Check the new WhoseFlorida for updates
Double billing for Medicaid servicesAny medical investigative reporter looking to save taxpayers a lot of money and stop providers from double billing? State workers are asking for someone to: 1. subpoena the State of Florida Medicaid records (public records) for Developmental services, Foster Care, Adoptions, Adult Services, etc.
2. talk to DCF Contract Managers,
dismissed Contract Managers (Whistle-blowers) or
Mary Allegretti (Dade area).
3. Investigate the reimbursement
structure and providers who submitted bills for
services:
(a) Was patient billed for services
and then the provider billed the State for services
= double billing?
(b) On the Date of Service, did
providers bill the State for two (2) billings for
the same service/ same date, during two different
billing periods?
(c) Did the provider bill for
services when the patient received NO services?
(d) Did the provider bill for
services for which the patient had no need i.e. the
provider billed for physical therapy when the
patient did not need physical therapy or no therapy
was ordered, and no services were provided???
(e) Did the provider bill for
multiple services at the same time and on the same
date?
Patients could give permission to
"look at their files" and perform a bill
audit. Patient Representatives could provide
permission for billing audits for Medicaid/ billing/
services provided for children who are minors or
those patients who are declared incompetent.
Additionally, some workers providing
services have been reported for
"pretending" to purchase
"large-ticket items" for disabled persons
and the disabled have not received these items.
Reports are that medication has been missing from
some group homes. Has there been large amounts
of medication ordered for one patient during a short
time frame? Is the medication needed?
FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL.
P.S. Workers are saying that Governor
Bush and DCF Administrators are trying to either
intimidate or "stop the grass-roots"
driven requests for change and investigations.
Many DCF workers question why a governor would want
to thwart workers' freedom of speech rights?
Some workers are asking if we are living in
"Russia" or "Communist China?"
Some workers want to know if DCF IG Amy Drew's
husband, Charles Wynn of DOC, has helped in trying
to squash any questions of DCF or the Governor?
Some workers wanted to know why a governor or DCF
would not want to investigate and ensure their
agencies were operating in a "legal"
manner? Some wanted to know why the Governor
or DCF weren't more interested in "doing what's
right?"
Some State workers wanted to know why
Governor Bush authorized State Legislators to use
taxpayer-paid jets to fly home the Legislators
(started under Bush and VERY costly to taxpayers)?
Some wanted to know why the Governor used State jets
while providing no proof that his duties were
related to state duties? Some workers
questioned why Jeb's pals gained State disability
benefits' and SES benefit contracts?
Some people JUST want answers.
Some want taxpayer waste to STOP, and some want the
current administration to cease trying to hang
(harm) those trying "to do the right
thing," and investigate concerns of state
workers and other taxpayers. State workers are
taxpayers, too! STOP THE FRAUD! STOP THE
WASTE! REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA!
....civ, 10/5/02 Joe Conason's Journal
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MEMORANDUM Date: September 19, 2002 To: AFSCME Bargaining Unit Members
with AFSCME, Local 79, over a new labor contract covering your bargaining unit. This contract defines your benefits including a wage increase scheduled for October 1, 2002. The law requires AFSCME to submit this contract for a ratification vote of all of the employees in the bargaining unit. For several weeks AFSCME has failed to submit the contract for a ratification vote. This has the potential for jeopardizing contract benefits including the October 1, 2002 raise. The Governor believes that you should receive the wage increase and that you have the right to exercise your vote on the contract. You should not be disadvantaged because AFSCME has failed to submit this contract for your vote. Therefore, we intend to proceed with the wage increases as scheduled on October 1, 2002 even in the absence of a ratification election. We will initiate legal proceedings to protect these rights. The Governor is proud of the work that is performed everyday by the employees of the State of Florida for the citizens of the State. Thank you and keep up the good work.
