"County schools return $32,000 overcharge: Report on breakfasts served was overstated."
Who was not watching the store? The article throws lots of district-wide numbers at the reader but clearly boils down to this. During the 2006-07 school year at Stall High School until February a former food services director and two other CCSD employees committed fraud by sending in ridiculously higher numbers of breakfasts served in hopes of getting more pay in the following year.
CHARGES HAVE NOT BEEN PRESSED, NOR DO THESE CRIMINALS HAVE NAMES. Their full punishment, according to the article, is no longer being employed by CCSD! Well, after all, they were only planning to steal federal tax dollars.
According to Courrege,"The individuals responsible for oversight, Mark Cobb, the district's executive director of facility services, and Walter Campbell, the district's food services director, said they didn't find out about the discrepancy until May." So, the number jumped remarkably higher but no one in charge noticed or maybe cared. After all, what's the incentive to ask for FEWER dollars?
Claiming "an isolated incident," Cobb happily reports that "The food service budget still broke even, and the miscalculation didn't result in any other consequence to the district." Well, the budget should break even if it's reinbursed for the actual number served!
Of course, the district refuses to discuss why the three employees left, claiming "personnel matters" and, in response to this embarrassing problem, has hired another bureaucrat to do this part of Cobb's and Campbell's jobs.
To our UNSUNG HEROES list we should now add, along with Rudell Burch, wonder-worker former principal at Schroder Middle School, the name of Paul Nowosielski, cafeteria manager at Stall. When ignored by his supervisors after reporting the problem soon after being hired at Stall in February, he hoped patiently for action until the end of the school year and then wrote a "letter to the federal government." Campbell and Cobb can play CYA until the cows come home, but no one writes to the feds unless he's getting the run-around. They probably figured the extra money he would get THIS year, according to the crazy remuneration used by CCSD, would keep him quiet. Nowosielski is the one that points out that the system "gives people an incentive to falsify the numbers." It's also not clear if he kept his job after that.
Who invited him to the party?
Wouldn't you love to see the contents of that letter?
Does he still have a job at Stall or with the District?
Posts
27 comments:
To 6:45 messager--I'm okay with those who choose to disagree with me, but not with automatically-generated messages. Therefore, I've deleted the latest. Anyone wondering what this is all about can check out the previous blog entry.
Automatically-generated or maybe cut-and-paste, I don't care. I'm not hiding, but until you have something different to say, I'm removing your comments.
No copy/paste this time, Bable, so no excuses.
Bable's trying to hide who she really is. Her names's Clelia Casey, she's an English teacher at Bishop England High School.
I may put her phone number up here if she removes me again.
Why is she concern about CCSD? I am sure that Bishop England has it problems as well, however I dont know because I don't work there. We always seem to make comments about things we dont have all the information about.
I am sure there are great things going on in public schools, however everytime there is something positive this website seems to find a way to turn it into something negative.
We need to post the truth and I am positive the some information posted here is inaccurate
I agree. There's no way she could no what's she's talking about if she doesn't work for CCSD.
"Anonymous" is a great cover, but your poor writing gives you away. Do you know what a "red herring" is?
Great coverage though when I saw "8 comments" I thought there would be some good discussions. Unfortunately not. Babbie needs no defense. She's posted a lot of positive things and many of those who have posted here have helped to keep the readers informed and even set the record straight. If someone disagrees with the information and/or the comments then say say so. But threats and personal attacks aren't doing your particular point of view much good. In fact, it clearly illustrates why so many people are afraid to speak out. CCSD has become so big and its inner circle so comfortable that any criticism is seen as an attack. As with the most corrupt self serving institutions (Soviet and Facist ones come to mind) they are not above setting out to destroy all those who would challenge them.
As for positive things listed here, I'll name just a few: The integrity of Mr. Nowosielski at Stall, the great principal at James Simons, the successful in spite of the odds against it program at Charleston Progressive and by regularly pointing out that we do have talent locally. She's also a pundit which in itself allows her readers to offer differing views...something that CCSD has made virtually impossible.
As taxpayers we own CCSD. I don't care what is happening at a local Catholic school. The arrogance of the school board in Charleston is horrible. District 20 residents pay millions of dollars in property taxes to the CCSD system every year and we have nothing to show for it thanks to mismanagement and years of neglect of city children by people like Gregg Meyers and his cronies.
