REVERSE CHRONOLOGY OF SAFETY STORIES:
One room Amish
school in Lancaster County, PA
tragedy, and increased security in Connecticut as a result...which did
not protect Sandy Hook
Elementary; demolition, return to the earth here.
Virginia Tech link...and a similarity we noticed; from across
the pond, story of Omaha mall event. Remember
Bernadine Dorne and Bill Ayers, the "Weathermen?" A blast from the past, as it were...opening the
door for Charter
School debate once again? In CT 2012-2013, yup! Bushmaster used ten years ago by "D.C. Sniper." Quick on the draw, new taskforce springs into action...Weston
salutes. "Mass" gun deaths
since 1949.
Thorny issues at
schools: Safety for
elementary, high,
colleges, graduate education
and in society at large, in
the 21st century:
No Child Left Behind...for
long...
Ken Dixon: Anything can
happen in session's waning days
CT POST
Published 05:25 p.m., Friday, April 27, 2012
Continuing our stroll through the foibles and machinations of what is
called -- with a straight face -- the "legislative process," there's 10
days left before the 151 House members and 36 senators ride home in
their pumpkin carriages like so many Cinderellas, weaving along
Interstates 91 and 84.
The anxious expressions of lobbyists are getting slightly more furrowed
as the bills they want to kill quietly breathe in some dark corners of
the Senate or House calendar; or the bills they're advocating get
referred to yet another committee where they might prove that the Earth
is indeed flat, as they drop off into oblivion through acts of, what I
termed last week, legis-cide.
Democrats and Republicans from the same towns who have barely spoken
since February now find themselves allied to somehow reviving the
corpses of legislation, in political Heimlich maneuvers.
Freshman lawmakers, who thought it was such a big deal to see
themselves on CTN, the taxpayer-funded propaganda arm of the
Legislature, last year, are now wondering whether it has been worth
their measly $30,000 salaries, the long drives to Hartford, the vacuous
2 a.m. floor debates.
They are also calculating whether -- for all the hours they put in --
their "part-time" legislative jobs would benefit from the increase in
the minimum wage that is hanging fire in the Senate, as certain other
lawmakers decide how it may affect their holdings in fast-food chains.
Don't worry, your salary is reviewed by the Commission on Compensation
for Elected State Officials and Judges, so the minimum wage doesn't
have anything to do with it.
The Legislature is as likely to vote pay hikes in an election year as
the State Commission on Capitol Preservation and Restoration has in
finding the $400,000 needed to put the bronze statue of "The Genius of
Connecticut" that looks so great in the Capitol rotunda, up on top of
the dome where its predecessor, melted down for the munitions effort of
World War II, stood until the Hurricane of 1938.
Speaking of "The Genius," the biggest question mark in the waning days
of the session is Senate Bill 24, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's go-for-broke
education-reform bill. "We have shown flexibility," Malloy told
reporters with a straight face on Friday.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from the suburbs -- with good public schools and
higher percentages of involved parents -- and troubled cities, where
the achievement gap dwells and festers, are divided over the proposed
evaluations and tenure reforms.
Under the dome, in the vaulted, if not vaunted, chambers of the House
and Senate, business will be moving fast and furious until midnight May
9. Or, if minority Republicans can manage it, time will progress at its
traditional speed, but the legislative process will glaciate.
This is the morphing time, when a bill about one subject, say, coastal
management, becomes something else entirely. One such bill is now a
"vehicle," with the ability to change into something else again if
lawmakers such as Rep. Dick Roy, D-Milford, co-chairman of the
Environment Committee, need a shell toward the end of the session.
It can be called on the House floor and Roy could offer a "strike-all"
amendment and turn it into anything vaguely related to the environment,
from the tides, to the movement of sand, the flight of seagulls, or the
fate of the oysters off Westport's Saugatuck Shores.
A related Senate bill, which would force towns and cities to
essentially pay landowners along the coast for the value of their
properties if they lose houses to two major storms in consecutive years
and find building plans rejected by local zoning panels, is still
alive. But with its threat as yet another "unfunded mandate," it has as
much chance at becoming law as you, miffed taxpayer, have in winning
the Mega Millions drawing.
A bill that would allow local officials to cut down on the number of
polling places for political primaries to save money had a section that
would allow anonymous people to complain and have the votes held at the
usual sites. This was jettisoned in a bill that passed the Senate on
Friday and was rewritten to require candidates to sign such complaints
in letters to the secretary of the state, who would keep their
identities secret.
Too bad. I would have loved a bill allowing people to cut out letters
from magazines, like bad ransom notes, and send them in, thus
anonymously costing cities tens of thousands of dollars on primary days
like last week's, when a whopping 14.4 percent of Republicans cast
votes.
The Stamford-Greenwich contingent is worried about the bill requiring
smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors to be put in all homes, including
those under construction where people are living. It's the result of
the multi-fatal fire in the Shippan section of Stamford last Christmas,
where three kids and two grandparents tragically, horribly died.
Veteran Rep. Livvy Floren, R-Greenwich, said the other day that the
rewritten bill on the House calendar is a good example of bipartisan
legislative cooperation. Under the bill that recently passed committee
and awaits action in the House, it would have required detectors
outside each bedroom.
"You don't exactly need that in a ranch-style house," Floren said in an
interview.
And while the original bill had fines associated with not using
detectors, the current piece is "enabling" legislation, because fire
departments aren't going to go around inspecting private homes for
smoke detectors.
It's the time of the session for deals and dealing, for eagle-eyed
committee chairmen and staffers to watch for threatening amendments.
May 10 will coincide with the arrival of the real spring in the Capitol.
NO CHILD OR UNION LEFT
BEHIND, MR. SECRETARY? Who
elses' contracts voided after teachers'?
"Let the sun shine in" was not just a
song from "Hair" but
the purpose of a government agency once independent.
State intervention: Coming to a school near
you? (See green list)
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT MIRROR
June 15, 2012
Connecticut's education commissioner will announce as early as next
week which low-performing schools the state will likely intervene in
during the 2012-2013 school year. As many as nine superintendents
have
offered up their schools for state intervention.
"We are considering how severe the problem is at the given school when
making these decisions," Stefan Pryor said Friday during an interview.
A Freedom of Information request to review the letters of interest from
the superintendents went unanswered. Instead, during an interview
Friday, Pryor listed the nine districts whose superintendents are
seeking to join the commissioner's network for the coming school year
or the following year. Pryor declined to list specific schools.
Another 122 schools are eligible for state intervention because
specific groups of students, such as black or Hispanic, are
significantly underperforming on standardized tests or their graduation
rates are low. No charter schools were included in the list of eligible
schools provided by the State Department of Education, but Pryor said
he is willing to consider them.
"We need to increase the level of intervention at a couple of our
schools," New London Superintendent Nicholas Fischer said.
The New London school district may have to lay off as many as 68
members, including many teachers, of its 427-person staff in the next
school year. Becoming a member of the so-called Commissioner's
Network
"will make resources available to us," Fischer said. "We want to expand
the school day, but to do that, you need money to pay teachers more."
Legislators have allocated $7.5 million to the state education
department these interventions next year. Pryor has the authority
to
intervene in up to 25 schools for the 2012-13 school year, but said he
intends to intervene in only a "limited number." The remainder of the
interventions will take place during the following two school years, he
said. He plans to ask the legislature for more money to do that.
While
superintendents and school boards in the state's 30 lowest-performing
districts have overwhelmingly supported state oversight, union leaders
have been apprehensive.
When designated a Network School, a teacher union's ability to bargain
can be significantly restricted if the commissioner and local
board-appointed members of a "turn-around committee" cannot agree on a
plan. Instead, for the first time, a new state law provides for a
single arbitrator to "give the highest priority to the educational
interests" when settling a dispute of what to include in a school's
turnaround plan.
Pryor said that in the first round of state interventions, in "most
cases, it will be unlikely" that an agreement will not be reached. By
law, Pryor can reject a proposed turn-around plan and send it to the
arbitrator.
"That may be required in one case. We are considering that
possibility," he said.
Fischer said he doesn't suspect that will be necessary in New London.
"The union works with us very cooperatively... But we haven't reached
out yet" about a New London school becoming a Commissioner's Network
School, he said.
Regardless of which schools the commissioner taps, every district is
required to create a plan for their worst-off schools. This is required
of schools because the state has won a waiver to the federal No Child
Left Behind law. If the commissioner approves the individual
school's
plans, local district officials will be able to direct their portion of
$17 million in federal funding to their new initiative. There is also
$39.5 million in additional state funding for the worst-off districts
and their lowest-performing schools.
"It is so important that we are
deploying multiple strategies," Pryor said.
Nine School
Districts Ask To Start Turnaround Plans Early
The
Hartford Courant
By VANESSA DE LA TORRE,
vdelatorre@courant.com
7:46 PM EDT, June 15, 2012
Nine Connecticut school systems have expressed interest in joining the
$7.5 million Commissioner's Network, tentatively offering to implement
turnaround plans for their lowest-performing schools in the coming
months, state Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor said Friday.
The districts in contact with the state are Hartford, Bridgeport,
Danbury, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Norwich and
Waterbury, said Pryor, who declined to name any specific schools under
consideration.
The application process is ongoing, and Pryor said the state will
extend a preliminary round of invitations in the next two weeks. By
mid-July, he said, a few districts will be asked to work on turnaround
plans that must be approved by the state and implemented in time for
the first day of school.
State education department spokesman Jim Polites said discussions with
the nine school districts include the possibility that some of them
would begin the aggressive reform work in 2013-14 instead of next
school year.
Pryor estimated that only "a small number" would be chosen for the
first group of 2012-13 network schools and anticipated that some of the
initial volunteers would withdraw on their own.
"It's admittedly challenging... The ramp-up is so rapid. It's very
understandable that most districts, whether they've expressed interest
or not at this point," will want a year to plan, Pryor said.
Connecticut's new education reform package calls for state intervention
in about 25 struggling schools that will be picked for the
Commissioner's Network over the next three years. No more than two
schools can be chosen from one district in a single year, according to
the bill, and the selected schools must commit to at least three years
of intensive "turnaround" strategies.
In Hartford, for example, school officials are pushing for the Jumoke
Academy charter organization to essentially run the Milner Core
Knowledge Academy, a prekindergarten to grade 8 school that remains
mired in poor test scores after a 2008 district redesign. Most students
do not meet basic proficiency in reading.
Hartford administrators have scrambled to develop a turnaround plan
with Jumoke that they hope the state will accept for 2012-13.
Pryor noted Friday that the $7.5 million budgeted for the network next
fiscal year includes money for schools that would implement their
reform strategies in 2013-14 and are engaged in "planning activities."
Additional state money is available through a $39.5 million conditional
funding program for Connecticut's so-called Alliance Districts. The 30
lowest-performing school systems, from Ansonia to Meriden to Windsor
Locks, are eligible if they rank their schools in tiers and submit
detailed reform proposals for lifting achievement in 2012-13, such as
extended school days and early literacy programs, Pryor said.
The final deadline for those applications is Aug. 15.
The cost of lobbying education reform: millions
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT MIRROR
June 8, 2012
More than $3 million was spent lobbying both sides of Gov. Dannel P.
Malloy's education reform package during the 2012 legislative session.
And at least one good government organization is concerned that not
every lobbying group is required by law to report the sources of the
money.
Active groups this year included teachers' unions fighting the
governor's education package and national and state education reform
groups, which supported the governor's proposals. The legislature
approved a modified package that, among other changes, transformed how
teachers get tenure.
Figures filed with the Office of State Ethics include only the amount
-- $2.9 million -- spent through April. But next week, the groups are
required to file records of what they spent in May. The final day of
the legislative session was May 9, and that figure is sure to go up.
According to records, television and radio advertisements, the rallies
at the Capitol and 22 lobbyists cost the unions $1.4 million. Most of
that was spent by the state's largest teachers organization, the
Connecticut Education Association.
In previous years, a media blitz and the cost to bus hundreds of
teachers to the state Capitol to protest may have been all that was
needed to defeat an ambitious governor's bill.
But this year education advocacy groups overwhelmingly lined up behind
Malloy's plan with their bank accounts as a counterweight to the
union's political muscle. The advocacy groups' filings show that
collectively, they spent about $57,000 more than the unions' total.
A review of spending reports by the Mirror shows this is the first time
that union spending was matched by education advocacy groups since the
state began requiring reporting four years ago, in the wake of the Gov.
John Rowland ethics scandal.
"We are providing an equal balance to the equation," said Michelle
Rhee, one of the biggest names in the national education reform
movement and founder of Students First.
"If you look at what the unions did in Connecticut, they spent millions
of dollars attacking the governor... They definitely invest a lot to
try and make their voices heard. What's important is that they are not
the only voice heard," she said.
Students First spent $670,000 during this legislative session backing
the governor's reforms. ConnCAN and ConnAd -- groups that share an
address and directors -- spent another $650,000 supporting Malloy's
initiatives. Two business-backed groups -- the Connecticut Council for
Education Reform and Connecticut Business and Industry Association --
spent more than $100,000.
"The Connecticut Education Association made it very clear they were
prepared to spend millions to defend the existing system. It becomes
very dangerous if we only have the teachers' unions having a say," said
Patrick Riccards, the leader of both ConnCAN and ConnAd.
"It was helpful to have the backing of multiple engaged groups," Stefan
Pryor, the governor's education commissioner, said after a state board
meeting this week where several of the administration's reforms began
being implemented. "I believe our bill benefited from multiple
stakeholders."
Union leaders, however, wish many of these groups would just butt out.
"These other voices aren't Connecticut voters," said Mary Loftus
Levine, the leader of the state's largest teachers' union. "You don't
know who these people are and where their funding is coming from...
Democracy is at risk."
Criticism surrounding the motives of these groups, and uncertainty over
who bankrolled them, became a theme for union leaders. A television
advertisement that the CEA spent thousands of dollars airing says
Malloy's plans are nothing more than, "unproven ideas backed by special
interests."
Where does the money come from?
State law requires any group that spends money during a campaign to
promote a candidate disclose where the money is coming from.
"The state has a compelling interest to know who's speaking for these
candidates. It tells you if someone is in the pocket of a certain
interest," said Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, co-chairwoman of the
legislature's Government Administration and Elections Committee. "That
said, if it's not electioneering, then it is protected, unregulated
speech."
Translation: Groups that spend $1.4 million airing commercials and
lobbying legislators for education reform do not have to disclose who
is bankrolling their operation.
Of the state's 1,000 registered groups that lobby in the state, only 27
are required to disclose their funding sources, according to the Office
of State Ethics. Groups are required by state law to identify
contributions over $1,000 if a group spends more than 20 percent of
their time lobbying lawmakers.
So, details of where groups like ConnAd and StudentsFirst received
their money to advertise in Connecticut were largely left up to
conjecture and an outlier news report.
An aide to New York City Mayor Bloomberg told a Reuters reporter last
month that the mayor helped finance Students First's reform efforts in
Connecticut. His office did not respond to requests for comment from
the Mirror.
Rhee, who has been in general reluctant in other states to disclose
where her group's funding comes from, said the source of the donations
are unimportant.
"We are a membership organization. We don't get active in states unless
our members are driving that... The vast majority of our donors are our
members," she said. "We are an organic and grass-roots organization.
And that's whose driving the actions."
ConnAd, which spent $500,000 on advertising in Connecticut this last
legislative session, is not required to disclose its funding because it
reported that it does not primarily lobby.
This new reality -- that groups are spending huge sums of money and not
revealing the sources of the funding -- is concerning to Karen Hobert
Flynn, Common Cause's director for state operations and a Connecticut
native.
"I would think there's a compelling government interest to find about
who's spending this $1 million," said Flynn. "When you see a lot of new
groups showing up and spending a lot of money, you should want to know
where it's coming from."
This legislative session -- which Malloy dedicated to education reform
-- saw not only an influx of new spending but also an increase of a
handful of new advocacy groups, all which backed his initiatives.
None were on the list State Ethics provided that requires funding
disclosure. Their tax records won't help either, because many of these
organizations are nonprofit social advocacy groups -- also known as a
501(c)4 -- and are not required to disclose the sources of their money
publicly.
Next door in New York this week, the New York Times reported for the
first time that one of the state's largest lobbying groups gets its
funding from gambling companies. This same group spent millions on
campaign-style advertising in 2011 for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is
pushing for casinos to open in New York.
Flynn said disclosure is the solution to avoid conflicts nationwide.
"It's an emerging problem. No one knows who they are or where they get
their money from," she said of these 501(c)4 groups.
On the other hand, Pennsylvania requires disclosure when funding hits a
certain threshold. That state required Rhee to disclose who was
spearheading her group's efforts there. New York has a new law that
began June 1 that requires disclosure when a group receives more than
$5,000 and if it represents more than 3 percent of the group's overall
budget.
But these states are the exception, not the rule, said Flynn, noting
Congress has been reluctant to require this.
Riccards, the executive director of ConnAd, said having outsiders
funding these reform efforts might not be such a bad thing.
"It would be foolish not to look outside for help," he said, insistent
that his group "does not receive a dime from charter schools." His
groups do advocate for charter school expansion as well as other reform
initiatives like limiting collective bargaining.
"No one has had more of a say then have the teachers' unions... We need
a change. The more voices we have in Connecticut, the better."
And it seems as those these new voices are here to stay. Rhee said
Students First is not going anywhere.
"Reforms don't happen overnight. This is a long haul," she said.
A recent poll of 500 likely voters that her group commissioned reports
that voters don't think the new law went far enough. She plans to lobby
the lingering issues during the next several years.
Asked if her organization plans to campaign for certain legislative
seats in Connecticut in the coming election, Rhee said she considering
it.
"It's very interesting to us. But we haven't made any decisions yet,"
she said.
10 School Districts Chosen To Shape
Teacher Evaluation System
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Natalie Missakian
Jun 5, 2012 5:30am
Calling it another step to “fix what’s broken in our public
schools,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday announced which school
districts will test out a much-debated plan to grade teacher
performance that will soon be mandatory for every teacher in the state.
A total of 10 applicants – both individual school districts and
consortia of districts –were chosen to pilot the new teacher and
principal evaluation system under the state’s recently passed education
reform package.
Districts in the pilot are: Bethany, Orange and Woodbridge; Branford;
Bridgeport; Capitol Region Education Council (CREC); Columbia,
Eastford, Franklin and Sterling; Litchfield and Region 6; Norwalk;
Waterford; Windham; and Windsor.
What happens in those districts in the coming school year will be
closely watched, since their successes and failures will help shape a
new statewide evaluation plan starting in the fall of 2013.
Those ratings will eventually be used to determine if teachers get
tenure under the new state law. Teachers judged “inefficient” will get
additional support but can be fired if they fail to improve.
“The fact is that many of our state’s schools and most of our teachers
are doing a tremendous job,” Malloy said in statement announcing the
pilot. “But without a fair and reliable evaluation system, teachers and
administrators are left with no clear indicators of where they are
succeeding and where they should improve.”
The announcement comes as a state panel continues under a looming
deadline to hammer out the new evaluation guidelines, which the State
Board of Education must approve by July 1.
The Performance Evaluation Advisory Council was still debating the
biggest sticking point until last Thursday, when the group finally
reached consensus on how much weight standardized test scores should
carry in the teacher ratings.
The framework approved by the panel in January called for 45 percent of
a teacher’s grade to be based on evidence of student achievement. But a
battle erupted last month over how much of that would be based on test
scores.
The panel agreed test scores would make up half – or 22.5 percent of
the student achievement portion – but the dispute centered on what
could be included in the remaining 22.5 percent. The panel
specified
that 22.5 percent should be based on “other indicators” of student
achievement, such as portfolios of students’ work.
Committee members representing school boards and administrators
suggested schools should be able to choose to include additional tests
as one of the “other indicators.” Leaders of the state’s two teacher
unions strongly objected, saying that’s not what the panel approved.
“Why did we say 22.5 percent would be state tests?” panel member Mary
Loftus Levine, executive director of the Connecticut Education
Association, asked during a meeting Thursday. “If we meant for state
tests to be in both (groups) then we would have just said 45 percent
would be student tests and other indicators.”
The compromise reached last week – proposed by state Education
Commissioner Stefan Pryor – allows a maximum of one additional
standardized test and a minimum of one indicator that is not a test in
the disputed 22.5 percent. The mix would be determined by mutual
consent between the teacher and evaluator.
Some members of the panel – including Loftus Levine and Connecticut
Association of Public School Superintendents Executive Director Joseph
Cirasuolo – disagreed with the consensus for different reasons but said
they would not block it.
“We don’t agree but we can live with it,” Cirasuolo said.
Loftus Levine worried the compromise would result in evaluations that
rely too much on tests. She said it is “a lot more work” to use other
indicators such as behavior, attendance and portfolios of students’
work than to look at a test score but it gives a truer picture of a
teacher’s abilities.
“I don’t think we should take the easy way out here,” she said.
Cirasuolo wanted to give the pilot districts more leeway to come up
with their own formulas.
“I think you need to just let folks go out and set those learning
objectives teacher by teacher, school by school, district by district
and let’s see what happens,” he said. “If we don’t like what happens,
we can always adjust.”
In addition to student performance measures, the evaluation framework
calls for 40 percent of a teacher’s grade to come from classroom
observations, and the rest from student, parent and peer feedback.
Pryor said he was looking for a diversity of approaches in the pilot
districts but the state also needs to give direction about the panel’s
preferences. He said a key purpose of the pilot is find out what works
best so it can be included when the model is rolled out statewide.
The University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education has been
tapped to study the pilot and report to state lawmakers by October 2013.
Uncertainty over how the new evaluations will play out didn’t stop
dozens of districts from applying to take part in the test run.
The State Department of Education received 36 applications for the
pilot, and not just from struggling urban districts. Several of the
state’s high-performing suburban districts applied, as did some rural
districts and a charter school. In a letter inviting superintendents to
volunteer, Pryor said the goal was for the pilot to “represent the
state’s diverse regions and school systems.”
Districts were chosen based on size, geographical location, designation
as rural, suburban or urban, levels of academic performance and
socioeconomic and ethnic diversity.
Cirasuolo said districts were enticed by the opportunity for intense
state-funded training and the chance to try out the new system before
it becomes mandatory.
“You have a chance to have a shakedown cruise,” he said. “You get a
chance to try it out before it has any real consequences.”
Districts that applied but were not chosen included Portland, Cromwell,
New Hartford, Suffield, Plainville, Berlin, Odyssey Charter School ,
Watertown, Torrington, Monroe, Westbrook, Cheshire, Naugatuck,
Hebron,
Sterill, Region 8, Sprague, Colchester, Andover, Deep River, Chester,
Region 4, Essex and Norwich.
Guess what? We
weren't the only people thinking about this...
Teacher evaluation panel moves its work behind closed doors
CT MIRROR
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Keith M. Phaneuf
May 22, 2012
After a contentious public meeting last week on developing a new
teacher and principal evaluation system, the state Department of
Education has closed its meetings on the topic to the public and the
media.
Instead, a series of private "working group" meetings is scheduled to
take place in the weeks before the panel's June 30 deadline to create a
model process on evaluation under the new education reform law. The
next public meeting is not until June 21, nine days before the panel is
required to finish their work. The state Board of Education is expected
to sign off on the evaluations shortly after that.
Asked if these "working group" meetings will be open to the public,
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor last week referred all questions to
a State Department of Education spokesman, who declined to give
notification of these meetings nor copies of its minutes.
At its first public meeting in three months, members of the Performance
Evaluation Advisory Council last week butted heads on how much weight
students' standardized test results should have when their teachers are
evaluated.
The council had planned to reconvene Monday to begin to hash out a list
of issues raised during the meeting, including the standardized tests
issue and how many times teachers should be observed during the school
year.
The education department cancelled Monday's meeting, however, and
scheduled 10 private "working group" meetings instead, including one
this morning on principal evaluations. The other groups set to meet in
closed sessions this week include Implementation, Teacher Evaluation,
Pupil Services and Observation.
An education department spokesman failed to respond to numerous
requests for time, date and location of upcoming meetings. The Mirror
received a copy of those meeting dates from a panel member.
The section of the Connecticut General Statutes commonly referred to as
the Freedom of Information Act defines a meeting as "any hearing or
other proceeding of a public agency, any convening or assembly of a
quorum of a multimember public agency."
And though a meeting can include "any communication by or to a quorum
of a multimember public agency" both the Freedom of Information
Commission and state courts say the presence of a quorum isn't
essential for a meeting to have occurred.
In an August 1989 decision involving the East Hartford Emergency
Medical Services Commission, the state Appellate Court upheld the FOI
Commission's finding that a subcommittee of the commission met
illegally even though it involved less than a quorum of the full board.
"The plain language of General Statutes...[is that it] does not require
a quorum as a necessary precondition to any hearing or other proceeding
of a public agency," the appellate court wrote in its decision. "The
legislature did not define a meeting as any hearing or proceeding of a
quorum of a public agency."
A subcommittee can be engaged in a public proceeding under the law if
multiple members gather "to discuss or act upon a matter over which the
public agency has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power."
This is not the first round of closed "working group" meetings the
Department of Education has conducted in recent months. At the full
public meeting last week, each working group leader gave presentations
on decisions that already had been made.
The Mirror's requests for notification of these meetings and minutes
have gone unanswered. Neither did the education department inform the
Secretary of the State's Office of these meetings, as is required by
the state Freedom of Information law.
Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, co-chairman of the
legislature's Education Committee, said that while he can appreciate
the need for this group to meet privately, he also understands it is
bound by the state's FOI laws.
"There are times when it's hard to develop new models and reach
agreement with everyone in the world looking on," the West Hartford
Democrat said.
"If the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council has found that it needs
smaller groups to meet privately, and if that does not comply with the
Freedom of Information law, then they need to find a way to bring
themselves in conformance... They need to follow the law or come to us
and seek an exception."
Lawsuit: State Still Owes About $235,000 to Education Reform Consultants
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Christine Stuart | Mar 27, 2013 5:30am
Three education consulting firms sued the state this week claiming the
Department of Education failed to pay them in full for their work
helping the Malloy administration with its reform efforts in 2012.
Leeds Global Partners, the New York firm that helped reorganize the
Education Department “and create policies and procedures that promote
student achievement in Connecticut” says it has only been paid half of
the $200,000 it was promised by the state, according to the complaint.
Leeds Global Partners is a division of Leeds Equity Partners. According
to Leeds Global’s website, it “is an education services and advisory
firm.”
Jonathan Gyurko, one of Leeds Global’s co-founders, worked as director
of charter schools in the New York City Department of Education and was
intimately involved in negotiations between the Malloy administration
and the two teacher unions last year. The company’s relationship with
the state was controversial. In 2012, the Connecticut Post reported
that the company received its contract without going through the
bidding process. A whistleblower complaint was filed last April
questioning its contract with the state.
It’s unclear if the lawsuit filed this week is referencing the same
no-bid contract that went through the State Education Resource Center,
which claims to be a nonprofit set up to support local and regional
school boards. State auditors released a report in February in which
they said SERC is a state entity operating in a gray area without
“state agency requirements for transparency and accountability.”
The State Education Resource Center was not named as a defendant in any
of the three lawsuits.
One of the other two firms suing the state is Education First
Consulting, the Washington-based company that helped design the new
teacher evaluation system. Education First claims the state owes it
about $94,000.
“The State of Connecticut never questioned the quality or value of the
services provided by Education First that benefited the State of
Connecticut, students, educators, and schools,” the lawsuit states.
The Education Department has not rendered any payments to the group
since April 2012.
New Leaders Inc., a New York nonprofit in charge of developing the
principal evaluation for the Education Department, claims it is owed
more than $41,500 out of the $50,000 in services provided.
