Reframing the Common Core discussion: A battle for our freedom

By Laurie H. Rogers

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” – Voltaire
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” – George Orwell


If I were to build a list of the worst systemic problems in public education, the Common Core State Standards would not be at the top of the list. The Common Core (CCSS) is a huge problem, to be sure. It’s dictatorial, inadequate, experimental, expensive, developmentally inappropriate, politically infused – it’s nearly everything critics have said it is. But it isn’t the worst problem we face.

That dishonor goes to The Network, a moniker I’ve given to the conglomeration of corporate and government interests (and their allies) that have seized control of America’s classrooms. The Network is huge – containing most of the K-12 education mob, plus its allies in the Department of Education; colleges of education; unions; media; government agencies, associations and legal teams; foundations; corporations; legislatures; fundraising groups; colleges and universities; business; and even the courts.

The Network prefers to operate quietly, promoting supposedly good intentions. Its hallmark phrase: “It’s all about the kids.” But try opposing The Network on behalf of a child – yours or anyone else’s. If you can’t be put off, persuaded, ignored, bullied or bought out, The Network has no problem getting nasty. The more honest and honorable you are, the nastier The Network becomes.

This isn’t about left or right, Democrat or Republican. It’s about “in” and “out”; money and power; agenda and ideology. The Network spends a lot of taxpayer money growing itself, feeding itself and shielding itself from accountability. The bigger it is, the more power it has. The more power it has, the more friends it gains. The more friends it gains, the more money it gets. The more money it gets, the bigger it grows – even as it completely fails our children. Allies of all stripes play along.

In Washington State, legislators and judges now tout the additional billions they’ll rip from taxpayers for failed school districts. They don’t say how much is spent currently or what it buys. They don’t hold districts accountable. Education already is a bottomless pit of wasted dollars; they don’t seem to care.

Parents must understand: The Network will never properly educate our children. A) It doesn’t know how. Its power structure has lost any sense of how to teach academics sufficiently, efficiently and effectively. B) It doesn’t care. The agenda is to gain money and power; push a particular political view onto the next generation; maintain position and income; and avoid accountability and transparency. Some allies work agreeably with The Network; others accept the benefits of looking the other way.

This is how we were stuck with the CCSS. They claim it will raise the bar and foster international competitiveness, but unless they mean to foster competitiveness IN our competitors, their claim is easily disproved by a comparison of what they’ve done versus what happens in the classrooms of our competitors. The CCSS is designed to deliver the agenda in such a way that it cannot be overcome.

The Network wants freedom, choices and privacy for itself, not for us. If it’s successful, it will have replaced the light constraints of a free people with the ropes and chains of the subjugated. To have what it wants in education, The Network must have it all – K-12, secondary education, early learning, preschools, private and faith-based schools – and someday – mark my words – homeschooling. Dissenters spend time and energy fighting off the CCSS but almost none fighting off The Network. Thus, they can’t defeat the agenda, and The Network knows it.

A few in The Network believe they’re doing right by children, but most deceive themselves and us about their level of independence -- as they accept money, votes or benefits or do The Network’s bidding. You can establish who’s “in” by: following the money; speaking up publicly; or asking for help in opposing the agenda. The players and sycophants will undermine your message or crush it.

The Network will not tell the truth about the CCSS, for example. It was destined to be authoritarian and politically useful – not academically excellent. Nationalizing systems can work well for widgets, but not for children, learning, individuality or freedom. Politically biased, uninformed by what works elsewhere, and academically counterproductive, the CCSS is a national experiment on children and dangerous to the nation. The people who control it and push it aren’t accountable for it. It’s a lesser product than what many states had. It was deceitful from its inception in its adoption, writing, content, promotion and implementation. This was a bipartisan deceit – Republicans are as guilty as Democrats.

The CCSS is a godsend for district leaders, however. Many lack the knowledge necessary to identify a solid curriculum. They habitually adopt programs that are unproved or proved to be failures. The failures of the CCSS won’t be known for generations, so they’ll have lots of time to retire in comfort.

In math, the CCSS is cementing processes proved over three decades to be failures. Nationalization of education is how extreme constructivists plan to ultimately win the “math wars” – by using the CCSS to mandate their stupid methods across the country. They will destroy more generations of students and further endanger the country.

In English, the CCSS is allowing districts to eliminate great literature, replacing it with “informational” (pro-government, pro-extremist) material. Much of the history, culture, context, and factual information that would help to inform a student’s “critical thinking” has been or is being removed or minimized. Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, once presciently noted: “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” The CCSS is doing that.

In history and civics, the new themes are content-light and opinion-heavy, pro-victimization, anti-Christian and anti-patriot. America is to be portrayed as bigoted, imperialistic, genocidal, misogynistic and anti-immigrant. Great historical figures and much daring and innovative history are to be eliminated, criticized or minimized. (This is what happens when those who view America with contempt are given free reign over academic standards.)

If the CCSS was ever about helping students academically, its promoters would have had proof of its efficacy – a track record of success. They don’t have it. The CCSS is an unproved product. Unfortunately, as bad as it is, the CCSS is just one tentacle of the monster. The Network remains largely hidden as its agenda oozes out around us, like a nasty sludge. It’s difficult to confront and defeat what we can’t see. It’s an ongoing challenge to explain this to people who would rather not believe it.

Another tentacle is the privacy-destroying longitudinal data systems. Another is the flawed testing, all online. Another is teacher evaluations, based on the faulty premise that good teachers can overcome bad curriculum, policy and administration. Another is the de facto federal takeover, now seeping into private schools, preschools, daycares and colleges. Another is the creepy technology: emails for children (that disallow parental access); scanning of driver’s licenses; and biometric intrusions on children.

We try to put all of this under the umbrella of the CCSS, and we can’t, because the CCSS is not the umbrella. We struggle because we’re missing the point. These are tentacles of the same monster. They’re separate – related but independent. It’s fascist, it’s corporatist, it’s dictatorial, selfish, larcenous... Call it what you like, but The Network is in charge and not accountable to anyone.

This is how national tyrannies are born.

The Network’s strengths are in its size, money, and near-sociopathic ability and willingness to lie on a daily basis and with impunity. It benefits from our ignorance and passivity. It’s easy, safe and pleasant for us to believe that government/corporate “partnerships” are benevolent and that the government is still on our side. We are failing to recognize our new reality.

It’s almost too late. The Network now determines problems, makes decisions and provides solutions. It essentially has oversight over itself, and it’s rapidly gaining power over the rest of us. It cares less about the children or our rights than it does about protecting its interests. The finer details of the content of the CCSS were always immaterial – a distraction. The CCSS will be whatever The Network wants it to be. The goal was that we lose our power as individuals. Graduates won’t know they’ve been manipulated. The Network wants to be the decider; we are to be the obeyers. Hop to it.

It’s risky to draw this picture for the public. Network allies will kick into gear to mock and undermine the message. Since 2009, I’ve watched this come to fruition, hearing lie after lie about it, even as the dark truth blossomed right there in front of our face. We asked for help from legislators, board directors, government watchdogs, and the media -- only to find out that most are part of The Network.

Sometimes a conspiracy “theory” isn’t a theory.

Fighting it off requires a certain mindset about freedom, knowledge, the law, the Constitution, and individuality – hence The Network’s attacks on those things. The Network is self-regenerating, with a long institutional memory. If it loses a tentacle to a determined group of dissenters, it grows another and renames it. In math, it can be Outcome-Based Education; New Math; Reform Math; inquiry-based math; student-centered learning; or constructivism. If a state rejects the CCSS, The Network can keep it in place under a different name. The Network isn’t worried. It intends to win. For the kiddoes, of course.

This is grim, so I hate to leave it here. This is America, and in America, it’s never over. But we’re now in a battle for our freedom, and most of us appear to not know it. It isn’t going to be a walk in the daffodils. The battle cannot be won by a few of us while the rest wait to hear how it went.

More citizens must become motivated, questioning, informed and involved. We must learn, vote, dissent, and inform others (including the few in The Network who will listen). We must stop supporting powerful people who demand that we acquiesce to The Network. We must vote against legislators who vote for The Network. We must walk away from schools run by well-heeled administrators and board directors who express solemn concern over students they never actually help. The Network prefers that we remain uninformed and obedient. As we wait in vain for it to do the right thing for our children, it advances the agenda. It’s symbiotic to itself but parasitic to the rest of us.

Americans have been asleep for too long. This battle is necessary to our children’s future as free Americans. If we don’t save them now from The Network, we risk losing them to it forever.


Please note: This information is copyrighted. The proper citation is: 
Rogers, L. (September 2014). "Reframing the Common Core: A battle for our freedom." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com

What Does a Quality Textbook Look Like?

By Nakonia (Niki) Hayes.
(Previously published on Truth in American Education. Republished here with permission from the author.)

There’s an interesting new concern being voiced by Common Core leaders: “What does a quality textbook look like?”

Here’s a non-nuanced, concrete answer, especially for mathematics textbooks: “It gets results and doesn’t chase kids out of math.” And, yes, such textbooks do exist.

It’s not surprising that the issue of quality textbooks has come up with Common Core. After all, textbook publishing is a multi-billion dollar industry. The federally-supported mathematics and English Core standards will drive 85% of a school’s curricula and 100% of the related assessments in about 40 states. The creation of new Core-aligned materials that prepare students for the Core-aligned assessments is already making a rich impact on publishing businesses, vendors, and peripheral activities (teacher training, consultants, etc.). So much has to be rewritten or at least republished with the words “Common Core Aligned” on the cover. Old materials must be thrown away. New materials have to be bought. Lots of profit is on the horizon.

