Who Will Rid MeDear Troublesome Priests: A little over 828 years ago, in December 1170, a memorable sentence was uttered. England's king, Henry II, angered by the laxness of the religious courts toward monks and priests, had appointed his friend and chancellor, Thomas a Becket, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Catholic Church in England. Once he was in that position, however, Becket refused to reform the courts, which led to a serious rift between them. Their quarrel was temporarily mended, but then Becket began to excommunicate Henry's supporters. That led to Henry's saying, in the presence of four knights, “Who will rid me of this troublesome Priest?” The result, of course, was that the knights took this as a royal command and killed Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. You may have read Craig Timberg's front-page profile of Gwendolyn Hemphill today (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12153-2003Jan18.html). One very telling incident not in the article was revealed Friday on WAMU's DC Politics Hour by Phil Pannell. Pannell said that in his successful race to be elected President of the Ward Eight Democrats last year, Hemphill and the Mayor's Chief of Staff, Kelvin Robinson, “engineered” an unreported cash payoff to him of twenty-five one hundred dollar bills to pay for his campaign. This one incident neatly brings together the three leading centers of scandal in DC today: the Washington Teachers Union, the Democratic State Committee, and the mayor's office. I will risk repeating myself. Mayor Williams refuses to accept responsibility for the pervasive atmosphere of corruption in his administration, and his apologists refuse to ascribe any responsibility to him. Their arguments are legalistic ones: the mayor may have told his subordinates to accomplish certain tasks — raising money, gathering signatures, getting control of the Democratic State Committee, and so on — and not to bother him with the details of the means by which they would do it, but it can't be proven that he had any foreknowledge of their misdeeds. (The king's words are subject to varying interpretations, and the knights won't testify against him anyway.) Eight centuries ago, Henry II did not hide behind such legalisms. He admitted that he had done wrong by his outburst, whether or not he had intended it as an order, and he did penance. He walked barefoot to Canterbury Cathedral where he was, by his request, scourged by monks. And then he reformed his own administration. Gary Imhoff ############### The Embezzlement of Our Dues and the Looting
of Our Trust
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| YEAR | MEMBERS' DUES* DEDUCTION | EST. RECEIPTS FROM MEMBERS (DUES X 4000) | NON-MEMBERS AGENCY FEE DEDUCTION | EST. RECEIPTS FROM NON-MEMBERS (FEE X 1000) | |
| 1994 (Jul-Dec) | $234 | $936,000 | $117.00 | $117,000 | |
| 1995 | $473 | $1,892,000 | $236.50 | $236,500 | |
| 1996 | $486 | $1,944,000 | $243.00 | $243,000 | |
| 1997 | $486 | $1,944,000 | $243.00 | $243,000 | |
| 1998 | $574 | $2,296,000 | $327.00 | $327,000 | |
| 1999 | $589 | $2,356,000 | $501.00 | $501,000 | |
| 2000 | $664 | $2,656,000 | $564.00 | $564,000 | |
| 2001 | $644 | $2,576,000 | $547.00 | $547,000 | |
| 2002 (Jan-Sept) | $580** | $2,320,000 | $357.00*** | $357,000 | |
| SUBTOTALS | $18,920,000 | $3,135,500 | |||
| TOTAL | $22,055,500 |
* from actual pay stubs
** includes the illegally deducted $160
*** assumes illegal $160 not deducted)
A. TOTAL ESTIMATED WTU INCOME (JULY 1994 - SEPT 2002): $22,055,500
B. Theft as a percentage of total estimated WTU income: $5,000,000 /
$22,055,500 = 22.67 %
C. By adding in the legal salaries of Bullock, Hemphill and Baxter, we
get a figure showing the total benefits they and their friends extracted
from the union (all figures are rough estimates):
1. Bullock (July 1994 - October 2002; 2001 salary: $106,840);
assuming an average yearly salary of $100,000 x 8 years = $800,000.
2. Baxter (July 1994 - October 2002; 2001 salary: $55,709); assuming an
average yearly salary of $50,000 x 8 years = $400,000
3. Hemphill (July[?] 1996 - October 2002; 2001 salary: $ 66,950);
assuming an average yearly salary of $60,000 x 6 years = $360,000
4. Assumption that monies received by chauffeur Holmes are included in
the $5 M.
