth and having a lot of friends with you will be very helpful. It will take a lot of hard work because this people do have cash behind them.

Second, get Jeb Bush out of office. That will be difficult but not impossible considering his involvement in the Terry Schiavo case. That piece of stupidity was Jeb Bush's doing all the way. I know he is nothing like his brother when it comes to him explaining his way out of a situation (Jeb speaks like a above average person), but he needs to go.

Jeb Bush is a signer of the PNAC which is another thing to pin on him.

Another place to go is to Democratic Party and also the Green Party for information. They maybe able to guide you in your organization for a better school system without privatization of the current system.

[madfloridian]

13. I am going to share some of this info with the teacher.

He is a representative of the local teacher's group, so he will have a lot to say.

[DesEtoiles]

14. I sent it to ePluribusMedia

[madfloridian]

16. Thanks!

This is really so scary. I had not heard until after a meeting last night. The teacher who told me is just devastated. Thanks.

[madfloridian]

18. Do you have a link for ePluribus Media?

I just realized....was this started because of SusanG's diaries at Kos? What a researcher she is.

[DesEtoiles]

19. yes-you can click on her name on a dkos post of hers, or click

on NYBri...

[FreedomAngel82]

34. I agree

I would start by just asking other special ed teachers if they have heard anything about it and if not then tell them about it and ask if they can help you and just spread it around to other teachers in Florida and out of Florida.

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. I am a special ed teacher

and this is news to me. Actually, it makes no sense. School districts get extra funds to pay for special ed. The feds have never fully funded it as they promised back in 1974 but they did just increase spending for the first time since then. (Actually they agreed to fund more than the 15% they have been giving states since '74. This was a huge victory for special ed programs nationwide.)

Are we sure this is the entire special ed program in this school district or just the alternative ed programs? Those have been privatized for years. Alternative ed is very expensive. Small schools and much lower teacher-pupil ratios cause the costs to be pretty high. And many states have recently mandated alternative ed programs, so districts (especially small ones) are feeling the pinch.

[madfloridian]

50. Not reported in news yet. This is from a special ed teacher...

Already laid off along with others. Two schools have been mentioned. This guy says there are more, and he is one of them. He was very upset, very angry. The two mentioned in the article are alt ed. The one who told me is special ed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. Please keep us posted

I for one am interested in seeing more details.

[madfloridian]

54. I will keep you posted. I hope to talk to him again tomorrow.

He was so upset it was hard to get all the facts. He made it clear that what is in the paper, the article I posted, is the tip of the iceberg.

[madfloridian]

58. So far, as far as fact goes, just alt ed right now.

But I hear rumors of special eds that might be failing, and then they go as well. I have not proof, just what he says that much more to come. He is in on things, I am not.

It is par for the course since Jeb was elected in 98. Many of us saw the handwriting on the wall and got out soon after.

On Edit: Just saw in your post that you mentioned most alt ed are privatized already. Not here. This will be a first time. Also the rumors of special ed are getting stronger.

[proud2BlibKansan]

66. Alt ed is very expensive

Most districts, especially small ones, just can't afford to run a quality program. Sometimes they put coop programs in place with other districts. I read an article about a program in rural MO where some of the kids have an 80 mile bus ride to and from school every day.

Alt ed can be very successful. But it costs money and you know how reluctant most state lawmakers are these days to adequately fund regular ed. Alt ed funding is the last thing they want to talk about. Sad, isn't it?

[liam_laddie]

73. 15% added...

Uhhhh....doesn't this increase just add to the honey pot for
the privatizing vendors to raid? Why don't the Bush mafia just
come out and do direct grants to their "rotten-to-the-corpse" corporate co-conspiritaors? God, we bottom 98% taxpayers are
being screwed in every orifice...let's take to the streets soon!

[madfloridian]

15. Another situation....11 teachers "laid off" from charter schools.

Is there anyway to find out which business is involved the charter school system in this city? It is an experimental situation. The word charter implies business involvement as well....but nowhere is there mentioned one. These teachers will go back to the public school system...maybe.

Here is the article:

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050420/NEWS/504200361/1004

LAKE WALES -- Several teachers at Lake Wales High School say they were blindsided when told they will lose their jobs at the end of the school year, having received no notice of any possible problems.

"We've never once gotten a reprimand. There was no evaluation," said Anthony Stanciu, who was the school's teacher of the year last year. "There was not even a hint that we were doing anything wrong."

Stanciu was one of 11 teachers notified by Principal Clark Berry on Friday that their contracts with Lake Wales Charter Schools would not be renewed next year.