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| From: Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 3:05 PM To: Cc: Subject: Exciting education news from Governor Jeb Bush (This is what is being sent out...FCAT propoganda) (WF comments in Red) Florida is proud of the rising student achievement we're seeing over the last four years. Since there is such good news, we thought you may be interested in this information. Background Four years ago, Governor Bush delivered the A+ Plan for Education to improve public education in Florida. It was predicated on the principle that we would see rising student achievement if we provided public schools with more resources and flexibility, while at the same time demanding accountability for results. For more information on the vision and policy behind the A+ Plan, visit < http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/government/governorinitiatives/aplusplan/index.html >Results Over the past two weeks we've released reading and math scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) that document the rising student achievement we're seeing among Florida's public school students. The chart below details the results. Note that each ethnic category refers to standard curriculum students; Exceptional Student Education students (the learning disabled) of all races are tracked in the ESE category. Here are the major points: ( make that "points that support our point") First, this is new data. The ethnic breakdown of the 2002 FCAT scores have just recently been confirmed by the Florida Department of Education. Second, reading scores are up. See the chart, but here are the highlights: Percent of students scoring in the lowest level on the FCAT reading are declining: (where are the rest of the grades? Or were only grades 4,8, 10 tested?) Grade 4: AA: 58 to 38,
Hisp: 42 to 27,
White: 18 to 13, ESE 75 to 72 Percent of students meeting and surpassing the proficient level on the FCAT reading test are rising Grade 4: AA: 23 to 42,
Hisp: 38 to 56,
White 65 to 74, ESE: 13 to 16 Here's another piece of data: the raw number of African-American 4th graders scoring a 5 in FCAT reading HAS INCREASED TENFOLD in four years, from 81 students in 1998 to 871 in 2002. The number of Hispanic 4th graders also HAS INCREASED TENFOLD in four years, from 154 in 1998 to 1553 in 2002. Third, math scores are also up. Again, see the charts. Here are the highlights: Percent of students scoring in the lowest level on the FCAT math test are declining: (oops... now we have grades 5,8,10) Grade 5: AA: 65 to 34,
Hisp: 46 to 18,
White: 22 to 10, ESE 73 to 62 Percent of students meeting and surpassing the proficient level on the FCAT math test are rising Grade 5: AA: 10 to 32,
Hisp: 22 to 52,
White: 44 to 66, ESE: 8 to 14 Fourth, there is a debate going on in our state whether FCAT scores should be used to grade schools. Many in Florida and around the nation have taken a position contrary to ours on this issue. Regardless of how they're used to shape policy, there is a broad consensus in Florida that FCAT scores are useful and relevant data. To repeat, FCAT reading and math scores are up among 4th graders (tested over 4 years only in reading ), 5th graders (tested over 4 years only in math), 8th graders, 10th graders, African-Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians. They are even up slightly among ESE (learning disabled) students. This is good news for all
Floridians!
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Bob Kunst: the other choice for governor, dares speak truth to power
The front page of Thursday's Tallahassee Democrat would make anyone mistakenly believe that the ballot for governor Nov. 5 has only two candidates.
In fact, there will be a third choice on the ballot Nov. 5: Bob Kunst of Miami Beach is running with Linda Miklowitz of Tallahassee. We have legally qualified after paying a filing fee of almost $5,000.
Kunst is the only candidate who dares to speak truth to power, holding Jeb Bush to account for the stolen election and issuing permits and licenses for industry and developers who contribute heavily to his campaign. With McBride looking every day more like a
McBush, Kunst's articulateness and frankness enlivens the public debate. Does he have to take a million dollars from special interests to be considered newsworthy?
Kunst points out the fact that 57 power plant licenses have been granted by Bush to his friends, mainly Enron team members. He quotes the Miami Herald that there are 345 tax exemptions that would bring in $23 billion.
There are 1.1 million Florida voters who report themselves as not to be affiliated with either party. Compare this with the 1.3 million Democrats who voted Sept. 10. Among Republicans, 20 percent say they won't vote Bush.
Kunst can win as Jesse Ventura did in Minnesota, giving voters a true choice.
LINDA G. MIKLOWITZ
LMiklowitz@aol.com
Jeb's in charge - unless it goes wrong
I once had an idea for a song, which I never finished, which would
have been titled "Nothin' is Nobody's Fault." I recalled that as I read and heard all the comments after the recent election boondoggle.
Governor Jeb, who predicted six months after the bungled 2000 election that henceforth Florida elections would "be a model for the rest of the nation," said nobody was going to pin all that bad stuff in Dade and Broward counties on him.
The elections officials in those counties said it wasn't their fault, and one even suggested it was the fault of voters.
The state Republican chairman promoted a conspiracy theory, that Democrats sabotaged the election to hurt gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno. To the best of my knowledge, he didn't mention black helicopters.
The Democratic state chairman, and Janet Reno, pinned the blame on Governor
Jeb. And the blame game goes on.