5. Theft, per 1/16/03 audit: $5,000,000
Bullock’s salary: $ 800,000
Baxter’s salary: $ 400,000
Hemphill’s salary: + $ 360,000
TOTAL BENEFIT: $6,560,000
6. Total estimated benefits of Bullock, Baxter & Hemphill & friends as a percentage of total estimated WTU income: $6,560,000 / $22,055,500 = 29.74 %
By now, the ever-expanding size of the union funds allegedly looted by Bullock and friends has become a daily ritual, reminiscent of the slowly unfolding Watergate saga. Each report adds to the growing cast of characters, revealing dealings more brazen and mind-numbing than the previous one. Bullock ruled by intimidation, bluff, secrecy and deception - with enough salary-increases and loyal supporters to deter criticism or accountability. The willingness of the union’s executive board members to accept transparently bogus financial reports from an elected treasurer who held a full-time non-teaching job should be seen as representative of the larger DCPS school culture where many principals rule by the same combination of factors: intimidation, bluff, denial, secrecy, deception and favoritism, free from any meaningful central office accountability.
In fact, as the recent reports of altered and forged student records at Wilson High School showed, those responsible were protected and even promoted behind a variety of subterfuges, all of which amounted to denial and cover-up. The shock value of the still incomplete picture of our union leaders’ corrupt behavior is now riveted on its growing dollar value and garish expenditures - and the many statutes violated. But the real crime is their failure to fully represent teachers and the failure to be a voice for genuine educational reform. Those stolen millions represent thousands of hours in hedonistic pursuits that could have been spent to force and pressure DCPS to honor its contractual grievance procedure timetable; institute subject-area standards at least as rigorous as those supported by the AFT; institute special education programs that are competitive with private placements; institute reading instruction and early assessments to detect potential reading deficiencies (also advocated by the AFT); and prevent the falsification and misrepresentation of students’ records and test scores. These failures of advocacy and educational leadership are their real crimes.
[The American Federation of Teachers District Court complaint against the WTU is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/schools/ps030116.htm, and its forensic analysis of the WTU is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/schools/ps030116b.htm. — Gary Imhoff]
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Alexander Padro's (DC Board of Library Trustees) very intelligent op-ed on plans for the MLK Library (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6350-2003Jan17.html) move me to add my comments to his cogent argument for renovation. In years past, when Matthew Gilmore was heading the Washingtoniana Room, school groups were not only welcome, they were given personal instruction by a most knowledgeable DC historian. Gilmore's enthusiasm, both for his subject and for sharing his interest with young people, was truly impressive. We teachers felt welcomed by a sympathetic colleague. Now, unfortunately, the Washingtoniana Room folks appear to feel that public education is not part of their mission. Pleading understaffing, (which is certainly believable), and demonstrating confusion in their institutional role and the roles of individual staff members, they make such school visits difficult if not impossible.
We all should support the effort to renovate this architectural gem; I would hope such renovation will undertake a review of library funding, use and mission as well.
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In the coming weeks, two community meetings will be held to address the issue of crime in the District. On Tuesday, January 21, at 5:00 p.m., Kathy Patterson, chair of the Council's Committee on the Judiciary, will hold a public roundtable on the Metropolitan Police Department's performance in homicide investigations in Roosevelt Senior High School's auditorium, 4301 13th Street, NW. On Saturday, January 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Mayor Williams will host a forum on crime and prevention ("Building Partnerships for Safer Neighborhoods") at Eastern Senior High School, 1700 E. Capitol Street, NE. These community meetings occur in an atmosphere of growing criticism of MPD in neighborhoods across the District, as well as at a time when Mayor Williams is negotiating a new contract with Police Chief Ramsey.
Hopefully, these meetings will be better organized than the Project Safe Neighborhoods Citywide Conference on Gun Violence that was sponsored by the US Attorney's office at George Washington University on January 8. A letter of welcome to the conference signed by Mayor Williams, US Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, and Police Chief Charles Ramsey, said that, "This unprecedented conference will bring together over 300 members of our community, including representatives from law enforcement, corrections, City agencies, the judiciary, neighborhood associations, citizen advisory councils, the business community, the faith-based community, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and many others" to combat firearm violence in DC. Unfortunately, almost all the attendees of the conference were government officials from Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, and the federal government, as well as DC. Citizen and neighborhood organizations in the District and nearly everyone else on that list were unrepresented. When I raised the issue that no representatives of citizen or neighborhood groups and no civic leaders seemed to have been invited to the conference, members of the US Attorney's staff denied it, but then couldn't identify one on their list.