“New Leaders relied on the repeated assurances by the Department of
Education, including Project Team Manager Emily Bryne, that it would be
paid the full value of its work, and thus New Leaders continued to
provide services to the state of Connecticut through the Department of
Education through June 2012 on the basis of these assurances,” the
complaint states.
The three plaintiffs received permission from the state Claims
Commissioner to file a lawsuit earlier this month.
The Attorney General’s office will provide legal representation for the
state Department of Education.
“As is our responsibility, we represented the State Department of
Education before the Claims Commissioner and stipulated to suit in
state court,” Susan Kinsman, a spokeswoman for Attorney General George
Jepsen, said. “As a result, the vendors filed complaints in Superior
Court, and we are working towards a resolution between the state and
vendors. Because these are pending matters, we have no further comment
at this time.”
All three consulting firms are represented by James Sullivan of Howard,
Kohn, Sprague, and Fitzgerald in Hartford.
Questions
Remain About No-Bid
Consulting Contracts
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Michael Lee-Murphy | May 3, 2012 11:36am
Since becoming Connecticut’s Commissioner of Education this past fall,
Stefan Pryor has brought in high paid consultants with ties to the
charter school community to help craft Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s sweeping
education reform package.
Last week allegations surfaced that these contracts were hidden from
normal bidding procedures by the use of the State Education Resource
Center, a quasi-public agency that is primarily funded by the
Department of Education.
A whistleblower complaint filed last Friday by Tom Swan of the
Connecticut Citizen Action Group alleges that the contracts were
performed through SERC for the purposes of circumventing the state’s
contracting laws.
Pryor initially told the Connecticut Post that operating the contracts
through SERC was legal because the state agency was a nonprofit and
therefore didn’t have to follow state bidding procedures. Swan’s
complaint, however, claims that they are not registered as a 501(c)(3),
and haven’t filed the requisite reports with the Attorney General’s
office. A search for SERC on the site GuideStar.org returned no
results, and the center is not registered as a charity with the
Department of Consumer Protection.
Jim Polites, a Department of Education’s spokesperson, said that SERC
qualifies as a nonprofit because it operates under Rensselaer Hartford
Graduate Center Inc., a job training facility in Hartford. The SERC
website lists Rensselaer as its “fiscal agent.”
The complaint questions the status of SERC as a nonprofit and refers to
a previous legislative attempt in 2011 to “establish” SERC as a
501(c)(3)—the provision never became law.
Swan’s complaint, which the Malloy administration has dismissed as
“reckless” calls for the contracts to be terminated and the contractors
banned from working in Connecticut for five years.
“What it is starting to look like is that this administration is trying
to use SERC in a similar manner to how the Rowland administration used
[the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority],” Swan said.
The Malloy administration had no comment beyond what it told the
Connecticut Post last Friday when the governor’s chief legal counsel
said Swan’s allegation against the governor was “reckless” and “devoid
of any evidence.”
LEEDS EQUITY
According to emails obtained by Swan under the Freedom of Information
Act, the biggest of the contracts—$195,000—was for a consultant,
Jonathan Gyurko, senior vice president of Leeds Equity, an investment
group that specializes in the “knowledge industry,” according to its
website.
Leeds Equity was paid $195,000 for just under four months of work,
specifically to “assist in the development of a legislative strategy
and package.” The Leeds contract also shows that the firm “Will assist
in the analysis of collective bargaining agreements, within and outside
of Connecticut, and produce recommendations on how innovative
collective bargaining arrangements” can help the commissioner turn
around failing schools. Jan. 5 thru March 31.
The emails show that money for the contract was initially budgeted
through the Council of Chief State School Operators, a national
association of education commissioners, of which Pryor is a member. But
on January 19, William Cox of DSA Capital, emailed representatives of
Leeds Equity to tell them that the contract would instead go through
SERC, though the emails didn’t explain why.
Asked about the decision to change funding sources Polites offered the
following Wednesday in an emailed statement:
“In Connecticut, to assist Commissioner Pryor’s transition following
his appointment, CCSSO has provided expert assistance to the state
Department of Education (SDE) on topics such as organizational design
and the departmental transition. CCSSO was open to engaging others
regarding additional subjects. However, SERC was specifically created
by the General Assembly to assist the department in the provision of
programs and activities that promote educational equity and excellence.
The State Education Resource Center (SERC) is ideally situated to work
with SDE on ongoing priorities.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Cox did not respond to phone calls seeking
comment, and the DSA Capital website showed a screen saying that the
site is “under construction.”
Last year, Cox was paid $60,000 by the state of New Jersey to assemble
a team of consultants to assist in reform efforts there. Its contract
with Connecticut was not part of Swan’s Freedom of Information
complaint.
Peter Lyons, Leeds Equity’s Chief Financial Officer, said in an email
that the Department of Education had requested that all press inquiries
be directed to it.
Sharon Palmer, president of AFT Connecticut, said that she thought it
was haste in education reform efforts that led to the contracts being
signed.
“He wanted to get some consultants in right away,” she said, “so he
rammed in some no-bid contracts to get off and running quickly.”
Pryor, one of Malloy’s last appointments wasn’t hired until September
2011, just months before the start of the so-called ‘Education Session’.
“We certainly would not like to have that practice continue,
particularly as it goes to [the education reform bill],” Palmer said.
Asked if she expects anything to come of the whistleblower complaint,
she said “I hope so,” but stopped short of agreeing with the call for
the contractors to be banned from doing business in the state for five
years.
A spokesperson for SERC declined to comment for this article and
referred all questions to the Department of Education.
Education
reform hinges on contracts
Stamford ADVOCATE
Linda Conner Lambeck
Updated 11:24 p.m., Friday, April 27, 2012
HARTFORD -- The state's ability to alter contracts with teachers'
unions is a key stumbling block between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and
Democratic legislative leaders as they try to fashion a compromise
education reform package to narrow the nation's largest achievement gap.
Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said
Friday he is not convinced the General Assembly can legislate changes
in negotiated contracts that may be part of the effort to turn around
the state's worst-performing schools.
"That is a threshold question we need answered: whether you can force
open a contract," said Williams, speaking with reporters at the state
Capitol.
Williams said lawmakers are asking for legal clarification on the issue.
Part of Malloy's massive education reform proposal would allow the
state to intervene in the state's 25 lowest-performing schools. It also
gives the state commissioner of education broad new powers to have a
say in how those schools are staffed and run.
The governor's 163-page bill would not only target failing schools, but
also change the way teachers are trained and evaluated. It has run into
stiff opposition, as teachers around the state have rallied against
Malloy's plan. The outcry led to changes in the reform package. The
package that cleared the legislature's education committee calls for a
study on tenure reform and takes control out of the commissioners'
hands.
"I very much want to get to a bill I can support," Malloy said Friday.
"The education committee bill was not that. I would have vetoed that."
So far, talks between Malloy's staff and legislative leaders reportedly
are focusing on eliminating the commissioner's authority when
reconstituting a low-achieving school, eliminating the proposed
requirement that districts chip in for the cost of charter schools and
starting a pilot program in 10 districts on changes to teacher
evaluations.
Malloy said the state has to be able to demonstrate it can turn around
low-performing schools by instituting reform models that may require
changes in staff and staff working conditions. The state, through the
commissioner, also needs the ability to intervene in the absence of
those models, he said. Malloy added he does not object to a continued
role for unions in the process and insisted his tenure changes do not
have to wait.
He said he agrees with a publication released in January by the
Connecticut Education Association that called for the evaluation
process to be approved statutorily.
Williams said last year, when the governor sought concessions from
state employee unions to seal a state budget deficit, the legislature
couldn't force the reopening of contracts. The same holds true for
unexpired teacher contracts, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, appearing with
Williams on Friday, said many of the changes made in New Haven schools,
which many consider a model for the state's improvement efforts, came
about at contract renewal time and were negotiated, not forced on
teachers.
"In almost every other jurisdiction we have been able to find, the kind
of changes sought in the governor's bill were sought with the
cooperation and assent of the union in the form of a memorandum of
understanding, not in any sort of forcible way," said Williams.
Williams said he thinks the chances are still good that the governor
and legislature can come to an agreement on a reform package.
"We all share the same goal. We are searching for a solution that is
going to make a difference, not something that is part of the latest
education policy fashion or trend," he said. "We want to embrace reform
that works."
But with less than two weeks remaining in the session, the governor has
been reaching out individually to legislative delegations with the most
to lose if an education reform package he is willing to sign is not
approved by the General Assembly.
Thursday, he met behind closed doors with the Bridgeport delegation.
Sen. Edwin Gomes, D-Bridgeport, was in on the discussion, but said he
had nothing to say about the talks.
Rep. Auden Grogins, D-Bridgeport, a member of the education committee
that voted to change Malloy's bill, said the governor was able to
answer many questions during the session, but many issues are still
unresolved.
"There is still work to do," she said.
Grogins said she left the meeting hopeful that the reform that
ultimately occurs will benefit Bridgeport schools. She declined to
comment on the specifics.
WE
GOOGLED "LEEDS GLOBAL" AND GOT THIS PICTURE...
Education Reform in
Connecticut's cities learns from approach developed in perchance... Abu
Dhabi?
Education
chief defends consultant's role
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Published 07:19 p.m., Friday, April 20, 2012
HARTFORD -- State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor on Friday
defended the presence of a $195,000 consultant in the pending
discussions over education reform. Pryor said that the
consultant, despite concerns from a legislative leader and unionized
teachers, does not have a union-busting or school-privatization agenda.
During an interview in the Capitol, the first-year commissioner said
the consultant, Jonathan Gyurko of the New York-based Leeds Global
Partners, was funded by the nonprofit State Education Resource Center.
SERC receives part of its $15 million annual budget from the state
Department of Education and, according to state statutes, promotes
"educational equity and excellence."
An effort last year by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to turn it into a
tax-exempt organization failed in the General Assembly. Malloy and
Pryor say that since SERC is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization,
it does not have to abide by state purchasing and contracting rules
that require requests for bids.
Pryor said the $195,000 that was given to Leeds came from money the
Education Department allocated to SERC. Later Friday his agency could
not say how much funding it provides SERC annually. The contract
was written to run from January through March, but Pryor said that
Leeds' involvement has continued.
"That's in discussion," Pryor said, when asked how the consultants are
being paid now. He said he's not sure whether SERC will continue to be
a funding source.
Another $60,000 contract was with a firm called Education First
Consulting of Seattle.
"The department has been preparing a set of policies and proposals for
a legislative session as well as a reorganization of the department
itself," Pryor said. "These are time-sensitive activities that require
support and capacity in order to carry them out."
Teacher unions and Rep. Andrew M. Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, said
this week that they are concerned that Leeds has an agenda to bypass
teacher contracts and public bidding procedures while possibly
promoting school privatization.
"I don't see the connection at all," Pryor said, adding that Gyurko's
work history includes several years as an aide to the national
president of the American Federation of Teachers. Gyurko referred
questions to Pryor's office.
"He has a long career of promoting pro-union policies, promoting public
education and I don't see how that connection can possibly be made,"
said Pryor.
"This is about reorganizing government, not privatization," Pryor said.
"I think the term `privatization' is being misapplied. The governor's
plan is not about privatization. It's about reforming the public
education system through a variety of mechanisms and policy proposals."
Meanwhile, Friday, legislative Republicans said they were helping make
progress on a compromise over Malloy's proposals that previously had
been taken out of legislation awaiting action on the Senate
calendar. The Education Committee eliminated Malloy's proposed
changes to teacher
tenure and evaluations. The governor says he won't sign a bill that
doesn't include those issues.
"We applaud Gov. Malloy for accepting our input and including our ideas
to ensure key reforms are included in the final legislation," said
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield.
Pressure mounts on Malloy to ease
tenure reforms
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Published 01:22 p.m., Sunday, March 18, 2012
As Gov. Dannel P. Malloy holds campaign-style meetings that have turned
into shouting matches with unionized school teachers, legislative
leaders are working behind closed doors to reach compromises on his
controversial teacher evaluation and tenure reform plans.
Malloy's proposed changes have been the focus of vigorous and emotional
public exchanges in a series of recent town hall meetings including
Thursday night in Bethel High School.
But when Janice Jordan, associate superintendent of the town's schools,
stood to tell Malloy of Bethel's specially tailored evaluation program,
the auditorium quieted and the governor seemed to soften, revealing
some room for deal making.
"How can we, first of all, preserve their dignity and their feelings?
Because right now, I don't like the contentious feelings," asked Jordan.
The Bethel evaluation system includes classroom visits, student
achievement and test scores in percentages that differ slightly from
Malloy's pending legislation.
"I don't think people are hearing you," Jordan told Malloy. "I don't
think they understand the bill that well and those who have really
studied it, I think they're not even willing to give you a chance to
talk about it. And what I'm saying is that you please do something and
somehow convey to the state of Connecticut and to its teachers that you
really expect them to believe that there is room for differentiated
teacher evaluation."
Malloy, who started the 90-minute meeting by pointing out that Bethel's
school district was a high-achieving system, had been the target of
several critical outbursts, including "liar" from the hundreds of
teachers from as far away as Danbury who packed the auditorium. After
listening to some of her evaluation criteria, Malloy asked Jordan for
help.
"I would love for you to share with me, when you have time, what your
process is," Malloy said. "If you actually asked all the teachers in a
school building to rate every teacher in the school building, you'd
probably have a 90 percent correspondence about who the best teachers
were, who the middle teachers were and who the teachers who need work
to be better are. And I think what you've done is find a way,
presumably, to find that out."
`UNDER CONSTRUCTION'
The vocal criticism from teachers in Bethel and earlier in the week in
New Haven, were part of the continuing backlash from Malloy's Feb. 8
budget address, in which he said that for teachers to earn tenure, "the
only thing you have to do is show up for four years."
The powerful Education Committee's deadline for action is March 28, so
communication about possible compromises has been intense among
Malloy's staff, state education officials, union leaders and lawmakers.
"They're reviewing the bill and negotiating between the committee
leaders and the stakeholders," said state Rep. Auden Grogins,
D-Bridgeport, a member of the Education Committee, on Friday.
State Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, who attended the meeting in
Bethel, predicted the governor's bill will have to change if it is to
survive scrutiny in the Senate and House.
"Frankly, I don't see the bill, as we're reading it now, passing,"
McLachlan said. "I think any good politician is going to listen to
ideas that they're not familiar with. This is one of those typical
pieces of legislation that's under construction, so to speak."
McLachlan said the response has been so vehement from teachers that he
wouldn't be surprised if tenure reform is dropped from the bill.
SEEKING COMMON GROUND
Sharon M. Palmer, president of the state's chapter of the American
Federation of Teachers, said she doesn't fault Malloy for presenting
the Legislature with an ambitious bill. Indeed, Malloy says in his
stump summations that his proposals on tenure and evaluation reforms
are similar to proposals sought by the teacher unions themselves in
recent years.
"This is not union pushback," Palmer said in a Friday interview. "It's
rank-and-file push back. We need ambitious goals, but it might be too
much to do well. However, there is a lot we agree on."
Palmer said she's been trying to communicate to the Malloy
administration that there is currently no statewide system of
evaluation. "It's like a table of contents for a book not written yet
and he keeps saying there is a system," Palmer said. "He needs to beef
that up."
Palmer said union officials and the governor are not that far away on
tenure revisions. "Once there is a good evaluation system in place, you
don't have to worry about tenure," she said, adding that a stumbling
block is the governor's attempt to shorten the arbitration process by
reducing the number of arbitrators from three to one.
"We like to have binding arbitration," Palmer said. "People don't
realize how easy it is to get rid of a teacher if you want to."
Under current law, after four years a district superintendent no longer
has the discretion to terminate teachers' contracts, and instead the
matter goes through a lengthy dismissal process of up to 120 days. All
sides agree that is too long.
Critics of tenure complain that far too often bad teachers are able to
hang onto their jobs. In late February, Hearst Connecticut Newspapers
reported that of the more than 53,000 public school educators in
Connecticut, about 40 with tenure were fired in the past two years.
Teachers and their advocates say those numbers are misleading, that bad
teachers are weeded out early in their careers and often counseled out
after they receive tenure.
Malloy's plan calls for teachers to have tenure renewed every five
years through a new evaluation process involving student and school
performance, teachers' observations and peer and parent feedback.
Sen. Antonietta Boucher, R-Wilton, ranking member of the Education
Committee, who was also at the Bethel meeting, said there's still time
to revise a bill that can pass the committee, then move on to the
Senate and House.
"The public is behind this," Boucher said. "The question is: Is the
governor going to stick to his guns given that he has really stuck out
there making very bold and popular statements? How far is he willing to
water it down? This is a very populist tune," she said.
"It's interesting," Boucher said. "Everyone is running around, getting
the lay of the land. Teachers think it's going to ruin their
profession. They don't lose their certification no matter how they
perform. They don't change collective bargaining. There's been lots of
miscommunication."
Michelle Rhee Praises
Malloy's Education Package
Teachers Union
Leader Questions Her 'Divisive Politics'
The Hartford Courant
By KATHLEEN MEGAN, kmegan@courant.com
1:34 PM EDT, March 14, 2012
Michelle Rhee, a former Washington D.C. schools chancellor and radical
education reform advocate, said today at noon in a phone interview that
she has come to Connecticut to support Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's
education reform package and to push for further reform.
Rhee, who plans to attend an education rally at the state Capitol today
at 3 p.m., said Malloy's proposal is "very strong on tenure reform and
ensuring that once the new evaluation system is in place, that the
granting of tenure will be based on effectiveness."
She said that the governor's reform proposal, which she called "a good
first step," would ensure that the most effective teachers get tenure
the fastest, while it would take longer for less proficient teachers to
do so.
Rhee said Malloy's proposal could be strengthened with "some clear
guidelines" about what happens to "minimally effective teachers" and
about how long they are allowed to take part in professional
development programs before they are terminated if they have not
improved enough.
She said that Malloy's plan for reform is the most aggressive she has
seen in states run by Democratic governors. She said that in general
Republican governors have been more aggressive on the topic.
Rhee said that her organization, StudentsFirst, which she said has
15,000 members in Connecticut, will open an office in Connecticut,
probably in Hartford. The organization also is launching a statewide
media campaign urging support for Malloy's reform package.
A press release from StudentsFirst said the advertising campaign is a
"six-figure television buy" that includes broadcast and cable ads in
the state's major markets.
The press release said that StudentsFirst also plans to push for
reforms that include notifying parents when their kids are in an
ineffective classroom and giving them the chance to change that
assignment. The organization also will support creating a stronger
"parent trigger" law — which would give parents the power to shut down
or reconstitute a failing school — and providing vouchers for poor
students in chronically low-performing schools.
In an e-mailed statement, Mary Loftus Levine, executive director of the
Connecticut Education Association, said: "Collaboration has been a
hallmark of reform efforts in Connecticut. In contrast, Michelle Rhee
is recognized for divisive politics as evidenced by her short-lived
tenure in Washington, D.C."
Levine added in her email: "Why should CT citizens want to import
outsiders like Rhee, when there are so many solid ideas for education
reform right here in our own state? Why did the Florida legislature
recently work in a bipartisan effort to reject Rhee's proposals? These
are the kinds of questions everyone who cares about public education
should consider as we work to ensure high-quality schools for all
students who need to compete in a global economy."
Finch
pleased with Vallas' education
plan
Linda Conner Lambeck, CT POST
Updated 11:35 p.m., Wednesday, March 7, 2012
BRIDGEPORT -- Interim School Superintendent Paul Vallas' five-year plan
to transform the district was hailed Wednesday as bold and long-overdue
by Mayor Bill Finch and others.
The plan, which calls for additional city and state resources, was
fleshed out Wednesday during a six-hour retreat at Sacred Heart
University. Under Vallas' plan, schools would get more control over
resources but will also have stricter oversight. The plan is expected
to be approved by the school board later this month.
Finch, who sat in for part of the presentation, said he believes if the
plan is followed, private and public resources will follow, regardless
of who is on the school board.
The existing board, appointed by the state, will give way to an elected
board under a state Supreme Court decision issued last week. The court
rejected the board replacement, which had the backing of the mayor.
"I think there is a chance for greater city dollars (and) private
dollars if we know what we are getting for it," said Finch.
He is convinced Vallas' plan will raise test scores.
Vallas' plan would call for a steep and steady increase in city funding
of the school district over the next five years, starting with about
$3.6 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year.
Finch also supports plans to create a Good Schools Bridgeport
Foundation, an independent group that would include city and school
board representation. The foundation would be used to fund reform
efforts in specific schools.
Paul Timpanelli, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council,
said the long-term plan to address budget issues will give the district
the stability necessary to attract private dollars to the district.
He called the plan terrific. "It's comprehensive, aggressive. I've seen
a lot of the details and I'm very pleased," he said. "I don't know
what's not to like."
He said he is pleased that many of the new initiatives are covered
using existing resources. The plan would cut the district's central
office staff by one-third and redeploy those resources to the schools.
It also seeks to reduce special education costs by educating the
students within the district instead of at private schools. That part
of the plan drew concern from both Jacqueline Kelleher and Hernan
Illingworth, members of the existing school board.
Kelleher said she doesn't want students moved to inappropriate
placements just to save money. Illingworth worried the plan would bring
lawsuits.
Vallas said no one is going to be forced back to the district, but he
questioned the effectiveness of the outside programs being used to
educate city students.
Kelleher said she supports plans that would better prepare students
before they get to high school and give them more choices once they get
there, noting that is something the board has wanted since August.
Illingworth said overall, the plan has potential.
"The high school plan, I love. I think students will receive it well,"
he said. "I think it is a great plan for kids."
Gary Peluchette, president of the Bridgeport Education Association and
a Winthrop School teacher, said he is reserving comment until he has
had time to digest the plan. He did hear that the plan calls for the
expansion of the district's small gifted and talented program. That, he
said he liked.
Vallas
calls for creating new high
schools, private foundation
Linda Conner Lambeck, CT POST
Updated 11:35 p.m., Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Interim Superintendent Paul Vallas' plan to put Bridgeport's schools on
solid financial footing also seeks ways to boost the district's
graduation rate and calls for the creation of a foundation that will
attract private money.
The multi-year plan was fleshed out during a six-hour Board of
Education retreat Wednesday at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.
Vallas, regarded as a prominent public education reformer, was hired by
the state-appointed school district in January. His task was to not
only balance the budget but to help the district, which produces some
of the worst test scores in the state, do a better job educating its
20,000 students. His effort continues even though the state Supreme
Court ruled last week that the district must return to an elected
board. It is unclear when that election will occur, and indications are
Vallas and the state-appointed board will remain in place for now.
His sweeping plan, the details of which only started to emerge this
week, calls for creating eight high schools on five campuses that have
a special emphasis. In addition to Central, Bassick and Harding, there
would be a "first responders" high school that focuses on police, fire
and military sciences, a Central Magnet school which would be three
science-related high schools built on a single campus, and a restart
high school for students who need to make up credits. High performing
students would be encouraged to take college courses while still in
high school. Other students would be offered job training
apprenticeships in area businesses and trades. The three new science
high schools would be autonomous and might be run by outside agencies
under the district's direction, Vallas said.
He is also calling for the creation of a "Good Schools Bridgeport
Foundation" that would raise money to help start new schools and school
improvement programs. Vallas said the mayor and school board would have
a say in the creation of the foundation, but that it would be run
independently. Vallas said he did something similar when he led the
Recovery District in New Orleans.
"The foundation would have its own fund-raising capacity and would be a
pipeline for resources the district couldn't otherwise access. My great
fear is there are great resources we are not taking advantage of. I
don't want to see those resources go by the wayside," said Vallas.
Board Chairman Robert Trefry promised a more extensive discussion on
the foundation, but said conceptually it made sense.
If it raises money for the district, board member David Norton said he
didn't see a downside.
Before the plan was introduced, Vallas' chief administrative officer,
Sandra Kase, assessed the schools, looking at instruction, curriculum,
how schools use test data and how they support at-risk students. Kase
and her education team interviewed principals, walked into classrooms
and observed what was going on in the halls.
Kase said she found that many schools were warm, welcoming and doing a
good job. But in other schools, she said students were not being
challenged, teachers were not following the district curriculum and
they were relying too heavily on textbooks.
One of her strongest criticisms was that too much instructional time
was wasted. Too many students, when a task was completed, didn't know
what they should do next, she said. Teachers should plan for that, Kase
said.
"If students are not engaged, the likelihood of them engaging in
disruptive behaviors increases," she said.
Most of what Kase saw can be fixed with the staff the district has now,
she said.
Vallas said what school personnel need is more focus, training and good
leadership.
"We feel really optimistic based on what we've seen that ... all of
these schools can improve," he said.
On the funding side, Vallas said his plan brings order and discipline
to the budget. He said it is not based on wishful thinking, but on what
he anticipates the state and city will give the school district.
Funding for its operating budget would increase from $215.8 million to
$226 million next year. If it does, Vallas said there would be no
layoffs through June 2013 but positions would be eliminated through
attrition. There are many instances, he said, where people in the
district have duplicate responsibilities.
The plan would cut central office staff by one-third and reduce the
number of school aides -- there are more than 400 in the district. To
compensate, he would increase the number of college interns the
district uses.
Schools would also get a small discretionary allocation next year, and
more autonomy as the budget grows and test scores improve.
"In the beginning, we will hold their hands," said Kase.
An oops moment
for reform
Bridgeport lawmakers wouldn't back
legislative 'fix'
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Updated 12:36 a.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012
On Saturday afternoon, five of the Bridgeport legislative delegation's
eight members gathered in a second-floor meeting room at the Burroughs
Community Center in Black Rock. They were there to talk with some 40
city teachers about tenure, educational reform and one other matter:
The takeover of the city school board by the state.
A day earlier, the legislators had received legal briefings at the
Capitol about the ramifications of a measure to overturn the state
Supreme Court's decision that the takeover had been legally flawed.
Now, with Mayor Bill Finch eager to push through a legislative remedy
to the ruling and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy willing to back him, the
legislators had a decision to make. Three members of the
delegation already backed the high court's ruling. Now, the group was
listening to the teachers.
"We felt as teachers we need a locally elected board," said Gary
Peluchette, president of the 1,500-member Bridgeport Education
Association, who had scheduled the meeting and brought some 40 teachers
to the session. "I'm glad they saw what we were trying to tell them. It
was a very good meeting. There was no rancor in the room. There was a
genuine conversation going on."
So after 90 minutes of give and take had ended, the five state
lawmakers lingered. And they knew what they wanted to do. Or in this
case, not do. They agreed they lacked a consensus, and thus wouldn't
try to push through emergency legislation that might legitimize last
summer's state takeover of the school board.
"Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to take into consideration
the options," said Rep. Andres Ayala Jr., who leads the city's
delegation. "We could not develop a consensus. Some did not want to
touch the court's decision."
Without the Bridgeport delegation squarely behind a legislative fix,
the leadership lost its appetite to push the measure. By early Monday
afternoon, Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan had pulled the
plug on quick legislative action, even as a bill validating the school
board takeover was among a list of 19 proposals at that moment getting
public hearings. Finch said in a statement, "We will continue
working with the governor and his staff, legislators and any others who
think as we do: that Bridgeport children deserve better and the new
school board is critically important to our children. We will continue
to press on."
The mayor was the protagonist in last summer's takeover, arguing that
the school system was mired in failure and that a dramatic change in
leadership was the only solution. He is urging changes to the City
Charter that would give mayors more authority over the schools.
Malloy, informed by a reporter of the rejected legislation during a
visit to Norwalk Community College Monday afternoon, said the next step
is for the city to decide what it wants to do.