It hasn't been long since the Department of Children & Families had problems so severe that the head of the agency was sent packing and will soon be taking a teaching position at
FSU. Governor Jeb, who said the problems weren't his fault, brought in a new agency chief from Oklahoma. The new agency chief said he didn't really mean those things contained in controversial articles that he wrote.
If it happens in Florida, and it's bad, it's nobody's fault.
Consider these questions, though: If the primary election had been trouble-free, do you think Governor Jeb would have taken credit, and pointed with pride to his earlier prediction?
And consider this: When Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride suggested that he and Governor Jeb tour the state for a series of debates the governor's spokesman, Todd Harris, declined, saying the governor would be too busy because he "has a state to run." (Or, depending upon which newspaper you read, "He has to run the state."
In other words, Governor Jeb is The Big Guy in Charge of Everything.
Unless it goes bad.
Governor Jeb has been using a television advertisement in which he says he visited a school, was told about a dangerous intersection nearby, and promptly called the secretary of transportation and told him to install a traffic light.
If you want a traffic signal installed, let Governor Jeb know about it. If you want a trouble-free election, call somebody else, like the U.S. Department of Justice.
You might ponder this question, too: Could Governor Jeb have made an inquiry or two in Dade and Broward counties before the recent election to find out whether he needed to make any phone calls to the People in a Position To Run Smooth Elections?
So, who's to blame?
Take your pick, but Governor Jeb is The Big Guy Who Runs The State, and you know what they say about where the buck stops.
You know what I say?
Somebody somewhere's to blame,
Somebody else has to pay.
Somebody else has to take the rap
'Cause nothin's nobody's fault today.
... By George Hanna, MY VIEW, Tallahassee Democrat 9/21/02
ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE - do you believe this
"The iVotronic equipment
manufactured by ES&S used by the Boards of
Election in Miami-Dade and Broward counties
accurately captured 100% of the votes which were
cast. No votes were lost or not counted...."
http://www.essvote.com/index.php?section=news_item&news_id=64
Medicaid fraud in FL?
WHO WILL INVESTIGATE THIS THEFT OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS?
.... CIV, 9/16/02
Dump the junk: the problem with touch-screen voting
Wow, what a shock! Florida's new touch-screen voting system has problems!
Any experienced systems analyst or designer could have predicted this. (Actually, many of us did.) Touch-screen technology and the portable networks that must be moved around to make them work are totally inappropriate and a classic example of technological overkill.
What's an appropriate solution? Leon County's simple, easy-to-use, uncomplicated ballots are the answer.
Touch screens and portable networks for voting are expensive, unreliable, undesirable and contrary to good system design principles. That such systems were even considered is shocking. Only a rank beginner or someone with no knowledge of system design would even consider fielding such a system.
On the other hand, it is a wonderful way for lucky vendors to sell a bunch of hardware that will be obsolete just in time for the next election cycle. Is it possible that the decision makers were influenced by vendors?
I say dump the junk voting systems before they cause any more embarrassment to our state.
...jacks; 9/12/02
Into the breach once more my Brothers . . .
Alachua and National Labor Party Websites
Thanks for the good work on Whose Florida.
(WF: These are the good folks working for Universal Healthcare)
Bush's ad on Crime and health care cuts distorted
I, for one, will miss the stinging letters that former "de facto" Secretary of State Katherine Harris took the time to write out of her busy schedule (running for Congress, interpreting laws to favor Republicans, gallivanting around the world on Florida taxpayers' money) to rebut any writer who dared to oppose her in The Post's editorial section. Although Ms. Harris was and is dead wrong, she had spunk. And her boss is no better.
Gov. Bush claims in a recent televised ad: "So, how is Jeb doing on crime? Ask the criminals. Early release is gone. Felons now serve at least 85 percent of their sentences." In fact, the requirement that felons serve 85 percent of their sentences took effect in 1995, under the late Gov. Chiles, long before Jeb took office.
Gov. Bush promised to cut waste. A Florida legislative audit of the Agency for Health Care Administration found, in the 2002 budget, that Gov. Bush eliminated $100,000 for Alzheimer's patient day-care services, vetoed $5 million for the Miami-Dade Empowerment Zone, $500,000 for statewide vision screening for preschool kids, $50,000 for a Hialeah library, $90,000 for prescription-drug access for the under-served in Hillsborough County, $1.8 million for the University of South Florida/Tampa General Hospital Stroke Initiative Project and $100,000 for the Florida Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Does this governor have no shame?