The major problem for publishers, however, is actually in mathematics education. They must figure out how to get good, reliable, and verifiable results from American children who have become math phobic over the past 50 years. That means publishers need to listen to authors who have a proven success record and not to ideologically-driven math education leaders who have for years promoted fads with political correctness as the purpose of math education. It will be hard—and expensive—to cut the cord between publishers and embedded education “leaders” if quality textbooks are to be created. Profits may suffer at the beginning.

But here is a checklist for publishers, administrators, teachers, and parents to consider about math textbooks:

1) Look for results, not ideology. It is about student success, not affirming adult beliefs.

• Results are reflected in GPAs, End-of-Course exams, state tests, national tests, and/or college board exams.
• Local comments from students, teachers, and parents give anecdotal but often powerful insight. (Surveys are especially interesting when high school students are asked about their elementary and middle school classes.)
• Specific studies commissioned by the author(s) or publishers show results.
• School districts or schools with similar demographics that have used the textbook should be contacted. This information can be supplied by the publisher.

2) The author (not “consultants” or “advisors”) who actually wrote the textbook is named, preferably on the cover. This also helps provide accountability.

• If no authors are listed, the book has been created by workers in publishing “development houses.” This can and probably does provide lack of continuity, different writing styles throughout the book (and supplemental materials), and thus incoherency which decrease clarity of the lessons and affect student responses. This also erases responsibility for the publisher.

3) Actual examples of internationally-based problems (not simply referenced in “studies” by education researchers) are offered for review by the publisher if the textbook is listed as Common Core-aligned, since it is touted that Core standards are internationally based.

4) The teacher’s manual does not consist of 1,000 pages for 180 days of instruction.

• One afternoon of teacher training with a user-friendly textbook should be sufficient.
• If it is claimed that a detailed and extensive teacher’s manual (for teaching the teacher) is needed because of weak teacher preparation or skills, then it is the school administration’s problem. They need to work with the teacher training sites to produce better candidates, not buy a truckload of supplemental materials.

5) The textbook does not waste space with expensive, colored photos even if they may have a relationship to the topic. One color used for highlighting words or graphs is sufficient.

• The textbook uses appropriate space for examples and creative repetition of exercises through every lesson of the book for practice and mastery.
• The textbook’s focus is on mathematics. Use of social justice themes, for example, in math problem-solving detracts from the math concepts which should be the focus of students.

6) The use of calculators is limited to a few “investigative exercises” to help familiarize students with calculators for later use; they are not to be used in regular problem-solving activities in grades K-6.

• Mental math and memorization of math facts are required.

7) Few supplemental materials are necessary for students, especially in basic, foundational learning.

• A test manual and a solutions manual are sufficient as supplements for teachers.
• A manual for specific populations (special needs or gifted) may be useful.

8) No protest has ever been waged against the textbook by any organized parent group.

• An Internet search will show if such protests have taken place.

9) The textbook can be completed in one school year without skipping pages or topics.

• Textbooks of 600-800 pages that can weigh up to seven pounds are subject to teachers’ having to eliminate topics. This creates holes in the fabric of linear mathematics education.

10) Schools using the textbook can show the following:

• a steady, significant decrease in low-level math courses and the need for remedial programs,
• an increase in enrollment in advanced math and science courses,
• an increase in those passing state-required exit tests, and
• an increase in passing rates and scores on college board exams.

11) In summary, does the textbook show accuracy, brevity, and clarity in its lessons so both parents and teachers can help children learn mathematics?

There are those who insist that textbooks aren’t “the curriculum.” They say it’s all about the teachers. (Common Core now says it’s about standards.) If that’s the case, let’s just give all students a copy of the Yellow Pages. Let’s save all that money spent on books and materials and finally train teachers in their content areas so they can use anything handed to them to teach—including the Yellow Pages. (And if the textbooks are so unimportant, why do progressives fight so hard to get “their” chosen textbooks adopted?)

Maybe teachers can do without a book, but many of us know that students need a quality textbook. Parents and teachers come and go in the lives of children these days, but a user-friendly textbook should always be within reach for children. It can set up a satisfying relationship with positive results for them to show the world.

More than a million homeschooled students, plus many charter, private, and small public schools use a textbook that meets these listed criteria. The math education leadership hates the series because they say it is too traditional. Reams of documentation exist, however, to prove its success with students. For more information, go to http://saxonmathwarrior.com. (Disclaimer: The author is NOT affiliated with any publisher.)

About the Author:

Nakonia (Niki) Hayes is a K-12 teacher, counselor, and principal who retired in 2006 in Seattle, WA, and returned to Waco, TX, her former home. Certified and experienced in journalism, special education, mathematics, counseling and school administration, she also worked 17 years in journalism fields outside of teaching. She now operates a tutoring academy using Saxon materials in math, reading, and writing. Hayes self-published John Saxon’s Story because publishers said no one wanted to read a story about a math teacher. Her mission is to have John Saxon recognized and honored for his clarity in teaching and his continued legacy of success among students today. All proceeds from the book go to the West Point Department of Mathematical Sciences in memory of LTC John Saxon.

The Myth of the Helpless Parent

By Laurie H. Rogers

“I Can” statements are all the rage in our public schools. Students are to say “I can” and then positively reaffirm something they feel capable of doing.

I’m offering suggestions for “We can” statements. If your school district obeys the law, tells the truth, spends money wisely, and properly educates children, then you probably don’t need these. Sadly, most citizens don’t have a school district like that, and this article is directed to them.

Parents have been trained for decades to trust in America’s K-12 government schools. This trust now serves the districts but not the students within them. Most districts aren’t being held accountable for violations of the law; failures to properly educate children; improper spending of tax dollars; or long-term refusals to tell citizens the truth.

Many districts seem increasingly dictatorial, deceitful, expensive and intrusive. We trust them with our children, and in return, they lie to us, miseducate our children and blame us for their failures. When we question them, some even attack us, using government/media/corporate allies to help pile on. They retain power in the way schoolyard bullies do, by ensuring that parents remain cowed, isolated and uninformed. It’s ironic. In reality, parents have all of the power.

Most parents don’t know that. Schools have purposefully fostered a sense of helplessness in parents (and in students and teachers), training us to believe that we must do as we’re told. Schools couldn't eliminate parents altogether, but they could create parents who agree to eliminate themselves.

Schools thus trained successive generations to work in a group, defer to the group, think as a group, achieve consensus with the group, be assessed with the group, and defend group decisions. Punishments and rewards have been used to mold thinking and behavior and to direct energies. Parents are encouraged to be involved in the schools, as long as our involvement brings in money, furthers the agenda and doesn’t question the authority. Obeying = Rewards. Dissenting = Punishments.

Nowadays, when schools praise “critical thinking,” they usually mean non-critical thinking or groupthink. When they talk about community “input,” they tend to receive it via the Delphi Technique, a way of manipulating groups to agree on predetermined conclusions. When they ask for parent “help,” they mean any help that doesn’t question the authority, not even to help a child.

Meanwhile, parents have long been shut out of the education of our own children. Books are eliminated, homework isn’t sent home, traditional methods are derided as “old school,” and our wishes are undermined or ignored. Parent preferences are openly criticized and dismissed, and in conferences, we’re told: “Don’t teach that at home. Don’t help. You’ll just confuse your child.” Schools now use technology to hide the curriculum – on tablets and laptops and in private email accounts for children.

This operant conditioning – skillfully done, I’ll give them that – has produced a population that generally feels helpless. Worse, it accepts feeling helpless. This population doesn’t need to be shut down; it shuts down itself. “Oh, no, I couldn’t. It will be OK. They must have a good reason. They must know what they’re doing.” Such apathy suits authoritarian, intrusive governments. It’s easier to implement an agenda with weak and politically aligned sheep than with individualistic and critical thinkers. Most of us do find now that it’s easier, safer and infinitely more profitable to be sheep.

And yet, dissent is critical to helping our children, to serving our honor, and to maintaining a free country. We’re helpless only in our mind. The government cannot make our child take a test. It cannot force us into its failed bureaucratic, narcissistic, adult-centered system. Not unless we allow it.

We can say no to this government. We can refuse to allow it to eliminate our ideas and preferences, or to miseducate, misuse and misguide our children.

Few “leaders” are likely to help us. Most now are part of the government network. Think of the vast array of government and elected officials, their associations and throngs of legal teams – now “partnering” with influential people and non-accountable, non-transparent corporations, organizations and foundations – to implement policies that suit them. Instead of partnering with parents for a better education system, they partner with each other to implement policy, gather data on us and our children, sell their products and services, and implement a political and social agenda. It’s a symbiotic relationship for them, but it’s largely parasitic toward us and our children.

They help each other. They sit on boards, hand out grants and contracts, campaign, advertise, lobby, buy and sell. They socialize together, travel together, praise each other, help friends and family members gain preferred positions, and allow each other to get away with things.

These “partnerships” might be fascist in nature (the government controlling the corporations), or corporatist (the corporations controlling public policy), but in any case, they’re neither democratic nor representative of a Republic. America is being fundamentally transformed to a totalitarian state in which government and corporate cartels work together to do what neither is allowed to do by itself. It pays well now to be a government or corporate crony; it does not pay, and in some cases, it has become dangerous, to dissent from this government/corporate network.

The Network won’t spend our tax dollars wisely, won’t return control of our children’s education to us, and won’t stop its intrusive data collecting. It has no incentive to tell the truth or obey the law. Many media outlets – which are supposed to have our back –appear to be part of the Network.

Suddenly we find that – although our schools lack solid academic programs – there are laptops, iPads and SMART Boards in front of every child’s face. There are new curricula every few years, new calculators even in kindergarten, and cool electronic toys that don’t foster real learning. De facto national standards and tests are being pushed on all of us from cradle through career. When we ask who is doing that pushing, the feds point to the states and to non-accountable associations; the states point to districts; the districts point to legislators; the legislators claim ignorance.