"We had a stake in it because it was laid at our feet," the governor
said. "Listen, there will be a political process and the process will
reconstitute the board. And a reconstituted board will decide what way
they want to go. Who knows? We could very easily find ourselves back in
this very same position, before you know it."
Would the governor urge Bridgeport officials to keep interim School
Superintendent Paul Vallas on board?
"Do I think Mr. Vallas is a high performing individual? The answer is
yes," Malloy said. "But that's their decision to make."
Vallas, who has a one-year contract, has said his work would continue,
regardless of the outcome of the takeover litigation.
Andrew J. McDonald, Malloy's chief legal counsel, said Monday night
that legal ramifications could linger and possibly cascade for the
21,000-student district, the state's second largest. "The future is
going to be very uncertain for Bridgeport's school system," McDonald
said in a phone interview. "The only certainty is its ominous
consequences."
But two key members of the Bridgeport delegation saw it differently.
"I was always against what they (state officials) did in the first
place, when they claimed the board was dysfunctional," said Sen. Edwin
A. Gomes who, like the other seven members of the city's legislative
delegation, is a Democrat.
Rep. Charles D. Clemons said Monday he supports Donovan's decision to
avoid pursuing a legislative effort to rewrite the law.
"Talking with other legislators, their sentiments were somewhat similar
to mine," Clemons said in a midafternoon interview. "It's
disenfranchising a community's judgment. I think the right thing to do
is to give people the opportunity to vote for the person they want. It
apparently affected other lawmakers as well."
The third opponent to the legislative tactic is Rep. John F. Hennessy,
who attended the meeting at the Burroughs Center.
Ayala said Finch's effort last week to push hard for legislation was
the mayor's prerogative.
"The mayor has to meet with whomever he wants to meet, but the
delegation was not in the loop," Ayala said. "Might it have been better
if we had? If the delegation had the information at the outset, maybe
things would have been different, but nobody had any information until
Friday morning. It's almost at the 11th hour and we're being brought in
to right a wrong and we couldn't get to any kind of conclusion."
Norman Pattis, an attorney who represents deposed board members Maria
Pereira and Bobby Simmons, said he was gratified to hear the
Legislature wouldn't try to retroactively address the rejection of the
Bridgeport school board takeover. Pattis is one of several
lawyers on both sides of the case who are expected to file motions with
the state Supreme Court to seek clarification of its 6-1 ruling last
week. They have 10 days from the Feb. 28 decision to do so.
The court ruled that the state replacement of the city school board was
flawed because it ignored a key provision requiring training before the
board could disband. The court sent the matter back to Superior Court
with instructions that a date be set for a special election to replace
the four members of the locally elected board whose terms had expired.
There are an additional five members of the elected board whose terms
have not expired.
Until a special election is held and its results certified, the
state-appointed board will continue to be in charge, the high court
ruled
Pryor: Don't Delay Education
Reform
'The Children Of Our State Have
Waited Long Enough'
The Hartford Courant
By KATHLEEN MEGAN, kmegan@courant.com
1:25 PM EST, February 22, 2012
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor Wednesday deflected calls for
delaying some of the governor's proposed education reforms, saying the
time for reform is now.
A day earlier, at Tuesday's impassioned hearing before the
legislature's Education Committee, teachers union representatives and
others argued that some reforms should be put off until the state's
recently approved teacher evaluation system is fully operational.
But Pryor said any delay would be "at our peril. ... The children of
our state have waited long enough," in some cases trapped in schools
that have "stagnated."
"This is our moment…" Pryor said. "The stars are aligned to pursue
meaningful education reform."
'Unmotivated Teachers'
Scores of people testified to the Education Committee Tuesday about
teachers and proposed education reforms, but it was a 17-year-old
Norwalk High School student who riveted lawmakers' attention with his
account of unmotivated teachers he has had.
"On one hand I can count all the teachers that have really motivated me
for success," said Edwin Rosales. "Considering that I have had over 50
teachers in my high school and middle school career, I consider that,
for a lack of better terms, sad."
Asked by one legislator why there are so many unmotivated students,
Rosales said it's because they are taught by unmotivated teachers.
Rosales talked about an excellent teacher he'd had who would check with
students one-by-one to make sure they had mastered the material. But,
when he asked another teacher for extra help, Rosales said he was told:
"If I don't get it at this point, that's it my problem."
Teachers were the focus of the first day of the two-day public hearing
on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposed education reform package, which
would make sweeping changes — including an overhaul of teacher tenure
and certification. The hearing, which began at 1:15 p.m., lasted late
into the night.
The two-day hearing resumed Wednesday at around noon.
Union leaders told lawmakers Tuesday they favored education reform but
questioned tying the new teacher evaluation system, which is still
being developed, to certification and tenure and said they worried that
the proposal would weaken a teacher's right to due process in dismissal
proceedings.
"We shouldn't be so eager and willing to experiment with basing
certification on a system that is not yet designed, .. and that hasn't
been tested and refined," said Phil Apruzzese, president of the
Connecticut Education Association. "We believe this bill puts the cart
before the horse."
Apruzzese said the state runs the risk of losing good teachers if the
evaluation system becomes a "gotcha" practice and if reforms establish
a "culture of fear, rather than collaboration in our schools."
Tenure Comment Criticized
Malloy, who was the first to testify at the hearing Tuesday, noted that
the new teacher evaluation system was created in a joint effort by
teacher union leaders, school administrators and state officials and
that the framework, while still needing more work, already has been
approved by the state Board of Education.
Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, a co-chairman of the
Education Committee, told Malloy that many people have reacted
positively to his vision for education reform but said teachers he has
heard from object to the way the governor characterized tenure in his
State of the State speech two weeks ago: "the only thing you have to do
is show up for four years."
Fleischmann said teachers said that description "didn't accurately
reflect their experience."
"I have no doubt that the teachers you spoke to had a different
experience…" Malloy replied. "On the other hand teachers are gaining
tenure with a lot less work than the teachers you spoke to. That's
reality. ... We all know there are teachers in the classroom who don't
belong there."
Bruce Douglas, executive director of the Capitol Region Education
Council, commended the proposed changes aimed at improving teacher
effectiveness. But, he cautioned against focusing predominantly on
teacher evaluation.
"I contend that our teachers are over-managed and under-led." Douglas
said the "efficacy of our teacher force is directly correlated with the
quality of our school leaders."
George Gianakakos, who teachers science to seventh- and eighth-graders
at the Barnum School in Bridgeport, supported the bill, saying it would
reward teachers for "excellent teaching" and provide them with
"pertinent, effective, professional development."
David Telep, an East Haddam teacher, submitted testimony urging the
committee to delay action on the bill. "Success or failure rests on an
effective teacher evaluation system," Telep wrote. "We need more time
to get this right."
Toward the end of the hearing, Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, stepped
outside and said she had hoped that the views expressed at the hearing
would be more collaborative. Union leaders and most of the teachers who
spoke voiced strong criticism of the bill.
Digging Into The Fine Print
A week ago, the leaders of the state's teachers unions sounded somewhat
positive about Malloy's reform plans.
Following the governor's State of the State speech on Feb. 8, Sharon
Palmer, president of the American Federation of Teachers Connecticut,
had said: "We need to see what he's talking about. We may not be that
far apart."
Mary Loftus Levine, president of the Connecticut Education Association,
had said, "I think we have a lot in common, but the devil is in the
details."
By Tuesday, though, Palmer and Levine had had a chance to read the fine
print of Malloy's 163-page bill.
Palmer said her union agrees with "smoothing out" or "shortening" the
process of terminating a teacher — but she questioned whether the
process, as proposed, would provide a teacher with a fair enough chance
to appeal.
She acknowledged that changes are needed in the teacher evaluation
system and that tenure "needs to be worked on or even eliminated or
called something else." But Palmer criticized Malloy's proposal to tie
teacher certification to positive job evaluations, rather than the
current system based mostly on achieving academic requirements.
"Your certification is your license to teach in the entire state. … You
could very well have a bad experience in one district and be perfectly
fine to teach in another district," Palmer said.
Late Tuesday, Pryor clarified that under the proposed certification
system, it would "not be possible for tenured teachers as a result of
their district evaluations to become unlicensed. … Even if a tenured
teacher were to slip in his or her practices as judged by evaluators,"
he or she would continue to be certified."
Reform 'Disrespects' Teachers
In a four-page letter to Connecticut teachers, the CEA said Malloy's
reform "disrespects the high standards that teachers meet to maintain
their professional status" and would "lower standards in a long list of
ways."
"Generally, he proposes allowing greater numbers of inexperienced
individuals to teach our children, and he makes it easier for
out-of-state teachers to migrate to Connecticut," said the letter,
signed by Levine and Apruzzese.
The CEA's letter also said that the reform "crushes the teacher
certification system" and would provide "an apparent incentive for
Boards of Education to set lower salaries for teachers."
In response to the CEA's letter, Roy Occhiogrosso, senior adviser to
Malloy, said the governor knew all along his proposal would spark a
passionate debate, but as he made clear in his State of the State
speech, he's not going to engage in any sort of public dialogue that is
disrespectful to anyone.
After Tuesday's hearing, Palmer said: "It's the opportunity for people
to talk, but it's far from over. We have a long way to go."
A
kinder interpretation of S.B.
24
Malloy's teacher performance plan gets
mixed grades
Linda Conner Lambeck, CT POST
Published 10:25 p.m., Tuesday, February 21, 2012
HARTFORD -- Gov. Dannel P. Malloy took aim at teachers who "don't
belong" in the classroom, saying his education reform plan would
provide a fairer way to judge the performance of educators.
Appearing before the General Assembly's Education Committee on Tuesday,
Malloy said his intent is not to slight good teachers, but to fix
what's broken in public schools. "I believe we now have the foundation
for fair and productive teacher evaluations that will give us the tools
to tackle this problem," Malloy said.
Malloy has a 163-page plan to reform public education, which is subject
to a two-day public hearing at the state Capitol. The part that would
overhaul how teachers are trained, evaluated and dismissed if they
don't perform was subject to an afternoon-long public hearing that drew
a speaking list of 103 people, many of them teachers.
Some teachers who spoke likened the proposed changes to building an
airplane while flying it.
"We run the risk of losing good teachers, of evaluation becoming a
`gotcha' practice, and of establishing a culture of fear, rather than
collaboration," warned Phil Apruzzese, president of the Connecticut
Education Association and a fifth-grade teacher in Wethersfield.
When questioned about whether there is anything in the governor's plan
the union liked, Apruzzese said the part that talked about early
childhood and preschool education.
George Giankakos, a middle school science teacher in Bridgeport, called
Malloy's plan bold, radical and needed.
"Bridgeport is an incredibly difficult district to teach in but ...
standards need to be established and held," Giankakos said.
Norwalk High School junior Edwin Rosales said it is sad that he seems
more motivated to learn than some teachers are to teach. He admitted,
however, that motivation is also lacking in many of his classmates.
Some will fall asleep in class and teachers won't nudge them awake.
"I can count all the teachers that have really motivated me on one
hand," he said, adding he has probably had more than 50 teachers in his
school career.
Mary Loftus Levine, executive director of the Connecticut Education
Association, said the governor's bill raises more questions than it
answers.
"It appears to be built on the theory that if you just focus on
unproven experimental ideas, take away collective bargaining, and
create an untested system of certification, evaluation, and tenure --
our problems will be solved," Levine said.
Although the union supports the creation of a streamlined dismissal
process for teachers, Levine said what is proposed would tie a
teacher's certification and license to teach to one principal's
subjective evaluation -- a system not even fully developed.
"This means if you are terminated in one district, your certification
to teach anywhere in the state of Connecticut is taken away," said
Sharon Palmer, president of the American Federation of Teachers
Connecticut, the state's other teachers' union.
Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor, in his testimony, said that
would not be the case. He said teachers dismissed from one district
would not lose their ability to get a job in another district. He also
said the new evaluation system will safeguard against teachers in
cash-strapped districts from being dismissed merely because they have a
higher salary than other teachers, since evaluations would be based on
multiple outcomes.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch testified, saying the governor's bill is
critical to treating all children in the state equally, even though he
said he starts from the premise that the city will get shortchanged, no
matter what.
Besides increasing preschool opportunities, funding and intervention in
failing schools, Finch said he wants more school choice.
"We need to give parents a real say so," he said, noting his two
youngest sons go to the city's Read School.
Finch was asked to comment on a part of the bill that changes the
process for state takeover of failing school districts. The current
process and how it was used to replace the Bridgeport school board is
being challenged before the state Supreme Court. Finch said the court
is ruling on a technicality.
"I hope that both Legislature and the supreme court maintain the
current stable governing structure that exists in the city of
Bridgeport," he said.
Wednesday, the committee will hear testimony on proposals to increase
funding for charter schools and to offer additional targeted resources
to failing schools. That hearing starts at noon in the Legislative
Office Building attached to the state Capitol.
No,
No, No! We call it Political Rhetoric – Not Misleading the Public.
What? Wait! blog
Jon Pelto
February 21, 2012
Like one of those remote-controlled drones, Governor Malloy’s
“education reform” proposal is flying toward its intended
destination. The public hearings on Malloy’s package have begun
and they will soon be followed by legislative votes in the House and
the Senate. With the 2012 Legislative Session ending in about 70
days, the Governor’s Office is probably choreographing the signing
ceremony already.
To date, the Governor has made it clear that political rhetoric must,
when necessary, trump the truth.
In his “historic” call for “education reform”, an end to teacher tenure
and a disproportionate transfer of public dollars to charter schools
the Governor failed to point out that (1) Connecticut already has one
of the longest probationary periods for teachers in the country – four
years – which gives school administrators more opportunity to judge a
teacher’s capability than do those in most other states and that (2) in
2010 the Legislature adopted major revisions to the teacher evaluation
process that already gives Malloy’s Department of Education the power
to revamp how teachers are evaluated and require school administrators
to actually conduct appropriate evaluations. They only have to
properly implement that new evaluation process.
Finally, the only missing piece is to limit the time-frame and costs
associated with the teacher dismissal process – a step that both
teacher unions have already endorsed.
But in this case, the truth stands in the way of getting the best
headlines and an opportunity to garner “national media coverage” which,
of course, is the ultimate goal for those who can’t seem to get out of
campaign mode.
Following up on his earlier speech, Connecticut learned last
week that Governor Malloy would be speaking at a March 14th “education
reform” rally at the State Capitol to push his agenda forward.
What also became clear was that the hosts of the rally were either
connected to, or being used by, anti-teacher, anti-union forces from
outside of Connecticut.
A consultant for the host group is a well-known conservative columnist
who just last month was busy training the Minnesota Tea Party on how to
force “education reform” in their state.
Next came the news that Malloy would actually be sharing the stage with
Michelle Rhee, the nationally renowned anti-teacher, anti-union
reformer.
It was only then that Malloy’s office announced that he wasn’t going to
be able to make the rally after all. See CTNewsjunkie’s
story:
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/malloy_backs_out_of_appearance_with_parent_group/
Although using political rhetoric to strengthen one’s political
position is nothing new in American politics, as Malloy’s “education
reform” package moves forward it is becoming increasingly clear that
something isn’t right.
One piece of the puzzle is the role that Achievement First, the charter
school management company, that will receive millions of new taxpayer
funds under Malloy’s plan is playing.
At the same time, Connecticut’s resource starved urban district schools
are slated to get virtually none of the funds they need to tackle the
extraordinary problems that they face and most of Connecticut’s other
public schools will get nothing more than crumbs – if anything at all.
To review, Achievement First, the organization that Stefan Pryor helped
create and served as a Director for until he quit last year to become
Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, is scheduled to grow from 20 school
to 35 schools over the next few years at which point it claims that it
will be larger than 95% of all school districts in the country.
Under Malloy’s “education reform” plan Achievement First will get in
excess of $6 million dollars – $2,600 more per student – while Hartford
will get $178 dollars more per student and Bridgeport will get $156
more per student.
All in all, Connecticut’ 6,000 charter schools students will get that
extra $2,600 each while the 222,000 students in Connecticut’s thirty
poorest and lowest performing school districts will get an average of
$150 each.
Put another way, Pryor’s former company with its 2,600 or so students
will get more money than the total amount given to 123 towns serving
279,000 Connecticut students.
All pretense of shared sacrifice is gone.
And Malloy and his cadre of advisors and supporters continue to have
the audacity to claim that their goal is to “change the education
system as we know it”.
As the legislation moves forward, the Malloy Administration’s strategy
has become abundantly clear; hide the details, gloss over the facts and
force a quick vote before legislators realize just how bad a deal this
is for Connecticut, its children and the vast majority of those who
devote their professional lives to helping children learn.
Be sure to stop by Wait, What? tomorrow.
I’ll be posting one of the more incredible stories to date. The
file in the Governor’s Office on this one probably reads something like
“We don’t want the Media at this one so let’s tell them the event is
something that it’s not.”
Education Task Force Will Be Tardy
& Some Say Off Target
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Christine Stuart | Nov 27, 2012 5:30am
A task force created to make recommendations about how the state should
revamp the largest share of state education aide to cities and towns is
already a month late with its report.
The clock is ticking, but members of the task force said Monday that
they need until at least January to come up with a predictable, and
equitable formula.
“Every way we turn there’s going to be winners or losers,” Meriden
Schools Superintendent Mark Benigni said Monday during a meeting at the
Legislative Office Building.
“We should all be looking at that list,” Benigni said of the factors
used to calculate the formula and the consequences to local education
funding. As a superintendent of a public school system, Benigni wants
to know how much his municipality will receive under the formula before
he offers an opinion.
The problem is the formula subcommittee hasn’t finished its work.
The number of students receiving free or reduced lunches, Title I
funds, poverty, income, and property wealth could all be used as
factors in calculating the ECS formula. Finding the right mix of
factors still is under discussion after more than a year of meetings.
Ray Rossomondo, a researcher and policy development specialist for the
Connecticut Education Association and a member of the task force, said
he feels the panel is taking the current budget constraints into
consideration. However, he believes the panel’s final recommendation
should be free of that type of thinking.
He reminded the task force that education funding is one of the few
areas of state funding that’s “bound by the constitution.”
He said maybe the task force should consider dedicating revenue streams
for education to ensure predictability and sustainability, two of the
four goals cited by the task force at the very beginning.
“I’m not convinced that was really part of our charge,” Sen. Andrea
Stillman, co-chairwoman of the task force, told Rossomondo.
She said she understands the desire to give some certainty to local
school boards about what they will receive for state funding, “but
there are some circumstances beyond our control.”
“I think efforts to set aside certain funding streams in a locked box —
I oppose it,” Ben Barnes, Malloy’s budget director and task force
co-chairman, said. “But I understand why people want to do it and I am
happy to have that discussion.”
Stillman said the goal is to make the formula more “reflective of each
town’s wealth and need.”
One of the proposals being discussed includes using income, instead of
property wealth, as a factor. Still other proposals would include the
District Performance Index, which is a measure of students’ weighted
performance on the statewide mastery tests.
Regardless of where the formula stands at the moment, James Finley, CEO
and executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities,
said “the fiscal challenges facing the state seem to be driving where
this task force is going.”
Finley said it shouldn’t matter how much money the state has, the
formula needs to work and be equitable for all students in the state,
no matter where they live.
“They want a formula that wants a pre-determined dollar amount, instead
of let’s get the formula right,” Finley said.
He said the state has a unique constitutional responsibility to fund
education.
“We’re not talking about that the way we should be,” Finley, who
attended the task force meeting Monday, said.
The formula subcommittee will meet with the co-chairs of the task force
behind closed-doors to discuss what factors to include in the formula.
It’s likely the formula will be presented to the task force at its next
meeting sometime after Christmas.
In the meantime, the task force was able to agree on increasing
per-pupil funding for interdistrict magnet and regional agricultural
schools.
It also agreed that the state should continue to fund a portion of
local special education costs to relieve the financial pressure on
local school districts.
According to the draft report, this year 63,651 Connecticut students
were identified as eligible for special education services. About 300
of the state agency-placed students are placed in facilities outside
the state at a cost of $29 million annually.
Barnes said it may be worth it to look at hiring someone to reduce
those costs. If the state can save money, he said the creation of the
position will pay for itself.
He said he’s not worried about waiting for the report to be done in
January. He said it still gives him time to include the recommendations
in Malloy’s two-year budget proposal, which will be delivered in
January.
Currently, the state is facing a $2.13 billion deficit over the next
two years.
The
most important week so far in
Connecticut’s “Year of Education Reform”
What? Wait! blog
Jon Pelto
February 20, 2012
This week, the Connecticut Legislature will be holding hearings on
Governor Malloy’s “Education Reform” proposals.
Connecticut is engaged in the wrong debate, at the wrong time and in
the wrong way. Requiring that college students have higher grade
point averages in order to become teachers, eliminating teacher tenure
and linking a teacher’s evaluation and their job status to statistical
changes in Connecticut’s standardized tests is not Education Reform –
nor are the expanding efforts to “privatize” our Constitutionally
mandated public education system.
What it is – is moving the chairs around on the deck of the Titanic
while blaming and demonizing teachers and the teaching profession.
It is counter-productive and it is wrong.
The elements of reform are not difficult to understand or even to
design, develop and implement. The answer is actually relatively
simple.
As a state and a nation we must engage in the international effort to
fully integrat the Common Core standards that provide the knowledge and
skills that are needed to succeed in this competitive, modern
society in which live.
This process is very different from chasing the outdated notion that
education is merely that mandated scope and sequence of educational
elements that have been approved by each state.
The Core Curriculum, differentiated learning and giving teachers the
training, tools and time to succeed in achieving responsible and
realistic bench marks in general education classrooms is already having
meaningful and positive impacts.
The general education classrooms of today include unparalleled
challenges that include IEP students, students with behavior issues,
ELL students and children who aren’t getting the parental assistance
they need, either because they are taking their English dependent
homework home to households where English is not the primary language
or because their parents are unable, untrained or in some cases even
unwilling to provide appropriate help and support.
If America is to survive it will need to make teaching a more
attractive profession.
Many of the proposed “education reforms” will have exactly the opposite
effect.
The Governor has made his position clear – teaching is no more than
showing up for 4 years in order to garner tenure.
The burden for stopping this madness now rests exclusively on the
shoulders of Connecticut’s state senators and state representatives.
This week we will know whether they are willing to stand up and fulfill
their responsibilities or will continue to allow themselves and their
constituents to be run over.
Wait,
You are Against Binding
Arbitration? Really?
What? Wait! Blog
January 12, 2012
Binding Arbitration: The process by which the parties to a
dispute submit their differences to the judgment of an impartial person
or group appointed by mutual consent or statutory provision.
Some “education reformers” are calling for an end to the teacher
seniority system or want to “reform tenure as we know it,” but actively
opposing binding arbitration?
That’s a new one for me.
Here in Connecticut it’s been a while since we’ve heard legitimate
advocacy groups call for an end to binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration has been universally recognized as an appropriate
and successful way to resolve contract disputes without strikes or
lockouts. It’s a system that ensures that, even if there is a
contract dispute, government services, including schools, will continue
to function.
More than 36 years ago, Connecticut adopted a system of binding
arbitration for municipal employees. Binding arbitration was then
expanded in 1979 to cover all teachers and in 1986, with a Democratic
Governor and the Republicans in control of both chambers of the General
Assembly, binding arbitration was extended to cover state employees.
As a freshman state legislator I remember watching as the great Otto
Neumann of the 62nd House District, a respected, common-sense
Republican, rose to address the House Chamber as to why Republicans and
Democrats had come together to institute a fair arbitration system that
would ensure that the public received the services it was entitled to
even in the face of contract disagreements between the state and its
unions.
Negotiation, mediation and if absolutely necessary, arbitration would
put an end to public employee strikes. Children would return to
classes at the beginning of the school year no matter what. Just
look around at some other states to see the sad alternative.
While some have talked about “tinkering” with the actual arbitration
process, it has been widely recognized as a huge success.
The Connecticut Legislature’s bi-partisan Program Review &
Investigations Committee conducted a major study about the impact of
binding arbitration and released their report in 2006.
The investigation found that binding arbitration was used in about 10
percent of teacher contracts and only 4 percent of the time in
municipal employee contracts.
Over the years, when it came to salary increases, the last best offers
for towns and unions were about 1% apart. In the time period
studies these differences actually ranged from 0.7 percent to 1.2
percent.
As for arbitration awards for teacher contracts, arbitrators came down
on the side of the boards of education and teachers at about the same
rate. Teacher unions were a bit more successful when it came to
salary increases while towns were more successful when it came it came
to the important contract language.
The final report concluded that “Overall, the committee found no
evidence that arbitration has driven up costs. For the period
analyzed, higher general wage increases were not found in arbitration
awards in comparison to negotiated contracts.”
With that as the background I was really surprised to find that when
the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) calls for an
end to the seniority system which they say requires districts to lay
off teachers based solely on seniority without regard to any factors of
job performance” they go on to demand that binding arbitration be
reformed “to ensure that future collective bargaining agreements better
account for the interests of children.”
Unfortunately, there appears to be no reference as to what ConnCAN
means when it comes to “reforming binding arbitration.”
However we can get a better sense of what is meant when we look to
ConnCAN’s sister organization RI-CAN. As their website explains,
RI-CAN is part of “50CAN: The 50 State Campaign for Achievement Now,
which aims to bring ConnCAN-style campaigns and ConnCAN-style success
to states across the country.”
Readers may recall that in 2005 a group of Achievement First’s
Directors set up ConnCAN and the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement
Advocacy, Inc., ConnCAN serves as the “education” arm of the operation
while the second company spent the next five years paying over half a
million dollars to lobby Connecticut’s executive and legislative
branches of government. It wasn’t until last year that ConnCAN
started paying the bill for the lobbyists, which, by that time had
reached $95,000 a-year.
Meanwhile, one of the Achievement First/ConnCAN directors formed yet
another group called 50CAN which “was created to bring this proven
model [ConnCAN] to new states, starting with Rhode Island, Minnesota,
New York and Maryland and reaching half the country by 2015. One
will note that 50CAN’s organizing plan tracks nicely with Achievement
First’s strategic plan.
So two years ago, RI-CAN was formed in Rhode Island to do what ConnCAN
has been doing in Connecticut.
RI-CAN’s Executive Director Maryellen Butke, who is the equivalent to
Patrick Riccards, ConnCAN’s new Executive Director here in Connecticut,
is far clearer about how the CAN organization sees binding arbitration.
Despite the fact that binding arbitration has been recognized as a
great success, RI-CAN’s Butke recently said that “Binding arbitration
would be a disaster for students, localities”
In a commentary piece in the Providence Journal last June she stakes
out RI-CAN’s position saying “Rhode Island has made great leaps forward
in the past few years in the effort to transform our schools. Binding
arbitration would be a costly step backwards that would reverse much of
the progress we have made. Our message to the General Assembly is
simple: Do what’s best for kids and reject binding arbitration.”
In addition, a group of anti-union activists created the Rhode Island
Coalition against Binding Arbitration last summer with RI-CAN as its
first member organization.
In Connecticut ConnCAN may call it “reforming” binding arbitration; in
Rhode Island they call it a disaster and are lobbying against it.
It makes me wonder what some of ConnCAN’s Advisory Board Members would
say.
Are they opposed to binding arbitration. Do they know they are on
the advisory board to a group that does?