DEAN E, 8/26/02, letter
to Palm Beach Post
WHO IS NEW FLORIDA DCF SECRETARY JERRY REGIER?
Jerry Regier said anything "in the yellow pages, state government shouldn't be doing. (Daily Oklahoman, April 12, 2002)
REGIER on CHILD PROTECTION
* In reference to a judge's decision not to return 5 siblings to the foster parents who cared for them after their brother's body was found buried in a freezer outside an abandoned trailer house, Secretary of Health and Human Services Jerry Regier said, "I think being a foster parent is one of the toughest jobs anyone can take on. To know that one or two slipups can bring the weight of the system down on you is daunting I think." (The Daily Oklahoman, July 18, 1998)
* Testifying last year before a congressional subcommittee, Jerry
Regier, Keating's former health and human services secretary, said Oklahoma spends millions on foster care, child abuse and neglect investigations, adoption, out-of-wedlock births, juvenile delinquency and many other problems. Regier characterized those problems as "primarily... the result of either families not forming through marriage in the first place or because of absent parents due to divorce." (Daily Oklahoman, Feb. 10, 2002)
JERRY REGIER on AID TO THE NEEDY
* The amount of state aid to the poor would be returned to levels of nearly a decade ago under a proposal being considered by the Human Services Commission. The commission is expected to act Friday on a proposal to reduce cash assistance, formerly called Aid to Families with Dependent Children and now called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. The proposed 5 percent cut would affect the 83,000 people who receive the aid and could take effect as soon as December. ...
The governor, who has a majority of appointees, has not backed down on his desire to see the cuts, said Jerry
Regier, Health and Human Services Cabinet Secretary and Office of Juvenile Affairs director. "What would be punitive would be to keep people in dependence," Regier said, adding the moves will force more people into the job market. (Tulsa World, Sept. 26, 1997)
JERRY REGIER on ACCESS to PUBLIC RECORDS
* "With all of the criminal investigations and the grand jury information, our open records requests are voluminous and long," Regier said, adding that he was not aware of any that the department had ignored. "If they haven't received something, it is only because they are in line." (Tulsa World, May 11, 2001)
REGIER on STATE CONTRACTS
* Regier came under fire in Oklahoma for allegedly awarding no-bid contracts that resulted in federal drug-prevention funds being spent on a Republican political consultant. (Miami Herald, Aug. 15, 2002)
* Regier was the point man for an unorthodox campaign to cut Oklahoma's divorce rate by spending $10 million in federal welfare money on programs to keep couples from splitting. (Miami Herald, Aug. 15, 2002)
* Keating has faced criticism from a few Democratic senators over a $400,000 contract awarded to Public Strategies Inc., the Oklahoma City company hired to manage the marriage initiative. The company's president, Mary Myrick, is a former Republican political consultant. Regier is in charge of Keating's marriage initiative, a program designed to strengthen marriage. (Daily Oklahoman, Feb. 10, 2002), (Daily Oklahoman, March 30, 2001)
* Cabinet Secretary Jerry Regier denied a state senator's allegations Thursday that Regier is funneling large amounts of money to a longtime Republican consultant by wiring around state competitive bidding laws. "That's just not true,"
Regier, Gov. Frank Keating's Health and Human Services secretary, said. He said there were legitimate reasons for awarding a series of "sole source" contracts to consultant Mary Myrick and her Public Strategies Oklahoma City public relations firm.
But Sen. Larry Dickerson, D-Poteau, said records show Myrick has received five state contracts totaling $ 1.2 million without having to compete for any of them. Three of the awards totaling more than $ 500,000 were sole source contracts, meaning officials had to sign affidavits stating Myrick's firm was the only one capable of providing the service. Myrick's company was the only bidder on two contracts totaling more than $ 600,000. The contracts were let by the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the Department of Human Services and the Health Department, all of which are under
Regier. (Tulsa World, April 13, 2001)
* Two years before auditors released scathing reports showing misuse of Oklahoma's federal welfare-to-work grant, state monitors found problems with the program but nothing was done to correct it.
Those reports, one issued to the Tulsa Housing Authority and another to the Office of Juvenile Affairs, detailed problems such as double billing, lack of competitive bids, money mismanagement and underpaid welfare participants.