Suddenly, some of us find that there are handguns in the hands of school employees. There are cameras and video recorders on the wall to track visitors, and new machines to scan our driver’s license, track our children, scan their irises, record their fingerprints, or track their biometric information.

Look around you – the K-12 education system in America has become freaking scary.

Citizens MUST be the dissenters. Our children’s future – this country’s future – is on the line.

Clearly, the American government no longer knows how to educate a child. That’s been proved in 10,000 ways. It has ceased to hold itself accountable, and it now works collaboratively to skirt laws and protect itself. This isn’t a left/right issue. This simply is “in” or “out” of the government/corporate Network. If you’re “in,” you’re taken care of. If you’re out, well, good luck with that.

But we aren’t stuck in this machine. We’re helpless only when we agree to it. My first “We can” statement is this: “We can say no to the K-12 government education system.” Here are some more:

• Opt out of programs: We can opt out of failed academic programs, and out of excessively mature sex education classes and materials. We can find solid math and English curricula online, buy them, and start teaching them to our children.
• Leave the system: When a school mistreats, abuses, blames, mocks, neglects or refuses to educate our children, we can walk out of that school and never look back.
• Opt out of testing: We can opt out of state and federal testing that sucks up class time; tells us nothing of value; collects intrusive and flawed data on us; is manipulated to show success where none exists; and forces our children to either take math tests online or be labeled as special education.
• Say no to technology: We can say no to excessive and intrusive technology and data collection.
• Question the money: We can question the barrels of state and federal money allotted for special education programs that never seem to go to special education students. We can vote no to the next levy and bond for school districts that misspend taxpayer money; use taxpayer money against taxpayers; and lie to us about budgets, expenditures and outcomes.
• Inform others: We can inform other parents, run for the school board, or help other citizens run. We can recall corrupt or obstructive board directors and push to replace superintendents and administrators.
• Reject Common Core: We can push our legislatures to reject the de facto nationalization and radicalization of the American public school system, epitomized by the questionable, authoritarian and unproved Common Core initiatives.
• Reject pretend "choice": We can refuse to support charter schools that clearly are under the thumb of local school districts.

We can say no. We can make a good system happen. We can help our children, fix the problems, rebuild an accountable government and put responsible individuals in power. We can homeschool, find private schools, hire tutors, or ask family members or friends to teach our children what the schools will not. We can step away from the entire madness of public education. Believe me, folks, it’s a mess. It’s much worse in 2014 than it was in 2007, even as our avenues of dissent have narrowed dramatically.

The government/corporate Network depends on us thinking we’re helpless, that we can’t say no, that we don’t know any better, that they mean well, that they really do care about our children, and that they will eventually do what’s right.

Don’t believe it. We are not helpless, we can say no, and we do know better. The Network doesn’t mean well, it doesn’t care about our children more than it cares about itself, and if the Network was ever going to use its considerable power to do what’s right for our children, it would have done it by now.

Please note: This information is copyrighted. The proper citation is: 
Rogers, L. (June 2014). "The Myth of the Helpless Parent." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com

School district scans driver's licenses and takes photos of visitors in new "sign-in" policy

By Laurie H. Rogers

In America, citizens have a constitutional right to privacy, to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects." The government, on the other hand, is to be open and transparent to the people. These principles are critical to America remaining a free country.

Increasingly, however, the government is turning these principles on their head, doggedly working to gain privacy for itself while limiting it or eliminating it for citizens. Agencies are obstructing public records requestors, undermining laws on government transparency and citizen rights, and working collaboratively to dodge accountability for violations of the law and the U.S. Constitution.

Spokane Public Schools has a long history of displaying little respect for the principles of privacy for citizens and transparency for itself. Recently, the school district came up with a brand new way to infringe on citizen privacy while monitoring and controlling which members of the public have access to public buildings.

On Friday, May 16, Spokane lawyer Cheryl Mitchell went to Spokane Public Schools to pick up a disc from a records request. She was told the District had implemented a new policy: visitors must scan their driver’s license and allow their picture to be taken at a kiosk in the lobby before heading to other parts of the building. Her understanding was that this new policy applies to all visitors, not just to records requestors.

• Is it legal for a public agency to scan driver’s licenses and/or take a photo of citizens, simply because they chose to enter a public building?
• Is it legal for a public agency to deny access to a public building if citizens refuse to have their photo taken?

It’s reasonable to identify visitors and have a measure of security. It’s reasonable to ask for proof of identity. It is not reasonable for school districts to photograph visitors, connect the photos with ID, and store that information. A school district has no legitimate need to scan anyone’s driver’s license. The bounty of personal information on a driver’s license is an identity thief’s dream.

The security of driver’s licenses is being argued now before the state Supreme Court in Lakewood v. Koenig. Attorneys for the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys and the Washington Association of Public Records Officers argue that a driver’s license number should be exempt from disclosure because it “exposes private citizens to the risk of harm such as identity theft.” And that’s just the number, never mind the birth date, address and photo.

The identity-theft issue alone should be enough to keep school districts from exposing citizens to that kind of risk (and themselves to subsequent liability). Hackers were wildly successful in breaching the firewalls of Target, eBay, Facebook, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Defense and others, which had invested billions of dollars in securing their databases.

On May 16, Mrs. Mitchell refused to scan her driver’s license. The school district's receptionist did not know what to do and made several calls upstairs. Mrs. Mitchell was finally allowed to use the old "sign in" system and obtain the disc without her driver’s license being scanned. Her photo had already been taken, however.

There obviously was no "opt out” procedure in place on May 16, nor was there any indication that the system might be making an error. An administrator finally agreed to make an exception for Mrs. Mitchell because she refused to comply. For those who did NOT complain on Friday, what happened with their information?

On May 16, Mrs. Mitchell sent an email to the District’s attorney, Paul Clay, to ask about this new policy, and to inquire whether the District is using facial recognition software. Five days later, on May 21, Paul Clay wrote back to say that the District isn’t “using” facial recognition software, and that the initial demand for driver’s licenses was a mistake, due to “inadvertent software settings.” He said the system now will accept a sign-in through the kiosk, or citizens can “utilize the driver’s license scan.”

Paul Clay did not mention the photos. He did not say the District lacks the capability for facial recognition or won’t use it later.

• Does the District have the capability for facial recognition? Will it use that technology later? If it does, will it bother to tell the public?

On May 16, I also sent a query to the superintendent and to the school board directors. After several days of silence, I sent a second query on May 21. On Thursday, May 22, I finally received an answer from Board Director Deana Brower, the board’s “corresponding secretary.” Brower echoed Paul Clay that the initial demand for driver’s license scans was “due to inadvertent software settings.” She said citizens now can sign in at the kiosk or use the driver’s license scan for “convenience.” She did not mention the photos. She did not answer all of the questions I put to her.

I have not heard back from the superintendent.

It has long been understood in this country that it’s inappropriate to take a photo in public of someone without that person's permission, or to host a security tape without notifying the public. Mrs. Mitchell said there was no notice posted on May 16 saying that photos were being taken and stored on a server. The District can argue that permission was granted and that notification was given, but it also can be argued that this "permission" was coerced and that the notification given was unclear.

According to Mrs. Mitchell, the instructions on the District's computer say something like, "Place your face close to the computer screen." This is not just taking photos of citizens going about their business.

• Where are the photos going, and how are they to be used?
• How is the driver’s license information to be used? How is it secured?

Deana Brower said people can scan their driver’s license “for convenience.”

• How is it “convenient” to hand over private information to a government agency? Has Director Brower scanned her own driver’s license for “convenience”? If so, can the public look at it?
• Will the superintendent, board directors, administrators, or the District’s legal counsel scan their driver’s license for convenience?

With every scan of a driver’s license and every picture taken, is the District creating a new record within the school district system?

• If so, can someone request a copy of these public records? (The District likely would argue that this is personal information and thus exempt from disclosure. If so, it begs the question of why this government agency would collect it.)

Attorney Paul Clay indicated, following Mrs. Mitchell’s query, that anonymous requestors of public records will not be forced to identify themselves in this manner and can pick up their requested records at the front desk. Mrs. Mitchell said, however, that the computer in the reception area appears to be taking streaming video.

• Will anonymous requestors find that their photo was taken when entering the building?
• To be safe, should requestors wear a bag over their head, a ski mask, or a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses? Should they hire agents to pick up the records, who will then have to identify themselves and have their photo taken?

The District ultimately made an exception to its new policy for Cheryl Mitchell because she refused, and probably because she’s a lawyer.

• What about everyone else who is not a lawyer? Will newspaper publishers have to have their photo taken? How about the mayor? Contractors? Newspaper reporters? Legislators? Bill Gates? The governor? County commissioners? The hundreds of attendees of the school district’s annual Community Leaders Breakfast? Or, is this just another "policy" the District will enforce as it chooses?
• Will ALL District employees have to identify themselves at these kiosks? Or, is this system only there to identify private citizens?
• Does this policy apply to citizens attending board meetings, usually held on the same floor as the lobby? How about other meetings held upstairs, such as committee meetings and board work sessions? If so, the policy appears to conflict with the Washington State Open Meetings Act.

It's a huge step for a public agency to coerce identification and data collection on visitors.

• Is the collected data to be part of the “State Longitudinal Data Systems?”
• Will the information be given away or sold by the District? If so, to whom and for which purposes?

To the best of my knowledge, the District hasn’t breathed a word about its new sign-in policy. I searched the school District Web site for information and found nothing. Asked for it, Deana Brower offered policies and procedures that were written decades ago and that have not been modified to include this new policy. She did not answer the question of when the new policy was approved by the board.

• How much money did this new "sign-in" system cost taxpayers? If taxpayers didn’t pay for it, who did and why?

What is this government agency actually aiming to do? And why on Earth would the citizens of a free country allow them to do it?