If you see any of the following individuals ask them whether they too,
as advisers to ConnCAN, oppose binding arbitration:
Lorraine M. Aronson (Former Vice
President and CFO, University of Connecticut and Former Connecticut
Deputy Commissioner of Education)
Timothy Bannon (Former Chief of Staff for Governor Dannel Malloy)
William J. Cibes (Former Chancellor, Connecticut State University
System and Former Secretary, Office of Policy and Management)
William Ginsberg (President and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater
New Haven)
Janice M. Gruendel, Ph.D., M.Ed. (Deputy Commissioner, Department of
Children and Families)
Dr. Richard C. Levin (President, Yale University)
Dr. Julia M. McNamara (President, Albertus Magnus College)
Anthony P. Rescigno (President, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce)
Dr. Theodore Sergi (Former Connecticut State Commissioner of Education)
Allan B. Taylor (Chairman, Connecticut State Board of Education)
An Advanced (Placement) debate
-- A closed gate, or an open door?
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT MIRROR
December 12, 2011
At many high schools, Jensun Yonjan, who speaks limited English, would
have been diverted away from taking college-level Advanced Placement
courses. But luckily for Jensun he goes to Conard High School in
West
Hartford, where officials have adopted an "every student takes an AP
course" mantra.
"I am trying my best," Jensun said during a break from class. "I like
being challenged."
Jensun first met Steve Bassi, his AP Government teacher, in his
English-language learning classes when he moved from Nepal to West
Hartford two years ago. Bassi says Jensun is pulling off a low B in the
class.
"He's struggling in both of his [AP] courses," Bassi said. "He's
working so hard for that B in my class. I'm proud of him."
Bassi's faith in these nontraditional AP students has become somewhat
of a culture in West Hartford. It even caught the eye of Education
Commissioner Stefan Pryor, who visited last week during his inaugural
tour of high-achieving schools and programs across the state.
"This ethos permeating throughout the building is an enormous
accomplishment," Pryor told a room of about 20 teachers and other state
officials.
With almost half of Conard graduates leaving with some college credit
from an AP course they completed, and 60 percent of students having
taken at least one AP course in the 2009-10 school year, the most
recent year with data available, they are far outpacing other schools
throughout the state and country. Statewide, 27 percent of
students
have taken at least one AP course and just 20 percent leave high school
with college credit, reports the State Department of Education.
Nationwide, 17 percent of high school graduates earn AP college credit.
West Hartford: where every student is
'AP material'
It's the first day of school for the incoming freshman class at Conard,
and Principal Peter Cummings has a message for them.
"You will take an AP course by the time you graduate," he replayed his
spiel for the new education chief. "Our core belief is that every
student here can achieve at a high level."
But participation numbers available from the state board of education
show that other districts have struggled to follow that model.
"In other districts some students don't even have a chance to take an
AP course. They tell them, 'You're not AP material.' There's no such
thing in West Hartford," said Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, and
co-chairwoman of the legislature's Higher Education Committee.
AP participation is increasing both state- and nationwide, which has
caused some consternation from those concerned that the caliber of the
course is being compromised by opening enrollment. A national
survey
of 1,024 Advanced Placement teachers in 2009 said more gatekeeping is
needed to keep the quality of the course from diminishing.
"Teachers told us that, even though they believe that the program's
quality is holding up in the face of tremendous expansion, they also
see troubling signs in their classrooms," the report by the Thomas B.
Fordham Institute, an education advocacy think tank, said. Most of the
respondents said they believed that high schools are expanding their
programs in an effort to improve their rankings.
West Hartford's efforts -- which has the average graduate leaving with
two college courses under his or her belt at its two public high
schools -- are routinely listed as one of the best in Newsweek
magazine's annual rankings. But several West Hartford teachers
told
Pryor they disagree with the strategy of judging before a student takes
a class how they will do. For students like Jensun, his teacher
said
his exclusion from AP courses would have likely been sealed at another
school. Instead, he's on track to take a computer science and at least
one other AP course next semester.
"Every kid can succeed if we give them the chance," Bassi tells the
education commissioner.
Jensun is glad they took that chance on him.
"I won't have to take so many courses when I go to college," the future
computer engineer said.
And even when these students earn a 2 on the final exam -- which is not
a high enough score to earn college credit -- they still celebrate.
"It's like getting a five," Cindy Vranich, an AP English literature
teacher, said of the highest score possible.
Because some students are behind, she said, "We've had to change how we
teach." But that doesn't mean the rigor is lost. Only 13 percent of the
AP test takers at her school don't score high enough to earn credit,
according to State Department of Education data.
Connecticut has had modest growth overall in students taking AP courses
-- 7 percent in the past five years. And it doesn't seem to be
hindering performance, as Connecticut has one of the fastest increases
in the number of students earning college credit in the nation and is
behind only Maryland, New York and Virginia with the percent of
graduates leaving high school with some credit, according to the
College Board's most recent annual report.
But much work remains. Despite black and Hispanic students having the
fastest increases in participation in AP courses, their performance
lags far behind their white peers, following suit with the achievement
gap that is plaguing the state's education system as a whole. For
example, while 12 percent of Connecticut 2010 graduating class was
black, only 2.4 percent earned college credit in an AP course -- one of
the worst rates in the nation. The results are similar for Hispanic
students.
Struggling to expand
Simsbury High School officials made the decision years ago that they
needed to increase participation in their advanced placement courses.
"It was only for an elite level of students," said Principal Neil
Sullivan. "I was sure more could succeed in these courses. ... I think
we were just in opening that door to more students."
Test scores show Simsbury officials were right, with almost half of
their students taking an AP course and 42 percent leaving with some
college credit. But not all districts are as fortunate in being
able
to expand as Simsbury, one of the wealthier districts in the state.
"It's not an inexpensive venture," said Lydia Tedone, Simsbury's
school board chairwoman and president of the state's school boards
association. She estimates it costs her district an added $40,000 a
year for each additional course they offer for supplies, training and a
teacher.
"It's a costly budget item, and some districts may be forgoing it
because of this, or because they want other programs like a full-day
kindergarten."
In low-income districts, Project Opening Doors is helping with about
half the start-up and first year expenses. They have helped Waterbury,
Hartford and New Haven schools open numerous math, science and English
AP courses.
"It may be that the district didn't have the resources or the qualified
staff to teach these courses. We're trying to change that," said Cam
Vantour, who runs the nonprofit agency funded by Exxon Mobil Corp., the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Connecticut Business and Industry
Association and Northeast Utilities. "Districts recognize they need to
do more."
The end-of-course exams alone cost $87, and in many districts like West
Hartford they ask parents to pick up that cost. The College Board does
waive some of the cost for students from low-income families, but the
price still falls at $57 per exam.
Plans for future expansion?
Pryor, who has been on the job for just a few months, told state board
members last week he is planning in the next couple of months to
release a sweeping education reform legislative package to coincide
with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's intention to make the coming General
Assembly session focused on education.
Pryor's stop at Conard was part of a tour he says is helping him figure
out what to include. He was mum on his plans for advanced placement,
but did say there are "several best practices" taking place at the
school he wants to see spill over into other schools across the state.
Link to blog re: relative
conspiracy on charter schools.
Pension, Pension, who wants a Pension
– Steven Adamowski this is your lucky day.
What? Wait! blog Jon Pelto
Mar 09, 2012
Are you sitting down? No really… I think you should sit down for
this one.
Governor Malloy’s “Education Reform” Bill really is the perfect symbol
of the times in which we live.
Blame the people on the front line while taking care of those at the
top...read
more here, including lfinding inks to other items.
Connecticut
2012: Money for
Corporations, Not for Students
What? Wait! blog, Jon Pelto
February 23, 2012
Some call it “incentives”, some call it “legal bribes”
and others call it Corporate Welfare. Whatever you call it,
Connecticut is doing more and more and more of it. First there
was Malloy’s “First Five” program that gave $21 million to Cigna, $20
million to NBC Sports, $18.7 million to ESPN and $6 million to
TicketNetwork. Then came funding for forgivable $20 million loan
to UBS and $300 million for Jackson Laboratories. Malloy
also got the funds he wanted for another round of big grants to big
companies while revamping and expanding a variety of smaller grant and
low interest loan programs.
Each and every one of these grants is designed to woo companies to
Connecticut or convince them to stay here. Meanwhile, on top of
last year’s record cuts to higher education, Governor Malloy has
proposed an additional $6 million cut to Connecticut’s Student
Financial Aid Programs.
Connecticut Student Financial Aid:
Fact #1: College graduates stay where they go
to school.
Fact #2: Connecticut needs an extraordinarily
educated workforce in order to compete in today’s complex economy.
Fact #3: Keeping Connecticut’s best college
students here in Connecticut is the most effective economic development
tool Connecticut could have.
Fact #4: Good students who can’t afford to pay
the cost of a college education will, if necessary, leave the state to
find schools that will provided them with the financial support they
need. Many of those students will find work in those states and
will not return to strengthen the quality of our workforce.
Faced with those fundamental facts and recognizing the tremendous loss
that occurs when students leave (referred to as the brain drain), State
Senator Kevin Sullivan and I re-wrote Connecticut’s Student Financial
Aid system in 1987 and 1988 to ensure that Connecticut was maximizing
its efforts to retain Connecticut’s greatest asset – our people.
We recognized the particular challenge facing Connecticut students who
didn’t have enough money to go to college so we focused the entire
student financial aid grant program on those Connecticut students who
needed help with their tuition costs.
We ended years of competition between the public and independent
colleges by tying the separate student financial aid formulas
together. In that way we created an incentive for all schools to
work together to support funding for higher education.
We increased the amount of aid a student could receive, required
schools to maintain or increase their own spending for needs-based aid
for Connecticut students, required schools to use at least 10% of the
grant they receive to increase aid to minority students, permitted
schools to use the grant for work-study and added a provision ensuring
that some of the money go to those students who were engaged in
community service.
The impact of these changes was immediate and significant. Now,
twenty years later, when it is even more imperative that we retain
Connecticut’s best students, Governor Dannel Malloy continues to hack
away at Connecticut’s public colleges and universities and
Connecticut’s student financial aid programs. After last year’s
record cuts, the Governor is now calling for an additional $6.7 million
cut in state scholarships for Connecticut students who have financial
need and want to attend a Connecticut college.
In addition his plan totally prohibits poorer Connecticut students from
getting scholarships to attend Yale, Wesleyan, Trinity, Connecticut
College, Quinnipiac or Fairfield because his new bill would prevent
Connecticut students – those with financial need – from getting a grant
if that college has an endowment of $200 million or more. Last year
Malloy cut this student aid grant program from $23 million to $18
million despite the fact that student financial need has been going up
to record levels.
Of the $18 million, about $5 million goes to those Connecticut students
who are attending the six schools being targeted. These are not
the wealthy students trying to decide which expensive school they want
to go to. This financial aid grant provides about $4,000 to
$8,000 to those Connecticut students who meet all of the criteria for
getting student financial aid and want to attend a four year
Connecticut college or university.
Malloy’s new plan is to further reduce funding from $18 million to
$11.3 million. Last year, State Representative Roberta Willis,
the co-chair of the higher education committee, put up a great fight to
stop the higher education cuts but the Malloy Administration would not
relent and the record cuts were made.
Representative Willis is once again leading the effort to stop the cuts
this year. Hopefully her Democratic colleagues will be more
supportive of her effort.
This Administration says we can afford to give an on-line ticket
re-selling company $6 million to create 300 jobs but we can’t afford $6
million to help 5,400 needy Connecticut students go to college here in
Connecticut.
The
Saga Continues – or – what to do when an “answer” generates more
“questions”
What? Wait! blog, Jon Pelto
February 23, 2012
Yesterday’s Wait, What? blog about Governor Malloy’s recent trip to a
New York City gala dinner honoring Achievement First founder and
Charter School champion Jonathan Sackler sparked the ire of Malloy’s
chief advisor. My blog post (see link below) questioned whether
the Governor’s Office
had misled reporters into thinking the NYC trip was for the sole
purpose of speaking about Connecticut’s economy. This story
begins with the following press release from the Governor’s
Office;
“Governor Malloy will deliver the keynote address at the National
Executive Services Corps (NESC) annual meeting in New York City, where
he will speak about his efforts to reinvent Connecticut and jumpstart
the state’s economy to create new jobs for the 21st century.”
However, the materials put out by the NESC explained that Governor
Malloy “has graciously offered to introduce Jon Sackler, our
distinguished honoree and fellow Connecticut resident.”
The event in question was the NESC’s Annual Gala which is the
organization’s annual fundraising event where they raise hundreds of
thousands of dollars for the organization’s activities. As
reported by the Courant’s Rick Green, Malloy’s chief advisor took
great offense to my suggestion that the Governor’s attendance was
anything more than an opportunity to talk about his accomplishments
when it comes to getting Connecticut’s economy back on track.
The Malloy advisor told the Courant;
“Governor Malloy was invited by the NESC to be the keynote speaker at
their event – which in fact is an annual event. They specifically
asked him to speak about his economic development initiatives — in
particular, entrepreneurial programs. Which is exactly what he
did. Following his remarks, the Governor left the event. He
didn’t stay for an awards ceremony, nor did he introduce anybody.”
My post was never meant to suggest that the Governor didn’t give a
speech that night. I have no doubt that the Governor gave a great
speech. I raised the issue because the gala’s honoree, Jonathan
Sackler and the
gala’s chairmen are all associated with Achievement First, ConnCAN,
50CAN and the ongoing effort to increase funding for charter schools in
Connecticut.
As a result of Governor Malloy’s recent “education reform” proposal
Achievement First will receive an extra $6 million dollars a
year. In fact, Achievement First Charter Schools, which educate
less than
3,000 students, will get an extra $2,600 per student while the 222,000
students who live in the 30 poorest towns will get an increase of $150
per student.
As I’ve written previously, if Malloy’s plan is adopted, Achievement
First- a charter school management company set up by Jonathan Sackler,
Stefan Pryor, Connecticut’s new Education Commissioner and a number of
people attending the NYC gala, will get more money than the entire
school system in Hartford, New Haven or Bridgeport. What seemed
odd was that the original press release made no mention
that his speech was in conjunction with a gala honoring one of his
friends and the beneficiary of his reform proposal.
Now the Governor’s Office says that “the Governor didn’t stay for the
event nor did he introduce anybody.”
And yet the materials sent out by the event’s sponsor made it clear
that a key role for Governor Malloy was to introduce the night’s
honoree. The whole affair gets more confusing considering that
this wasn’t just
one of those “stop by for a beer” events.
The “Mistress of Ceremonies” was Kelly Wallace of CBS, CNN and Fox News
fame while previous emcees for this gala included Lynn Redgrave and
Tony Award-winning Broadway singer Brian Stokes Mitchell.
The gala also included a performance by a famous children’s
choir. One thing is clear, the more the Governor’s Office
explains, the more
confusing the issue gets.
Malloy’s
“Strange Love” for Charter
Schools;
What? Wait
February 22, 2012
Yesterday the New York Times ran an editorial entitled “Shuttering Bad
Charter Schools”
In which the said “state governments and local districts need to do a
much better job overseeing these schools, which now educate more than
two million students. When weak charters stay open, students are
deprived and public money is wasted.”
A few hours later Governor Malloy was calling for a record investment
in Connecticut’s Charter Schools and fund to open more.
If you read his testimony you won’t see the following expert from a
highly critical State Department of Education report.
“The Connecticut State Board Department of Education wrote “The pattern
of employing non-certified teachers at Amistad Academy [and Elm City
Prep – both AF schools] is a significant cause of concern. The
Connecticut State Department of Education has worked with [Achievement
First] for a considerable period of time to resolve its teacher
certification violations. Despite ongoing discussions with the
school on the vital importance of upholding the state law on teacher
certification, the issues had not been completely corrected. The
Connecticut charter school accountability process is designed to ensure
compliance with state and federal law and administrative
regulations. Amistad Academy’s [and AF’s Elm City Prep] chronic
noncompliance on teacher certification compromises the principles of
charter school accountability.” June 2009
Why didn’t Governor Malloy raise the issue of Achievement First’s
unwillingness to meet Connecticut law.
Because the following year Achievement First got the law changed.
Connecticut law required that every school ensure that every teacher we
certified to teach within one year of joining the state. It was –
and is – a law that applies to every public school in Connecticut –
except for Charter Schools who had an amendment adopted that said they
– and they alone – can have 30% of the staff non-certified.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Under Connecticut law, Charter schools must provide serve anyone and
yet.
Achievement First – the Charter School Management
Company that runs the plurality of charter schools in Connecticut – (as
well as some of the state’s independent charter schools) serve for less
Latino students then they are supposed to if they are truly there to
provide equal opportunity for all children.
Achievement First (as well as some of the
independent charter schools) serves far less ELL or English Language
Learners.
Achievement First (as well as some of the
independent charter schools) serve far less students (Latino or
otherwise) who go home to households where English is not the spoken
language.
Achievement First (as well as some of the
independent charter schools) serve fewer students who are poor as
measured by the number who receive free or reduced lunch.
Achievements First (as well as some of the
independent charter schools) serve students that have far fewer special
education needs.
Malloy says the charter schools should do more to attract and retain
under-represented “at risk” students – but the change should begin with
the NEW charter schools that he plans to fund – with no required change
for the existing ones.
The strategy, tactics and messages remain the same. Charter
schools are not standard public schools. They do not have elected
boards of education, they are not held to the same basic standards,
they are allowed to unofficially cherry pick the students they want and
“out migrate” those they don’t.
The fact is charter schools are not being held accountable in the same
way district public schools are and we can be pretty sure that now that
one of Achievement First’s founders is the Commissioner of Education —
we won’t be seeing a lot more criticism of Achievement First.
Now take a look at yesterday’s New York Times editorial...
Shuttering
Bad Charter Schools
NYTIMES editorial
February 20, 2012
The charter school movement has expanded over the last 20 years
largely on this promise: If exempted from some state regulations,
charters could outperform traditional public schools because they have
flexibility and can be more readily tailored to the needs of students.
Another selling point is that these schools are supposed to be
periodically reviewed when they renew their operating permits — and
easily shut down if they fail.
It has not worked out that way. Despite a growing number of
studies showing that charter schools, financed with public money and
operating in 40 states, are often worse than traditional schools, the
state and local organizations that issue charters and oversee the
schools are too hesitant to shut them down. That has to change if the
movement is to maintain its credibility.
A new study from the National Association of Charter School
Authorizers, a nonprofit, pro-charter school organization, found that a
smaller and smaller percentage of schools are being denied charter
renewals.
According to the study, charter authorizers who oversee many of
the nation’s approximately 5,600 charters have, in recent years, shut
down fewer schools. Only 6.2 percent of those that came up for renewal
in 2010-11 were shuttered, down from 8.8 percent in 2009-10 and 12.6
percent in 2008-9.
A 2009 study from Stanford University’s Center for Research on
Education Outcomes found that 37 percent of charter schools performed
worse on student test measures than their traditional counterparts.
Given that data, closure rates should clearly be higher. Those rates
vary widely across the country. The District of Columbia Public Charter
School Board is one of the agencies that sets clear standards and shuts
schools that fail to meet them, according to the study. It oversees 98
charter schools and has closed 14 over the last three years.
The study raises troubling questions about the management
practices of the oversight groups. Nearly a third of charter
authorizers have not established clear revocation criteria; fewer than
half have the kinds of strong, independent review panels the
association recommends; and about only half issue annual reports that
show the schools how they are doing.
State governments and local districts need to do a much better
job overseeing these schools, which now educate more than two million
students. When weak charters stay open, students are deprived and
public money is wasted.
State Board of Education to Vote
On Teacher Evaluation Proposal Today
Board Will Also
Consider State's Application for a Waiver to the No Child Left Behind
Act
The Hartford Courant
BY KATHLEEN MEGAN, kmegan@courant.com
7:36 AM EST, February 10, 2012The State Board of Education will
consider a new framework for evaluating teachers and principals at its
Friday meeting.
The new system, agreed upon by a group representing teachers,
administrators, boards of education and state officials, ties
evaluation to student performance and other factors.
The boad will also consider the state's application for a waiver to the
No Child Left Behind Act.
The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m.
Malloy
Defends Pryor, Calls Conflict
of Interest Accusations ‘Ridiculous’
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Christine Stuart | Jan 10, 2012 2:29pm
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called allegations that his Education
Commissioner Stefan Pryor has a conflict of interest heading the state
Education Department because he previously worked for a charter school
organization, “utterly and fantastically ridiculous.”
What people, who have been writing about this, have to understand is
that Connecticut only has public charter schools, Malloy said after a
meeting at the Legislative Office Building Tuesday.
“They are public schools. So in essence what you’re saying is because
someone’s involved in public schools, they shouldn’t be allowed to be
involved in public schools. It’s utterly and fantastically ridiculous,”
the governor said.
In an interview with WNPR Tuesday morning Pryor said he was the first
one to ask the Office of State Ethics staff for an opinion about his
past position as founder of the Amistad Academy in New Haven and his
volunteer position on the board of Achievement First, the management
company which runs charter schools in Connecticut and New York. He said
he was told very “rapidly no and definitively no.”
“The first person to raise this issue was me,” Pryor told WNPR‘s John
Dankosky. “We’re talking about public schools here. Just like a
superintendent of schools or a school board chair who becomes a
commissioner no one would claim that there’s a conflict of interest
with the schools in that jurisdiction.”
But he said he’s very “sensitive to perceptions of conflicts,” so on
Dec. 5 he sent a letter the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory
Board. The board is expected to review the draft opinion at its Jan. 26
meeting.
Meanwhile, Pryor’s previous work for on behalf of Achievement First,
has been debated online on blogs and amongst his critics who have
called on him to recuse himself on matters involving Achievement First.
“As an Achievement First Board member, Stefan Pryor helped create and
adopt that strategic plan, a plan that when fully implemented would
increase Achievement First’s revenue from $4 million a year in
‘management fees’ to upwards of $10 million a year,” Jonathan Pelto, a
former lawmaker and Democratic operative, wrote on his blog.
“To achieve its goal, it will be critical for Achievement First to
expand in Connecticut,” Pelto wrote. “Now Pryor, a founder and long
time member of Achievement First’s Board of Trustees finds himself in
the unique position of being able to determine whether that aggressive
growth plan will succeed or fail.”
However, Pryor said as commissioner he’s not ultimately in charge of
deciding whether a charter school is renewed, expanded, or approved. He
said that’s up to the State Board of Education.
Pryor said he doesn’t want to preempt any decision by Office of State
Ethics, but he will take that decision and work with his colleagues at
the Education Department to come up with procedures to create an “open,
fair, and clear process.”
Only two new charter schools have opened in the state over the past six
years and the state didn’t accept applications at all in 2006 and 2009,
even though 20 applications were submitted.
Charter school advocates were hopeful when Pryor was named Education
Commissioner because they saw it as their best opportunity to get more
charter school seats. But Pryor has repeatedly said he supports all
high achieving schools.
“There are a number of schools that are exemplary” across the state,
that are “achieving at a level that would not be expected,” Pryor said
in November at an event at the Amistad Academy. That includes not just
charters, but other successful public schools as well.
Charter Schools and Connecticut
Education Policy: Part 3 in a series of 3 commentary pieces
Jon Pelto, "What? Wait!" blog
December 1, 2011
Leaving Out Connecticut’s Latinos and others whose primary language is
not English…
It may be the Rule of Unintended Consequences, but unintended
Segregation is still Segregation:
Few, if any, topics that I’ve written about have generated as many
comments or strong feelings than the columns about charter schools.
Connecticut’s charter schools are blessed with parents and advocates
who truly believe in the charter school model and have experienced
firsthand the direct benefits that their children received at their
charter school. In all my previous commentaries I have failed to
successfully differentiate between the good that charter schools are
doing for the children and families they serve versus the underlying
public policy challenges we face as we try to ensure every child has
access to a quality education and receives the knowledge and skills
necessary to succeed in this increasingly complex world.
Following each column, some very angry and frustrated parents write to
make it clear that not only did their children benefit from charter
schools but that my comments are an assault on the very essence of the
educational model charter schools provide.
The following column is the third in a series of some of the key public
policy issues that our elected officials must address as they grapple
with the allocation of scarce resources. My comments are not
intended to be an attack on the quality of charter schools or the
people who utilize them. Quite frankly I think charter schools
appear to be a viable model as we try to find ways to close the
terrible achievement gap that is destroying large segments of our
society.
What I am addressing are two key public policy issues.
Charter schools regularly claim that they succeed where public schools
don’t. In addition, in the proposal called “money follow the
child”, charter schools are saying that regardless of whether
government expands funding for primary and secondary education in
Connecticut, if a child moves from the public school system to a
charter school all of the money allocated to “pay” for that student
should move as well.
That is what the discussion is about. It is not about whether
charter schools are good or that charter schools are successfully
educating their students. The debate is about the legal and moral
obligation government has when it comes to ensuring that all children
have access to a quality education.
While reasonable people may differ about what should be done, the facts
are not in dispute. Connecticut’s urban charter is more racially
isolated that the communities in which they exist. The student
bodies in these urban charter schools are significantly “less poor” (as
measured by the number of students that qualify for free or reduced
lunches) and these charter schools serve a significantly lower
percentage of ELL students (students who are not English language
proficient).
Charter schools may in fact provide students with “better educational
outcome “However, the increased racial isolation means these schools
(like many of our urban schools) are unconstitutionally racially
isolated. And second, since poverty and English Language
proficiency are two main reasons students don’t do as well on the
standardized tests, charter schools will inherently do better if when
they are serving less poor and fewer non-English speaking students.
That does not mean charter schools should be closed, but it does mean
that policy makers have a moral and legal responsibility to consider
those factors as they modify the way Connecticut schools are funded.
The last variable I’ll use to showcase this issue is the huge
discrepancy when it comes to students going home to households in which
English is not the primary language. There are poor parents who
get actively involved in their children’s education just as there are
non-English speaking parents who provide the necessary parental
involvement to ensure students do a better job. That said, both
poverty and language proficiency serve as barriers for many families.
In Hartford a total of 43% of the public school students go home to
households in which the primary home language is not English. In fact,
Hartford school students go home to at least 70 different home
languages.
At the same time, Achievement First’sHarford Academyhas only 4.8% of
its students going home to non-English speaking households and in their
case there are 4 different home languages. And at the other major
charter school,Jumoke Academy, there are no students who go home to
non-English speaking households. English is the only language
home language that Jumoke Academy teachers need to deal with.
In New Haven, 27.9% of the school system’s students come from homes
where English is not the primary language (with a total of 61 different
languages). Amistad Academy has only 11.8% of its students going home
to non-English households (with a total of 3 different
languages). In Achievement First’s other New Haven charter
school, Elm City College Preparatory, even fewer, 8.8% of students
return to non-English speaking homes (3 languages)
And in Bridgeport, 40.4% of the students come from homes where English
is not the primary language (There are a total of 73 different home
languages in Bridgeport).
By comparison, Achievement First’s Bridgeport Academy has 6.3% of its
students from non-English speaking households (2 languages), The Bridge
Academy has 16.7% of its students from non-English speaking homes
(6 languages) and Park City Preparatory has only 2.5% of its students
going home to households whose primary language in not English (with a
total of 2 different languages)
It is true that the evidence is that Connecticut Mastery Test scores
are marginally higher in charter schools than in the nearby traditional
public school systems. And to the extent that it is the teaching
that explains that difference, the charter schools deserve credit for
that success. Yet at the same time, the evidence also suggests
that charter school teaching methods may not fully explain those
results.
Charter schools rationalize these issues by beginning and ending with
the argument that they have “open lottery systems” that provides every
child who wants to attend an equal opportunity to do so. Open
lottery systems are important but an open lottery system does not
guarantee that the study body is representative of the entire
community. Charter schools have targeted marketing programs that
some parents may find more persuasive than others.