The nasty turn in the comments section on this blog sounds too much like Butzon's Schoolmovement. It was a campaign tool for Gregg Meyers, Toya Green, and Ruth Jordan. Until this ridiculous "outing" there was nothing but civil discourse here. I think the similar tone to Schoolmovment is no coincidence.
I fully agree with Anonymous 9:33. Let's keep this discussion focused on our public schools (as taxpayers they are OUR most valuable & expensive public assets). By identifying the strengths and weaknesses of our public schools we can be in a better position to make improvements...and we all know that major improvements are needed, both here and just about everywhere else in the US.
My suggestion is to just ignore these goons. Let our host deal with it just as the rules of the server that supports this blog permit. In the famous words of one of the more notorious goons, "Why don't you people ever come up with proposals to improve the schools instead of just criticize everything?" Well, we have. Maybe these deaf missionaries simply need us to do it louder and more vigorously. They should be careful of what they wish.
Actually, this is some of the best discussion I've seen on this site.
A red herring? Sounds fishy.
Please understand I know that there are many problems with public schools, however I also believe that there are good going on. There are great schools in Charleston County and I am not just talking about the magnet schools. As taxpayers, we need to realize the work of our board and the district's administration and it difficulty of operating a school district. Schools in Mt. Pleasant and West Ashley are great. There are pockets of excllence in the district.
I do believe that we need a clear understanding of how the money is spent. I also believe that we should not "bash" individuals on this site because we sometime dont have the full story. As an employee of CCSD, there are times when the district has drag it feet on many issues, but you can imagine the change with Goodloe Johnson resigned. She was hard lady with the issues but she know what it took to make a district function properly. I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE SCHOOL BOARD! I BELIEVE THE PROBLEMS STARTS WITH THEM. WE HAD TOO MANY SUPERINTENDENTS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, 4 TO BE EXACT.
It is hard to work with CCSD School Board!!
Thanks for the support. My FRIENDS and family have called me Babbie practically since I was born. When I first started this blog, my son warned me not to put too much personal information on it.
"Bay-ble" obviously doesn't believe in freedom of speech--unless it's praise. The District will take care of telling us what's going well--and I know there are many excellent employees who labor hard each day. Let's face it--anyone who values his or her job with CCSD isn't going to rock the boat, having seen what happened to others who did.
It's because I DON'T work for CCSD (or the P & C) that I can speak out, but my purpose is to empower those who are most in favor of improving education for the least among us.
I certainly agree about the school board. Charter schools are a way around them under the present system, but there is always the ballot box.
Or...because you don't work for CCSD (or the P&C) you're completely unqualified to criticize those who do.
If you don't know what goes into it, how can you pick apart what comes out?
Anonymous 2:39:
I have degrees from two South Carolina colleges. And my children have gone through low-country schools. But, I do not work for either the P & C or the CCSD. However, I read this Blog, the P & C, The State, and any number of education publications. Therefore, I can say without qualification that Janet Rose, Jerry Adams, and Toya Hampton-Green have no clue what they are doing. Alice Paylor has some sense, but is Mayor Riley's lap dog and will continue screwing up litigation all over the Lowcountry for the foreseeable future.
For an illustration of how "right on" Babbie is, log on to the following links:
http://www.siecus.org/media/press/press0150.html
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/abstinence07/HK/index.htm
http://www.siecus.org/policy/states/2006/mandates/SC.html
http://charlestonwatch.com/2007/09/post_8.html#more
http://charlestonwatch.com/Files/City/Budget%202007%202.doc
http://charlestonwatch.com/Files/County%20/Outside%20Agencies%202007.xls
http://www.bcb.sc.gov/webfiles/bcb/Comp.%20Grants/06-29-07_Awards.pdf
http://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights/sexed/27717prs20061218.html
http://www.takeissuetakecharge.org/press/?release=23
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20070905/NATION/109050057/1002&template=printart
Are you talking your qualifications or Bable's? You go from first- to third-person, so it's hard to tell.