Please note: This information is copyrighted. The proper citation is: 
Rogers, L. (May 2014). "School district scans driver's licenses and takes photos of visitors in new "sign-in" policy." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com

 

Professional development in math should focus on math, not on pedagogy or materials

By Laurie H. Rogers

 

 “Creativity springs unsolicited from a well prepared mind.”
“Fundamental knowledge is the basis of creativity.”

-- John Saxon, co-author of the Saxon Math textbook series

Recently, I asked Spokane Public Schools about the new professional development (PD) in math for teachers. I was sent a link to a district page where upcoming courses focus on the implementation of a new and unproved math curriculum, not on mathematics.

Chief Academic Officer Steven Gering said the district plans to teach fractions to teachers, and I’m glad to hear it. But those skills should always have been required. Fractions are a small "fraction" of what’s missing in the skill set of many K-8 teachers.

Where else but in our public schools are employees persistently deficient in necessary skills? Where else are they taught that pedagogy is infinitely more important than expertise in the subject? Where else are billions of our dollars used to train employees in skills they should have had before they were hired? Who in the private sector knowingly hires doctors who don’t understand medicine, contractors who don’t know how to build, or rocket scientists who don’t understand rocket science? Who would knowingly hire an endodontist who doesn’t know how to do a root canal?

It’s true that many teachers don’t understand enough math. I don’t blame them. They learned what they were taught.

I’ve been conversing with an assistant professor of education who maintains that constructivism is the best way to teach math. (Professors of education are largely in charge of educating the country's prospective teachers.) This assistant professor said substantial evidence supporting constructivism is easy to find, so I asked him for some. He sent me a few articles containing older, questionable methodology or anecdotal criticisms of a teacher. I pointed out to him the last 30 years of the failure of excessive constructivism. He responded:

I am interested in this country you speak of that has been in the grip of constructivism for 30 years. Most studies indicate that American classrooms incorporate few (if any) constructivist practices espoused by schools and colleges of education. ... What we do have, I would argue, is a fairly widespread attempt at ham-handed implementations of constructivist-oriented reforms. .... The mathematical and pedagogical knowledge needed to run a constructivist mathematics classroom is not possessed by most teachers now, or at any point in the last half-century ... (W)e graduate and hire most anyone with a pulse and a clean-ish criminal record. ... (A)s a whole our system in its current form couldn’t teach constructively if it wanted to. And it doesn’t even want to because it hasn’t seen much (if any) constructivist teaching.

This stance is typical. As our conversation continued, this man refused to acknowledge the problem and ducked most of what I told him. It wasn't long before he began to call me names. He is courteous in the way of many reformers: Ostensibly civil, yet still calling me a conspiracy theorist, "closed" to the conversation, "dogmatic" and even "indulging in intellectual dishonesty." I'm sure he sees himself as polite and restrained. His entire defense boils down to this: Constructivism works; they just aren't doing it right.

Avid proponents of constructivism typically seem certain that they’re correct, that they don’t have to prove anything, and that all problems are due to incompetent implementation. After 30 years and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent pushing fuzzy math and constructivism on public schools, they don’t see today’s nationwide math problem as due to fuzzy math and constructivism.

Many maintain their faith by denying the problem. Obvious academic failure is explained away or deemed to be irrelevant; they focus on an undefined notion of “deeper conceptual understanding.” (They ignore the fact that this “understanding” can’t be achieved without acquisition of skills.) When confronted with irrefutable evidence, they blame it on teachers, parents, students or society.

I don’t blame teachers. Most received garbage for math instruction – in K-12, in college and for years after they were hired. How could they teach math properly? They were taught that math is hard and that they don’t have to know math in order to teach it. (They must be so tired of being lied to.) Their training has intellectually disarmed them, their students and this country. These are unforgiveable sins.

If proponents of fuzzy programs and constructivism had to use math in the “real world,” and were held accountable for the results, they would have to modify their views. In the "real world," math is a tool, used to get a job done. What matters are clarity (understandable by others); efficiency (done relatively quickly); and accuracy (the result is correct). Math is a tool – like a hammer or drill. One doesn't come to consensus on the philosophy of a drill; one learns to use the drill and then one uses it.

We use math to help us cut the wood, build the bridge, fill the ditch, fire the rocket, heal the sick, fire the bullet, cook the food, calculate the pay, run the business, combine the chemicals, fly the plane, build the software, measure the floor, balance the checkbook, project the earnings, and balance the budget.

Math is critically necessary to the functioning of the country. A mathematically illiterate populace puts America’s future in jeopardy. K-12 math is inherently understandable and doable, but proponents of fuzzy math and excessive constructivism have made it incomprehensible.

Luckily, I was taught properly, and I refuse to be “disarmed” now. I’m engaging in some PD of my own. I recently picked up Saxon Algebra I and read it cover to cover. That was instantly helpful. I’m now doing the problems in Saxon Algebra II, chapter by chapter. I wondered if this PD would change my views, but it’s reinforcing everything I’ve been thinking about how math should be taught and learned.

“Deeper conceptual understanding" in K-12 math comes with knowledge and practice to mastery, not with pointless struggle and reinventing of the wheel. Efficiency on paper is critical; the calculator tends to get in the way of learning. Each day, as I work through another chapter, I think, "Oh, yes. Right. I see that now." Proper process is being reinforced for me; each time I cut a corner, I pay for it with an error. As I practice, I’m becoming faster, more efficient and more accurate. Recently I tweaked an algorithm to make it more efficient; this would not have come to me without skills and understanding.

Constructivists claim that the materials don’t matter (as they insist on fuzzy materials), and that it’s the teacher who matters. (This is how they duck criticism of their materials and blame everything on teachers.) But proficiency is gained via solid instruction, such as from textbooks that provide sufficient explanation and practice, examples, structure, and an incremental and logical progression of skills.

Below are some processes that are conducive to the development of solid math skills. (Proponents of fuzzy math and excessive constructivism typically refuse to implement these):

• Direct instruction of sufficient material, emphasizing the most-efficient, most-effective processes (including long division; vertical multiplication; arithmetic; exponents; negatives; the number line; polynomials; fractions, decimals and percentages; the clock and the calendar; and proficiency with paper and pencil).
• Practicing concepts to mastery, with constant refreshers of previously learned skills
• Using good process:
• Working vertically
• Writing down the equation, filling in what’s known, solving for the variable, checking the work, making sure the question is answered
• Writing clearly, separating equations from calculations
• Going from simple skills to complex, working forward in a logical, linear fashion. (Classes should NOT begin in the middle of a math textbook)

Below are processes that tend to result in increased errors and misunderstandings. (Proponents of fuzzy math and excessive constructivism typically emphasize these):

• Excessive use of mental math
• Prioritizing methods and processes that are inefficient, confusing, nonstandard, not useful long-term, and complicated for children
• Constant distractions through group work, discussion and premature “real-world application”
• Dependence on calculators, classmates and achieving consensus, rather than emphasizing individual understanding and proficiency
• Forcing children to “construct” their own methods, manage their own classmates, explain things to themselves, and understand concepts at a level that is wildly inappropriate for their age
• Dependence on teachers who don’t understand math, refuse to correct or explain work, and don’t provide students with answers so that students can check their own work
• Dependence on administrators who refuse to give textbooks to children, destroy solid materials by inserting loopy processes and philosophy, and force teachers to begin in the middle

The success and clarity achieved with direct instruction are motivating and empowering. The confusion, struggle and failure found in constructivist classrooms are spirit killers, producing students who hate and fear math. Many develop depression, panic and performance anxiety. Their constant hunt for consensus leads to distraction, dependence, insecurity and groupthink.

I’ve come to see fuzzy math and excessive constructivism as abusive. Indeed, the assistant professor described his own reeducation in math as “painful,” “brutal” and “ego-crushing.” Why would he want that for children? I can’t think of a reason to demand that children suffer. He insists his efforts are to benefit children, but he appears to be too far removed from classrooms, math, children and outcomes to understand how fuzzy math and excessive constructivism destroy skills, self-esteem and futures.

I would never do that to a student. Math should be enjoyable. Individual understanding and proficiency should be the goals. Direct instruction can easily incorporate laughter, play, practice and application. Students can work through the material, eating the elephant one incremental bite at a time. Over and over I see students relax as they realize I'm not going to make them reinvent it. They smile. They gain confidence. They tend to say, "I get it. I can do this." It's the nature of direct instruction.

Doing the math I’ve done has reinforced what I knew. The truth is evident in the children. Thirty years of fuzzy math programs and constructivism have led us here, to a nation that can't do much math.

It's no wonder that Eastern Washington University decided in 2011 to disband its masters in math. After two decades of fuzzy math and excessive constructivism in surrounding school districts, it's likely that few high school graduates were able to get through the EWU program. Sadly, the EWU situation reflects just the tip of the national math iceberg. We are clinging to the edge of a grim precipice that teeters over complete national mathematical illiteracy.

All K-12 teachers and parents should have received at a minimum the instruction I did, but it isn’t too late. Take a placement test so you can assess your level and start teaching yourself. Buy a textbook online or at a secondhand bookstore. You don’t need highlighter pens, sticky notes, butcher paper or group work. All you need is about $15 and some time. (Teachers will have to do it on their own because their district is not likely to give them this PD, nor is Bill Gates, Pearson Education, the Broad Foundation, the Common Core, Texas Instruments, EngageNY, Arne Duncan, or the teachers union).

Get yourself some math skills, and pass them on. Watch as the children soar.

(P.S.: You might want to buy a complete set of Saxon Math now, before some well-meaning and ostensibly polite person wants to make them illegal.)