And intentional or note, schools maybe be seen as more welcoming or
more accessible to some than to others. Furthermore, since the
“burden” to engage in the charter school lottery system is primarily on
the backs of parents, the process obviously self-selects parents that
are more attentive and active in the education of their children and
have an easier time understanding and navigating through the steps
necessary to get their children into the schools lottery and then into
the school.
Since poverty and language barriers are obviously factors as to who
approaches the lottery process and who does not, it is not surprising
that the “open enrollment process” ends up with fewer poor students,
fewer non-English language students and fewer students who go home to
households in which English is not the primary language. The net
result is that students who generally have higher success rates will
end up in the charter school while those who face more barriers are
left in traditional schools.
The situation is then exacerbated if the official funding policy is to
shift dollars to the kids who are statistically more likely to have
better outcomes and reduce the resources to those who actually need the
greater supports.
Although unintended, the outcome is that the system promotes “De facto
racial discrimination” which in turn creates “De facto racial
segregation”.
If the law actually discriminates it’s called “De Jur”
discrimination. Much of the “De Jur” discrimination was outlawed
in the United States by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other related
legislation. The problem in Connecticut is really not due to laws
that force segregation but traditions, systems and processes (along
with housing, transportation and political boundaries) that end up
segregating our population. Even though these results are not a
result of a specific law and may not even be intended, they are still
creating segregation and discrimination which is not only immoral but
unconstitutional and illegal.
Connecticut’s
Major Charter Schools
Face More Questions
WHAT? WAIT!
Jon Pelto blog
November 28, 2011
Despite their rhetoric, not only are most of Connecticut’s charter
schools actually increasing racial isolation, they are naively or
knowingly overlooking key factors in their ongoing claims that they
provide better educational outcomes. A review of Connecticut’s
School Profile Reports raises even more serious questions and concerns
are about some of Connecticut’s largest charter schools.
Meanwhile, advocates and lobbyists are engaged in a major effort to
persuade policymakers to adopt a concept called “Money Follows the
Child” in the upcoming 2012 Legislative Session.
The policy change would move scarce resources away from the public
schools systems that presently educate about 99% of Connecticut public
school students.
Instead of trying to expand the pot of money that is provided for
primary and secondary education in Connecticut, thereby helping all
public school children, some charter school supporters have changed
their strategy and are now pushing to modify the state’s school funding
system so that when a child shifts from a public school to a charter
school all of the state money associated with the education of that
student would shift as well.
This approach would leave more and more of Connecticut’s public schools
without the money needed to provide comprehensive education programs
and would, in the end, threaten the quality of education in our public
schools while leading to higher local property taxes as towns are
forced to rely even more heavily on regressive property taxes.
At stake are both the issue of racial segregation and the quality of
education in Connecticut.
At the core of the debate is the fundamental principle that federal and
state laws prohibit the use of public funds to promote racial and
ethnic segregation. However, virtually every one of Connecticut’s
major charter schools, all of whom receive major state subsidies, are
not only failing to reduce racial isolation but are, in fact,
significantly less racially diverse than the public schools in
the same communities. While some charter schools, like the
Odyssey School in Manchester are successfully meeting the
diversity challenge, others, especially those run by Achievement First,
a major charter school operator with charter schools in New York,
Connecticut and Rhode Island is not.
For example, Achievement First’s Bridgeport Academy, Achievement
First’s Hartford Academy, Achievement First’s Amistad Academy and
Achievement First’s Elm City Preparatory are all significantly more
racially isolated than are the school systems in which they are based –
Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven. As the state spends literally
hundreds of millions of dollars to address its moral, legal and
constitutional responsibility to make our schools less racially
isolated, Connecticut’s charter schools are moving Connecticut in
exactly the wrong direction.
What makes this issue particularly troubling is that Connecticut’s new
State Commissioner of Education has repeatedly said he will work to
expand charter schools in Connecticut even though it is clear from the
evidence that most charter schools are unwilling or unable to be a part
of the overall effort to reduce racial isolation in our state.
While conveniently overlooking the growing racial isolation in charter
schools, Achievement First and other major urban charter schools base
their demand for more public funds by claiming that their standardized
test scores prove that their charter schools are providing students
with a superior education.
However, there is a fundamental flaw in the argument these charter
school advocates are putting forward
Putting aside the broader problems associated with using standardized
mastery tests to measure educational outcomes; there is overwhelming
evidence that test scores are impacted by a number of factors beyond
simply what is going on in the classroom. Study after study has
indicated that poverty and standardized test scores (like the mastery
test) are closely correlated. More poverty means lower school
test scores; less poverty means higher school test scores.
What policymakers are not regularly told is that although poverty level
in all urban schools are high (both at charter and at traditional
public schools), the students at many of Connecticut’s urban charter
schools are significantly “less poor” than the students who attend
the public schools in those same communities.
In Bridgeport, where 99% of the city’s public school students qualify
for free or reduced lunches, according to the data provided to the
State Department of Education, the number of students who meet that
standard at Achievement First’s Bridgeport Academy is more than 30
points percentage points lower. The percentage of students at the
other two major Bridgeport charters (The Bridge Academy and Park City
Preparatory) who qualify for free or reduced lunches are also
significantly lower than in the Bridgeport school system.
There is a similar pattern in Hartford, where 93% of public schools
students qualify for free or reduced lunches compared to 68% at
Achievement First’s Harford Academy and 72% at the Jumoke Academy
charter school. And it is the same in New Haven, where 81% of all
New Haven public school students qualify for free or reduced lunches,
while at the Amistad Academy 66% meet that poverty standard. At
Achievement First’s other New Haven charter school, Elm City College
Prep charter school, the number of students getting free or reduced
lunches is 69%.
Considering these schools are more racially isolated these statistics
indicate that charter schools have the effect of leaving the poorer
students in each city’s public schools systems. According to
their marketing materials and testimony at legislative hearings,
charter schools claim that their students score 10 to 30 percent better
on master tests than do students in the nearby public schools.
However, a portion of that difference may be due to the poverty level
of the students served in those schools.
An even greater impact may come from the language barriers students
bring with them to school.
When it comes to the Connecticut Mastery Tests (3-8 grades), 84% of all
Connecticut students score at the proficient or better level in
math. However, for English Language Learners (ELL students) that
is, “students who lack sufficient mastery of English,” the percent of
students who achieve a proficient or better score drops all the way
down to 57%.
The language barrier has an even more stunning impact on the test
results for the reading portion of the Connecticut Mastery Test.
While 78% of all Connecticut students score at the proficient level or
better, only 37% of ELL (those not proficient in the English Language)
test at the proficient level or better. These numbers mean that
schools that have more ELL students do significantly worse than schools
that don’t have as many non-English proficient students.
So, back to the data on charter schools:
In Bridgeport, 13% of the public school students are ELL
students. At Achievement First’s Bridgeport Academy the number is
just 6%.
Less than ½ of 1% of the students at The Bridge Academy charter
school are ELL students, while only 2.5% of the students at Park City
Prep charter school are ELL.
In Hartford, where over 17% of public school students are non-English
proficient (ELL), the percent of ELL students at Achievement First’s
Harford Academy is less than 5% and there are literally no ELL students
at the Jumoke Academy charter school. In New Haven, the disparity
is less prevalent. 12% of New Haven public school students are
ELL, which is similar to the percent at the Amistad Academy charter
school, but at Elm City College Prep charter school only 9% of the
students are ELL.
While the impact of these statistics has yet to be fully
documented, the fact remains that Connecticut’s charter schools
are simply not in a position to claim that the quality of their
education programs are substantially better than the education in the
public schools.
Charter schools may claim that they utilize an “open lottery system and
that allows every child to have access to their schools, but the facts
simply don’t back up the charter schools’ claim that their student
populations represent the full spectrum of students that attend public
schools. Therefore their claim of educational superiority doesn’t
add up. Before Connecticut policy makers shift additional
resources from Connecticut’s public schools to the charter schools they
have an obligation to address these fundamental issues.
Achievement First and a number of the other urban charter schools are
more racially isolated, they educate a student population that is less
poor and they fail to take on their fair share of non-English
proficient (ELL) students. While CMT test scores in charter
schools may be marginally higher than public school scores, the
evidence suggests that their teaching methods may not fully explain
those results. The Governor and the Legislature should be seeking
answers to these questions before turning over any more of the
taxpayers’ money to these schools.
Our
question: Does Bridgeport have a "Home Rule" Charter?
Even if it does, in the $3.4 million strings attached situation, are we
not dealing with education matters,
which under the CT Constitution, the State keeps to itself?
Bridgeport: $3.4 Million in return for
your democratic rights: Illegal, Racist
or Both
What? Wait! Blog
Jon Pelto
Jun 17, 2012
The State of Connecticut’s Education Funding Formula (ECS) is
underfunded by at least $800 million.
This means that many towns must raise their local property taxes higher
than they should or that schools go without the funds they need to
maintain adequate services.
Last week Governor Malloy proposed and the Democrats in the Legislature
adopted a new law that read; “The Commissioner of Education may, upon
approval by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management,
provide a loan of up to three million five hundred thousand dollars to
the city of Bridgeport for the purposes of inclusion in the budgeted
appropriation of education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, to
cover education expenditures incurred during such fiscal year. As a
condition of making such loan under this section, the commissioner (1)
shall require the selection of a superintendent of schools or chief
financial officer of the Bridgeport school district from a pool of up
to three candidates approved by the commissioner…”
Bridgeport, you get a loan of $3.4 million in return for letting Stefan
Pryor, Malloy’s education commissioner pick you superintendent.
Imagine the legislator from Weston or Woodbridge, Avon or Stonington,
calling their local leaders and saying, I’ve got good news and
bad. The state will loan us $3.4 million but we must let them
pick the person who runs our schools.
Never. Never in a million years would the state demand or the
local citizens in those communities, accept the state over-reaching its
authority and telling one of those communities that they should have
raised taxes more but since they didn’t, the state will give them a
short term loan in return for picking their leaders.
But Malloy and the Legislature did it to the people of Bridgeport.
Why? Because they are poor? Because the vast majority of their
students are Black and Latino? Because they are inherently more corrupt
and can’t govern themselves? (Last time I looked nearly every
Connecticut State and local official who has been hauled off to prison
over the past thirty years was White.)
Perhaps just as shocking is that a reasonable case can be made that the
State’s action is illegal because it is unconstitutional.
Article 10 of the Connecticut Constitutions deals with the issue of
“HOME RULE.”
The article reads;
SEC. 1. The general assembly shall by general law delegate such
legislative authority as from time to time it deems appropriate to
towns, cities and boroughs relative to the powers, organization, and
form of government of such political subdivisions. The general assembly
shall from time to time by general law determine the maximum terms of
office of the various town, city and borough elective offices. After
July 1, 1969, the general assembly shall enact no special legislation
relative to the powers, organization, terms of elective offices or form
of government of any single town, city or borough, except as to (a)
borrowing power, (b) validating acts, and (c) formation, consolidation
or dissolution of any town, city or borough, unless in the delegation
of legislative authority by general law the general assembly shall have
failed to prescribe the powers necessary to effect the purpose of such
special legislation.
It would, of course, be up to the Connecticut Supreme Court to
interpret the meaning of Article 10, Section 1 of the State
Constitution but (1) the state has clearly delegated to the towns the
authority to choose a superintendent and (2) we are dealing with a
situation that is occurring after July 1, 1969.
While the $3.4 million, in return for giving up their rights to select
their superintendent of schools, deals with the “borrowing powers” of
the community there is no way the framers of the State Constitution
intended the state to be able to use changes in the a community’s
“borrowing powers” to reach issues as fundamental as their right to
self-governance.
Bridgeport is facing a deficit of $3.4 million. Malloy and the
Democrats in the Legislature have said we’ll lend you the money if
you’ll allow Stefan Pryor to pick your superintendent.
Considering that the situation would have been handled very differently
in one of Connecticut’s many wealthy towns, and the action itself may
not be legal, the question is;
Is the State of Connecticut’s action illegal, racist or both.
Ed
commissioner sets focus on
Bridgeport
Linda Conner Lambeck, CT POST Staff Writer
Updated 10:42 p.m., Sunday, October 23, 2011
HARTFORD -- A week into his job as the state's new commissioner of
education, Stefan Pryor was in Bridgeport for most of the day, combing
through school district finances, talking to local officials and
wrapping his arms around what is bound to be his thorniest challenge:
turning around a failing urban school district.
Pryor, whose last job was as economic development director in Newark,
N.J., won't say much about what he learned but indicated he did leave
with the impression the district is being guided in the right direction.
"With the new board taking action to change conditions in Bridgeport,
there is an opportunity," said Pryor.
"There are other districts and other schools exhibiting low performance
within the state ... but Bridgeport is very important and it represents
a significant opportunity. There is a real chance here to advance a
system that ought to be producing better results for the students in
Bridgeport."
Fixing the state's achievement gap, which is the worst in the nation,
is one of the prime challenges Pryor assumed as the state's top
education chief. Bridgeport, with just one out of three elementary
students scoring in the goal range in reading and math on the
Connecticut Mastery Test compared to two out of three for the state, is
certainly one of the gap's biggest contributors.
Bridgeport doesn't have Pryor's exclusive attention, but is a chief
focus of the state Department of Education as it moves to elevate
performance levels in low performing school districts.
At the same time, Pryor plans to "get out of the way" of districts that
are doing well -- and hold them up as models.
"I am a data-obsessed person, so I am still evaluating at an intricate
level Connecticut's data. I wouldn't want to necessarily point out any
district by name before I am done looking very closely, but there are
surely districts in our state that are exemplars," Pryor said.
Pryor said there are also schools in the state that shatter
expectations, such as those that work with urban students facing all of
the challenges associated with poverty.
"We know it can be done," he said.
Yet, at the same time that the state seeks to narrow the achievement
gap between wealthier suburban students and low-income urban students,
it may very well seek a waiver of the federal No Child Left Behind law
which requires 100 percent proficiency in math and reading by 2012.
The goal, said Pryor, is arbitrary, unattainable and meant to undermine
the system. In its place, Pryor said the state will set rigorous
benchmarks that are suitable. The benchmarks won't be the same for
every district.
A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Pryor, 39, served from
1998-2001 as the vice president for education at the Partnership for
New York City, where he led the organization's public education efforts
and served as executive director of its main school reform program.
He is described by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as the right person to move
the state forward. Others call him a workaholic with something to show
for his efforts.
"His entire career has been about taking on big problems and fixing
them. That is what we need right now," said state Rep. Andrew
Fleishmann, co-chair of the Legislature's education committee.
Pryor is also viewed as an advocate for charter schools. He was part of
a team that helped create the Amistad Academy, one of the state's first
charter schools, which was highlighted by the U.S. Department of
Education in 2007 as a model for closing the achievement gap.
Pryor said what he advocates are effective schools. When Amistad was
developed, the idea was to create an effective middle school, something
New Haven lacked.
"Charter schools happened to be the best way to create a new school,"
Pryor said.
Pryor wants Connecticut to have a portfolio of great public schools, be
they charter schools, technical high schools, magnet schools or
conventional schools.
In Bridgeport, Pryor offered new board members suggestions about
districts that have organized themselves for success and talked about
the trajectory those districts have followed to achieve real progress.
He told the board their first priority is to find the right replacement
for School Superintendent John Ramos, whose job has been terminated as
of Jan. 1. Pryor said he gave the board names of great superintendents,
but won't say publicly who he suggested.
"I also made it clear that it is the local school board's decision," he
said. "We will answer any question. We will be helpful in any way
conceivable, but it is their process to run and their decision to make."
Another topic Pryor won't talk about is the fiscal state of the
Bridgeport school system, although he said he is familiar with it at a
reasonably high level of detail. Insufficient funding is considered by
many to be a big factor in the district's inability to boost student
achievement. The district has been flat-funded for four years, and its
$215.8 million operating budget is substantially less than the
operating budget for Hartford or New Haven schools.
"The main point I would make," said Pryor, ``is that it is essential,
given that funding is a factor in the success of the system, that the
local parties resolve their issues as it pertains to the financial
conditions."
Out With Textbooks, in With Laptops
for an Indiana School District
NYTIMES
By ALAN SCHWARZ
October 18, 2011
MUNSTER, Ind. — Laura Norman used to ask her seventh-grade scientists
to take out their textbooks and flip to Page Such-and-Such. Now, she
tells them to take out their laptops.
The day all have seen coming — traditional textbooks being replaced by
interactive computer programs — arrived this year in this traditional,
well-regarded school district, complete with one naysaying parent
getting reported to the police. Unlike the tentative, incremental steps
of digital initiatives at many schools nationwide, Munster made an
all-in leap in a few frenetic months — removing all math and science
textbooks for its 2,600 students in grades 5 to 12, and providing a
window into the hurdles and hiccups of such an overhaul.
The transformation, which cost $1.1 million for infrastructure,
involved rewiring not just classrooms but also the mindset of students,
teachers and parents. When teachers started hearing that “the server
ate my homework,” they knew a new era had begun.
“The material we’re teaching is old but everything around it is
brand-new,” said Pat Premetz, chairwoman of the math department at
Wilbur Wright Middle School in Munster, who described the initiative as
both “very overwhelming” and “the most exciting thing to happen in my
40 years of teaching.”
“This isn’t stressing out students,” Ms. Premetz added. “It’s stressing
out teachers because of some of the technological problems, and parents
who are wondering why their kids are on the computer so much.”
Munster is hardly the first district to go digital. Schools in
Mooresville, N.C., for example, started moving away from printed
textbooks four years ago, and now 90 percent of their curriculum is
online. “It didn’t happen overnight for us — it was an incremental
change,” said Mark Edwards, Mooresville’s superintendent of schools.
“The competency is evolutional.”
But Munster’s is part of a new wave of digital overhauls in the two
dozen states that have historically required schools to choose
textbooks from government-approved lists. Florida, Louisiana, Utah and
West Virginia approved multimedia textbooks for the first time for the
2011-12 school year, and Indiana went so far as to scrap its
textbook-approval process altogether, partly because, officials said,
the definition of a textbook will only continue to fracture.
“We’ve stopped pretending that the state board of education is the
biggest school district in the state,” said Tony Bennett, Indiana’s
superintendent of public instruction. “I believe in local control, and
we don’t have the ability to be the keeper of knowledge we have been in
the past. We’ll be better off if we uncuff people’s hands.”
Uncuffed, Angela Bartolomeo’s sixth graders spent a recent Wednesday
rearranging terms of equations on an interactive Smart Board and
dragging-and-dropping answers in ways that chalkboards never could. (In
between, a cartoon character exclaimed that “Multiplying by 1 does not
change the value of a number!” in his best superhero baritone.)
When the children followed up the lesson with exercises on their
laptops, the curriculum, Pearson Education’s “Digits,” not only allowed
them to advance at individual rates, but also alerted Ms. Bartolomeo
via her iPad when they were stuck on a particular concept and needed
help.
Software wirelessly recorded the children’s performance in a file that
the teacher would review that night. “Last year I’d have to walk around
and ask every kid how it’s going, and I’d be grading sheets, that kind
of thing,” Ms. Bartolomeo said. “This way I can give my time to the
kids who really need it. And it’s a lot more engaging for the kids.
They’re actually doing their homework now.”
Ms. Norman, the seventh-grade science teacher, is using material from
Discovery Education, which on that Wednesday included videos from
Discovery’s “Mythbuster” series (commercial-free), an interactive
glossary and other eye candy to help students investigate whether
cellphones cause cancer. When Ms. Norman told the students to take out
their ear buds to watch a video, two in the back yelped, “Cool!”
“With a textbook, you can only read what’s on the pages — here you can
click on things and watch videos,” said Patrick Wu, a seventh grader.
“It’s more fun to use a keyboard than a pencil. And my grades are
better because I’m focusing more.”
Even as more and more schools nationwide have eschewed traditional
textbooks, spending an estimated $2.2 billion on educational software
last year, vigorous debate continues over whether technology measurably
enhances achievement. But long before Munster will have a chance to
reap any potential rewards, there has been a steep learning curve.
It was left to Maureen Stafford, Munster’s director of instructional
programs and assessment, to convince skeptical colleagues (some of whom
did not want to relearn how to teach) and parents (some of whom did not
want their children to be exposed to the online wilderness) that the
switch could be made in a matter of months. The town contributed about
half of the $1.1 million to build the wireless infrastructure in the
district’s three elementary schools, middle school and high school,
with district funds covering the rest.
Each student was issued a laptop, with an annual rental fee of $150.
The computers are cut off from noneducational Web sites, including
social networks. The children are not allowed to use any other computer
for their work because, she said, “kids on the south end of town will
have Cadillacs and others on the north end will have eBay versions.
That’s not equitable.”
Some parents balked at the expense and risk, even though the fee is the
same as what the district had long been charging for textbooks, and
includes insurance. Then there were the Luddites: one father sent so
many nasty e-mails to Ms. Stafford that she reported him to the police
for, fittingly, cyber-harassment. (He ceased and desisted.)
“You don’t want your child to have a laptop?” Ms. Stafford said. “What
are we going to do? That’s our textbook! There’s nothing else.”
There were the inevitable technical glitches. One girl in Ms. Norman’s
class missed the video because she could not connect to the network, so
she had to catch up in the Media Center (formerly known as the
library). During a contentious meeting with a Pearson representative,
several math teachers complained of assignments disappearing, tests not
saving, and network failures lasting hours while students struggled to
get online for homework.
“We have no record of any outages at that time,” the Pearson
representative, Chuck Dexter, explained as the teachers grew angrier.
“That’s what we need to figure out.”
Ms. Stafford, 62, has long planned to retire in 2013, and noted in an
interview that it would have been far easier for her, and many others
in Munster, to stay with print textbooks for another few years. But
when Indiana made multimedia an option, she felt she had no other.
“This wasn’t a technology initiative — this was a curriculum
initiative,” Ms. Stafford said. “The best programs out there needed the
technology required to implement it. It was time.”
Cut the summer break: Study
backs longer school year
Better grades, better graduation
results seen
The Washington Times
By Ben Wolfgang
Friday, September 30, 2011
Students may not want to hear it, but schools that have experimented
with extra periods and longer school years report higher graduation
rates and higher test scores, according to a new report from the
National Center on Time and Learning, a Boston-based nonprofit advocacy
group.
About 1,000 school districts now keep their youngsters in class well
past 3 p.m., and some have extended their year deep into the summer.
Many policymakers want to see that trend continue. Education Secretary
Arne Duncan said it’s no surprise the U.S. is falling behind global
competitors who aren’t bound by the traditional 180-day school year.
“If we’re serious about closing achievement gaps … we can’t keep doing
business as usual,” he said Friday at a roundtable discussion hosted by
the Center for American Progress.
“Right now, children in India, children in China and other places,
they’re going to school, 30, 35 days more than our students. If you’re
on a sports team and you’re practicing three days a week and the other
team is practicing five days a week, who is going to win more? Anybody
who thinks we need less time, not more, is part of the problem,” he
said.
Increased learning time is an issue that has garnered support from both
Republicans and Democrats and has been a talking point of education
secretaries for decades. Despite the support, the idea hasn’t caught on
as much as proponents would like.
A librarian at the Deanwood Neighborhood Library in D.C., talks June
16, 2011, to a group of kindergarten students from nearby Houston
Elementary School about the Pledge of Allegiance. (Pratik Shah/The
Washington Times)A librarian at the Deanwood Neighborhood Library in
D.C., talks June 16, 2011, to a group of kindergarten students from
nearby Houston Elementary School about the Pledge of Allegiance.
(Pratik Shah/The Washington Times)
But that could soon change, thanks in large part to the President
Obama’s plan, announced Sept. 23, to offer states waivers from the
deadlines and penalties of the No Child Left Behind federal education
law if they implement detailed reform plans. Many education specialists
are encouraging states to make longer days and longer years a
cornerstone of their proposals, which must be approved by the Education
Department.
“Expanded learning time is a valuable tool for improving student
achievement, as demonstrated by the schools that have implemented
this,” wrote Isabel Owen, a policy analyst at CPA, in a position paper
supporting more time in school for students nationwide.
Breaking from tradition, however, is often a hard sell.
School administrators may be unwilling to make drastic changes to their
calendar for a variety of reasons. Students would surely disapprove of
the move, as it could cut into their free time each afternoon and
eliminate a chunk of their summer break. Employees may object because
they’d have to work longer hours.
Teachers would probably see little, if any, increase in their pay, but
would work more days out of the calendar year. The extra work may lead
teacher labor unions to demand salary increases, putting an even
greater strain on cash-strapped districts and states.
In addition, some school leaders simply want things to remain just as
they’ve been for decades, said John King, New York’s commissioner of
education.
“Most people in school buildings … their starting place is how things
were when they went to school. They have a set of expectations around
that,” he said, also speaking at the CPA forum.
Even supporters of the longer school year do not believe that every
student in the nation needs more time in school. The best-performing
students from the safest, wealthiest neighborhoods, Mr. Duncan said,
are probably doing all right under the current system. But in poor,
urban settings, he added, more time off the street and in the classroom
can have positive effects beyond better grades and test scores.
“Our schools, beyond being places of learning, are places that are
safe,” he said.
Mr. Duncan’s remarks came on the same day the Obama administration
announced two initiatives to improve teacher quality. The Education
Department is reducing the paperwork districts must submit every year,
saying it will free up valuable time for lesson preparation and other
vital tasks.
Is there
a link here?
With half of schools failing NCLB,
Malloy to seek a waiver
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT MIRROR
September 23, 2011
With almost half the schools in Connecticut failing to meet the
requirements of No Child Left Behind, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was quick
to say the state would be seeking a waiver from the federal law's
requirements under a process announced today by President Obama.
"I anticipate that we would be looking at a waiver," Malloy said. "As
No Child Left Behind was drafted I think there were some major mistakes
made and this is one way to clarify that. Cleary not [this many]
American schools are failing, that's just not the case."
Malloy's decision comes a few days after he was non-committal when
asked if the state would try to seek a waiver. But he did not hesitate
today, confirming his intention to reporters about 15 minutes after the
president announced states would be granted waivers.
"To help states, districts and schools that are ready to move forward
with education reform, our administration will provide flexibility from
the law in exchange for a real commitment to undertake change. The
purpose is not to give states and districts a reprieve from
accountability, but rather to unleash energy to improve our schools at
the local level," Obama said in a statement.
The waivers will give school districts some reprieve from the
requirement that 100 percent of their students be proficient in reading
and math in three school years. The tradeoff will be that states show
they meet certain conditions, such as imposing standards to better
prepare students for college or employement and setting evaluation
standards for teachers and administrators.
"This waiver will put more of a sense of reasonableness in getting
better outcomes from students," said Mark Linabury, a spokesman for the
State Department of Education. Linabury said the state's incoming
education commissioner Stefan Pryor attended the announcement this
morning by the Obama Administration.
Results released Monday by the state Department of Education showed 47
percent of the schools in the state did not meet the requirements of
the law -- a long way from the benchmarks the state department is
required to meet. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has estimated
that more than 80 percent of the nation's schools are not meeting the
requirement benchmarks.
Details of what reforms Connecticut's will pitch to the U.S. Department
of Education in their waiver application were not immediately
available, but if it is approved if could exempt districts from NCLB
sanctions --which include offering students the option to transfer to
other schools or firing principals and teachers.
According to a fact sheet released by The White House on the waiver,
the current requirement that 100 percent of students be proficient in
math and reading by 2014 will be pushed back if states "establish
ambitious and acheivable goals ... to support improvement efforts for
schools and students."
However, that flexibility will only be provided to states that launch
interventions to turn around their lowest-performing schools and for
those that measure teacher and administrators performance with student
outcomes as a factor.
