The goal of ParentAdvocates.org
is to put tax dollar expenditures and other monies used or spent by our federal, state and/or city governments before your eyes and in your hands.
Through our website, you can learn your rights as a taxpayer and parent as well as to which programs, monies and more you may be entitled...and why you may not be able to exercise these rights.
Mission Statement
is to put tax dollar expenditures and other monies used or spent by our federal, state and/or city governments before your eyes and in your hands.
Through our website, you can learn your rights as a taxpayer and parent as well as to which programs, monies and more you may be entitled...and why you may not be able to exercise these rights.
Mission Statement
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The E-Accountability Foundation announces the
'A for Accountability' Award
to those who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. They ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up. These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions. The winners of our "A" work to expose wrong-doing not for themselves, but for others - total strangers - for the "Greater Good"of the community and, by their actions, exemplify courage and self-less passion. They are parent advocates. We salute you.
Winners of the "A":
Johnnie Mae Allen
David Possner
Dee Alpert
Aaron Carr
Harris Lirtzman
Hipolito Colon
Larry Fisher
The Giraffe Project and Giraffe Heroes' Program
Jimmy Kilpatrick and George Scott
Zach Kopplin
Matthew LaClair
Wangari Maathai
Erich Martel
Steve Orel, in memoriam, Interversity, and The World of Opportunity
Marla Ruzicka, in Memoriam
Nancy Swan
Bob Witanek
Peyton Wolcott
[ More Details » ]
'A for Accountability' Award
to those who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. They ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up. These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions. The winners of our "A" work to expose wrong-doing not for themselves, but for others - total strangers - for the "Greater Good"of the community and, by their actions, exemplify courage and self-less passion. They are parent advocates. We salute you.
Winners of the "A":
Johnnie Mae Allen
David Possner
Dee Alpert
Aaron Carr
Harris Lirtzman
Hipolito Colon
Larry Fisher
The Giraffe Project and Giraffe Heroes' Program
Jimmy Kilpatrick and George Scott
Zach Kopplin
Matthew LaClair
Wangari Maathai
Erich Martel
Steve Orel, in memoriam, Interversity, and The World of Opportunity
Marla Ruzicka, in Memoriam
Nancy Swan
Bob Witanek
Peyton Wolcott
[ More Details » ]
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Stories & Grievances
When Special Education Services Get Too Expensive, Fire The Teachers
Lake Oswego School District in Oregon cut 11 percent of it's special education teachers when costs became too high. Now they will pay lawyers instead? Who is minding the store?
Special ed creates funding crisis
5/30/2005 The Associated Press LINK PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The cost of educating children with disabilities is spiraling, forcing school districts to consider cutting programs for the state's most challenged students. Last month, the Lake Oswego School District cut 11 percent of its special education teachers - a decision which was greeted with disbelief by administrators of other districts, said Superintendent Bill Korach. "They're saying, 'Why in the world would you want to do this, because it's so difficult,' " Korach said of some other superintendents who called. Korach says he had no choice - he points out that while other programs had been slashed, the district's special education budget had grown by 47 percent over the last five years. The growing cost of educating Oregon's 71,000 special education students is a phenomenon worrying educators nationwide. "Special education has been squeezing out dollars from the general education program," said Russell Allen, the business director for the Greater Albany School District, where the cost of special education has grown at four times the pace of the rest of the district's budget. That analysis worries Allan Solares, a Lake Oswego father to two disabled children, who fears that the public will begin to pit the needs of special education students against general students. "It'd be very concerning if parents of general ed kids began to view special ed as taking away from them," Solares said. In the past five years in Oregon, the number of special education students has grown four times faster than the general student population. The surge in cost of special education has been especially dramatic in the Portland-area: The North Clackamas School District saw a 71 percent rise in their special education budget over the last five years, while Centennial experienced a 95 percent jump during the same timeframe. In spite of the growing burden, many districts have viewed special education programs as off-bounds - in part because of the fear of litigation. "It's very, very common for districts to get sued," said Gene Evans, a spokesman with the Oregon Department of Education. "You either spend your money on your program or you spend your money on attorneys to deal with the lawsuits." Oregon educators say it's time for a committee of lawmakers, school representatives and parents to study the issue of rising costs. "It's hard to get your arms around the answer of why," said Nancy Latini, the department's assistant superintendent for the Office of Student Learning and Partnerships. "But it's a very worthwhile question." Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonian.com |
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