Please note: This information is copyrighted. The proper citation is:

Rogers, L. (April 2014). "Professional development in math should focus on math, not on pedagogy or materials." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com

 

Administrative plan for math is to fix the math program later

By Laurie H. Rogers

According to The Spokesman-Review, Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Shelley Redinger said in October 2013 that math outcomes in Spokane are "average" and that's why the school district is focusing on repairing its English/language arts program.

The impression given in the article was that math instruction in Spokane is in an OK place, not great but not terrible, and that attention needs to be paid first to ELA.

Such an impression, however, isn't what college remedial rates indicate to be true. It isn't reflected in most high school graduates, nor in most students in any grade prior. It isn't what I have told the superintendent; it isn't what she has repeatedly acknowledged to me. It isn't what she told me that the rest of the Spokane community has said to her.  Even board directors appear to have gotten a clue: On Dec. 4, 2013, director Rocky Treppiedi called the district's math program "a disgrace." And it is. 

I asked Dr. Redinger about her choice of the word "average" to describe math outcomes in Spokane, and she wrote that she chose the word because district scores are "at the state average in mathematics."

If I didn't know better, I might accept that. However, I do know better.

The school district is not "average" in student outcomes for math -- unless the definition of "average" has come to mean "abysmal." One can't depend on Washington State test scores to accurately reflect student knowledge in math. The state tests are weak; the cut scores (i.e. the passing scores) are ridiculously low and are set after students take the tests; and the scoring has been subjective and often incoherent. In addition, the vast majority of districts in this state also have weak outcomes in math.

Being "average" in a state that struggles in math does not denote success in math. Surely a $262,000-per-year superintendent knows that.

The only thing that has EVER mattered in math is what the students know and can do. On that score, Spokane Public Schools has a serious problem. Dr. Redinger has assured me that she knows that and will fix it. Yet in public, she frequently provides a completely different picture.

Dr. Redinger also assured me in December that she plans to get rid of Connected Mathematics and Investigations in Number, Data, and Space -- two of the weakest K-8 math programs in America. In March 2014, I noted to her and to Chief Academic Officer Steven Gering that some students are still working out of those programs. Dr. Gering assured me that the district's math program will be different in a few years. Neither administrator expressed concern about students still laboring under two of the weakest programs in the country. There was no apparent sense of urgency in Dr. Gering's reply, no questioning, no effort to learn more. It's difficult to explain the leadership's seemingly casual attitude toward suffering children.

In a few years, will the promised new program be better? Will it be sufficient? Who knows? In the meantime, the district has adopted an interim program called EngageNY. This program is unproved, still evolving, online, and is based on the controversial Common Core. It does not come with textbooks for parents to see and use. 

These two administrators - who together pull down about $400,000 per year - have explained that they know EngageNY will be good because they "feel" that it will be good. Yes, both said "feel." Neither had student outcomes or solid research to offer. People laugh when I tell them what the administrators said, like it can't be true. Someone even broke into an off-key rendition of the 1970s song "Feelings." (And who needs that?)

Does either administrator even know what a good math program looks like? Dr. Redinger should know. Her resume boasts several positions in curriculum development. In December 2013, I asked her if she thinks Saxon Math is a good program. She said she doesn't know. Saxon Math has been around since 1981 and is the program of choice for many homeschoolers and private programs. Early last year, I surveyed all of my contacts - on my email list and on social media - to ask for their favorite K-8 math program. The majority picked Saxon Math, far and away over the closest competitor, Singapore Math. I compiled their picks and comments and gave that to Dr. Redinger early last year. She said she would pass it on to the school board.

In December 2013, I reminded her of this survey. She replied that other people don't like Saxon. (But many of those who don't like Saxon Math are education administrators who love reform math and who have helped to completely screw up their district's math program.)

If administrators can't recognize a good math program when they see one, how will they ever eventually choose one? Meanwhile, this district continues to refuse to adopt any of the good programs now available, even as the students continue to struggle.

Below are some indicators of actual academic outcomes in math in Spokane -- not provided by anyone in the K-12 system, but by employees of Spokane Community Colleges in response to my requests. You'll see how many SCC and SFCC freshmen test into remedial math, which level of math they test into, and their general rate of success.

When you're told that the math problem is just you, your income, your child or grandchild, your child's school, or your neighborhood in the city, don't believe it. And when you're told that outcomes are "average" and that it's OK for your school district to take another year or two to get its math program together, don't accept that for your family.

Remedial Rates in Mathematics
at Spokane Falls Community College  (SFCC)
and Spokane Community College (SCC):
 

** Academic years 2004-2005 through 2008-2009
Remediation rates in mathematics for Recent High School Graduates
Students from Spokane-area high schools only

** Academic Years 2005-06 through 2009-10, with a Five-Year Average
Remediation Rates in mathematics for Recent High-School Graduates
Students from Spokane-area high schools only.

** Academic Years 2007-2008 through 2009-2010
Success rates of Recent High School Graduates Placed Into Developmental Math Courses
(Remedial Math) -- Spokane-area High Schools Only

** Academic Years 2008-2009 through 2012-2013
Remediation Rates in mathematics for Recent High School Graduates
Students from Spokane District High Schools

** Academic Years 2008-09 through 2012-2013
Success rates of Recent High School Graduates Placed into Developmental Math Courses
(Remedial Math) - Students from Spokane District High Schools
 

** SFCC College Spark grant

Results for the first half of this project, broken down by Spokane high school.

The students tested were Algebra II students, and so theoretically should have been proficient in Algebra I and perhaps also Geometry.

Although College Spark is not about college readiness, the results about where these students ultimately placed is informative.

I'm including a link to an email from an SFCC administrator, who explains this project and provides additional clarification. It's important to recognize that the project was NOT about testing students for college readiness. The College Spark grant was designed to determine curricular alignment between SPS and SFCC.
The project is ongoing and scheduled to run through the fall of 2014, at which point analysis and conclusions likely will be available. See this link for a flowchart of the SFCC math classes and their levels of content, so you can see the content Spokane students appear to be missing.

An aside: In December 2013, I asked Superintendent Shelley Redinger about the results of the College Spark study. She said she had "not seen them."


Please stay tuned. More to follow.


Please note: This information is copyrighted. The proper citation is: Rogers, L. (March 2014). "Administrative plan for math is to fix the math program later." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com

Legislature should look into the PDC's investigation of Spokane Public Schools

By Laurie Rogers

 

(Note: This is a VERY long blog post, but this is what it takes to properly tell the story of the PDC's investigation of Case #12-145 regarding Spokane Public Schools. A PDF of this article can be found here. I encourage you to forward it to legislators and ask for a legislative investigation of the Public Disclosure Commission. It's my belief that, left unchallenged, the long-term negative consequences of the PDC decisions on Case #12-145 will last for generations.)

“He pities the plumage, but forgets the dying bird.”

-- Thomas Paine, commenting on what he saw as Edmund Burke’s tendency to defend the gentry

 

On September 28, 2011, I filed a complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) regarding election activities by Spokane Public Schools. These activities entailed a bond and levy election in 2009 and a school board election in 2011.

The complaint stemmed from public records I obtained from Spokane Public Schools in January and July 2011. In those records, I saw a clear pattern of school district officials using public resources to promote bond and levy ballot propositions, as well as evidence of certain employees using public resources to assist in the campaign of a school board candidate. There appeared to me to be multiple violations of RCW 42.17.130, a law that governed disclosure, campaign finances, lobbying and records. (The law was recodifed as RCW 42.17A.555 in January 2012.)

In the afternoon of Election Day 2011 (Nov. 8), the PDC announced it would investigate; the case was numbered 12-145. After two and a half years of investigation, PDC officials Phil Stutzman and Tony Perkins presented their findings on 12-145 to Commissioners at their Feb. 27 hearing in Olympia.

If you read through the PDC report, you might feel a cold chill down your back. There must be an immediate and thorough legislative investigation of the Public Disclosure Commission. The PDC has essentially sanctioned repeated violations of election law with respect to school district elections.

If you think I’m exaggerating, please read this article. Then, I invite you to read the PDC report.

About the Public Disclosure Commission (the PDC)

According to Washington State’s Administrative Code (the “WAC”), the Public Disclosure Commission “has statutory authority for information gathering, recordkeeping, and investigative and hearing procedures with respect to elected officials, candidates, political committees, and persons and entities involved in lobbying activities.” The PDC is to engage in “strict, vigorous, uniform and fair enforcement of the provisions” of the Public Disclosure Act.

Its five Commissioners are to be bipartisan and are to “ensure that the provisions of the disclosure law are fully met.”

The five Commissioners are “appointed by the Governor for one five-year term and are confirmed by the state senate.” (Since 1985, all Washington State governors have been Democrats.) According to RCW 42.17A.100, no more than three Commissioners should identify with the same political party.

A Brief History of this Citizen Complaint to the Public Disclosure Commission

In September 2011, I had no idea the PDC would go in the direction it did. At the time, I had only just learned what the PDC was and what it was supposed to do, only just received some of the records from Spokane Public Schools, and only just learned that some of what I saw in those records was not allowed under state law. My learning curve was steep, and the PDC doesn’t provide much assistance on filing a complaint. There is no one locally to ask.

As I obtained additional records from Spokane Public Schools regarding its levies (records that should have been provided to me in January 2011), I recalled PDC official Tony Perkins writing to me, “You are welcome to continue sending evidence my way.” So, I sent additional evidence his way. I’m a citizen, not a lawyer, but I did my best, making things as clear as I could, with spreadsheets and photocopies organized chronologically. I clearly indicated which records I thought showed violations.

I was told that a flood of “informational” activity, when done by public agencies, can become “promotional” in such a way as to violate the law. I submitted what I saw as a flood of campaigning, promotional language, overarching authority, intimidation of teachers and staff to campaign for the bond and levy, and a longstanding pattern of district leadership behavior with respect to elections.