Hartford's Departing
Superintendent To Supervise Windham Schools
State Department Of Education
Appoints Adamowski As Special Master In State Intervention
The Hartford Courant
By VANESSA DE LA TORRE, vdelatorre@courant.com
11:57 AM EDT, July 7, 2011
The state Department of Education has appointed former Hartford school
Superintendent Steven Adamowski to be a "special master" supervising
the struggling Windham public schools, a temporary arrangement that
will begin in August.
The appointment is the latest in a series of interventions to pull
Windham from its steady decline in academic achievement, even among top
students.
State education officials have also cited the school system's inability
so far to successfully teach the community's growing number of Hispanic
students who come from homes where English is the second language.
For the past five years, Adamowski, 60, led the public schools in
Hartford, where he implemented an aggressive reform plan that has been
credited with improving test scores at some of the city's lowest
performing schools.
Adamowski still has a contract with the Hartford Board of Education to
serve as a special advisor to new Superintendent Christina Kishimoto
through the end of July.
Windham Superintendent Ana Ortiz said Thursday that she welcomed
Adamowski, who was her superintendent when Ortiz was principal of
Bellizzi Middle School in Hartford through 2008.
"I think I can learn a lot from Dr. Adamowski," said Ortiz, who has
also been an assistant principal at Hartford Public High School and a
principal at Betances Elementary School. "Even though we're not a
full-fledged urban district, we're a microcosm of Hartford and your New
Havens and Bridgeports."
Of the roughly 3,450 students in the Windham district, which includes
the city of Willimantic, nearly 70 percent are Hispanic.
The state Department of Education first announced its plans in April to
take control of Windham schools through the appointment of a special
master, whose tasks will include overseeing the school system's
operations, implementing the district improvement plan and assisting
Ortiz with curriculum.
The state has characterized the decision as a friendly intervention,
and Ortiz said she did not feel threatened.
"Not at all. Are you kidding me? No way," Ortiz said. "I see every
challenge as an opportunity."
Acting Education Commissioner George Coleman announced Adamowski's
appointment on Wednesday, after the state board of education approved a
takeover of Bridgeport city schools. At a special meeting of the
Windham school board Wednesday night, Coleman said Adamowski would
begin his new role in mid-August.
It was unclear Thursday how much Adamowski will be paid and for how
long he will work for the state.
Adamowski could not be reached for comment Thursday morning, but last
week said he hoped to remain in Connecticut and "try to do something
useful and supportive of school reform."
WESTON RE-DOING ITS CHARTER, AS IS
BRIDGEPORT
Will Bridgeport residents only get a "yes" or "no"voter on the whole
thing? Any vote?
Challenged On Bridgeport Takeover,
Malloy Decries ‘Tyranny’
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Christine Stuart | Mar 1, 2012 10:46pm
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s first stop on his education tour was in
Hartford, but the first question of the evening came from a former
member of the Bridgeport Board of Education.
“I want to know if your plan to reform our schools is all
about disenfranchising parents and schools all over the state, like
you’re attempting to do in Bridgeport?” said Maria Pereira, the former
school board member who voted against a state takeover. Her comments
drew a smattering of applause around The Village’s community room,
which served as the setting for Malloy’s first stop on his education
reform tour.
Malloy, who relishes verbal sparring with anyone who
challenges him or his policies, told Pereira he doesn’t want to be in a
situation where the state has to take over a school system.
“I wish you lived in a city that had responded to its
requirements to educate all of the children, including your own
children, which you know and I know hasn’t been happening,” Malloy told
Pereira.
“Really can you look at me and say that the Bridgeport Board of
Education has done a good job the last 10 years?” Malloy asked.
“No, the Bridgeport Board of Education hasn’t done a good job in the
last 20 years it’s been controlled by Democrats, that’s why,” Pereira
said. “This is a democracy, not tyranny.”
When Pereira was done speaking, Malloy began to respond. When Pereira
tried to interject, the governor told her she was done speaking at that
point and went on to explain his position regarding the Bridgeport
Public Schools.
“What tyranny is, is sending children to a school year, after year,
after year, knowing that they’re not performing at a rate that will
allow a vast majority of the children graduating from that school, and
finishing that program, to compete — not just on a statewide basis, not
just a national basis, but an international basis,” Malloy said.
He said he didn’t want to take over Bridgeport’s school board, but the
board voted to disband itself. “Your school board basically threw up
its hands and ran away. That’s a reality,“ Malloy said.
Pereira was one of the three members to vote against a state takeover.
She went on to sue the state. Earlier this week, Pereira won her
lawsuit when the Supreme Court decided the state had violated the law
when it disbanded the city’s elected school board and replaced it with
an appointed board.
However, there’s already language in Malloy’s 163-page education reform
proposal that would keep that appointed board in place. Further, some
lawmakers are working to see that the appointed board stays in place by
taking legislative action next week before the city can hold a special
election.
Asked after the event if he would like to see the current Bridgeport
school board remain in place, Malloy said “that’s up to the
legislature.”
“Let’s concentrate on this for a second here. Beyond all of that the
children of the city of Bridgeport have been let down for a generation,
so it‘s time to do something about it,” Malloy said. “And if it’s going
to go back to the old way it’s even more imperative that this package
be passed.”
Malloy’s reform package also includes incentives for the state’s lowest
performing school districts. However, the proposal further says that if
the districts agree to allow the state to help them govern their
schools, they also have to give up a certain amount of control over
things such as collective bargaining with the teachers.
“I do want to be able to step in and supervise . . . the lowest 25
performing schools because if we don’t do that there’s no penalty,”
Malloy said. “The woman who came from Bridgeport — she didn’t deny that
the children had been let down terribly . . . As a former board of
education member she gave no argument at all that the children of
Bridgeport were let down for a generation...” Full
article here.
Special
election for school board uncertain
Linda Conner Lambeck, CT POST
Updated 11:42 p.m., Thursday, March 1, 2012
Eligibility requirements for Bridgeport school board candidates and the
date of a special election are among the unresolved issues the parties
involved in the Bridgeport schools takeover are asking the state
Supreme Court to help settle in the wake of the court's decision to
overturn the state-appointed board.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled the state's seizure of the
Bridgeport school board was flawed because it ignored a key provision
requiring training for the board before it could be disbanded. The
court sent the matter back to Superior Court, with instructions that a
date be set for a special election.
But during an hourlong meeting in state Superior Court in Waterbury on
Thursday with Judge Salvatore Agati, attorneys for all parties came
with questions about the election, including inquiries about the
eligibility requirements of the candidates. After the meeting, which
also included representatives from the Office of the Secretary of the
State, they said it is likely a motion will be filed with the state
Supreme Court seeking clarification, or reconsideration, of the ruling.
Under state law, the parties have 10 days from Feb. 28 to make such a
request.
In a 6-1 decision, the state's highest court ordered the city to hold a
special election to refill its Board of Education, which was dissolved
by state takeover. The state-appointed board will continue to serve
until the elected board is certified by the town clerk. At that time,
the trial court will reinstate the five members of the local board
whose terms of office have not expired, to serve along with the four
newly elected members.
But there were more questions than answers in court Thursday.
Attorney Norman Pattis, who represents deposed board members Maria
Pereira and Bobby Simmons, said the request to the state Supreme Court
to clarify procedures was a stalling tactic.
"Given how long the last (decision) took, my fear is by the time this
is resolved, my clients terms will have expired. We will have won
nothing, and I am outraged by it," he said.
During a special meeting July 5, the city's Board of Education voted
6-3 to ask the state to take charge of the school system. The following
day, the state Board of Education voted 5-4 to approve the takeover.
Pattis and Danbury civil rights lawyer Josephine Miller, who
represented parents of Bridgeport school children, filed suit opposing
the takeover. In their lawsuits, they claimed the actions of the state
were unconstitutional and the law allowing takeovers had been violated.
The state Supreme Court declared Tuesday that the state violated the
law when it failed to retrain the city's Board of Education before
seizing control of the struggling district.
Miller said three options were presented during the meeting to elect
the board. The election could be governed by the city charter, a
truncated 45-day election process could be held, or a regular special
municipal election could be held, within 150 days.
"If we do that, we are back to November already. If we file a request
for articulation, we would be saying basically, help us do this
quicker," Miller said.
Attorney John Kardaras, who represents Bob Walsh and others who had won
the Democratic nod to run before the November elections when the state
appointed a new board, said his clients deserve the party endorsement
and automatic spots on the ballot.
"The Supreme Court decision certainly left more questions than answers
in terms of the actual remedy. Justice delayed is justice denied," he
said.
John Bohannon Jr., representing the city of Bridgeport, said he is not
certain who will file the motion for clarification or reconsideration,
but said doing so will set off another time clock during which other
parties can respond. Even so, he said he would expect a decision
shortly thereafter.
He said he doesn't think the motion will necessarily buy the existing
state board more time.
Neither did Steven Eckert, who is representing the seven
state-appointed board members who have been ordered by the Supreme
Court to stay in office until an elected board is selected.
What
lessons do you learn from "emergency" legislation that isn't an
emergency? Today education in Bridgeport, tomorrow by-by home
rule everywhere...
Hey – it’s only the law – and they are only the Supreme Court
What? Wait! blog, Jon Pelto
Mar 01
IMPORTANT NEWS ALERT:
“General Assembly leaders are expected to press ahead Thursday to try
to circumvent the Supreme Court’s rejection of the state takeover of
the Bridgeport Board of Education.” – March 1, 2012
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams said yesterday that the
legislature should support the Mayor of Bridgeport’s request to
retroactively change the law so that the state can continue to run the
Bridgeport School System rather than allow the elected members of the
Bridgeport Board of Education to fulfill their duties.
Yes, you are reading that comment right.
The President of the State Senate is saying that rather than follow the
law the legislature should simply go back in time and remove the
provisions that made the state’s actions illegal.
Last July the state Board of Education voted 5-4 to use its
extraordinary authority to remove the nine Democratically elected
members of the Bridgeport Board of Education and replace them with
seven people who were appointed by the state to run the local school
system
The Connecticut Supreme Court struck down the state’s action and
reinstated Bridgeport’s Board of Education. The Court also
ordered the city of Bridgeport to hold a special election to replace
the members of the local board whose terms expired since last July.
The Supreme Court determined that state’s action was illegal because
the state failed to follow the law which requires that before the state
can take over a school system it must first make a reasonable attempt
to provide the existing board of education members with special
training and the opportunity to manage their local program.
Senator Don Williams is now being quoted as saying that the state
shouldn’t have to face “unreasonable technical barriers to getting that
help to a city that’s requesting it.”
Unreasonable?
Like following the law?
Like helping local elected officials succeed before the state can
simply dismiss them?
Like saying Democracy is a luxury we can’t afford right now?
The Bridgeport School System is in deep trouble. Significant
changes are need but no one is above the law. Connecticut’s
leaders can fix the problem. It’s called following the law and
doing their jobs correctly.
AND HERE IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE PIECE OF ALL;
Governor Malloy and his State Department of Education knew all along
that they had broken the law and were quietly trying to use the
“education reform” bill to get themselves off the hook.
While Governor Malloy tours that state to talk about his reform
proposals and the battle rages about charter schools and insufficient
funding and doing away with tenure, deep inside Malloy’s “education
reform bill” is a change to the state’s requirement to help train board
of education members before the state can take over a local school
system.
The existing language says that the State Board of Education cannot
authorize the Commissioner of Education to take over a local school
system and dismiss the locally elected board unless the local board has
been given the special training.
Governor Malloy’s bill adds “Any such action taken on or after July 1,
2010, shall be valid notwithstanding any prior requirement for training
for members of a local or regional board before such reconstitution is
authorized.”
Meaning – we knew we had broken the law, we know we took over the
Bridgeport School System illegally but instead of backtracking and
doing it right we will simply change the law to say that anything we
did after July 1, 2010 is legal even though it was illegal.
The politicians say all they want to do is what is best for the kids.
How about the Governor, the legislature, the mayor and everyone else
start with doing their jobs right and that begins with following the
laws of the state of Connecticut.
After
ruling, school solution sought
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Updated 03:27 p.m., Wednesday, February 29, 2012
HARTFORD -- Bridgeport Mayor Bill
Finch found some sympathetic ears in the Capitol on Wednesday in his
quest for a legislative remedy to the shattering reversal of last
year's state takeover of his city school board.
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams was among leaders who
Finch visited to alert them to the stunning Supreme Court decision.
"It's certainly our intention to help cities like Bridgeport who want
additional assistance from the state to get that assistance," Williams
said in a mid-afternoon interview on the Senate floor.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said that it's a
matter of time before a strategy emerges to help the city. "I don't
know of anybody who does not want to see the right thing happen by the
people who live in Bridgeport so they can get better schools for their
kids."
The next step happens Thursday after a judge ordered city of Bridgeport
attorneys and plaintiffs in the school board takeover case to appear in
Waterbury Superior Court Thursday.
The hearing, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., is the next step after the state
Supreme Court on Tuesday voided the state's takeover of the Bridgeport
school system.
Norman Pattis, an attorney for two of the displaced school board
members, said the city has been ordered to bring a copy of the city
charter with them. The court ruled on Tuesday that the state
replacement of the school board was not legal and ordered both sides to
return to superior court so that a new election can be set.
The order came shortly after Finch arrived in the state Capitol on
Wednesday looking for possible legislative solutions to Tuesday's court
decision.
"I'll speak with whoever will meet with me," Finch said during a
morning interview in the Legislative Office Building.
"This is about the children of Bridgeport," Finch said, as he began a
morning-long series of discussions with Senate and House leaders as
well as the Malloy administration.
"Our superintendent and state education commissioner have been very
supportive and we've been making progress," Finch said. "This is a
shame for the children of our city."
With the Senate in session on Wednesday, there was a slim chance that
legislation could be debated on an emergency basis. A section in the
governor's education reforms that pertains to the Bridgeport takeover
issue was reviewed in a public hearing last week and could
theoretically be carved out for a quick vote in the Senate, then
referred for the next House session that is currently not scheduled.
But with the expected mid-afternoon snow storm, it seemed less likely
that action could take place so soon after the high court overturned
last summer's takeover.
As Sen. Kevin C. Kelly, R-Stratford, walked by on his way to a morning
caucus in the Capitol, Finch asked him for support. Finch then took the
escalator upstairs for a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Martin M.
Looney.
What
does the Supreme Court decision
mean?
CT POST
Updated 11:48 p.m., Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Q: What does the state Supreme Court decision mean for the daily
functioning of Bridgeport's school system?
A: Interim Superintendent Paul Vallas, who was chosen by the
state-appointed Board of Education, said he plans to push forward with
balancing the budget, creating a five-year budget plan for the district
and a curriculum plan designed to improve student achievement.
Q: What about decisions made by the new board?
A: Since the Supreme Court is allowing the existing board to stay in
place until a special election date is set and the election results are
certified, observers believe that decisions made by the state-appointed
board will be allowed to stand.
Q: How soon will an election be held?
A: The court ruled the decision must return to the lower court, which
will set a date for a special election.
Q: How many seats will be up for election?
A: The terms of four members of the nine-member board expired with the
November 2011 election. One board member, who had an unexpired term,
has since taken a seat on the Bridgeport City Council.
Q: Can members of the state-appointed board run for open seats?
A: Those who live in Bridgeport can. They include Hernan Illingworth,
Jacqueline Kelleher, Kenneth Moales and Michelle Black Smith-Tompkins.
State-appointed board chairman Robert Trefry, who lives in Fairfield,
cannot run.
Q: Could the education reform package that proposes to retroactively
remove the training requirement that the Supreme Court said Bridgeport
ignored affect the court's decision?
A: It is not clear, but Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said his office is
investigating further legal and legislative options with state and
local officials. But attorney Norman Pattis, who represented the two
city-elected school board members who voted against the dissolution of
the board, said he would challenge any such legislative action in
federal court.
Q: How does the decision affect the
Charter Revision Commission review of the makeup of the school board?
A: The commission still can put
forward changes to the city's charter that could give the mayor more
power over the board and whether the members are appointed, elected or
both. It would then be up to voters to approve those changes.
Bridgeport
schools takeover - read decision here.
Supreme Court
nixes state takeover of Bridgeport school board
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT MIRROR
February 28, 2012
The state Supreme Court has rejected the state's takeover of
Bridgeport's Board of Education, ruling that five of the ousted school
board members be put back in office and special elections must be held
for the remaining four seats whose members' terms have expired.
The decision was based largely on the fact that the board never
received training before the takeover last July, as required by state
law.
"Most importantly, the state board does not have the authority to
authorize reconstitution until it first requires the local board to
undergo and complete training," the majority opinion written by Justice
Peter Zarella reads.
This decision comes days after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's chief counsel
said such a reversal by the Supreme Court would be "unworkable and
would maximize disruption" in Bridgeport schools. The administration is
proposing the General Assembly change in state law so districts no
longer have to undergo training before a state takeover.
Calling the decision "disappointing" Andrew McDonald, counsel for
Malloy said they still plan to pursue a legislative fix.
"We are reviewing the implications of this decision and intend to
discuss further legal and legislative options with state and local
officials in the very near future. Our goal has always been to create a
stable, productive and educationally sound environment for a
chronically struggling school district. Our focus will not
change," McDonald wrote in a statement.
The lawyer for some of the expelled Bridgeport board members said he
plans to challenge in federal court any retroactive fix the legislature
may make in an attempt to override this Supreme Court decision.
Several decisions the state-appointed board has made may also face
legal challenges in the coming months, including budget and contract
decisions and the hiring of Paul Vallas as the new superintendent.
Justice Richard N. Palmer was the lone dissenting vote, writing that
the training requirement is meant to shield the state from unwanted
takeovers. That was not the case in the Bridgeport case, as the
majority of board members voted to have the state replace their board.
"The training provision is a shield, a measure meant to protect a
locality against what it might perceive as an unwarranted state
takeover. The training provision is not a sword, a measure meant to
force a local board of education to retain control over the education
of the district's schoolchildren," Palmer wrote in explaining why
Bridgeport school board members should be allowed to waive the
requirement.
Key lawmaker says
retroactive fix to Bridgeport school takeover unlikely
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT MIRROR
February 28, 2012
Following the Supreme Court's rejection of the state's takeover of
Bridgeport's Board of Education, the leader of the legislature's
education committee said the chances for a retroactive fix is unlikely.
"I have serious doubts whether I or other legislators will continue
such language. The matter has been dealt with and it's closed. The
Supreme Court has ruled," state Rep. Andy Fleischmann, D-West Hartford,
said.
The Supreme Court ruled late Tuesday that the State Board of Education
violated the law when it ousted the elected Bridgeport board last July.
The decision was based largely on the fact that the board never
received training before the takeover last July, as required.
"Most importantly, the state board does not have the authority to
authorize reconstitution until it first requires the local board to
undergo and complete training," the majority opinion written by Justice
Peter Zarella reads.
This decision comes as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed Fleischmann's
committee and General Assembly approve a bill that would retroactively
change the training requirement, and thus retroactively making the
takeover legal.
Andrew McDonald, Malloy's chief counsel, said in a statement that the
administration "intend[s] to discuss further legal and legislative
options with the state and local officials in the very near future."
But the lawyer for those elected Bridgeport members who were not happy
with the takeover has said such a maneuver would surely land the state
back in court.
McDonald has said a reversal of the state takeover would "maximize
disruption" since a new superintendent has been hired and budget and
contract decisions have been made. These decisions are vulnerable to
legal challenges.
"Our goal has always been to create a stable, productive and
educationally sound environment for a chronically struggling school
district. Our focus will not change," he said Tuesday.
Fleischman worries such a retroactive fix will just allow the
uncertainties that the district has had to face the last eight months
will just be prolonged.
"I'm don't think we have the power or authority to retroactively fix
this. They ruled... I would really need some strong persuading to be
convinced that's the right approach," he said. "We might want to decide
what we have going forward but I'm not convinced there is anything
wrong with the current law."
The ruling said the five of the ousted school board members be put back
in office and special elections must be held for the remaining four
seats whose members' terms have expired.
This decision comes days after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's chief counsel
said such a reversal by the Supreme Court would be "unworkable and
would maximize disruption" in Bridgeport schools. The administration is
proposing the General Assembly change in state law so districts no
longer have to undergo training before a state takeover.
Justice Richard N. Palmer was the lone dissenting vote, writing that
the training requirement is meant to shield local districts from
unwanted state takeovers. That was not the case in the Bridgeport case,
as the majority of board members voted to have the state replace their
board.
"The training provision is a shield, a measure meant to protect a
locality against what it might perceive as an unwarranted state
takeover. The training provision is not a sword, a measure meant to
force a local board of education to retain control over the education
of the district's schoolchildren," Palmer wrote in explaining why
Bridgeport school board members should be allowed to waive the
requirement.
Bridgeport is the only
district the state board has disbanded under this law so far.
Malloy
and Finch aides planned out Bridgeport schools' takeover
CT POST
Ken Dixon, Staff Writer
Updated 12:17 a.m., Friday, July 8, 2011
HARTFORD -- Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's top aides were instrumental in
helping Bridgeport officials lay the behind-the-scenes groundwork for
this week's stunning state takeover of the city's troubled public
school system.
Details that emerged from interviews with Malloy administration
officials and others show that Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and his
aides played key roles in working with the governor's office in advance
of the takeover votes to make sure they were following state law.
The governor said Thursday he was not very involved in the negotiations
because of his focus on the current $1.6 billion budget shortfall after
the collapse of a concessions deal with state employee unions.
"But I'm certainly interested in urban education," said Malloy, the
former 14-year mayor of Stamford.
Malloy said Timothy F. Bannon, his chief of staff, was the
administration's point man on the preliminary discussions that also
involved the state Board of Education. After a request from Finch,
Bannon directed several meetings with city and state officials,
including with lawyers who reviewed state law that allows for the new
oversight.
On June 29, Bannon and Benjamin Barnes, secretary of the Office of
Policy and Management, spoke with Bridgeport officials and state
Department of Education personnel in a discussion that centered on the
legal requirements should the Bridgeport board ask to be
reconstituted. On Tuesday, at a hastily called special meeting,
the local school board voted 6-3 to ask the state to take over the
district. The next day, the state Board of Education voted 5-4 to honor
Bridgeport's request.
"The meetings I had were mostly to do with the process," Bannon said
Thursday. "Certainly our goal and the mayor and superintendent's stated
goal is to improve the educational opportunities for Bridgeport kids.
That's it. From what I heard from all parties is that the education
system is failing the kids. My emphasis was to bring the people
together to get the right thing to happen."
Bannon described his job as "expediting" the events that led to this
week's state Board of Education decision to take control of
Bridgeport's schools. Participants in the Capitol discussions
included Finch, his chief of staff, Adam Wood, school board President
Barbara Bellinger, Schools Superintendent John Ramos and Robert Henry,
the associate superintendent. Bannon said that during the
legislative session there had been talk of a bill setting the scene for
the Bridgeport takeover, similar to legislation that passed to allow
state control of the Windham school district, but it was never brought
out for debate.
"State statutes spell out the way things will be decided and our role
was to make sure the decision under the statute occurred in a timely
manner," Bannon said.
Wood said Thursday, "We approached the Malloy administration on Barbara
Bellinger's behalf and asked what was available. The superintendent's
office had questions, so we were acting as facilitators between the
state and those folks. There were our attorneys and their attorneys."
There were several meetings in the Capitol, and conference calls as
well.
"It's a painful but positive step for the students," Wood said. "There
are clearly changes need in the Board of Education and our goals are
positive outcomes for the children."
Barnes, who before becoming Malloy's budget chief was the operating
officer for Bridgeport schools, overseeing the school system's
facilities, transportation, technology and its nearly $216 million
budget, said Thursday that it was clear the city schools -- and the
governing board -- were in crisis.
"I have some experience with that school board, and I can attest to the
fact that some of the conflict on the board has been a significant
distraction to education," Barnes said. "I hope the new board can help
focus improvement on outcomes."
What
law allowed state to BOE takeover?
CT POST
July 7, 2011 at 6:19 pm by Jim Shay
Q. What law allowed the state Board of Education to vote to replace the
Bridgeport Board of Education:
A. Former State Rep. Jason Bartlett, who was on the Legislature’s
education committee when the law was passed a year ago said the
provision was requested by former Commissioner of Education Mark
McQuillan to give him a tool to use to intercede in chronically failing
school districts. No one imagined school districts would initiate use
of the statute.
It was part of a state school accountability law.
The provision in question reads: (h) The State Board of Education may
authorize the Commissioner of Education to reconstitute a local or
regional board of education pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection
(d) of this section for a period of not more than five years. The board
shall not grant such authority to the commissioner unless the board has
required the local or regional board of education to complete the
training described in subparagraph (M) of subdivision (2) of subsection
(c) of this section. Upon such authorization by the board, the
commissioner shall terminate the existing local or regional board of
education and appoint the members of a new local or regional board of
education for the school district. Such appointed members may include
members of the board of education that was terminated. The terms of the
members of the new board of education shall be three years. The
Department of Education shall offer training to the members of the new
board of education. The new board of education shall annually report to
the commissioner regarding the district’s progress toward meeting the
benchmarks established by the State Board of Education pursuant to
subsection (c) of this section and making adequate yearly progress, as
defined in the state accountability plan prepared in accordance with
subsection (a) of this section. If the district fails to show adequate
improvement, as determined by the State Board of Education, after three
years, the commissioner may reappoint the members of the new board of
education or appoint new members to such board of education for terms
of two years.
State
Board Votes 5-4 To Take Over
Bridgeport Schools
Vote
Comes In Response To 'Unprecedented' Request From Mayor, Superintendent
And School Board President
The Hartford Courant
Courant Staff Report
3:39 PM EDT, July 6, 2011
The state Board of Education voted 5-4 Wednesday to reconstitute
Bridgeport's school board, at the request of the city's mayor, school
superintendent and school board president.
By a margin of only a single vote, the state Board of Education voted
Wednesday to take over Bridgeport schools at the request of the city's
mayor, school superintendent and school board president.
Faced with budget problems and poor student performance, the Bridgeport
board had voted 6-3 Tuesday evening to ask the state education
commissioner to reconstitute the board and take other steps to help the
school district.
"It's quite unprecedented," said state Education Commissioner George
Coleman. "We want to know more about what are the details that
precipitated this — to have the board want to surrender its own
authority."
The extraordinary moved by the state board was opposed by three of
Bridgeport's school board members, who say the request was an effort to
remove them as a vocal minority voting bloc on the board and that the
move undercuts representative government.
A new state law allows the state education commissioner to replace a
school board that has become ineffective, but the law has never been
tested. Windham has welcomed the state's recent intervention in its
school district, but that intervention was initiated by the state and
did not involve replacing the school board.
Other struggling school districts have inquired about a state
intervention, wondering what it would mean for their district, though
none but Bridgeport has actually made a request, Coleman said. He said
that in many cases the requests are driven by struggles with tight
school budgets.
"If it's financial relief they're seeking, we have so little capacity
at the state to offer that," Coleman said.
In Bridgeport, Mayor Bill Finch, School Superintendent John J. Ramos
Sr. and school board President Barbara P. Bellinger initiated the
request for state help.
State
authorizes takeover of
Bridgeport schools
Jacqueline Rabe, CT MIRROR
July 6, 2011
By a single vote, the State Board of Education on Wednesday gave
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch the "miracle" he says is needed to turn
around the troubled schools in the state's largest city: a takeover by
the state of Connecticut.
"The status quo in the Bridgeport Public School System is not OK,"
Finch told the state board during a two-hour meeting. "We don't have
anywhere to go ... and that is why we are here."