Twenty teachers and seven paraprofessionals were told that they've lost their jobs in the five-school district.

Stanciu said the teachers were given a paper with two lines: "Thank you for your service for the 2004-2005 school year. However, you will not be returning for the 2005-2006 school year."

Oh, God, this is not the same school system I taught in for so many years. No job security at all, nothing. I know a lot of these teachers. They are good teachers.

[mcscajun]

23. Follow-up story from yesterday....

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050422/NEWS/504220354/1191/CAMPUS

[madfloridian]

27. And that does not include the ones I know of.

Clint was my superintendent for a while. He is just playing word games here. He is not being honest. The teachers should have known not to vote for the charter schools....they did not do their homework. But then so many lies are told who know what to believe? I am very angry about all this.

"Charter Superintendent Clint Wright told trustees during a Thursday work session that he had met with principals of the high school and four elementary schools involved in the charter system to begin "working out a structure detailing how we're going to handle these things in the future."

He said the plan will include advance notice to teachers whose contracts may not be renewed.

"Now is the time for us to do what we have to do," Wright said. "We need to be fair. We need to be consistent."

[GreenPoet64]

20. Teachers must read . . . recommended. n/t

[madfloridian]

21. WTF is a "consequence unit" ? Sounds Orwellian to me. ACS unit.

http://sls-youthservices.com/location_display.php?id=8

Office: ACS Consequence Unit
Type:
Address: 3026 Carrier Drive - Bldg. 439
Sanford, FL - 32773
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Aerial View: Check Mapquest.com Map View: Check Mapquest.com
Additional
Information: This site is a partnership with the Seminole County Sheriff's Department and is a Department of Juvenile Justice program.

[madfloridian]

22. Definition of consequence unit. All privatized already.

Legislative Budget Commission Meeting
Date: December 14, 2000
Page 1
Department: Juvenile Justice
EOG Number: B0492
Problem Statement: In FY 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, the Legislature appropriated funds to establish “consequence units” which are
short-term (average length of stay = 14 days) commitment beds used to place juveniles who violate the terms of their community
supervision. The department initially requested that consequence unit funding be appropriated in the Probation and Community
Corrections Program. However, because of their small size and scope, consequence units will need to depend on the infrastructure
support of juvenile detention centers, and in fact, plans are to co- locate consequence units with existing detention center facilities.
The current placement of consequence unit appropriations within the Probation and Community Corrections Program limits the most
efficient use of program appropriations particularly in light of department recommendations to co- locate consequence units with
detention centers.
Agency Request: To ensure the most efficient and effective use of legislative appropriations, the department requests that funds and
FTE appropriated for consequence units in the Probation and Community Corrections Program be transferred to the Juvenile
Detention Program/Detention Centers budget entity. This transfer of funds will ensure the most effective use of the consequence unit
and detention center appropriations.
Governor’s Recommendation: Recommend approval to transfer appropriations as requested by the agency to realign the funding for
the consequence units with the detention center budget entity to provide support services.
Commission Staff Comments: Concur with Governor’s recommendations, however staff recommend that the department continue to
report consequence unit expenditures and performance measures as a separate activity.
Senate Subcommittee: Public Safety and Judiciary
Senate Analyst: Robert Beck
Phone Number: [phone] or SunCom 277-5140
E-mail Address: [e-mail]
House Committee: Criminal Justice Appropriations
House Analyst: Jim DeBeaugrine
Phone Number: [phone] or SunCom 278-6204
E-mail Address: [e-mail]

http://www.flsenate.gov/data/committees/joint/jclb/Meetings/121400.pdf

[FreedomAngel82]

35. Oh wow

No wonder I felt so iffy with this program. They're connected to teh sheriff's department? So what are they going to do? If one question's or disrupts really badly they'll just send them to the juvenile program? This isn't good news.

[madfloridian]

24. Florida privatized DCF, and is privatizing Medicaid. Is ACS part of it?

Florida under Jeb's leadership is just privatizing their entire Medicaid program, I understand. I just noticed that one of the presidents of ACS was with EDS and its Medicaid privatization services which did not do well in the 90s. Just trying to connect the dots. I can not seem to find the company involved in DCF and Medicaid.

http://old.hartfordadvocate.com/articles/eds.html
In the nineties, EDS came up with a better way of organizing Medicaid data called the Advanced Information Management (AIM) system, a client server system that offered better access to clients and faster service. In 1993, EDS and DSS agreed on a $9.9 million contract to develop an AIM system for Connecticut.