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While some DC agencies have made enormous advances in their delivery of public information online — e.g., Tax and Revenue's real property records at http://cfo.dc.gov/services/tax/property/database.shtm — others seem incapable of providing basic information in a current form. For example, www.anc.dc.gov says “Contact information for new ANC commissioners will be available when they take office on January 2003.” It has been two months since the election — and longer than that since redistricting — but there are no ward/ANC/SMD boundary maps. The contact info for the Ward 6 commissions is an incomplete list from last year. And ANC6D apparently does not exist (at any rate, there's no link in the navigation bar on the left).
The Board of Elections (dcboee.org) fares no better. The “Maps” section consists of a lame apology, even though my neighborhood newspaper has had the Ward 6 ANC maps (http://www.voiceofthehill.com/ANC6%20Maps.htm) available for months. Their ANC rep lists are from last year (http://dcboee.org/htmldocs/anc_list.htm). Best of all, the only available Nov. 2002 election results (http://dcboee.org/htmldocs/1105resu.htm) are uncertified, and, like other DCBOEE web pages, have defective links at the bottom (as I've repeatedly informed DCBOEE staff).
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The “Report of the Governmental Affairs United States Senate, Together with Minority Views to accompany S. 3054, to provide for full voting representation in Congress for the citizens of the District of Columbia, November 15, 2002,” is now available, see: PDF version: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_reports&docid=f:sr343.107.pdf or text version: ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/cp107/sr343.txt. S. 3054 was approved by the Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) by a vote of 9-0. The Committee was composed of 17 Members, nine Democrats. Republican committee members were not present and did not vote on the measure. The report says, “The Committee believes that affording DC full Congressional representation -- two Senators and a House Member — may also be achieved through legislation alone, and that a constitutional amendment, though a reasonable means to this goal, is not a necessary step. . . . Congress has the power to treat DC as if it were a state for the purposes of Congressional representation, which is what S. 3054 does.” The Committee reached its opinion based mainly on a 1949 case, National Mutual Insurance Co. v. Tidewater Transfer Co., and arguments by Walter Smith of the DC Appleseed Center, and L. Elise Dieterich of Swidler, Berlin, Shereff, Friedman, LLP, presented to Congress in a May 22, 2002, memorandum. The bill provides that the size of the House of Representatives would be increased by one member, from 435 to 436.
There are questions about whether this proposal could sustain a Court challenge. George Voinovich (R-OH) and Jim Bunning (R-KY) expressed a minority opinion. They said that the Committee was not provided enough information or time to adequately make a decision on this new piece of legislation and said the May hearing record was incomplete and did not include questions by Ranking Member Fred Thompson. “The question Senator Thompson submitted for the record go right to the heart of the matter: does Congress have the power through simple legislation to provide District residents voting representation in Congress or does it require a Constitutional amendment? . . . The District of Columbia is a federal enclave, designed to be both politically and economically dependent on the federal government. Legislating this enclave to the status of a State, without amending the Constitution or making it a State, would violate the federalist principle of one State among many. Because it is the national capital, The District would be primus inter pares, first among equals. It would become, as James Madison argued, the entity 'whose sole business is to govern, to control all the other states. It would be the imperial state; it would be 'Rome on the Potomac.' . . . [T]o achieve the goal of granting Congressional representation to the residents of the District of Columbia, neither the Constitution, nor statute, nor case law provides Congress with the power to bypass the constitutional amendment process.”
Following is a link to an article on public opinion about DC's political status, published in the January/February 2003 Public Perspective magazine: http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/pubper/authors/richards.pdf. Public Perspective is published by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.
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Mayor Williams has established a “goal” to increase the taxpaying population of DC by 100,000 over the next ten years. If this target increase is to have any chance of being reached then the mayor must make it a DC mission, then he must help establish teams to address the different activities required to make that an accomplishable mission. Teams comprised of community leaders, corporate sponsors, policy makers, and educators would have to break down the District's mission into smaller pieces and establish sub-missions, each with time oriented specific goals. Each goal would have a series of objectives, the steps required to reach each goal. Without this kind of comprehensive and dedicated organization, the target increase set by the Mayor will never be reached.
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Unfortunately, Kaplowitz's story is typical of what is going on in our public schools. Although he has direct experience in the DC system, this chaos is going on all over the nation. Many of my friends who are teachers make the same claims that are stated in the article. And most of my friends are black. I am not a teacher, however I do have experience in the DC and MD school system through my work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). The kids that I work with have a myriad of problems, including school/learning issues. When I've visited the schools I find total chaos. One teacher told me that clearly you haven't been to school in a long time.