Early in the process of making my complaint to the PDC, I made it clear that the issue in Spokane Public Schools is not teachers or staff; it’s the leadership. The records indicated to me that the campaign for the bond and levy came from the top of the district administration and wasn’t something the teachers and staff thought up and organized on their own. I believed then and believe now that the evidence of this contention cannot be missed in the complaint and in the records I sent. I thought the PDC officials understood what I was telling them.

I later found out that the PDC staff members assigned to the case are not attorneys. And yet, it’s their job to review the documents, conduct interviews and apply the law. The Stutzman/Perkins report has let district leadership off the hook and set a precedent for districts to campaign as they please. Much of the evidence I sent was not cited, and flimsy excuses were accepted, including we didn’t know, we fixed it now, and this is legal because we always do it. Arguments that supported my complaint were used by the PDC to excuse district behavior. Apparently, the PDC has decided that professed ignorance – of employee activities and/or of the law – is now a viable legal defense as well as a license to reinterpret the law.

Meanwhile, without letting me know before they issued their report (or giving me the opportunity to respond) the PDC criticized me for not doing things properly, and insinuated that I colluded with a local teacher over the 2011 school board election. For those who believe in the impartial application of the law, the Stutzman/Perkins report is a grim read.

Here is a link to some of the district records the PDC officials cited as showing activity reflecting a violation of RCW 42.17.130.

I sent other records to the PDC that ultimately were not cited. Here is a link to some of the other records.
 

Analysis of the Stutzman/Perkins report
 

Spokane Public Schools contention: There was no “overarching” district plan; employees organized and campaigned on their own

Associate Superintendent Mark Anderson told the PDC that, while there were “multiple inappropriate uses of public facilities” during the campaigns, “these uses were conducted by individual Spokane Public Schools officials and employees, without overarching authorization from the administration or school board.”

Judging by the records, I would be surprised if any employee of the district believes Anderson’s contention. I’m sure, however, that few would dare to publicly dissent. Clear evidence of “overarching authorization” permeates the records, and the fingerprints of the leadership structure are all over it. The PDC report acknowledges much of that evidence, which includes: the leadership’s detailed, comprehensive and constantly evolving marketing plan; the leadership’s detailed instructions and wording for employees, delivered from the top to the bottom of the organizational structure and passed on to teachers and staff; and the leadership’s persistent reminders to vote, threats of lost programs and lost jobs if the propositions failed, as well as promises of various rewards if the propositions passed.

Nancy Krier is a former Assistant Attorney General representing the PDC, and is now the open government ombudsman. She observes on page 10 of this Sept. 13, 2001, memorandum that, with respect to agencies predicting outcomes of failed propositions, “there seems little purpose for ... such speculation, except to influence the election results.”

The records clearly show Spokane teachers and staff working in mornings and nights and on weekends to make calls from call sheets delivered to teachers, hand out flyers that were delivered to schools, and wave signs asking the public to “Vote Yes” for the bond and levies. Records suggest that “Vote Yes” signs were stored on district property and were returned there after the campaign was over.

Nevertheless, the PDC accepted the district’s claim of no “overarching authority.” Their proposed penalties to all district leaders are therefore minimal. Some examples:

• Nancy Stowell, former superintendent: Cited but no penalty
• Mark Anderson, associate superintendent: $700, with $400 suspended, for a net of $300 penalty.
• Kevin Morrison, administrator: $250, with $200 suspended, for a net of $50 penalty

The report proposed a net penalty of $350 for these three administrators; a net penalty of $1,100 for the entire district leadership; and a net penalty of $2,000 in total. Commissioners recommended increasing the net penalty to Mark Anderson by $200; that modification to the PDC report is being considered.

These findings and penalties provide little or no deterrence for leaders of other districts and agencies who wish to campaign in the same way. In fact, this outcome could be construed as authorization by the PDC to engage in similar types of conduct. At the very least, the Commission’s decision encourages public agencies to be willfully ignorant of the law, and to offer the “We didn’t know” excuse. It might seem to agency officials that the less they know about the law, the better they’ll fare with the PDC.

Spokane Public Schools contention: Their campaign activity on the bond and levy is “normal and regular”

 According to WAC 390-05-271, election law “does not prevent a public office or agency from . . . making an objective and fair presentation of facts relevant to a ballot proposition, if such action is part of the normal and regular conduct of the office or agency.”

Associate Superintendent Mark Anderson stated to the PDC that the district’s communications on the bond and levy followed “its past and ongoing practice in communicating information on a range of policy issues, including the district’s budget process, school openings and improvements, student art and music events, and milestones in graduation and registration rates.” Therefore, the district’s campaigning theoretically follows a “normal and regular” pattern and doesn’t fall into the prohibited area of being unusual or excessive.

If the district’s argument is accepted, then violations under RCW 42.17.130 could become legal simply by tying them to legal activity in which districts normally and regularly engage. Put it another way: “I’m legally allowed to race my bike in the backcountry, so I’m legally allowed to race my bike in the city.” Or, “I normally and regularly speed down the highway, so that makes it legal.”

The problem with the PDC’s acceptance of Mark Anderson’s argument is that it compares apples to oranges and declares them to be the same. The other activities Anderson cited do not fall under RCW 42.17.130. In fact, according to WAC 390-05-273 (bolding added):

Normal and regular conduct of a public office or agency, as that term is used in the proviso to RCW 42.17A.555, means conduct which is (1) lawful, i.e., specifically authorized, either expressly or by necessary implication, in an appropriate enactment, and (2) usual, i.e., not effected or authorized in or by some extraordinary means or manner. No local office or agency may authorize a use of public facilities for the purpose of assisting a candidate's campaign or promoting or opposing a ballot proposition, in the absence of a constitutional, charter, or statutory provision separately authorizing such use.

The first requirement of the activity, therefore, is that it must be lawful. Conduct that violates the law cannot be made lawful by repeated violations. Conduct cannot violate RCW 42.17.130, even if it’s “normal and regular.” The district’s argument is circular, that their activity is legal because it’s normal and regular, and that normal and regular activity is legal. Besides being in contravention of WAC 390-05-273, the argument sets up election law as flexible and malleable, different for each individual and agency, without set standards for citizens to understand and obey. It removes the principles of fairness and uniformity that form the bedrock of American jurisprudence.

The PDC’s Feb. 27 acceptance of the “normal and regular” argument absolves agencies for activity to date and provides a PDC sanction for them to campaign as they please from now on, if they do it regularly and if they profess to not know the law. It allows them to include election activities in their “regular and normal” activities.

Spokane Public Schools contention: Bond and levy campaign materials were informational, not promotional

According to RCW 42.17.130 (bolding added):
 

No elective official nor any employee of his or her office nor any person appointed to or employed by any public office or agency may use or authorize the use of any of the facilities of a public office or agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of any person to any office or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition.

The Public Disclosure Commission's own 2006 “Guidelines for School Districts” cautions school districts: “The Districts need to be aware, however, that in no case will the PDC view a marketing or sales effort related to a campaign or election as normal and regular conduct.”

The PDC report stated that the district’s “informational” material carried promotional language such as “something for everyone” and “the bond would stimulate the economy.” (From records I sent to the PDC, I can add more, including, but not limited to: “promote,” “campaign,” “necessary,” “critical,” “essential” and “300 staff positions would possible (sic) be lost.”) However, the PDC officials wrote this:

“. . . the extensive informational activity . . . by officials of Spokane Public Schools was authorized by statute and district policy, and followed the agency’s practice in communicating information on elections and other major policy issues . . . The district did not have the benefit of PDC staff’s guidance on the content of its communications . . . If asked, PDC staff would have recommended changes to some aspects of the communications, to lessen the impression of a promotional tenor or tone. However, the remainder of the communications constituted an objective and fair presentation of the facts. . .”

In spite of there clearly being promotional language in the district’s election communications, the PDC report concluded that it does not “warrant formal enforcement action.” The report recommended dismissing the allegation of the district using “promotional” language, and the Commissioners did so.

Dismissing a finding of promotional language by saying that other “communications constituted an objective and fair presentation of the facts” is like saying, “You exceeded the speed limit only some of the time, therefore you are not guilty of speeding any of the time.” The PDC has interpreted the standard of compliance to be a standard of what it deems to be substantial compliance, although this does not appear anywhere in the law or the regulations.

In addition, district administrators repeatedly sent around PDC regulations to staff, which the PDC acknowledged. But, for argument’s sake, let’s say, as the PDC said, that the district “did not have the benefit of the PDC staff’s guidance. . .” Well, why didn’t it? Were all district phone lines, computer servers and the post office out of service for several years? Is there no requirement that agencies understand and obey the law? Is ignorance of the law now an acceptable legal defense? Can we all now just claim we just “didn’t have the benefit” of legal advice? Spokane Public Schools pays its contracted lawyers a lot of taxpayer dollars each month for legal advice.

How do citizens now determine what constitutes “information” vs. “promotion”? Which phrases are actionable violations? Is a “promotional tenor or tone” a violation? The PDC report did not clearly define “informational” vs. “promotional,” and it blurred the line between them by turning campaigning, threatening and promising into “an objective and fair presentation of the facts.”

Who will dare now to challenge agencies on promotional language? The PDC has just agreed that promotional language is not an actionable violation. Thus, it gave agencies an official sanction to push the boundaries on campaign language – with the edges of those boundaries no longer clear to anyone.

Spokane Public Schools contention: It didn’t “authorize” or know of the distribution of campaign literature in the KIDS Newspaper

 KIDS Newspaper is a free periodical that Spokane Public Schools distributes each month of the school year in elementary schools. It is not a school district publication. In September and October 2011, the periodical carried paid union endorsements of three candidates for public office, including school board candidate Deana Brower. Brower’s campaign manager, according to The Spokesman-Review, was school district administrator Kevin Morrison. Brower and another union-endorsed candidate narrowly won their race that November.