Roughly 370,000 people are enrolled in the state Medicaid plan, 230,000 of them in managed care plans that do their own record-keeping and don't use EDS. The 140,000 or so people whose Medicaid bills are tracked by EDS are mainly elderly and disabled, and they are the ones AIM was supposed to benefit.

But it never happened. Instead the AIM project was terminated by mutual agreement in December 1996, according to DSS spokesperson Claudette Beaulieu. The final payment, however, is still being negotiated since the project was never completed. Beaulieu says the state "would only pay for that which had been delivered." However, since state employees' time and resources were devoted to the project, the failure does not come without a cost. As it is, according to the Office of Comptroller, DSS has paid the outside company an average of $21.6 million a year since 1995."

http://www.acs-inc.com/about/bios/brad.html
"Brad Martin was appointed President of the ACS Education Solutions Group in 2004. Currently, he manages the company's education services business and its key relationship with the U.S. Department of Education for the Common Services for Borrowers contract.

Martin joined ACS in March 1999 as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer in ACS State Healthcare Solutions. In that position, Martin had various leadership responsibilities including technology infrastructure, project management office, process management and large-scale system development in which he used his experience in enterprise-level change management, strategic planning, and leadership development. Prior to that, he spent more than two years with RCG Information Technology, Inc., where he held positions as Vice President Branch Manager, Program Manager, and Project Manager/Senior Consultant.

Martin began his career in May 1985 with EDS in the Systems Engineering program on the Texas Medicaid account. While with EDS, Martin acted in various operations capacities on Medicaid accounts in Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Texas."

[madfloridian]

26. ACS accused of overbilling FL in 2004 now being hired in my county.

This is an outrage. Do these people running our schools even read the papers? Do they not investigate? Teachers are being laid off already in special education, more than the article indicates. The teachers are sickened, many with long experience. They love the kids they teach, and they are upset.

http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ContributorsAndPaybacks/pioneer_profile.cfm?pioneer_ID=77

"A 2004 audit by Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation found that ACS overbilled county governments by more than $1 million. Downgrading ACS’ stock at the time, a McDonald Investments analyst said, “Market perceptions regarding ACS’ corporate ethics are reaching, or perhaps reached, the tipping point.”

AND our county is trying to privatize special education with this company right now...here are two schools, and I hear from already laid off teachers there are more to come.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050407/NEWS/504070392/1004

LAKELAND -- Polk County School Superintendent Gail McKinzie wants to privatize two of the district's alternative schools, one of which has recently come under federal scrutiny.

McKinzie has invited ACS Youth Services, a company that specializes in alternative school management, to make a presentation to the School Board at its agenda study Tuesday. Any move toward privatization would have to be approved by the board.

She said she's interested in having ACS take over the Bill Duncan Opportunity Center in Lakeland, the Donald E. Woods Center in Dundee, and the county's expulsion programs, excluding the BEST schools. "I've been looking at other means that we might deliver the alternative education piece to our students," McKinzie said. "They (ACS) seem to have achieved great success."

The superintendent and three of her staff visited a school that ACS runs in Orange County. "We were very impressed," she said. "We were taken around by students. They explained the program as they experienced it." ACS runs 11 schools in four Florida school districts."

[tsuki]

48. Be at the school board meeting to ask questions of ACS and their

accounting irregularities.

[NVMojo]

28. I'd bet anything it's related to the Bush clan and it's fundie sponsored

so they can get their filthy, hypocritical hands on our tax dollars that have been reclassified as FAITH-BASED FUNDS which is total bullshit and smacks in the face of separation of church and state!!!

[FreedomAngel82]

36. Of course

When Bush was governor he really wanted to make everything faith-based. So now he's slowly starting to do that here with us nationally.

[FreedomAngel82]

31. I don't like this idea at all

It's making me nervous they want to privitize special education. I don't like it at all. :\ If I had a child who was like that I would take them out and homeschool them myself. I wouldn't trust this administration. No way in hell.

[AzDar]

37. Corrupt to the core..as the old saying goes:the fish rots from the head UP

eom

[elehhhhna]

38. Be very afraid. No profit to be made in schools. They're up to no good.

[loudsue]

39. Kickin'. This is another OUTRAGE! THIS is what a crooked election

system will get us. At all levels of government, if we didn't vote them in w/ a fair election, we can't vote 'em out until elections become fair, honest and transparent.

ONE....JUST ONE honest election cycle in Florida could solve about 90% of the problems Florida is having to deal with....and could probably change the profile of national politics, if it was an honest PRESIDENTIAL election cycle, as well.

