The U.S. Department of Education has faced criticism in recent weeks
for using tax dollars to pay conservative commentator Armstrong
Williams $240,000 to put a positive spin on the No Child Left Behind
Act.
The Department of Education also has paid a public relations firm to
rate the reporting of education writers on the No Child Left Behind
Act so those with low scores could be targeted for "more education
about the issue."
The Government Accountability Office has sent a letter to the
Education Department asking for all materials related to its contract
with Williams.
Federal law bans the use of public money on propaganda without
explicit congressional approval.
From The Palm Beach Post, 2/2/05:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/02/02/m1a_FSUCENTER_0202.html
FSU center spent public money to tout feds' policies
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
A Florida State University center has used more than a half-million in
education tax dollars to put a positive spin on President Bush's key
school policies, including hiring a public relations firm to teach
charter schools to be more media-savvy.
Despite conflicting studies on the success of charter schools and
other alternative education programs, the School Choice Center at FSU
touts them as ways to "increase student achievement, increase parental
involvement, promote school improvement through constructive
competition, and accomplish racial and ethnic diversity."
In recent weeks, federal agencies have acknowledged using tax dollars
to pay columnists to push Bush policies, including the No Child Left
Behind Act.
Critics argue that using public money for media campaigns could be
considered illegal.
Since 2003, taxpayers have given the center $627,567 as part of a
5-year, $1.2 million federal grant made available through the No Child
Left Behind Act, which promotes school choice as a fix for failing
public schools.
The center's mission is to make parents aware of all choice programs,
including traditional magnet schools, expand the number of choice
schools in the state, and help them "work the media" -- as was written
in one of the PR firm's pamphlets.
But links on the center's Web site are almost entirely to studies and
articles from conservative groups and strong school-choice proponents
such as the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Center for
Education Reform and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
For example, a link to private-school voucher articles includes nine
entries that provide positive news on the voucher movement, but no
mention of the problems in Florida's three programs that have allowed
hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to be misused or stolen.
Another link on charter schools includes a Manhattan Institute study
showing some academic success from charters, but nothing on how 12.5
percent of Florida's charter schools were given F grades last year,
compared with 1.3 percent of the traditional public schools.
The center also hired a Tallahassee public relations firm, Moore
Consulting Group Inc., to help charter schools and private schools
sell their product.
______________________________________________________________
Where will it end?
Harry
.
|