Jerry Regier, who was director of Juvenile Affairs at the time, said his agency was asked to use welfare-to-work money to help troubled teen-agers find work. He said no one told him the contracts had to be competitively bid, and money was given to vendors after the contract was extended. A state audit does not show a contract extension. (Daily Oklahoman, April 9, 2002)
JERRY REGIER and STATE EMPLOYEES
* A plan to reorganize the Oklahoma State Department of Health is causing uncertainty for employees, a board of heath member said Thursday. "There is a great deal of anxiety and insecurity in the department, and it needs to be addressed," board member Ron L. Graves said. The comments came Thursday during the regular board meeting of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. The board adopted an organizational chart that creates the Community Development Office, a melding of three other offices.
Acting Director Jerry Regier said the chart is a starting point for discussion during the next three months. The goals of reorganization are to create policy driven by data; flatten the organization by removing middle management; and increase the accountability and flexibility of the department by moving more of the oversight of local communities to local communities. Removing middle management "doesn't mean somebody loses a job," Regier said. "It means re-engineering of their job or a lateral move somewhere else." (Tulsa World, Nov. 17, 2000)
* A state senator from northeastern Oklahoma accused one of Gov. Frank Keating's Cabinet secretaries of "violating both the spirit and the letter of a new state law in his zeal to hasten the downsizing of Eastern State Hospital in Vinita." Sen. Rick Littlefield, D-Grove, who said he was exploring ways to stop the accelerated downsizing, said Health and Human Services Secretary Jerry Regier recently revealed his plans to complete the downsizing of the Vinita mental health center by the end of this year -- a full year earlier than prescribed in legislation signed into law this spring.
"This law specifically spells out a time frame and a process for downsizing the hospital, but Secretary Reiger has apparently decided to ignore the law in his zeal to wipe Eastern State off the map," Littlefield said. "I've never seen someone in such a hurry to kick people out of their jobs and put the mentally ill out on the street," he said. "He seems determined to do that, even if it means breaking his word and the law in the process." Regier said he was trying to speed the transition process, but he denied Littlefield's charge that he is violating the law. (Tulsa World, April 25, 1999)
JERRY REGIER and FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL
* Regier is also known for founding the Family Research Council in the early 1980s when he saw the need to have a Biblically-based organization that would be at the table when policy was made - rather than outside the building carrying placards. ... During the early years of
FRC, Regier developed his idea of influencing public policy with Biblical principles. (Jerry Regier Bio on Grace University web site,
http://www.graceuniversity.edu/tidings/tidings2000/002q/cryingworld.cfm
)
* Regier is the former president and a founder of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group based in Washington that, according to its website, believes government ''has a duty to promote and protect marriage and family in law and public policy.'' (Miami Herald, Aug. 15, 2002)
* Jerry Regier, head of the Family Research Council said he would like to create a conservative equivalent to the Children's Defense Fund, a
"profamily" program to counter Wright's liberal vision. (The Washington Post, May 18, 1986)
.... Galloway; 8/15/02
Reno, McBride, Jones -top two of three win?
I read in the paper this morning that Reno said she would consider McBride for Lt. Gov if she won the primary. It would be a neat reply to Bush's negative ad about the two of them dancing, if McBride made the same offer and the primary was about one and two on the ticket. In fact the Dems could just make it the top two in the primary are Gov and Lt Gov - that would keep Daryl Jones in the race - and folks could vote their conscience and know that they will have the best possible ticket regardless who wins.
The candidates wouldn't have to get mean with each
other and could campaign on their issues... Democrats
would look good. And they'd maybe have a chance to win.
What do you think?
... 8/6/02
JEB: manatee is my favorite animalAfter the FL Dept. of Environmental Protection refused to waive the speed limits in manatee zones for a Hollywood movie producer, Governor Bush gave his permission to allow a movie "Bad Boys 2" to film speed boat chases in sensitive manatee slow zones on a river in Miami. Governor Bush had previously referred to the manatee as his favorite animal.
See the story in the St. Petersburg Times
8/1/02. Mr Hadad, Exec. Director of the
Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, also
approved of this hunting license to kill
manatees using boats, the most common weapon
for killing manatees.
Gael R. Murphy - Educational Coordinator
flvoices@aol.com
Florida Voices for Animals, Inc.