WAC 390-05-290 says (bolding added):

(3) "Political advertising" is defined under RCW 42.17A.005 to include a mass communication used for the purpose of appealing, directly or indirectly, for votes or for financial or other support or opposition in any election campaign. (4) Political advertising does not include letters to the editor, news or feature articles, editorial comment or replies thereto in a regularly published newspaper, periodical, or on a radio or television broadcast where payment for the space or time is not normally required.

According to WAC 390-18-010:

(4) Printed advertising shall clearly state, in an area set apart from any other printed matter, that it has been paid for by the sponsor . . .

The union endorsements of three elective candidates, published in the KIDS newspapers, were paid advertisements, but didn’t follow PDC rules on advertisements. They didn’t identify themselves as paid advertisements or indicate who paid for them. They were not reported in a timely manner as contributions to three elective campaigns.

The school district twice distributed the newspapers containing these union endorsements to elementary schools, where they were twice distributed to the children to take home. They also were available to the public over two months near school offices and in the downtown office.

Stutzman and Perkins wrote that “the purchased, promotional content” (the union endorsements) in the KIDS Newspaper was “distributed without the knowledge or authorization of officials of Spokane Public Schools.” They recommended dismissal of the allegation that the district “authorized” the distribution. But I didn’t allege that the district authorized the distribution; I alleged that the district “distributed” the periodical, in violation of RCW 42.17.130. That the district did so is indisputable. On Feb. 27, PDC Commissioners dismissed the allegation (as reworded by the PDC).

The district’s claims are dubious. The papers were twice distributed throughout the elementary schools and were available to employees and the public in the downtown office. No one looked at them? No one ever looked at those newspapers over two months of distribution, not even Kevin Morrison, district administrator and reportedly Deana Brower’s campaign manager? Regardless, the question is irrelevant to the fact of their distribution by the district.

With respect to the disclosure of campaign contributions, the Spokane Education Association (the union) president contended that it "didn't occur" to her that she was required by law to disclose her paid advertisements in the KIDS newspaper. According to the PDC report, union lawyer Mike Gawley said “the union did not disclose its expenditures to run endorsement pieces in the newspaper, because it did not occur to SEA president Jenny Rose that reporting was required.”

On October 22, 2011, the local newspaper ran an article titled “Union broke law with Kids News ad.” In the article, Jenny Rose took responsibility for running the ads. But on Nov. 16, 2011, Jenny Rose wrote to an employee about the newspaper coverage:

Between you and me Sharon ‐‐‐I purposely took the fall for that. . . . SEA did nothing wrong – we are using WEA‐PAC money to pay for those pages those 2 months because it is political information going out to community members.

The PDC report recommended dismissal of the allegation that the union failed to disclose in a timely fashion its paid political advertisements in the KIDS newspapers. On Feb. 27, Commissioners did so.

The PDC investigators also appear to have accepted board candidate Deana Brower’s explanation that she didn’t know there was an expense involved in the KIDS advertisements, and that she viewed the advertisements in the same light as a newspaper endorsement. (Never mind that these endorsements came from the union president, not from a newspaper’s editorial board.)

Agencies will notice that there was no consequence for using district time and resources to repeatedly stuff campaign literature in the children’s backpacks. They’ll see that “I didn’t know” or "it didn't occur to me" was an acceptable excuse for the district, the union president, and a school board candidate. This could encourage them to campaign at will and to knowingly maintain “plausible deniability.”

Spokane Public Schools contention: Handing over private employee information to the pro-levy group is okay because there was a longstanding records request on file, and anyway, it’s “normal and regular conduct”

Each month during bond/levy season, Spokane Public Schools administrators handed over to private group Citizens for Spokane Schools (CFSS) detailed reports with private employee information (including address, phone number, and amount of levy-campaign donation). The district’s argument to the PDC is that there was a longstanding records request on file, even though it didn’t have anything in writing. The district said it was merely following the Public Records Act, as it is legally bound to do.

The PDC accepted this argument, even though the Public Records Act does not authorize continuing requests. According to WAC 44-14-04004 (bolding added):

An agency must only provide access to public records in existence at the time of the request. An agency is not obligated to supplement responses. Therefore, if a public record is created or comes into the possession of the agency after the request is received by the agency, it is not responsive to the request and need not be provided. A requestor must make a new request to obtain subsequently created public records.

CFSS should therefore have submitted a new request each month. Stutzman and Perkins acknowledged that the payroll records in question were “created, rather than pre-existing.” They also found that “there was no written request for the payroll information on file with Spokane Public Schools.” Oops. However, they added, “CFSS has since submitted a written request.”

The PDC therefore accepted a retroactive request for created records containing personal employee information, including home address and the amount contributed to the bond and levy campaign.

Mark Anderson emailed the superintendent in 2008 about giving payroll information to CFSS. He noted to CFSS members that employee contributions had dipped. He wrote: “Thus, in addition to talking about the bond plan, I think we should discuss gearing up for this year’s October enrollment campaign to the levy/bond committee, among other topics.” It appears from this record and others that the district used disclosure of the payroll records specifically to increase donations to the pro-district levy group.

The PDC, which was given the record noted above, said the district practice of handing over private information to CFSS “has been in place for nearly twenty years” and that “the district operates under a good-faith understanding...” The PDC recommended the allegation be dismissed. On Feb. 27, Commissioners did so.

Mark Anderson has previously made a big deal of privacy issues, redacting home addresses and phone numbers for other records requests because the information is “personal.” But for CFSS, this private information was handed out monthly. Does the PDC not care about privacy laws? How would you feel, being a Spokane teacher or staff member who does not contribute to CFSS, knowing that the information is tracked and sent outside of the payroll system to a third party? Would you feel intimidated or coerced? Who wants to be that teacher who doesn’t contribute to CFSS?

Has any district employee ever received a notification about these 20 years of private information being released to CFSS? Has the district made any effort to protect private information or offer employees a chance to opt out? When I’ve made requests for records, the district has personally notified third parties whose names appear in the records about my request. It also offered third parties the opportunity to call the district about the possibility of filing for an injunction against the release of information. Were employees ever given this opportunity with respect to the CFSS donor report?

The PDC has, in essence, provided districts everywhere with an official sanction to work with and give pro-levy groups private employee information, specifically in order to boost donations to those groups.

Public Disclosure Commission contention: Spokane teacher Jennifer Walther violated RCW 42.17.130 over “Face Off At Ferris”

The only question that matters with respect to the 2011 “Face Off At Ferris” political debates is this: Did Jennifer Walther “use or authorize the use of any of the facilities of a public office or agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of any person to any office”?

The PDC claims she did. The PDC report, however, damns Jennifer Walther with some of her political associations and attempts to call it a case. The PDC failed to prove that “Face Off At Ferris” was anything other than a fair debate between candidates. In all of the pages of “evidence,” that’s the critical missing link.

Who filed the complaint against Jennifer Walther regarding Face Off at Ferris? I didn’t do it. My name is all over the PDC letters and documents regarding #12-145, but there is no indication of where Complaint #14-053 against Jennifer Walther came from. The records I provided to the PDC do not include the vast majority of documents about Jennifer Walther that appear in the PDC’s report.

It wasn’t until January 23, 2014, that the PDC sent an email saying that “additional evidence involving Ms. Walther has come to light” and brought up the Ferris debate.

In their report on Jennifer Walther, Stutzman and Perkins also focused an unusual amount of attention on a few emails exchanged between Jennifer Walther and me, appearing to attribute improper and unproved motives to both of us. At no point did the PDC notify me or ask me about these communications. Jennifer Walther once again became a target (as did I, but without my knowledge and without the benefit of the avenues of recourse provided to school district officials and employees).

The truth about my emails with Jennifer Walther, which the PDC has never attempted to determine, is that I wanted to see a copy of a union letter sent in 2011 to teachers on behalf of Deana Brower’s campaign. I’d only just met five of the board candidates, including Deana Brower. If the letter said something consequential about any of them, I wanted to know. Although I had my doubts about Deana Brower, and I had chosen to support Sally Fullmer’s campaign, I remained open to new information about everyone. I asked the union president for a copy of the letter, and she refused to provide one. So, I asked Jennifer Walther if she had one. The PDC concluded (without talking to me) that I (and thus Jennifer Walther) was engaged in what they called “oppositional research.”

It wasn’t “oppositional research”; it was just research. This contention is well supported by my extensive labor during the 2011 election to meet every candidate, interview every candidate, post exact transcripts online, ask follow-up questions about math, and vet candidates through “Where’s the Math?” It was a massive effort, and my research continued throughout the election. The PDC turned me into a subject of investigation, however, without allowing me the opportunity to explain or defend myself.

Jennifer Walther didn’t coordinate my research for the 2011 school board election; she answered my question. She did not campaign in that email string. The subject of the emails was mine. The request was mine. Her email went to me and no one else. The PDC dismissed charges against other district employees who responded to someone’s email and did not forward it.

The PDC report does not note that, following the 2011 Face Off At Ferris debate, the district and local print media targeted Jennifer Walther over the debate. John Rose, husband of the teachers’ union president, asked the district for records on Jennifer Walther, me and the KXLY anchor who hosted the debate. Associate Superintendent Mark Anderson directed staff to be sure that an Inlander reporter, Nick Deshais, received a copy of John Rose’s initial request along with the second one. Anderson wrote:

fyi.. ..the first email I want to provide Mr. Deshais is the previous emails (sic) from John Rose, requesting all emails between Walther/Woodward/Rogers as it provides the “reason” for his request - I want Deshais to see the reason.

The stated “reason” for John Rose’s records request was this: “I have questions regarding the validity and origin of the questions that supposedly came (sic) the students.” (However, the source of the debate questions could have been Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and it wouldn’t be a PDC violation.)

