The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Helping the Gulf Coast, tag isn't it, and some not-so-funny money.

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GOOD

Helping the Gulf Coast

One year after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Department of Education's Furniture for Schools project has delivered some 10,000 pieces of furniture and equipment totaling more than $3.8 million to schools in Mississippi and Louisiana...

North Fork Bank will be setting up shop in Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, New York, this fall. The bank will be run by students in a banking and finance class at the Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology...

Brevard Public Schools in Viera, Florida, recently published a four-point manifesto on how to bring technology to those in their community who do not have access. Among the answers: expand the use of technology at various community centers; improve the access of technology already available; have students build their own computers; and broaden partnerships with local businesses.

BAD
Outsourcing janitorial, food service, and busing jobs caused a fracas across Michigan school districts. Opponents have called for the recall of Garden City school board members who voted to outsource jobs-saving $2 million a year-but at the expense of 33 district jobs. The attempt to recall the board members has thus far been unsuccessful...

USA Today compiled a list of districts that are restricting what kids can do at recess this fall. Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Spokane, Washington, banned tag. A suburban Charleston, South Carolina, school doesn't allow contact sports such as soccer and touch football because children suffered broken arms and dislocated fingers. Similar policies are found in Wichita, Kansas; San Jose, California; Beaverton, Oregon; and Rancho Santa Fe, California.

UGLY
Money charged on Dallas Independent School District credit cards a year: $20 million. Not having to show receipts? Priceless. An investigation by the Dallas Morning News discovered thousands of dubious purchases on the 1,200 credit cards distributed throughout the district. While most of the 150,080 purchases logged from January 2004 to March 2006 appeared legitimate, more than a few were not. Among the swag: a $200 blanket and pillow set from the Land of Nod, $1,700 for electric scooters, $200 for moisturizer from Bath and Body Works, and a $24.95 charge to Americansingles.com, an online dating service...

Former Camden (NJ) Schools Superintendent Annette D. Knox has agreed to repay a $199,000 settlement if convicted of a crime. Knox's resignation and the state probe followed a series of disclosures by the Philadelphia Inquirer, including that she had paid herself $17,690 in bonuses without the board's knowledge or approval.

New Ideas for NOLA
Big Easy schools still have big problems.

All Eyes on Cohn
Superintendent Cohn tries to replicate his Long Beach successes, in San Diego.

It's Getting Easy to Be Green
A recent white paper from the National Association of Independent Schools details how schools can reduce their carbon footprint. Here are the top ten tips.