PO Box 17523,
Tampa, FL 33682; (813) 969-3755
(posted 8/2/02)
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JEB and the Nigerian Pump kickback case
This week it was the St. Petersburg Times, and
the focus was on brother Jeb Bush. It seems that
back in 1989 (around the same time he was in business
with a now-fugitive HMO operator as well as a convicted
HUD borrower, and while Jeb was defaulting on a $4.5
million loan from a failed Florida S&L) Jeb was also
partners with a fellow whose company is now under
investigation for misappropriating federal loan funds to
Nigeria.
That deal reared its ugly head again this month when
details became public thanks to a whistleblower and a
federal lawsuit. The lawsuit claims the company, MWI
Corp., a water pump manufacturer based in Deerfield
Beach, FL, improperly used more than one-third of a
$74.3 million U.S. loan to pay bribes and kickbacks to
Nigerian government officials.
Jeb Bush's business partner in the deal was prominent
Florida Republican contributor J. David Eller.
Court filings allege that Eller flew suitcases of cash
to offshore tax havens to hide assets from the deal.
Jeb Bush was paid $648,250 by Bush-El, a company he and
Eller formed in 1988 to promote MWI's pumps. Eller and
his company have contributed more than $129,000 to the
Republican Party since 1989, according to the watchdog
group Common Cause.
The old deal was given new light this month when Bush's
former partner moved to have all the court records of
the ongoing suit sealed from public view. Jeb Bush, who
is not named in the federal suit, continues to claim he
had nothing to do with the Nigerian deals now in
question.
However, court records show that twice while his father
was in the White House, Jeb Bush visited Nigeria on
behalf of MWI. The Nigerians were so impressed with the
fact that the son of a sitting President of the United
States was associated with MWI that Jeb was welcomed by
a parade of 1,300 horses, and tens of thousands of
people lined the road to welcome him.
The St. Petersburg Times also obtained a MWI
marketing video, filmed around the time of Jeb's 1989
visit, in which Eller brags that his company has
"support at the highest levels of our own
government." The video, made for the Nigerian
market, featured pictures of Eller with then-President
George Bush.
Eller also pointed out Jeb Bush's stake in the company.
"In fact George Bush's son will be coming to
Nigeria with us for the inauguration of our
factory," Eller says on the tape. "And we're
very proud of that, and it shows that our government is
very interested in what we're doing in Nigeria and very
supportive."
The U.S. Export-Import Bank eventually approved $74.3
million in loans to Nigeria expressly to purchase MWI's
pumps. Now federal prosecutors say that $28 million of
those loans was improperly used to grease the palms of
Nigerian officials and MWI insiders.
The lawsuit cites one example in which MWI officials
brought "large quantities" of cash to the
Abuja Hilton Hotel, where they met with Nigerian
officials. The MWI representatives left the meeting
without the money.
The lawsuit is all that now remains of the deal as the
Bush Justice Department notified MWI in March that it
had closed a criminal investigation into the pump deals.
The Department of Justice's civil litigation division
only recently joined a whistleblower lawsuit when the
whistleblower refused to drop the case. Ordinary
citizens are allowed under law to file suits in behalf
of the US Government when the government itself refuses
to act.
Now part of the civil action, the Justice Department
will be in a better position to determine its outcome.
.... jkeel --from the Daily
Enron , posted 8/2/02
Class size isn't important? Where did JEB's kids go to school?
Gov. Jeb Bush says reducing class size isn't
necessary to educate kids.
But how about when it comes to his kids? In Miami, he
sent them to Gulliver, a highly regarded private school.
To quote its Web site:
"Classrooms are characterized by both innovative
instruction and warm and caring student-teacher
relationships. The low student-to-teacher ratio
(eight-to-one) -- and faculty sensitivity to the
developmental needs of each student -- enables students
to discover and celebrate their individual
talents."
Evidently, an 8-1 ratio works for Jeb's kids, but having
between 18 and 25 kids in a class for public school kids
is a waste of money, better spent on tax breaks for
corporations and Gulliver parents. It's hard to get
"warm and caring" about individual needs when
you have more than 30 kids in a class.
As for Jeb, he attended the prestigious Phillips Academy
in Andover, Mass., where alumni include his dad and John
Kennedy Jr.
The Phillips Academy has a student-to-teacher ratio of
6-1 and an average class size of 13....