Taxpayer, resident, parent, alumnus, teacher, employee, retired educator, former employee...all or any one of those catagories might entitle someone to "have an interest in" or "be qualified to speak about" Charleston County's public schools. If we're going to start playing the game of "qualifying" who's got a right to speak about our schools (presumably based on if you agree with them or not) then we could probably start throwing out a lot of individuals who have had free access to the Superintendent's office for years. These people, based on how much they are officially connected to public schools, have had a disproportionate influence on shaping public school policies that are directly related to the condition of our school today. I don't want to exclude (or even exonerate) anyone from this discussion. There's plenty of praise and blame to go around.
If critics are silent or self-edit to speak only good things then what purpose to they serve except to help public officials hide a problem. In international law we have a name for insiders and people in the know who choose to remain silent in places where authorities commit crimes against the people they are supposed to serve, we call them accomplices. Where critics risk personal security to speak out for reform or to correct inequities imposed on others too intimidated to complain, we call them responsible citizens. Sometimes we may even call them heros.
We're all qualified. Each of us has an obligation in a democracy to seek truth in order to become more informed and therefore qualified to speak on any public issue.
Our public schools and how to improve them are not subjects "best left to experts". It looks like that's what got us to this point to begin with. If the public had been informed and had became involved in 1968 instead of "leaving it to experts" a majority of CCSD schools might be competing with Greenville instead of Allendale. Who really can be called an "expert" on Charleston schools without those individuals first being open to sincerely discussing Charleston schools with the parties most involved?
Thanks to Babbie and this blog, we're doing what we should have done 39 years ago when CCSD emerged.
Like many other people, I must accept part of the blame for the state of CCSD's schools, especially those downtown. I chose to depend on people I thought knew what they were doing when I first saw them put policies in place that closed our city schools and dumbed down others. I kept thinking that each step backward was in preparation for two steps forward. Well, in my optimism shaped by a desire to think positively, I kept waiting for what never came. I'm complaining now because I want 78 steps forward (2 for every year of CCSD's existance) before we allow our city schools to take another step backwards based on false hopes. That's not being negative; that's setting high hopes for the improvement we deserve.
One of you guys needs to write maria and beg her, bribe her to take Janet Rose and Jerry Adams out there.
Also next year to fix your lack of representation in District 20 vote for Park Doherty and send Toya back home. She works for Riley and can't think for herself. Neither can the other Sister but she is there for three more years
I am Anonymous 4:40 PM.
To Anonymous 5:19 PM:
I did not go "from first-person to third-person." Nor am I Babbie as you appear to imply. If you are confused with my post, it is probably because you are a product of the educational system that Babbie and others are trying to reform.
I agree with downtown parent and d20. "We're all qualified" to participate in this dialog. I was not trying to assert either rank or special expertise by presnting some of my "qualificatiobns." Rather, I was merely trying to demonstrate that those who rely on sources other than their own brains can easily reach the same conclusions that Babbie reached. No inside information is needed. And where she works has no bearing on the issues she presents.
From answers.com: red herring n. A smoked herring having a reddish color. Something that draws attention away from the central issue.
That's what our friend has successfully done in this case.
Let's ignore him/her in the future.
Anonymous 4:40 P.M. again.
I recognize that I need to be more careful about my spelling.
That having been said, the Truancy Laws are a double-edged sword. South Carolina Law mandates the implementation of Intervention Plans when children accrue more than three unexcused absences in a row or ten in a semester.
CCSD has ignored truancy violations in the past in order to shirk its duty to the children. It was less expensive to take that approach. However, the NCLB Act has changed the equation. So expect "heads to roll."
In a similiar vein:
Company time
Goff's actions and those of Heritage workers are not the only practices former Heritage employees have called into question. In the year she worked there, Chancey said she witnessed Badgley, her husband, her daughter and her son-in-law use office time to campaign for Republican political candidates as well as to shop online. In her resignation letter, Chancey outlined behavior she viewed as abusive of public money.
"On 7 June 2002, you and your husband drafted letters to solicit votes for Chip Limehouse and Larry Kobrovsky for the Republican Primary. These letters were accomplished on Heritage time using Heritage equipment," Chancey wrote. "You also enlisted the time of other Heritage employees to act as proofreaders and compile address listings... Is this misuse of public funds?"
Read the entire article at http://www.tellthemsc.org/library/education/8/
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