Chairman of Board of Education criticizes audit of voucher program (Fla.)

[Judi Lynn]

Wednesday, December 24



Chairman of Board of Education criticizes audit of voucher program

By JACKIE HALLIFAX
Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --
The chairman of the Florida Board of Education on Tuesday blasted a review that said the state was failing to properly manage voucher programs.

Florida's chief financial officer, Tom Gallagher, concluded earlier this month that the programs must be better managed. He criticized the Department of Education for what he called a failure of leadership. (snip)

(snip) Handy thanked Gallagher, a former Republican education commissioner, for his past support of voucher programs but went on to say he was "surprised by the lack of compliance with the traditional audit process," which gives those being audited a chance to comment before the findings are made public.

Handy accused Gallagher's staff of failing to confer with officials in the Department of Education and said Gallagher exceeded "the bounds of propriety" when he suggested mismanagement by the state could have resulted in "possible criminal activity."
(snip/...)

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031223/APN/312231067

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. What? Criminal activity by FL Rethugs?

Just read the thread on the corruption in FL prisons due to sweetheart deals of private companies. The fact that religious schools have taken vouchers after promising parents of kids the moon and then not delivering on the promises (and keeping voucher money after parents return kids to public school) seems to me to be something that the public needs to know. Wonder if the Rethugs in FL will ever allow any accountability for their cronies in the private prison or religious school biz.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Handy was a controversial Republican appointment.

and Gallagher is a Republican. So, what we have is two Republicans who have figured out that the voucher system was approved without proper thought given to how it was going to be regulated; and one wishes to blame the other. All Republican policies are approved in the same manner. They're idealistic ideas with very little research to justify them. They're vote getters, and when they fail, blame someone else. Lord knows the media won't set the record straight.

[Racenut20]

3. Jebbies boys

The Repug congresses and boy Jeb dismantled all the Florida education system and appointed their cronies and fund raisers to the "Board of Directors"....West Palm paper is the only one who picked up and published the ensuing scandle. Also buried deep in there somewhere is bro Neil's on line education pilot program that is paid for by the state and has absolutely no tie back to the department of education or any control.