Bridgeport's school system is facing a 7 percent cut to its $233
million budget, a situation that has exacerbated tensions among the
current nine board members and led to an impasse on passing a budget
for the fiscal year that began last week.
"There is something wrong in Bridgeport. I don't know how we say 'no'
to the request," said Allan Taylor, the chairman of the state board. "I
think we have an obligation."
"I have never seen a more hostile situation," said Tom Mulligan, a
Bridgeport board member. "This board cannot achieve its purpose. ... It
is an emergency situation."
And on Wednesday, members of the state board agreed, voting to grant
the state commissioner of Education the power to appoint a new board to
manage the 20,000-student district. But the board was split, voting 5-4
in favor of intervention.
"It is the role of this board is to place more scrutiny on failing
schools," said Stephen P. Wright, a member of the state Board of
Education from Trumbull, a suburb next to Bridgeport. "They are asking
for our help. We need to give them some measure of help."
But about a dozen Bridgeport parents and voters traveled to Hartford
with a clear message for the state board: Stay out. They said the
residents elected the current nine-member board and throwing them out
of office is troubling.
"It is outrageous to me that my rights as a registered voter are being
taken away. It is not fair," Shavonne Davis, a mother of five children
in Bridgeport schools.
The takeover is a reflection of a board that some say is dysfunctional
beyond its inability to agree on a budget. The problem facing the
current school board, the delegation from Bridgeport in Hartford said,
is there are three board members that are very disruptive to the
process.
Barbara Bellinger, president of the Bridgeport board, said while she
has the majority votes she needs to pass important issues facing the
schools, three members are able to delay business because a two-thirds
vote is needed to go into executive session or to pass anything if one
member is absent.
Hearing those comments, one mother from Bridgeport in the audience
yelled out, "That's called transparency."
And with an election just three months away for four of the current
board members, the Bridgeport delegation said they are not confident
any election will solve this problem.
"I do not think the election will change the situation," Mulligan said.
The uncertainty of their budget is nothing new to Bridgeport schools,
as it has faced major deficits to cope with flat-funding from both the
state and the city in recent years and is the plaintiff on a pending
class-action lawsuit against the state for its funding levels.
Patricia Luke, a member of the state board voting against the
intervention, said the problem isn't the current board, it is that the
chaos facing them now is a direct result of being underfunded.
"How is reconstituting your board going to change those problems? You
don't have enough money," she asked. "It's not going to solve anything,
except you will probably pass a budget for this school year."
But Taylor, who witnessed firsthand the state takeover of the Hartford
school, said that's exactly was this intervention is aimed at solving,
as well as other issues long-term. The new board will be in place for
three years and Acting Education Commissioner George Coleman said he
believes it will be made up of five members.
"I am not sure the solutions will be immediately evident," he said,
adding he will name new members shortly. "Certainly we want people who
have the time and commitment."
Bridgeport is not new to state oversight. Its financial problems led
more than two decades ago to a state panel taking control of the city's
budgeting.
School
board vote asks for state
takeover
CT POST
Linda Conner Lambeck, Staff Writer
Updated 06:57 a.m., Wednesday, July 6, 2011
BRIDGEPORT -- By a 6-to-3 vote, the Board of Education voted Tuesday to
ask for a state takeover that will potentially replace its members and
use a budget Superintendent of Schools John Ramos called "terrible" as
a guide in helping the district teach 20,000 students in 2011-12.
"I have found this board to be dysfunctional in the manner in which it
conducts its business ... The local board and Bridgeport public schools
have proven themselves unable to deliver education that the children of
Bridgeport deserve," said board President Barbara Bellinger.
She said the intervention request was her idea, not Mayor Bill Finch's
or Ramos'. Bellinger said she has contemplated going to the state since
December and called the status quo unacceptable.
She said she got help drafting the resolution from the city attorney's
office as well as with state guidance.
The action essentially leaves district finances in limbo. Two weeks
ago, Ramos got board approval to wait until October to make wholesale
cuts in a $233 million spending plan that needs to be whittled to
$215.8 million. The board action Tuesday leaves open the possibility
deeper cuts could come sooner, since guidance the state will be given
includes recommendations for wholesale cuts of staff and district
programs.
Associate School Superintendent Robert Henry acknowledged some layoff
notices are being prepared. He couldn't say how many, but they are in
accordance with a revised list of reductions Ramos presented at a rally
staged last week.
Sue Smith, director of social work for the district, said Tuesday she
doesn't know what she will do if the board follows through with
elimination of 18 social workers. It would leave one social worker for
every 760 students in the district. Korene Garcia, incoming president
of the district-wide Parent Action Council, said parents believe the
budget will cripple student education.
"We have so many questions that need to be answered. How do we weigh in
on process?" she asked.
Ramos was not at the meeting, held in a packed Batalla School
cafeteria. Many in the back of the room held signs calling for the
removal of Ramos, Finch and Bellinger.
Finch, also not at the meeting, issued a statement over the weekend in
support of the resolution and another Monday calling the board action
an opportunity to move things forward in a positive manner. Adam Wood,
Finch's chief of staff, said if anything, his boss was taking a
political risk, four months before an election, agreeing the school
system wasn't functioning well.
"He has zero control over the Board of Education," Wood said.
Bellinger said she is convinced state intervention will come with
assistance enabling the district to better serve its students, raise
test scores and resolve a budget gap of nearly $20 million. Allan
Taylor, chairman of the state Board of Education, said earlier Tuesday
the one thing the state can't offer the city is more money.
Commissioner of Education George Coleman called the board action
unprecedented -- unlike the Windham school district, where state
intervention was initiated by the state, or Hartford's school district,
where a state takeover in 1997 was driven by the Legislature.
City school board members Maria Pereira, Sauda Baraka and Bobby Simmons
made several failed attempts to get the motions postponed, altered or
sent to committee. Pereira said if some board members feel they can't
do their jobs, they should resign, not ask the state to replace the
entire board.
"Perhaps we should all be dumping tea in Bridgeport's Harbor," said
Pereira. She called the action a political ploy and a conspiracy to
deny citizens their right to vote because four members, who are in the
majority, are up for re-election. Pereira is a member of the Working
Families Party, which shocked the Democratic Party last fall by winning
two board seats. Bellinger denied the action was political.
Baraka said she will take their case to the state. "It's not even up to
the people of Bridgeport anymore," she said.
"Tonight is just another example of the divisions on this board. They
are deep and irreconcilable," said Thomas Mulligan, the newest board
member.
The district has been flat-funded for four years, and federal stimulus
money that kept the district afloat the past two years is gone.
Board member Thomas Cunningham sought assurances the board was only
asking the state to consider the cuts proposed by Ramos, not
necessarily enact them.
Bellinger called it a "road map" for the state to use. She also said
it's up to the state to decide who stays on the board and who goes. "If
they gave me the option, I'd have to think about it because this
combination, doesn't work."
The approved resolutions will be taken up at the state Board of
Education meeting Wednesday.
A
high price to pay for help
CT POST editorial
Published 05:51 p.m., Tuesday, July 5, 2011
With no budget and not enough money, the Bridgeport school system is at
an impasse. A state takeover, as the school board was prepared to
request at Tuesday night's meeting, might be the best path forward.
But there are reasons for caution.
The Board of Education, whatever its faults, is made up of duly elected
officials, chosen by the population of Bridgeport. Election results are
not to be casually tossed aside, no matter what crisis is at
hand. And few would disagree the problems Bridgeport is facing go
far beyond anyone currently in office.
Faced with the fourth consecutive year of no funding increase from the
city, Schools Superintendent John Ramos recommended and the school
board agreed last month not to adopt the proposed budget for the coming
year. The gap between what was needed and what was available, Ramos
said, was simply too large. That point is not in dispute. The
state responded by saying that no help could be forthcoming without
adopting a budget of some sort.
Mayor Bill Finch, Ramos and School Board President Barbara Bellinger
then proposed a resolution that asks the state to replace the
nine-member school board and, in effect, take over the district. This
is the resolution that was to be discussed Tuesday.
It's true that a vocal minority on the school board has put up some
obstacles to the majority's plans. But that's simply the nature of a
political board. Those members were elected like everyone else.
And there's little evidence a state takeover would close the budget
gap; the chairman of the state Board of Education has said as much.
Ramos has called the inequity in education funding between the city and
suburbs "perverse." That is the real issue, and it goes far beyond any
squabbling on the Board of Education.
State help for the Bridgeport schools would be welcome, and may
ultimately be necessary. But not at the expense of overturning
elections.
CT
Commission of Education (retiring)...how does this affect this idea?
Finch, Ramos ask for state takeover of Board of Education
CT POST
Linda Conner Lambeck, Staff Writer
Updated 08:18 a.m., Tuesday, July 5, 2011
BRIDGEPORT -- Schools Superintendent John Ramos, along with Mayor Bill
Finch and School Board President Barbara Bellinger, are asking for what
amounts to a state takeover of the city school board.
The board of education is scheduled to meet in special session at 6
p.m. Tuesday in Batalla School, 606 Howard Ave., to consider a
resolution asking the state Board of Education to ask the state
commissioner of education to reconstitute the local nine-member school
board.
If approved, the board would be agreeing to "set itself aside" and for
the commissioner to appoint a new board, Ramos said. It remains to be
seen, he added, if "this is the kind of game-changer we need for our
kids to have a different kind of hope going forward."
"The Bridgeport Board of Education as it is currently constituted is
dysfunctional. It's hard to argue that. We also generally agree that
our city can't provide an equitable education to its children given its
financial constraints. This resolution from my perspective reflects
these realities and essentially appeals to the state for help in a more
deep and impactful way," said Ramos.
The board, at Ramos' suggestion, agreed last month that it could not
provide a decent education for the district's 20,000 students on the
$215.8 million operating budget it will receive for the fourth straight
year, coupled with a sharp reduction in federal grant money.
Ramos called it drawing a line in the sand. He acknowledged that along
with reconstituting the board, the state could very well decide to
shake up district staff, including his office.
"That may well be a consequence of this. This can't be about policy and
job security. My job is not necessarily secure in this process as far
as I am concerned," Ramos said.
Finch, in a prepared statement, said he believes that state oversight
will be the best way to calm the waters and take politics out of the
process.
"As a public school parent, I realize our school system is at a
critical crossroad," Finchsaid. He added that state oversight will
allow a renewed focus on improving outcomes for students.
At least two school board members said Sunday that they see it
differently.
Sauda Baraka said it is up to the superintendent, who earns more than
$225,000 a year, to guide the school board. She sees the resolution as
an attempt to remove three members of the board, herself included, who
have disagreed with many of the actions taken by Ramos and a majority
of the board this school year.
Board member Maria Pereira said it makes no sense to target the board
when Ramos asked the board not to pass a budget. She also said that if
a majority of the board admits they are incapable of acting in the best
interest of children, the minority should not be held responsible. She
called the proposal purely political and a possible misuse of a
relatively new state statute, part of the so-called parent trigger law,
that allows the state to take over districts based on poor student
performance.
Bellinger could not be reached for comment. In a statement released by
Finch's office, she is quoted as saying what is most important are the
children.
"This has been a long and difficult process for our board. ... During
the past few years, the Board has struggled to gain a consensus on many
issues. Without a laser-like focus on student achievement we are unable
to dramatically improve student outcomes, our most important mission,"
she said in the release.
The two-page resolution blames board conduct at meetings for delaying
board business and preventing the board from meeting its goals and
improving student outcomes.
Ramos said a state takeover of the district has been talked about for
years and the idea got traction after the budget was not passed. He
said the mayor's office has been in direct contact with Gov. Dannel P.
Malloy's office over the matter.
The superintendent said board reconstitution is an opportunity only if
it is devoid of politics and is about students, not protecting jobs.
"If we allow this process to be diluted in any way or compromised by
politics in any way then its a nonstarter," said Ramos, who does not
plan to attend Tuesday's meeting. He is moderating a Connecticut
Conference of the Church of Christ. He said he expects the mayor will
be at the meeting.
Fiscal pressures push districts toward
regional cooperation
Robert A. Frahm, CT MIRROR
November 9, 2010
NORWICH - When this cash-strapped town closed its schools for spring
vacation last April, it still had to pay to keep school buses
rolling.
The school district continued operating buses for students attending
programs outside the district, including a New London magnet school and
state-run technical and agricultural high schools.
The cost of running the buses that week, about $20,000, could have been
saved if all of the schools had been on the same vacation schedule,
officials said.
This week, the Norwich Board of Education is expected to vote to join
other districts in adopting a common school calendar to avoid such
conflicts, hoping eventually to coordinate schedules with more than two
dozen school systems in the region. Pressured by Connecticut's
mounting fiscal crisis, school districts are warming to the idea of
working together to hold down costs - a sharp break from the
longstanding Yankee tradition of local control and immutable district
boundary lines.
"We need to let go of these border lines and boundaries that inhibit
and make education costs so expensive," said Charles Jaskiewicz,
Norwich's school board chairman. "We really need to work on
regionalizing better."
A uniform school calendar could be one of the first steps. Educators
also are discussing regional approaches to health insurance, purchasing
agreements, busing and even curriculum, especially as schools across
the state brace for more layoffs and budget cuts next year.
"I think [regionalism] is being pursued more seriously now than I've
ever seen it," said Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director of the
Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.
In other parts of the nation, too, school districts increasingly are
looking for ways to share costs and work together under the pressure of
tight budgets, especially in states with numerous small districts
confined to small geographic areas, said Bruce Hunter, associate
executive director of the American Association of School Administrators.
"That is going on almost everywhere," he said. "It's money. It's
efficiency. It's also access to resources."
The budget crisis is particularly urgent in places such as Norwich,
where the school district laid off more than 10 percent of its
workforce this year, closed two schools and saw class sizes
balloon.
Jaskiewicz, the board chairman, sees potential savings in areas such as
busing, where he believes neighboring towns could jointly operate buses
to take students to state-operated technical high schools, for example.
Under the current system, he said, "A lot of times you'll see a bus
going down the highway with only a handful of students on it, and other
towns will follow the same route."
Officials from Norwich and other nearby districts also are exploring
the possibility of cooperative arrangements for insurance coverage,"
Jaskiewicz said.
The push for regional cooperation gained momentum last January when
Democrats in the state House of Representatives created the Commission
on Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies (MORE) to examine
potential collaborations among towns, school districts and regional
organizations. More recently, the issue was raised by an ad hoc
committee of the State Board of Education. The committee, which is
studying school finance, has asked the state's regional education
service centers to collect information on the feasibility of
cooperative approaches to busing and insurance coverage.
There are six regional education service centers in Connecticut,
assisting school districts in areas such as special education,
technology, curriculum development, professional training and
purchasing.
"This year, more than ever, we're engaged in discussions to help
[districts] put people together to reduce costs," said Craig Edmondson,
executive director of ACES, a regional center based in North Haven.
Some educators believe the legislature's passage of a major school
reform law earlier this year, including new graduation requirements,
could lead to a more standardized statewide curriculum. "If that were
to take place . . . it may help school districts to not spend
significant resources to develop [their own] curriculums," Edmonson
said. A common curriculum also could allow for districts to make joint
purchases of textbooks.
"We need to think differently than we have in the past," Edmondson said.
The major factor behind the renewed interest in regional cooperation is
the sputtering economy, including a looming $3.3 billion state budget
deficit.
"All of this has come with the recession," said Bruce Douglas,
executive director of the Capitol Region Education Council, a regional
agency covering Greater Hartford. "How can we create economies of scale
so we can reallocate needed resources back to the classroom?"
In Connecticut, nearly all of the state's 169 towns operate their own
separate school districts and often cling fiercely to the notion of
local autonomy - even in towns with only a few hundred students.
Nevertheless, said Douglas, "There are multiple ways [regionalism] can
work - information technology services, technology repair, facilities
management, food services, transportation. Probably the most important
one is health benefits and regional contracts."
Joint purchasing agreements already are relatively common as districts
join municipal cooperatives or other school systems to buy paper,
classroom materials, custodial supplies and other materials. "I've been
doing that for years," said Maria Whalen, the business and finance
director for New London's public schools.
In Plainville, public schools are involved in cooperative purchasing
arrangements for things such as special education services, paper,
copiers, oil and electricity, said Richard Carmelich, the school
system's director of finance and operations.
"Most districts do at least some things regionally," he said. "We're
part of a number of consortiums."
As educators squeeze what they can from their budgets, they are
expecting little, if any, additional help this year from the state.
Lawmakers will be hard-pressed just to maintain existing levels of
state aid to schools.
"I think the smart districts are the ones being creative," said State
Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, co-chairman of the legislature's
Education Committee. "The budget situation we're in really dictates
that."
Gaffey is among advocates for regional cooperation, including a common
statewide school calendar. So is state Education Commissioner Mark
McQuillan. A common calendar "is very important and, arguably, a
simple thing to do. . . . We're not that big a state," McQuillan said.
"I can't imagine you couldn't have a post-Labor Day start and the same
basic configuration of days off."
Educators believe a uniform calendar not only would help neighboring
towns to coordinate bus schedules, it would also allow them to share
the cost of hiring speakers or running training programs for teachers
on days scheduled for professional development.
"If you can get common vacation days and common professional
development days - that would make a difference," said Patrice
McCarthy, deputy director and general counsel for the Connecticut
Association of Boards of Education.
However, some districts set vacations and teacher training days in
labor contracts while others have well-established traditions they may
be reluctant to alter. "Everyone has their own idea as to what the
perfect vacation schedule is," McCarthy said. "You get lots of
opinions. People are wedded to what they've been doing."
Nevertheless, she said school boards are expressing a "significantly
heightened interest" in working together on matters such as busing,
special education, professional training and summer school.
"The time is right," she said.
A former mayor plans to tackle
state's
education aid formula
Jacqueline Rabe and Robert A. Frahm, CT MIRROR
April 4, 2011
As mayor of Stamford, Dannel P. Malloy grew so frustrated seeing his
wealthy neighbors get almost the same per-pupil education grants from
the state as his city did that he joined a class-action lawsuit over
the funding system. As governor, he intends to change that system
from within.
"There are two ways to do it: We could leave it up to the courts or we
could take it up ourselves," Malloy said in an interview with The
Mirror. The current system, he says, "does a bad job of telling us
where we should spend money."
The state spends about $2.7 billion on primary, secondary and adult
education each year. Malloy is calling for a fresh look at how the
state spends almost $2 billion of that money dispersed for public
schools through the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant, the largest
single source of state support for public education to the state's 169
towns, and about 10 percent of the state's total budget.
The ECS system, which dates back more than two decades, relies on a
complicated formula measuring each town's wealth, tax base and level of
need based on family poverty and other factors.
It is designed to equalize education spending among the state's wealthy
and poor towns, but the formula has never been funded to the level
originally intended and has been the subject of an annual tug-of-war
and frequent political compromises in the legislature.
"We just need to have an honest conversation about it," Malloy said.
"It's been tinkered with enough."
Malloy also wants to change other elements of the education funding
system, including:
Funding of magnet
schools, a key part of the state's strategy for meeting the goals of
the Sheff vs. O'Neill school desegregation settlement. Critics say some
$1 billion spent on magnets has not produced the intended results. "I'm
not rushing to fund more magnet schools," Malloy said.
School
construction grants. The state currently pays 20 to 80 percent of the
cost of new schools, depending on the wealth of the town. That system
has resulted in too many schools built at too high a price; he wants to
cut back the state's share and apply stricter oversight of projects.
Regionalization.
Although he does not support mandating regionalization, Malloy said
school officials "would be very wise to get ahead of that curve...
We're paying for with state dollars, we are subsidizing, too many
superintendents, too many deputy superintendents, too many facility
managers, too many department heads."
But the big money, and probably the toughest political fight, is in
changing the ECS grant formula. Every effort to adjust the formula
comes up against the same obstacle: Barring substantial added funding,
any change makes some towns winners and some losers.
Leaders of local school boards and teachers' unions, frequently at
odds, agree on one thing: The primary problem with ECS is that not
enough money is put into it.
Patrice McCarthy, general counsel for the Connecticut Association of
Boards of Education, said addressing the formula will help -- but the
chronic underfunding from of education is a large contributor to the
state continuing to have one of the largest achievement gaps among poor
and wealthy students in the nation.
"A greater commitment from the state is still necessary," she said.
"You have to both fund the formula and apply it... You really have to
do both."
"I think perhaps the single greatest problem with the ECS formula is
its underfunding," agreed John Yrchik, executive director of the
Connecticut Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.
"I don't think an equity formula can be fixed by simple redistribution."
A soon-to-be-published study commissioned by CEA found that the formula
-- if it were fully funded as originally designed -- would result in
more than $1.3 billion in additional support for public schools.
But that money isn't forthcoming any time soon, Malloy said, given the
deficits the state is facing in coming years.
"That's why looking at how we allocate the dollars we know we're going
to spend is very important," he said. "Every dollar that we do have to
spend needs to be spent wisely."
Some critics say the measures of poverty in the ECS formula are too
low. They also wonder why rich districts still receive a minimum grant
and why the figures used to measure a town's wealth are rarely updated
and drawn from aged data.
Malloy said he believes the formula does a good job of measuring town
wealth, but fails to account adequately for student needs, and he cites
the example of Stamford and its western neighbor, Greenwich.
Both communities rank high in terms of property tax base per
capita--Greenwich is No. 1 of 169 municipalities, while Stamford is
27th, according to state calculations. But the ratio of poor students
in Stamford, as measured by eligibility for subsidized school lunch, is
three times higher than in Greenwich. Still, the $386 per pupil that
Greenwich gets in state aid is nearly 75 percent of Stamford's $521.
"That's the big, giant disconnect," he said. "It doesn't make any
sense."
Tom Murphy, longtime spokesman for the State Department of Education,
said the way the state factors in poverty is problematic.
"Some cities with high amounts of poverty have not benefited from this
formula," he said.
With a budget deficit as high as $3.7 billion to deal with this year,
Malloy isn't proposing to change ECS as well. But he plans to have a
study panel make recommendations for changes by January 1 and hopes the
legislature will change the formula by next May.
"It would be wrong for Connecticut state government to be a defender of
the status quo,' he said. "The status quo is not working."
Slicing
a smaller pie:
Educators consider how to share reduced funding
Jacqueline Rabe, CT MIRROR
November 9, 2010
Governor-elect Dan Malloy may have promised not to cut state aid for
schools, but state education leaders aren't taking that for granted:
They're scrambling to form a plan for dealing with a major loss of
funding.
For the current school year, state lawmakers capped school aid at $1.9
billion, but $270 million of that was paid for with one-time federal
stimulus money. Education leaders are not confident the state will be
able to afford to fill that $270 million gap, which amounts to 14
percent of state aid for schools, in the face of a $3.3 billion deficit.
So a panel of education leaders -- including teachers unions, the
superintendents association, the state board of education members and
Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan -- are weighing the
options.
Should funding for school districts be cut across the board? Should
poor communities be spared? Should districts with more English language
learners or special education students not be cut as much? Those
are among the issues the panel will weigh and offer recommendations on
to Malloy and state lawmakers as early as December. The panel's
final recommendation will likely be a starting point for state
lawmakers, who will have to decide how much state aid will be given and
how it will be distributed.
"We have a long journey here," said McQuillan. "For every change we
make, there will be a tradeoff."
Joseph Cirasuolo, the executive director of the Connecticut Association
of Public School Superintendents, agreed.
"If someone's making money, then another district is losing money, and
that's a problem," Cirasuolo told the education panel Monday.
Alex Johnston, head of the New Haven-based school reform group ConnCAN,
said renewing the current funding structure and having across-the-board
cuts is not the right answer.
"Politically, of course the easiest thing to do is to just give
everyone a haircut," he said. "The formula should not be about what [a
district] brings back from the state Capitol. It's, 'Are we funding our
students fairly based on their needs?'''
Brian Mahoney, the budget director for the State Department of
Education, presented the panel a laundry list of options and how the
changes would impact different school districts. For example,
basing funding only on a district's wealth and special education needs
would result in 38 of the richest communities receiving nothing from
the state.
"This really would be a way to drive money to these urban districts,"
said John Yrchik, the executive director of the Connecticut Education
Association, but stripping any district of funding may not be a good
idea.
"This is a fundamental question that I think we are going to have to
answer."
The panel meets again in December, and at that time hopes to adopt
recommendations for what the state funding formula should look like.
The next step is convincing Malloy and state legislators to agree.
"If we can get it in the governor's budget then that's a good first
step for it becoming a reality," Mahoney said.
PRIOR TO NOV. 2, 2010 BELOW
Ex-Radical
Talks of Education and
Justice, Not Obama
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
October 27, 2008
Over the last several months, as pundits and partisans have debated the
significance of his relationship with Senator Barack Obama, William
Ayers has avoided the limelight, steering clear of political commentary
and public pronouncements.
But on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Ayers, 63, a founder of the 1960s-era
radical group the Weather Underground, a former fugitive, former
Chicago Citizen of the Year and current professor at the University of
Illinois at Chicago, appeared without fanfare at the Stella Adler
Studio of Acting, in Chelsea, to participate in a symposium on
educational justice.
In 1995, Mr. Ayers held a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama, who was running
for a seat in the Illinois State Senate. The two men later served
together on the boards of two Chicago philanthropic groups as well as
on the board of an education reform organization. The two men have been
described as friendly, but not close.
The campaign of his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, has used
Mr. Obama’s ties to raise questions about his fitness to be president.
On Sunday, after Mr. Ayers was introduced to an audience of about 50
people who had bought tickets to the event, the moderator, the WNYC
radio host Leonard Lopate, asked, “Does this mean I can’t run for
president?”
“It means you can win,” Mr. Ayers said in response.
But Mr. Ayers, who was part of a group that claimed responsibility for
bombing several buildings including the Capitol, the Pentagon, banks
and police stations, seemed to go out of his way to avoid presidential
politics.
When he spoke about a person from his neighborhood — Mr. Obama has
several times referred to Mr. Ayers as simply “a guy from my
neighborhood” — some audience members leaned forward in anticipation.
It turned out that Mr. Ayers was not talking about the junior senator
from Illinois but rather about the poet Gwendolyn Brooks, who was also
from Chicago.
While describing his views on education and social justice, Mr. Ayers
hardly resembled the unrepentant terrorist that his critics have sought
to paint him as while attacking the Obama campaign.
He urged one man in the audience, a principal of a South Bronx high
school, to establish closer ties with parents in his school district.
He praised students at a high school in Detroit who started a farm.
And he called upon educators to establish curriculums that help equip
students to be active in society.
“In a democracy, we educate for citizenship,” he said. “Not for
obedience of authority, but for participation.”
After the discussion, some audience members asked questions.
“What happened to the activism?” one woman asked. “What happened to the
revolution?”
Mr. Ayers at first mentioned the realignment of 1994, in which
Republicans took control of Congress, which some Republicans referred
to as a revolution, and then went on to talk about the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s uses of the term “revolution,” and saying that it
would be futile to emulate political models from the 1960s and ’70s.
“Can we imagine another world?” he said.
New federal rule complicates
desegregation efforts
Robert A. Frahm, CT MIRROR
September 7, 2010
On an enrollment form at Hartford's Classical Magnet School,
seventh-grader Elisa Laureano's mother lists Elisa's race as white but
also checks a box categorizing her ethnicity as "Hispanic." So is Elisa
white? Hispanic? Both?
For Classical Magnet, it's a $4 million question.
Under a federal rule that takes effect this year, students can identify
themselves in multiple racial and ethnic categories. Critics say the
rule could upset a variety of race-related programs, from measuring
academic achievement to ensuring civil rights compliance.