:kick::kick::kick:

[starroute]

41. What is "Excel"? -- same address and phone #

http://www.schoolmatch.com/search/school.cfm?school_lea=02963&lea=1201710

School Building Search:

EXCEL
520 WEST LAKE MARY BLVD.
SANFORD, FL 32773
(407) 321 - 5627)
06-12
120.0
0.0
SEMINOLE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Compare to the address for ACS Youth Services at:
http://www.sls-youthservices.com/about_acs.php


On edit: It seems like "Excel Alternatives" was the former name of ACS Youth Services.

[madfloridian]

42. Whoa! I just saw that our superintendent was with School Match.

Will need to find the article. Gail McKinzie did a research thing on the Polk County schools for School Match before she came here from Illinois. I just scrolled the info. Will find it again.

Getting curiouser.

[madfloridian]

44. She did a financial audit with School Match...before coming here.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050125/MAGAZINE/501210326/1249

"One of her goals is to bring some of the programs offered at choice or specialty schools -- such as an integration of academics and the arts, a favorite topic -- to regular schools in the hopes of getting payoffs similar to those at choice schools: well-behaved children, active parental involvement and high FCAT scores.

"There are quality schools in the county and we can access those to improve others," she says.

McKinzie first was introduced to Polk County in 2002, when she visited schools here as part of the financial audit team from SchoolMatch, an Ohio-based education consulting firm. What she saw here stuck with her.

"She's talked about Polk County for some time," Pedersen says. "I think she's got some very realistic goals in mind, and that her interest is heartfelt and that she has a lot of ideas for improving the district."

[ananda]

46. the real agenda of NCLB

Privatization of education is at the heart of NCLB, which is so punitive that it must be designed to destroy public education and bring in teams of management professionals into struggling schools.

Here in Houston, three high schools, flunking out with NCLB, have been targeted for new management, and the district superintendent has taken ten bids, including one from HISD personnel. He claims that he won't do anything without public support....

All very ominous, imho.

Sue

[liam_laddie]

74. NCLB scoring...who does it?

Since my kids are 15 years past high school, we've missed this
"teach-to-test" BS. Who actually scores the tests and then who compiles the results? Just wondering if the same high ethical
and honesty standards are applied here as they are in OH, FL and some other states' vote-counting... :sarcasm:
Gee, I wonder if the "results" might be skewed toward failure
ratings?

[KaliTracy]

55. How about this? Says that the Deputy Secretary of Education in 2001

left to become managing director of ACS (Computer division) -- and that ACS was given a 2 billion dollar contract from Department of Education.



this from page 3 of this document A Sweetheart Deal by the Democratic Policy Committee, Representative George Miller, Co-Chair February 14, 2003

http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/bushinsiders.pdf


Oh, my Google Search Words were ACS Youth Services Edison Group Bush Republican and the above paper was the first hit.

I used Edison Group because they are running schools in Philadelphia and thought there might be connections to things happening in Florida.

Here's a bit of history to the school district that is being run by Edison (2003 article).

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Jan2003/berkowitz0103.shtml

[Lithos]

56. Darwin Deason

Used to work (very briefly) for ACS. Old story about Darwin Deason. Seems he had this secretary who was not hired for her administrative skills as her main experience was as a stripper.

Seems he was schtupping her and used to take her out to various rondezvous points. Evidently during one of these jaunts, his limo driver had a wreck. Darwin of course fired the guy even though the limo driver was slightly impaired from all of the ganja smoke coming from the back of the car.

So, what did the limo driver do? He let Mrs. Deason know about her husband's activities.

Family values of course.

Another story.

Darwin is also crazy about security. Some of it is due to the type of things that ACS does (bank records, programming of ATM machines, etc.), some is due to his insecurity. One exec was pissed off at Deason for something, so he hired this guy who proceeded to walk past all of security with a bag, then walk into a board room meeting where Darwin was present, walk up and drop the bag next to Darwin and say "boom" before leaving.

L-

[madfloridian]

57. Oh, that is funny.

Did you check the site above the Dun and Bradstreet someone posted. It still shows him as head. Wonder if it is out of date?

[Lithos]

65. I was under the impression that Darwin lost control

Because of his malfeasance. However, that could have been a nominal thing under his control.

[The Flaming Red Head]

59. Getting them ready to be be model prisoners for prison industries

No doubt. I pulled my son out of school when they tried to send him to an alternative school full of the roughest kids in town.

They demanded to know why he wasn't in the court system yet, when I tried to register him.

I said, maybe because he hasn't broken any laws and he has ADD and he isn't a felon.

