Education
Millions spent on high-end routers for small, rural areas
“Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reporter Eric Eyre found that the state of West Virginia used $24 million in federal stimulus money to purchase more than a thousand “enterprise-class” Internet routers at $22,600 each even though the West Virginia Office of Technology warned that the routers were “grossly oversized. “The report states that the high-end routers were…
Read MoreNational tutoring program rampant with fraud
In a three-part series, the Star Tribune has found that a billion-dollar federal tutoring program is rife with fraud and mismanagement. The program, officially known as Supplemental Educational Services, is one of the lesser known and little scrutinized portions of No Child Left Behind. The investigation found that it has been lightly regulated by the…
Read MoreNJ school officials cheating the students
“An Asbury Park Press investigation has exposed how Lakewood, New Jersey school officials slashed the high school’s graduation rate to win a $6 million federal grant, lied to parents of special education students to save money, spend millions of dollars busing school children to religious and otherwise private schools, and showed how a lawyer made…
Read MoreSchool test scores raise questions across the nation
“Suspicious test scores in roughly 200 school districts resemble those that entangled Atlanta in the biggest cheating scandal in American history, an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows.” To learn how the reporters gathered information click here. “The newspaper analyzed test results for 69,000 public schools and found high concentrations of suspect math or reading…
Read MoreRural schools and communities lose billions in funding
An expired federal program aimed to benefit former logging communities means massive budget wholes for hundreds of schools and communities across the country, an investigation by California Watch found. The Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act provided nearly $3.8 billion for schools and roads in more than 700 counties in 42 states in the…
Read MoreHarassment allegations bring to light a larger problem
Beth Cooper of The Daily Helmsman reports that after following rumors of alleged sexual harassment at the University of Memphis’ Physical Plant department, larger problems within the administration arose. Freedom of Information requests show that administrators could not determine the validity or falsehood of the allegations or how to correct the situation, due to a…
Read MoreCA, a haven for diploma mills
“An investigation by The Bay Citizen has found that California is a haven for diploma mills and unaccredited schools. The paper found that the state has given approvals to hundreds of dubious programs and has not inspected some of these schools for decades.”
Read MoreCO teachers union receives millions in subsidies
“Taxpayers in Colorado’s largest school districts have spent more than $5.8 million during the past five years to subsidize the activities of local teachers unions. The expenses resulted from years of agreements that require tax money to pay for everything from full-time union leaders’ salaries and benefits to providing leave for some teachers to attend…
Read MoreCA vocational schools lack oversight
“An examination by Jennifer Gollan of The Bay Citizen found that over the last two years, the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education had not met many of its core responsibilities, like swiftly investigating complaints, monitoring the quality of educational programs and rooting out unlicensed schools. It found that the bureau has provided little enforcement…
Read MoreExam boards, teachers help students pass
Reporters for The Telegraph went undercover to reveal that exam boards are advising teachers on how to word questions and arrange exams so that students are more likely to obtain higher marks. “The advice appears to go far beyond the standard “guidance” and opens exam boards to accusations that they are undermining the purpose of…
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