3/1/07 Media Release

 

City school Watchdog Kicks off Project Sunshine, Raises Compliance questions of Outgoing Superintendent-of-the-Year

  

ROCHESTER, NY 3/1/07 – The Rochester Fund for Educational Accountability, a fledgling education watchdog group, has announced an outreach program aimed at improving accountability in the Rochester City School District through educating Rochester parents and taxpayers on their rights to information. The group will kick off Project Sunshine during Sunshine Week 2007 with a public forum with guest speaker Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the NYS Committee on Open Government. The public forum, “Parent Power—Sunshine in our Schools” will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday March 15 at the Downtown Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY.

 

Project Sunshine was born out of a frustration with the public records access and information sharing practices of the Rochester City School District. The Rochester Fund’s work to educate the community on district accountability and spending had come to a virtual standstill because district officials have refused to disclose public information requested by the organization through the Freedom of Information Law.

 

“In many respects, we’ve encountered the same stone wall that any parent or community member does when they dare to ask critical questions of the district,” says Carrie Remis, president of the Rochester Fund for Educational Accountability. “We believe the district’s control of information is not in the public interest, is not in compliance with NYS sunshine laws or the No Child Left Behind Act, and is perhaps the greatest barrier to sustainable reform in this district.”

 

Among the documents requested by the Rochester Fund but not disclosed are key NYS Education Department accountability plans and reports pertaining to over $36.9 million in annual state and federal funds; parent involvement program benchmarks, surveys and annual reports; and the resumes of staff serving on Superintendent Manuel Rivera’s cabinet.

 

The district’s decision to suppress this information comes as outgoing Superintendent Manual Rivera prepares the 2007-08 district budget, his last task before leaving for Albany to join Governor Spitzer’s cabinet as czar of education and accountability.

 

“We refuse to be intimidated by the district,” adds co-founder Valerie Johnson. “Rochester has among the highest per pupil spending and the worst student outcomes in this country. We can’t afford to lose another child. The public has a right to question how effectively the district spends its $500 million budget—especially at budget time.”

 

Rather than taking the district to court over its suppression of information, the Rochester Fund decided on a grassroots approach of building public awareness of the transparency problems in the district. Inspired by the late Justice Brandeis’ now famous words, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Project Sunshine aims to give parents and taxpayers the skills and knowledge to hold their schools accountable and participate in school improvement.

 

“Quite simply, accountability is transparency,” comments Remis. “We hope Project Sunshine will send the very clear message to the next administration that this community will no longer tolerate empty rhetoric about accountability and community partnership.”

 

Typical of the group’s commitment to collaboration, Project Sunshine involves members of the Rochester community and experts at the local, state and national levels. Groups or individuals interested in participating in the project should contact the Rochester Fund at 585-350-8306 or by email at roc_fund@rochester.rr.com.

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© 2007-09 Rochester Fund for Educational Accountability.