My concern is not for the teachers, but for the students. DCPS and other public school systems must get a handle on this abysmal situation. That probably means throwing out unruly kids. I know that hurts, but the line has got to be drawn somewhere. I believe that most of the kids have environmental problems (bad homes, etc.). However, the students who are ready and willing to learn must be given a chance; otherwise they will also be lost to us.
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Thanks for posting that link about the guy who tried to teach at a DC school and got sued for $20 million. That is about the most depressing thing I have ever read about the District of Columbia. Absolutely horrible and inexcusable. The second most depressing thing is Education Week magazine's annual survey of US schools, where once again DC is at or near the bottom (although they are making progress in teacher training). The only measure we excel at is per-pupil spending; we're #1! Most spending, worst results. The link is here: http://www.edweek.org/sreports/QC03/.
How does the Mayor expect to attract 100,000 more residents when the two most basic functions a city should provide, education and public safety, are in such a state? People vote during elections, but they also vote with their feet. In the past few years I have known too many people who have said “we're outta here” when their kid turns four years old. The long slow loss of DC's population is not much more than a referendum on life here for middle class people with kids.
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Peggy Cooper Cafritz plan outlined an excellent plan that would result in major improvements to the DC school system and the educational processes in remarks at her inauguration on 7 January. Her remarks were printed in the Post District section on 16 January [and is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/schools/ps030107.htm]. The District would be criminally remiss in not implementing this fine and comprehensive plan.
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Dr. Alan Geyer, Canon Ethicist at the Washington National Cathedral, will speak about the life and work of Ralph Bunche, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Under Secretary-General at the United Nations. Among other extraordinary achievements, Dr. Bunche was the founding chairman of the political science department at Howard University. Dr. Geyer is also a political scientist and former Dag Hammarskjold Professor of Peace Studies and Political Science at Colgate University. He is a marvelous speaker and you are sure to enjoy and learn a lot from this program.
The event will be at the Woman' National Democratic Club, 1525 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, on Thursday, January 23, 12:00 noon (lunch served at 12:30 p.m.). The program is sponsored by the Woman's National Democratic Club Educational Foundation, and tax deductible proceeds go to Foundation for work in Washington Schools. Cost $19.50. For reservations, call Pat Fitzgerald at 232-7363, Ext.3003 or E-mail pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org.
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Video Producers of DC, a no-dues grassroots group, will be meeting on Saturday, January 25, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room at Cleveland Park Library. The focus of this meeting will be showing and talking about using video and audio for nonprofit advocacy. Part of the meeting will show some techniques for digitizing cassette audiotapes to put up as audio files on the web. To stay informed of meetings and events in this group, you can join the group's E-mail list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/videoproducersofdc/. Newcomers to video production particularly welcome at our meetings. Come join the 60 other people who are members of the group. The only membership requirement is an interest in learning.
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The Neighborhood Tutoring Program is looking for volunteers. We want to provide more students with the opportunity to get the extra help in reading and math that they so desperately deserve. But in order to do this, we need more tutors. With your help, our organization seeks to provide the children in our program with the tools and motivation necessary to escape the cycle of drug abuse, crime, unemployment, and poverty that has afflicted so many in their parents' generation. The ability to read well, to excel in school, and the desire to learn are prerequisites to breaking this cycle. We need volunteers to join us in this effort.
We're looking for volunteers to tutor children and adolescents in the Shaw neighborhood once or twice a week. Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, students in the program increased their math levels by 1 year and two months. They also increased their ability to read words fluently one year and three months and their passage comprehension by one year and six months for every twenty hours of tutoring. Think about that, come one evening a week, meet for just two hours, and one lucky child has the opportunity to improve their reading and math skills a full grade level and more in only six months.
The following program times are available: Saturday 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (elementary age children), Tuesday 6:00-8:00 p.m. (teen-agers), Monday/Wednesday 3:00-5:00 p.m. (3-6th grade), Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-11:00 a.m. (1st-4th grade), Tuesday/Thursday 12:30-2:30 p.m. (8-9th grade), Tuesday/Thursday 3:00-5:00 p.m. (3-6th grade). If you're interested in tutoring please contact me (Tim Payne) at 349-3518 or tpayne@flocdc.org.
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I took Erica Nash's recommendation and used Claudio Condori to build a wood stud wall partition in my basement. He is very nice and knowledgeable about general contracting and did a great job. I even bought them lunch! His home phone: 301-942-2632 and cell: 240-461-4973.
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Looking for a good repair person for my Huffy Exersystem 5000. Any suggestions?
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