The PDC doesn’t note that the John Rose/Nick Deshais records requests found no collusion between Jennifer Walther, me and the KXLY anchor because there was no collusion to find. The questions asked that night were good and relevant. Candidates rose or fell on their own.

The PDC report doesn’t note that the Ferris debate was approved by the district and promoted by the district, and that it was the second of its kind, organized and run in exactly the same way as the first, and by the same teacher. It doesn’t note that the district “investigated” the 2011 debate and laid the matter to rest without disciplining Jennifer Walther.

The PDC report does include a copy of an “Advisory Letter” the district gave Jennifer Walther in 2011, telling her “that the role that students play in the development of the debate questions needs to be more clearly understood and advertised, to avoid any confusion by candidates or attendees.” This letter, provided to the PDC as evidence, states in the last line: “Because the letter is not discipline, a copy of it will not be retained in your personnel file or your principal’s Supervisor File.” Yet, this same Advisory Letter was handily available for someone to provide to the PDC.

The PDC report does say that Jennifer Walther worked on the debate with known conservatives, and that “some” of the questions came from conservative sources. The report spends three pages in a flutter of political irrelevancy, trying to lay the groundwork for an accusation of political bias.

When analyzed closely, those three pages boil down to “she had an opinion,” “she organized the debate,” and “she met with conservatives.” Since when did it become a PDC violation to:

• have an opinion?
• organize a debate?
• communicate with conservatives?
• ask solid, timely and relevant questions of elective candidates? 

Bias in the Ferris debate was not proved, not by the PDC and not by the union/district/media. Good questions were asked that night about things the public wanted to know. The district/union/media school board pick won the straw poll, and she narrowly won the election. After the debate, Deana Brower praised the debate and thanked Jennifer Walther. The PDC has proved only that some of the people Jennifer Walther communicated with were conservative or (OMG) Republican. That is not yet a PDC violation.

Tellingly, the Stutzman/Perkins report includes a transcript of the Ferris debate questions for school board candidates, yet included zero argumentation showing actual bias in the questions. This is the critical point. The PDC’s allegation of a violation of RCW 42.17.130 during the Ferris debate is built on nothing.

The PDC report will make it clear, however, to school districts and political action committees across the state that the PDC can allow itself to be used, “under color of law,” to attack people on the basis of political affiliation, without solid proof of an actual violation of the law.

Meanwhile, although she no longer works for the school district, former superintendent Nancy Stowell was defended in Case #12-145 by Paul Clay, a lawyer for the school district. (Paul Clay’s firm represents educational institutions and is under contract to Spokane Public Schools.) Although teacher Jennifer Walther does work for the school district and pays dues to the union, the school district and the Spokane Education Association denied her access to legal representation through them.

Public Disclosure Commission contention: Laurie Rogers made mistakes in her submission to the PDC

The PDC criticized me (after the fact) of not doing a perfect job in submitting my complaint. I did my best, given that there are no clear guidelines or rules for making a PDC complaint. Certain words such as “informational” and “promotional” are not clearly defined. There is only a fill-in-the-blank form on the PDC’s Web site. If the PDC had called me and asked me to redo the complaint, I would have done so, but they never asked me or gave me that opportunity.

For my last submission of evidence, which the PDC report criticizes as largely irrelevant, the records were provided as the district gave them to me, in PDF files. However, I gave the PDC a detailed list of the exact records they should review. Stutzman and Perkins never provided me with guidance other than to not send anything irrelevant. (It would have been helpful to have known what they considered to be irrelevant.) They also never told me about a five-year statute of limitations. Even if they had, the last installment of records I provided was to show a pattern of conduct by the school district leadership.

I contacted the PDC a few times over the course of its two and a half years of investigation to ask for a status update. After one of the requests, Tony Perkins wrote on Jan. 8, 2013 (bolding added):

I’m afraid I won’t have any other information to share until the PDC’s administrators determine the disposition of the case—whether to issue charges, or to seek dismissal of the complaint.  At that point, you’ll receive prompt notification of whatever action our administrators take.

But I was not notified “at that point.” In December 2013, without informing me, the PDC began sending out letters to district employees. When I asked on Dec. 19 for an update; the PDC response said nothing about the letters. I was not notified about the allegations concerning me, nor allowed to respond to them.

On Feb. 4, 2014, I again asked the PDC for a status update, now aware that letters had been mailed to school district employees. On Feb. 7, Perkins wrote: “As I’ve said previously, we’ll notify you when PDC administrators take action on your complaint.” I asked him what he meant by “action.” On Feb. 12, Perkins wrote:

PDC administrators can take action on your complaint by scheduling an enforcement hearing and issuing a notice of administrative charges to Spokane Schools officials, or they can schedule a report to the Commission in which they recommend another action (e.g., dismissal of the complaint).  You’ll be notified either way.

It appears to me that action had already been taken but that the PDC was not forthcoming with me.

According to WAC 390-32-030 :

(3) The respondent shall be notified of the date of the adjudicative proceeding no later than ten calendar days before that date. The notice shall contain the information required by RCW 34.05.434. The complainant shall also be provided a copy of this notice.

I have never received a “copy” of the notice with the information required by RCW 34.05.434.

On Friday, February 21, 2014, Stutzman finally emailed me about the hearing on February 27. This email arrived just six days before the hearing. Stutzman wrote nothing about the accusations and criticisms of me in his public document. I was not invited to testify or attend. I was not told that PDC hearings are public meetings. I was not told I could submit evidence up to and including five days before the hearing. I was told only that I could listen to the enforcement hearing online.

Enforcement hearings are governed by RCW 34.05, the Administrative Procedure Act. According to RCW 34.05.449, “all parties” have “the opportunity to respond, present evidence and argument, conduct cross-examination, and submit rebuttal evidence. . . .” In addition, “all or part of the hearing may be conducted by telephone, television, or other electronic means. Each party in the hearing must have an opportunity to participate effectively in, to hear, and, if technically and economically feasible, to see the entire proceeding while it is taking place.”

On Feb. 24, Stutzman answered my question about citizens testifying.

Only the Respondent and PDC staff are parties to an enforcement hearing.  Each party, at its discretion, can call witnesses to testify.  If a citizen wants to speak at an enforcement hearing, he or she needs to appear in person at the hearing and ask the Chair of the Commission for permission to speak.  The Chair will decide whether to allow the citizen to address the Commission.

The PDC had made allegations against me, but I was again not informed. I could have dropped everything and raced to Olympia, yet still have been denied the opportunity to speak in my own defense. The PDC hearing was televised online through TVW, but it suffered substantial technical difficulties for the first half-hour. The audio was garbled with multiple echoes and feedback loops throughout. I recorded it, but I have no idea of what was said during the first half of the hearing.

I don't know if the PDC recorded the hearing. Tony Perkins was told in the hearing about the technical difficulties, but in his Feb. 28 email to me, he didn't mention them or offer me an audio of the hearing.

From the Stutzman/Perkins report, citizens across the state will see that it’s now dangerous to file a PDC complaint, that respondents and their lawyers have a greater access to PDC officials than the complainant, that good intentions can be used against those who file complaints with the PDC, that innocent people can become ensnared in a noble effort, and that the PDC can accuse the innocent and let violators off easy.

Consequences if the PDC report and the Commissioners’ Feb. 27, 2014, decisions stand

• Officials who engage in egregious violations of law can expect to suffer no more than a few hundred dollars in penalties.
• The PDC can offset, downplay, ignore, and mitigate evidence of wrongdoing.
• The PDC can accept flimsy excuses and dismiss acknowledged violations of law, even if respondents offer a defense that is illogical, insensible or not lawful.
• The PDC can absolve respondents of a consequence for violations if respondents claim ignorance and promise to do better in the future.
• PDC officials can assist violators by judging activities that are in violation as being “normal and regular.”
• The PDC can, without a formal process, allow respondents to become complainants and turn complainants into the accused.
• The PDC can use its office, “under color of law,” to attack citizens, without a formal written complaint and without solid evidence of actual violations.
• The PDC can, “under color of law,” accuse people of political associations and find them in violation because of those associations.
• The PDC can accept unsubstantiated accusations as if they are factual evidence of wrongdoing.
• The PDC can, “under color of law,” attack or imply impropriety on the part of whistleblowers and bystanders, without offering them notice or an opportunity for explanation or self-defense.
• The PDC can engage in selective enforcement, treat individuals differently, and penalize them accordingly. It does not need to be consistent in interpreting the law or in assessing punishments.
• The PDC can violate with impunity its own protocols.

Conclusion

The PDC decisions regarding Case #12-145, if allowed to stand, will have a chilling effect on this state’s open-government laws. Those laws are already are difficult to enforce; the PDC report makes it clear that those who file reports against agencies are at substantial risk of being turned into the accused.

The PDC has accepted school district campaigning as normal and regular activity; accepted unsupported excuses for violations; and reinterpreted the law without citations to the law, the rules or case law. From now on, it will be okay to not know the law, to fix things “retroactively,” to enforce the law selectively, to implicate whistleblowers and innocent bystanders, and to not provide evidence of violations of the law.

It’s hard to understand. Is this the country these people want their children to live in? A country with no clear legal standard, laws that are applied unequally and inconsistently, laws that are impossible for citizens to understand or follow, and laws that are used against the innocent and the whistleblowers? We call that kind of country a tyranny. The PDC has dragged Washington State into very dangerous territory.

A full and thorough investigation of the PDC, especially its investigation of Case #12-145, not only is warranted, but is critically necessary to the future of Washington State, including the future of those who would cheer its decisions.

 

Please note: This information is copyrighted. The proper citation is:

Rogers, L. (March 2014). "Legislature should look into the PDC's investigation of Spokane Public Schools." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com