.....from Mike
Thomas Orlando Sentinel 7/19/02
Gov. Bush's real agenda only to push voucher idea
In response to Gov. Bush's July 6 letter "Voucher critics ignore plan to help failing schools": My youngest was to have graduated from high school, and a daughter is a teacher in an underprivileged section of Palm Beach County. My son is learning-disabled but maintained good grades in mainstream classes by working every waking hour. But, after passing and getting enough credits, he did not get his diploma because he did not pass one section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, the one on which his disability hampered him. It's like telling a paralyzed person that he or she must walk before graduating. Now, the college that had accepted him will not allow him to attend.
My daughter knows that the FCAT determines how her school will be rated, performance benefits, school financing and how much money will be diverted from an already needy school. So, for much of the school year, especially the months before the FCAT, all learning stops and students only are prepped for the test. Overall, students learn less of the material they will need in life just to take this test. Children in poorer areas tend to do poorly on these standardized tests. Do not blame the teachers and the schools that deal with these kids as the responsible parties. Use the test results to shunt money to the "F" schools, not to drain their meager resources.
Jeb has it all wrong. The FCAT is part of a "shadow agenda" to weaken public schools and promote vouchers. All studies show that voucher recipients, because insufficient money is given to the parents, do not attend the fine private schools that the children of the wealthy attend. They attend parochial schools, and because they do not take the FCAT, no one can tell if they are an improvement over public education. Private schools do not have to offer services to handicapped students, nor use "certified" teachers, nor offer any of the "expensive" services mandated in the public schools.
What is Jeb really promoting? Florida's school system
ranks next to last in the nation in several measures. We
need a governor who will commit to remediation, teacher
support and rebuilding the public school system.
...JAYRN, letter
to the editor Palm Beach Post, 7/18/02
State, governor share blame in DCF tragedies
Following all of the press coverage having to do with shortfalls in the Department of Children and Families, I am not surprised by the discoveries being made. Tragically, some professionals have not been following through on their duties to their clients. This is evident in the recent terrible murder of a child who was to have been visited that very day by his DCF worker. That worker then falsified records. There is no excuse for that, and prosecuting that person is an appropriate response for not following up on cases and then falsifying documentation.
Blame for this particular shortfall was laid at the feet of the DCF worker. Blame must also be shared by the governor and the state government which supported the drastic cutbacks on spending that would have helped support additional DCF workers and supervisors to do a more thorough job of serving their clients.
DCF and other government agencies are terribly overworked and understaffed. That can be changed, and proper care for needy children and adults can be provided by the people of Florida. But Tallahassee cannot shuck off responsibility by prosecuting an errant DCF worker and her supervisor (the sacrificial lamb).
The state government and Gov. Bush can
point all the fingers they want, but they
need to consider some drastic and damaging
decisions made in the past few years which
have cut the legs out from under proper
service to needy people in this state. I
hope the people of Florida speak out loudly
both in the media and in the elections that
are coming up.
-- The RRM, letter
to the editor, St Petersburg Times
Floridians aren't as dumb as Bush thinks they are
The public has spoken and it appears that a recent South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel (hardly bastions of left-wing journalism) poll shows that Floridians aren't as dumb as the governor thinks. More than half of those polled believe that "education has stayed the same or gotten worse under Bush's tenure," which only goes to show that citizens of Florida know the difference between an increase and a per capita increase.
In other words, saying you increased funding for public education without accounting for student population growth is like WorldCom putting lost revenues in a column headed "future debt."
Teachers - and, dare I mention it, their unions (gasp!) - have said this for years: In dollars, Florida public education needs more money. Given that the same poll shows Floridians don't want to raise property taxes, let's have some dialogue on alternatives.
Among candidates for governor, only Bill
McBride seems to have fresh ideas. Whatever
your views, vote with your head this
November.
...MARLOW M
Now they've gone too far...
My rant for the week:
;) Rita , 7/13/02 (WF - Rita is referring to the following study)
 |
470
women in UF hormone therapy study told
to stop taking the pills When a federal study of hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women was abruptly halted on May 31, University of Florida researchers participating as one of 40 national centers in the Women's Health Initiative were caught by surprise. |
|
Hormone
Treatment's Risks Exceed Benefits,
Study Says A landmark scientific study has found that giving hormones to healthy menopausal women does more harm than good, a finding that overturns doctors' long-held beliefs about the treatment's benefits and creates new uncertainty for ... |
Destroying theocracy in Afghanistan, creating one here
President Bush did what he had to do with the security information made available to him before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The attack gave him the support he needed