Priority Schools FOIA Request
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On September 4, Delaware Governor Jack Markell and Secretary of Education Mark Murphy announced an initiative in front of the school pictured in the profile photo. Six "Priority Schools" in inner-city Wilmington were labeled failing.
With the labeling of these schools comes an opportunity for change: Each school will receive about $200,000 a year for four years. However, the stipulations and requirements originally set by the state left little room for flexibility. Many believe the state has its own agenda.
A group of active and engaged citizens has gotten together and began questioning the history and actions leading up to the September 4 press conference in front of Warner Elementary. There is a general consensus that the plans to identify and take action against these six schools was in the works well before the September 4 announcement.
Citizens have questions about who knew what and when. When were conversations had at the highest levels of our state government -- both in the Department of Education and the Governor's office? Teacher and union leader Mike Matthews and parent and education blogger Kevin Ohlandt have made several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests of the DoE and the Governor's office. However, these requests have the potential to be very costly, which is why we are hoping to see some success with this GoFundMe campaign.
The FOIA requests encompass all discussion related to Priority Schools dating back to March 2013. As well, a more thorough request on topics of education has been requested back to Gov. Markell's start time in January 2009 to see what exactly the agenda has been from the beginning.
It's the expectation that anything Kevin and I receive will be electronically stored and shared with the public for your scrutiny. In the end, many of us believe the DoE and governor have not been transparent about their plans or intentions. Our FOIA requests hope to remedy those concerns and we would be most grateful for any assistance you can provide.
This could be a lengthy process spread out over several weeks or a few months. Should we find we have raised too much money through this FOIA request, we will turn over the remaining monies to a Delaware charity.
With the labeling of these schools comes an opportunity for change: Each school will receive about $200,000 a year for four years. However, the stipulations and requirements originally set by the state left little room for flexibility. Many believe the state has its own agenda.
A group of active and engaged citizens has gotten together and began questioning the history and actions leading up to the September 4 press conference in front of Warner Elementary. There is a general consensus that the plans to identify and take action against these six schools was in the works well before the September 4 announcement.
Citizens have questions about who knew what and when. When were conversations had at the highest levels of our state government -- both in the Department of Education and the Governor's office? Teacher and union leader Mike Matthews and parent and education blogger Kevin Ohlandt have made several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests of the DoE and the Governor's office. However, these requests have the potential to be very costly, which is why we are hoping to see some success with this GoFundMe campaign.
The FOIA requests encompass all discussion related to Priority Schools dating back to March 2013. As well, a more thorough request on topics of education has been requested back to Gov. Markell's start time in January 2009 to see what exactly the agenda has been from the beginning.
It's the expectation that anything Kevin and I receive will be electronically stored and shared with the public for your scrutiny. In the end, many of us believe the DoE and governor have not been transparent about their plans or intentions. Our FOIA requests hope to remedy those concerns and we would be most grateful for any assistance you can provide.
This could be a lengthy process spread out over several weeks or a few months. Should we find we have raised too much money through this FOIA request, we will turn over the remaining monies to a Delaware charity.
Organizer
Mike Matthews
Organizer
Wilmington, DE
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