They indoctrinate the kids left behind to be good little jail birds so they'll be easier to manage when they enter the penitentiary system, and they can turn a profit off them, they want to start early, that's about all the alternative education amounts to these days.

He's above 12th grade level at everything now. We didn't need them after all.

[madfloridian]

60. ACS one of Arianna's Greedy Dozen....the biggest outsourcers.

http://www.ariannaonline.com/outsourcing/index.php
12 reasons why it's not in the Republican Party's best interest to stop the outsourcing of jobs.

Jobs are leaving America at an alarming rate. But rather than try to put a stop to the outsourcing, our current administration encourages it by giving tax incentives to companies that ship jobs to other countries - and Americans are left training the workers that will replace them.

Who are the worst, unpatriotic, un-American perpetrators? We bring you the GREEDY DOZEN - the twelve worst outsourcers in America. Take notice of where their campaign contributions are going...

And she lists the 12 companies.

[Straight Shooter]

61. I see privatizing with ACS as another means of religious indoctrination.

I'm wondering where Neil bush fits in.

Another "means to an end" motive is that reasonable people will get so disgusted with the system that there will be more and more homeschooling. Fewer people will want to support the public education system. It could go from bad to worse for school funding. Kind of a spiraling downward, as one problem feeds another problem.

The bushes despise public education. Keep the population ignorant and you'll never run out of low-wage labor.

[KaliTracy]

63. This has been around for a long time... not just the Bushes.

look at this short history

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history1.htm

Ck out The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto (author of Dumbing Us Down) -- He used to be an educator (Even was Teacher of the Year).

[KaliTracy]

64. Department of Ed gave ACS (computer division) a 2 billion dollar

contract -- after former Deputy Secretary of Education in 2001 left to work for ACS 2003. The Contract was awarded 4 months later.

See Post #55

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3529128&mesg_id=3533419&page=

edit: clarity

[madfloridian]

67. Thanks, just saw that.

I am adding that to my list of stuff to share. I remember discussing Edison schools here a lot for a while early last year, or maybe during 2002 when Jeb got re-elected. Something to do with vouchers.

To think that this company was caught overbilling in 2004 and is still being considered...it is just over the line.

[proud2BlibKansan]

68. We had several Edison run charters here

where I teach. Most have gone bankrupt and have returned to the traditional public school district. It has not been a successful venture, not at all.

[lostnfound]

69. Superintendents incl. McKenzie: all expenses paid trip to luxury resort

Airfare, resort paid for, plus given $2000 for 'consulting'..
Traitors of public trust. Add them to a long list. Got to do some digging on ERDI. McKenzie (and others) have attended FOUR of these conferences.
http://www.wtvt.com/investreptr/superintendents.html



The Lodge at
Rancho Mirage, California

The setting is a five-star resort, perched on a bluff above the Southern California city of Rancho Mirage. The hotel was once the Ritz-Carlton. Today, it is simply called "The Lodge." It has all the amenities you'd expect from a world-class resort: croquet on a meticulously manicured lawn, a gourmet lunch by the pool. It's where Trista married Ryan on the reality show "The Bachlorette."
...
The price is not cheap. The rack rate for a typical room is $525 at night. But what if you didn't have to pay for it? What if you could stay for nothing? Some educators learned they could do just that.

...
But that didn't stop Superintendent Lennard from accepting the trip and the money. And he's not alone. J. Howard Hinesley, who just retired after 14 years as Pinellas County, Florida's superintendent also took the trip. So did his replacement, Superintendent Clayton Wilcox, and Polk County, Florida's new superintendent, Gail McKinzie. All were paid to serve as consultants during a three-day conference over the summer sponsored by a private company called Educational Research and Development Institute or ERDI.
..
Thomas Payzant is the superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. He told Fox 13 he would not attend ERDI conferences because the companies involved are marketing products to school districts.

[madfloridian]

70. I saw some stuff on ERDI yesterday.

Let me check my files. Fox 13, huh? Interesting.

[madfloridian]

71. Here is a PRO-privatization site to keep an eye on.

Apparently some DC special ed schools were privatized and failed.

http://www.rppi.org/dcspecialed.html

I think the head of this org is the one who writes a lot of letters to the editors throughout the country praising privatization. I will have to look up his name.

Good to keep an eye on this site.
Here is a link to the front page, showing that Florida leads the way, but then we knew that.
http://www.rppi.org/index.shtml

[madfloridian]

72. Geoffrey Segal is the director and writes lot of pro-privatize letters.

http://www.reason.org/

Florida Governor Jeb Bush with outsourcing expert Geoffrey Segal, Reason's director of privatization and government reform.