One immediate impact in Connecticut is that the rule complicates the
process of determining whether schools such as Classical meet the
racial balance standards in the court-supervised desegregation
settlement of the Sheff vs. O'Neill desegregation case. Schools
throughout the region take their official census on Oct. 1, and
depending on how the question is resolved, some could lose their magnet
status - and a financial lifeline from the state.
"We have a problem," said Classical Principal Tim Sullivan. "It could
be a game-breaker for us."
If Classical--hailed as a model in the regional desegregation
effort--were to fall below the required quota of white students, it
could lose up to $4 million in state magnet school grants and be forced
to send suburban students such as Elisa, who is from West Hartford,
back to schools in their hometowns, Sullivan said.
The state could wind up back in court if it fails to meet the standards
established in the desegregation settlement. That settlement grew out
of a 1996 state Supreme Court ruling ordering Connecticut to
desegregate Hartford's mostly black and Hispanic public schools.
Classical is one of about two dozen magnet schools in the Hartford
region created to help meet the court order. The schools, featuring
specialty themes, are designed to draw racially mixed student bodies
from Hartford and the city's predominantly white suburbs.
Under the Sheff agreement, white students must make up at least 25
percent of a magnet school's enrollment. (The minimum is 20 percent for
some newer magnet schools that have been granted a grace period to meet
the goal.)
But, under the new federal regulation, who counts as white?
Seventeen-year-old Alexis Deschenes, a senior at Classical Magnet,
checked two boxes on her enrollment form this year.
"I listed myself as white and black," said Alexis, whose father is
white and mother is black. "It feels good to identify myself as both
races rather than just choosing one," she said.
Alexis lives in East Hartford and has attended Classical since seventh
grade. "I love it here," she said. "I wouldn't be anywhere else." Until
now, she had been classified as white on the school rolls.
As America grows increasingly diverse, many people - among them
President Obama - can claim mixed ethnic or racial heritage. At schools
such as Classical, multiracial students are common.
"On the surface, Classical looks like it's a diverse school," Sullivan
said. But depending on how strictly or loosely the state categorizes
students, Classical's white population could be as low as 21 percent or
as high as 44 percent, he said. Last year, while Classical was still in
a grace period under the Sheff agreement, the official percentage was
just under 24 percent.
For the first time this year, students across the state are being
asked to identify themselves in one or more of five racial
groups: Black, white, Asian, American Indian or Alaskan native, and
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. In a separate question, they are asked
whether or not they are Hispanic, considered an ethnic but not a racial
category.
The new rule allows students "to more accurately reflect their racial
and ethnic background by not limiting responses to only one racial or
ethnic category," the U.S. Department of Education says in a policy
memo.
The regulation could have far-reaching implications beyond those in the
Sheff case.
"It's going to produce all kinds of chaos. This is just one of the
examples," said Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project
at UCLA and a nationally recognized proponent of school desegregation.
Orfield and other civil rights leaders have opposed the rule, saying it
will make it difficult or impossible to conduct research or monitor
civil rights compliance.
"It's going to make data impossible to compare," he said. "It doesn't
relate very well to actual social reality. . . . It's a terrible
mistake."
The identification of students in multiple racial categories could
require schools to rethink the reporting of racial data on matters such
as graduation rates, test performance, and college attendance rates,
for example.
"All of those things have traditionally been reported with a simple
definition. That all can change," said Tom Murphy, a spokesman for the
State Department of Education. "It's really going to be an interesting
challenge."
Bruce Douglas, executive director of the Capitol Region Education
Council, oversees several magnet schools, most of them in suburban
towns near Hartford. The CREC-operated schools have been able to meet
the quotas under the Sheff plan, and Douglas said he has no problem
with the new federal rule.
"This allows families to identify every aspect of who they are," he
said. "I think it's a good thing."
However, at Classical and several other magnet schools located in
Hartford and operated by Hartford Public Schools, officials have had to
scramble to attract enough white students.
Lawyers for the Sheff plaintiffs said they have discussed the new
racial classification rules among themselves but have not yet met with
state officials to establish guidelines for measuring compliance with
the Sheff settlement. If the two sides cannot agree, the matter
could wind up before a judge.
Sullivan, the Classical principal, applauds the intent of the new
federal rule. "It allows students not to have to deny part of their
heritage," he said. "They can acknowledge what they really are."
But, he wonders, how will the state decide who they really are?
"This is a tough one," he said.
Deal
Reached In School Lawsuit;
Desegregation Fight In Hartford Dragged On For 12 Years
By Associated Press
Published on 4/5/2008
Hartford (AP) — A tentative settlement was reached Friday in the
long-standing school desegregation lawsuit that for 12 years has sought
to remedy the racial isolation in Hartford schools.
The question of whether the city's schools must be desegregated was
settled by the landmark state Supreme Court Sheff vs. O'Neill ruling in
the case in 1996, but the high court left it to the Sheff plaintiffs
and the state to figure out how to do it.
The latest deal requires the state to develop a detailed plan to
address racial disparity, including more magnet schools in Hartford
suburbs and an increase in the number of spots available in suburban
schools for Hartford students.
The agreement also requires that at least 80 percent of Hartford
students who want to attend integrated schools be accommodated by 2012.
The settlement must be approved by a state judge and the General
Assembly.
“This is a watershed day in our ongoing efforts to ensure that all of
Hartford's children are afforded their constitutional right to a
quality integrated education,” said Dennis Parker, Director of the ACLU
Racial Justice Program and an attorney in the case.
Parker said that for the first time in 12 years, the state must follow
a detailed framework to assure racial balance.
Others involved in negotiating the agreement included lawyers with the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. and Center for
Children's Advocacy.
The original case was brought in 1989 on behalf of Milo Sheff, who was
then a 10-year-old student in Hartford's Annie Fisher School. Following
the 1996 Supreme Court ruling, the case landed back in lower courts
after plaintiffs complained over a lack of progress.
The two sides reached an agreement on a four-year plan in 2003: It was
left largely to Hartford to implement the terms of the settlement by
building magnet schools and sending students to suburban schools
through the “Open Choice” program.
However, the numerical goals of the 2003 agreement specifying levels of
integration were not met and after the accord expired last year, the
plaintiffs returned to court.
“Equal opportunity to a quality, integrated education is a fundamental
right and for the first time there is a clear structure in place for
the state to follow to ensure that no child is denied that right,”
Parker said.
Some See Connecticut
Reflected In Obama Speech
By RINKER BUCK | Courant Staff Writer
March 19, 2008
In his landmark speech on race Tuesday in Philadelphia, Sen. Barack
Obama pointedly addressed America's long "racial stalemate" in terms
that were bound to strike familiar chords throughout the country.
But Obama's heartfelt ode to a "more just, more equal, more free"
America also was a stark and brutally familiar description of
Connecticut, where geography and neighborhoods are often defined by
race, where Hartford schools continue to be embroiled in the Sheff v.
O'Neill lawsuit and where even major areas of government like the state
police are grappling with racial strife.
Obama scheduled his remarks in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the
Constitution, after news reports on the comments of his friend and
former Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., on American racism
continued to dog his campaign over the weekend.
In his speech, Obama condemned Wright's comments as "not only wrong but
divisive," yet he did not just issue the politician's standard
distancing from a supporter who has embarrassed him. He instead used
his speech as a springboard for a remarkably candid and perhaps risky
assessment of the continuing problem of race in American society, words
that echoed the theme of challenging the status quo that has marked his
campaign.
"Nutmeggers can really recognize what Obama was talking about in his
speech," said John C. Brittain, one of the lawyers who filed
Connecticut's Sheff v. O'Neill school desegregation lawsuit in 1989.
"Because what he was saying is the story of their home, too."
Despite the Connecticut Supreme Court's 1996 finding that "extreme
isolation" characterized the state's schools, the legislature, the
governor and the parties to the lawsuit are still haggling over
implementing the desegregation order more than 12 years later.
"There has been some limited progress as a result of Sheff v. O'Neill,
where minority kids, say, have a chance to attend better suburban
schools," Brittain said. "But 18 years after the case was filed we
still face the essential issue that Hartford schools are completely
black and the suburbs are white. That's exactly the kind of stalemate
Obama was talking about in his speech."
Obama is significant, Brittain said, because instead of running on the
race issue and appealing only to his own community, his campaign is
about aspirations to go beyond past obstacles over race and offer
genuine hope for change. "The profound mistake of Rev. Wright's sermons
is not that he spoke about racism in our society," Obama said in
Philadelphia. "It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if
no progress has been made; as if this country ... is still irrevocably
bound to a tragic past. But what we know — what we have seen — is that
America can change."
In a far-ranging speech that attempted to link racial issues from
America's constitutional era to the present, Obama also said the
Constitution "was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery." He
said anger over racial issues is justifiable within both the African
American and white communities, concluding that the country is stuck in
a "racial stalemate."
Obama also said the race issue is distracting the public from other
problems facing America, and he excoriated an American "corporate
culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices and
short-term greed."
"I've certainly never heard a politician use language this blunt," said
Mark Silk, the director of Trinity College's Leonard E. Greenberg
Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life and author of
"Spiritual Politics: Religion and America Since World War II."
Silk said most politicians are deliberately vague on the subject of
race to avoid raising a difficult subject, a stricture that Obama
abandoned in Tuesday's speech. Silk also said Obama might have been
most frank in addressing the assumptions of black Americans, not whites.
"At the core of the Obama campaign is a riposte to the notion in the
black community that American society is irredeemably racist," Silk
said. "Going all the way back to Booker T. Washington, and his doctrine
of self-reliance for blacks, there has been a deeply separatist strain
in the thinking of the black community.
"Because racism was considered so ingrained in America, so the thinking
went, blacks had to go it alone and be apart. But Obama's speech was a
call to move away from this past. It was courageous."
New Englanders should find significance in what Obama said for another
reason, Silk said. He pointed out that he spent 10 years in Atlanta in
the 1980s before returning north, which gave him a fresh perspective on
the Northeast.
"In Atlanta, race just seems to be center stage all the time, while in
Connecticut, because of the way neighborhoods and schools are divided
up, it becomes easy to ignore race issues," Silk said. "For a lot of
white people who don't live down South, the presence of race in life
and society is just not front-of-mind. But Obama has been forced to
deal with this himself, and now he is forcing us to think about it,
too."
Obama joined Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side 20
years ago, impressed by the congregation's dedication to economic
revival and community service. The Rev. John Deckenback of Frederick,
Md., a conference minister, or bishop, for the UCC denomination, said
many of the themes in Obama's speech date from historic commitments of
the church. This included the large role the church played in the 1840s
in the case of the Amistad, the Spanish ship that carried slaves who
rebelled and who eventually were freed after standing trial in New
Haven and Hartford.
"You have to remember that in the UCC, the same denomination that
Wright and Obama belong to, we are the religious descendants of the
same people who raised money to return the Amistad captives back to
Africa," Deckenback said. "UCC has in its DNA from its very beginnings
being responsible critics of our society. That's rooted in the Amistad
story, which holds a special place in UCC's teachings."
Deckenback said that after the New England — and largely Connecticut —
founders of the Amistad Defense Committee finished paying for the
return of the Amistad slaves to Africa, money left over was used to
establish the American Missionary Association, which founded schools
for freed blacks throughout the South, including Howard University in
Washington and Fisk University in Nashville.
"These were New England Congregationalists who believed that education
is the foundation of opportunity and that churches play a vital role in
keeping communities together," Deckenback said.
"Obama partly built that speech on those beliefs and on church history."
School
Desegregation Agreement Withdrawn
Courant Staff Report
March 5, 2008
A settlement reached last year to meet the Hartford school
desegregation targets set by the Sheff v. O'Neill lawsuit was withdrawn
Tuesday from the General Assembly, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal
said.
Blumenthal said he hopes to submit a new agreement for ratification by
the end of March.
The decades-long case to integrate city children in schools with their
suburban peers returned to court last fall after the legislature failed
to act on an agreement between the state and the plaintiffs on how to
proceed with desegregation.
The original Sheff settlement, which was reached in 2003 and expired
last year, set a target calling for 30 percent of Hartford students to
be enrolled in racially integrated schools by 2007, but that effort
fell considerably short.
In January, the Superior Court judge hearing the case ruled that the
prior agreement was still technically pending in the legislature and
would take effect March 6 if not withdrawn or voted down.
The two sides are negotiating changes broader than the changes
originally proposed under the multiyear agreement that set annual
desegregation targets, according to legislators with knowledge of the
talks.
Among the ideas now being considered are opening magnet schools for
children in the suburbs and the expansion of the Open Choice program,
which enables Hartford students to enroll in suburban schools.
Suburban Magnet Schools May
Ease
Hartford’s Endemic Segregation Problem
State Eyes A New Tack
By RACHEL GOTTLIEB FRANK | Courant Staff Writer
March 3, 2008
In an acknowledgment that attracting white students to Hartford has
been a tough sell, the focus of court-ordered desegregation efforts in
Greater Hartford may soon be shifting to the suburbs.
State education officials are talking about channeling more than $100
million toward building new magnet schools in Hartford-area towns and
increasing the number of slots for city students in suburban schools
through the Open Choice program. Officials are scrambling to meet
a deadline to either withdraw or
revise an outdated agreement between the state and the plaintiffs in
the Sheff v. O'Neill lawsuit to see if a legislative, rather than
judicial, solution can be found to the problem of unequal, segregated
education in the capital region.
The idea of basing magnet schools in the suburbs, broached last year by
Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan, has garnered support from key
legislators. At least three suburban districts have endorsed the idea
for the preschool and early elementary grades, according to state Rep.
Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, co-chairman of the education
committee. But significant hurdles remain, not the least of which
is that
McQuillan does not have authority to force suburban districts to accept
city children through the voluntary Open Choice program.
"There may be a need for some additional authority for the commissioner
to open more seats. That issue, among others, will need to be addressed
if that option is adopted," said state Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal, who would not discuss the specific proposals under
discussion.
The decades-long case to integrate city children in schools with their
suburban peers returned to court late last year after the legislature
failed to ratify an agreement between the state and the plaintiffs on
how to proceed with desegregation. In January, the Superior Court judge
hearing the case ruled that the prior agreement was still pending in
the legislature and would take effect March 6 if not withdrawn or voted
down.
McQuillan could not be reached for comment last week. But Fleischmann,
who has been meeting with McQuillan, the secretary of the Office of
Policy and Management, other key legislators and representatives from
Blumenthal's office said that McQuillan's ideas are included in written
proposals submitted to the plaintiffs.
To date, Blumenthal said, the only consensus reached is that dates in
the agreement submitted to the legislature last year must be
updated. Other components of the original agreement — including
the funding of
charter and vocational technical schools — remain in the revised
version that the state is hoping plaintiffs will approve and then send
back to the legislature for ratification. The newstrategy
recognizes that suburban parents have been reluctant to
send their children to Hartford.
The original Sheff settlement, which was reached in 2003 and expired
last year, set a target calling for 30 percent of Hartford students to
be enrolled in racially integrated schools by 2007, but the effort fell
short.
A study by Trinity College researchers shows that just 9 percent of the
city's students attend schools that have enough white students to
qualify as racially integrated. Meanwhile, enrollment at many Hartford
schools, including some magnets, remains almost entirely black and
Hispanic. Safety in the city is a concern that holds some
suburban parents back,
state officials have found.
In November, McQuillan conceded that the assumption that suburban
youngsters would be drawn to magnet schools run by Hartford was
mistaken, but said that six or seven magnet schools run by suburban
towns and focusing on children in pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade
could work. Parents who otherwise would pay to send their
preschool-aged children
to day care would find the offer of an all-day public preschool school
program enticing, McQuillan said.
Key legislators support McQuillan in his bid to carve a bigger role for
the suburbs. "Magnet schools in the suburbs — that makes sense to me.
We've tried the Hartford magnet experience and that hasn't worked that
well toward reducing racial isolation," said Sen. Thomas Gaffee,
D-Meriden, co-chairman of the legislature's education committee.
"Parents are extremely reluctant to send their kids into Hartford
except for some of the unique offerings like the school for the
performing arts," Gaffee said. They're concerned about the crime rate
and kids getting killed. I know that would weigh on my mind as a
parent. Suburban parents will feel a lot more secure sending their
children to a magnet school in the suburbs."
"It's a multi-pronged approach that is less reliant on Hartford," said
Fleischmann.
Hartford officials declined to comment. At least three suburban
districts have expressed interest in building
magnet schools for young children, Fleischmann said. Windsor, for
example, formed a task force to examine the potential for building a
magnet school for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Students who
live outside Windsor would return to their town's schools
for first grade. Simsbury is also forming a task force to explore the
option of building a magnet school in the town.
The state pays 95 percent of construction costs and contributes to the
operating costs of inter-district magnet schools. Now the
plaintiffs must sign on.
Elizabeth Horton Sheff, mother of the case's first named plaintiff,
Milo Sheff, said magnet schools probably would be more successful in
the suburbs than in Hartford. Waiting lists for successful magnet
schools and for Open Choice slots show that there is demand among
Hartford youngsters, she said. What troubles Sheff is the limited age
group that the magnets would accommodate.
"What happens after third grade? They go back to their neighborhood
schools?" she asked. "You have to talk about the 'what next?' There
should be a path all the way through."
As further incentives for towns to create more room for Hartford
students in their schools, Fleischmann and Gaffee said they would
support increasing state aid tied to children who enroll in suburban
districts. The additional funding, coupled with an emphasis on
enrolling children
beginning at an earlier age, addresses the concerns some districts
express about accepting older urban children who are years behind in
their studies, taking the hit for their low test scores and providing
enough support to help them catch up.
"If you get to educate a child from the age of 3, it's easier to make
sure they progress the way you like them to," Fleischmann said.
Closing
arguments in
latest desegregation court action
Norwalk HOUR
Associated Press
January 5, 2008
HARTFORD — Closing arguments have been made in the latest court action
involving Connecticut's landmark school desegregation case, Sheff vs.
O'Neill.
The question of whether the city's schools must be desegregated was
settled by the state Supreme Court ruling in the case in 1996, although
the high court left it to the Sheff plaintiffs and the state to figure
out how to do it.
The two sides reached an agreement on a four-year plan in 2003: It was
left largely to Hartford to implement the terms of the settlement by
building magnet schools and sending students to suburban schools
through the "Open Choice" program.
However, the numerical goals of the 2003 agreement specifying levels of
integration were not met and after the accord expired last year, the
plaintiffs returned to court.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued Thursday that a detailed court
order be issued to specify what the state must do to end the racial
isolation.
"We're not asking for mandatory busing," Dennis Parker, one of the
plaintiffs' lawyers, argued. "We are asking that a comprehensive plan
be put into effect."
A lawyer for Hartford urged Judge Marshall K. Berger Jr. to appoint a
monitor to oversee the desegregation case.
John Rose, Hartford's lawyer, called the 2003 stipulated agreement
between the state and the plaintiffs "a failure.
"We need a plan and it needs to be monitored by the court, he said.
It can take us places where we have never gone before," Rose said.
"This case is about children who are going nowhere fast."
An attorney for the state of Connecticut argued that no order, nor
monitor is necessary or desirable.
Ralph Urban, arguing for the state, opposed any judicial intervention,
saying a court-issued comprehensive plan to desegregate Hartford's
schools would lock resources into specific programs, making it
impossible to move them into areas where the money would be better
spent.
Berger has 120 days from Thursday to issue a ruling.
Desegregation
By Order?
Plaintiffs'
Attorneys In Sheff v. O'Neill Argue For Court-Ordered Plan,
Monitor To Direct It
By RACHEL GOTTLIEB FRANK | Courant Staff Writer
January 4, 2008
Attorneys in the landmark Sheff v. O'Neill school desegregation case
offered sharply conflicting recommendations to a Superior Court judge
who is considering ways to end the racial and social isolation of
Hartford schoolchildren.
In closing arguments Thursday, plaintiffs' attorneys asked Judge
Marshall K. Berger Jr. to issue a detailed order spelling out exactly
what the state should do to integrate city students with their suburban
counterparts. A lawyer for the city urged the court to appoint a
monitor to oversee the task.
An attorney for the state of Connecticut argued that no order, nor
monitor was necessary or desirable. The state education commissioner
can bring about the desegregation goals without judicial intervention,
he said.The closing arguments followed a six-week hiatus in the
hearing. Testimony concluded in November and Berger gave lawyers time
to prepare legal briefs.
If his questions to the lawyers offered any indication, Berger is at
least considering requests that he issue a plan for desegregation or
appoint a monitor to oversee progress.
The question of whether the city's schools must be desegregated was
settled by a state Supreme Court order in 1996, though the high court
left it to the Sheff plaintiffs and the state to figure out how to do
it. The two sides reached an agreement on a four-year plan in 2003: It
was left largely to Hartford to implement the terms of the settlement
by building magnet schools and sending students to suburban schools
through the "Open Choice" program. However, the numerical goals of the
2003 agreement specifying levels of integration were not met and after
the accord expired last year, the plaintiffs returned to court.
In testimony in November, the plaintiffs proposed leaving desegregation
efforts voluntary for parents and children, but imposing stricter
guidelines for the state and the 22 Hartford-area towns in the Sheff
district. They called for doubling the space available for city
children in suburban schools and a heavier hand by state officials to
ensure that every city child who wants a place in a suburban school or
a magnet school is accommodated.
"We're not asking for mandatory busing," Dennis Parker, one of the
plaintiffs' lawyers, argued Thursday. "We are asking that a
comprehensive plan be put into effect." Efforts to date, he argued,
have been ad hoc.
"African American and Latino children of Hartford have earned the right
to question what a constitutional right means," Parker said. "A
declaration of their rights by the Supreme Court has been ineffective
for so long."
John Rose, Hartford's lawyer, called the 2003 stipulated agreement
between the state and the plaintiffs "a failure;" though he didn't
offer a specific remedy, Rose asked for judicial oversight beyond the
role that the court has played in the past.
"We need a plan and it needs to be monitored by the court. It can take
us places where we have never gone before," Rose said. "This case is
about children who are going nowhere fast."
Berger asked Rose who he should name as a monitor if he does appoint
one. Rose suggested that the court ask the parties to suggest
names. At one point, Berger asked Parker what he would think of
appointing the commissioner of education as a monitor. Parker objected
to the idea, saying he doesn't have faith in the state's overseeing its
own progress. Since 1996, Parker said, the state's posture has been
"trust us — we're on top of this."
Ralph Urban, arguing for the state, vehemently opposed any judicial
intervention, saying a court-issued comprehensive plan to desegregate
Hartford's schools would lock resources into specific programs, making
it impossible to move them into areas where the money would be better
spent.
He conceded that the state was disappointed by the number of slots
suburban districts made available for city children and by the number
of white students enrolled in some magnet schools. But, he said, the
state is addressing concerns suburban districts have about admitting
more students through the Open Choice program by increasing the
transportation and educational subsidies and by helping to pay for more
kindergarten slots in the suburbs so districts can work with children
from a young age and avoid having to offer more remedial services for
older children.
"The question is 'What now?'" Berger asked Urban.
Now, Urban replied, the state is still working on achieving the goals
established for the first two years of a plan agreed upon in 2003.
But that's a four-year plan, Berger said. "The only people who signed
on to this plan are the plaintiffs. Hartford has not signed on." The
state legislature did not ratify the plan either.
Last year, a plan negotiated between attorneys for the Sheff plaintiffs
and the state failed to win legislative approval. It would have
required the state to spend $112 million to expand the network of
magnet, charter and vocational schools.
Urban said that the state's education commissioner has agreed to work
on the kind of plan that the plaintiffs have sought.
So "you're not averse to creating a strategic plan?" Berger asked.
"Right," Urban said. "But we don't want to be subject to a court order."
"Are you telling me that you don't want a strategic plan, but you will
deliver to me a strategic plan?" Berger asked.
"We don't think we should be ordered to deliver a strategic plan,"
Urban said. But if the court orders the state to create one, he said,
then it will.
While Urban asserts that the matter doesn't belong in court, the
plaintiffs disagree. They argue that the state Supreme Court previously
ruled that court has jurisdiction and that a second generation of
children is languishing in segregated schools since the Supreme Court
first ruled in 1996.
Berger can craft a ruling that grants the plaintiffs what they're
seeking, he can agree with the state and refrain from issuing an order,
or he can fashion a compromise that he devises himself. He has 120 days
from Thursday to issue a ruling.
A
Shift Of Minorities In Schools; 18
Years After Sheff Suit Filed, Noticeable Change In Suburbs
By MICHAEL REGAN | Courant Staff Writer
December 26, 2007
In the early 1980s, as the state engaged in a school desegregation
debate that would lead to the landmark 1989 Sheff v. O'Neill lawsuit,
Bernice O'Neal's daughter was one of the few black children enrolled in
Manchester's Verplanck Elementary School, where the minority student
population was less than 20 percent.
"There wasn't a whole lot of African American children there at all,"
O'Neal recalls. Today, O'Neal's granddaughter is among more than
220 minority students who make up about 70 percent of the pre-K through
sixth-graders at Verplanck.
And the Sheff case is back in front of a judge, who last month heard
arguments that there has not been enough progress in reducing the
racial isolation of Hartford schoolchildren. But if not much has
changed in Hartford in the 18 years since Sheff was filed, dozens of
schools in the region look much different than they did then.
While the number of minority students in Hartford's schools has
declined slightly since then, the number in the rest of the region has
nearly tripled. Outside of Hartford, school districts within the
36-town Capitol Region Education Council enrolled almost 38,000
minority students in the 2006-07 school year, up from a little more
than 14,000 in 1988-89. And while some schools outside of
Hartford have themselves become overwhelmingly minority, three out of
four minority students in those districts attend schools that would
meet the Sheff goal of having a minority enrollment below 75 percent.
They include schools such as Manchester's Verplanck, where parents like
Lilliam Irizarry, whose son Alejandro is in the fifth grade, say the
diversity makes their children's educations richer.
"He has black friends, he has Spanish friends, he has white friends, he
has Asian friends, he has friends from Pakistan, from India, from
Africa," Irizarry said. "He would be able to deal with any kind of
people."
But with the town's minority population growing steadily, Manchester
officials already are grappling with the issue of balancing the racial
makeup of its elementary schools. Longer term, some wonder if an
individual town can maintain integrated schools on its own.
"Given the small size of suburbs in Connecticut, the suburbs are going
to need regional plans as well if they're going to maintain reasonable
residential stability," said Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil
Rights Project at UCLA and a witness in the original Sheff lawsuit. "If
you are going to have stable integration, you usually have to have
policies for it."
Moving To The Suburbs
The movement of minority families to the suburbs is a major factor in
the findings of two recent national studies: While Connecticut remains
one of the more segregated states in the country by several measures,
it is one of very few to have made any progress in reducing the racial
isolation of black and Hispanic students. One study, by the Pew
Hispanic Center, found that the proportion of Latino students attending
schools that were more than 95 percent minority fell from 24 percent in
the 1993-94 school year to 18 percent in 2005-06, the largest decline
among six states. Black enrollment in the nearly all-minority schools
dropped from 28 percent to 23 percent, fourth among seven states and
the District of Columbia.
But the other study, by Orfield's Civil Rights Project, used the same
national data to conclude that Connecticut was among the 20 most
segregated states on three measures: the proportion of black and Latino
students in schools that are more than 50 percent minority; the
proportion of blacks and Latinos in schools more than 90 percent
minority; and the percentage of white students in schools attended by
the typical black or Latino student.
Orfield said there's no inconsistency between the studies: The
desegregation effort mandated by Sheff, while "small potatoes" in his
estimation, is better than what's going on elsewhere. "There are very
few places that have any policy encouraging them to think about this
issue at all," Orfield said. "Almost anything that you do can make a
small improvement in the statistics."
What's improved the statistics most, however, is suburbanization, an
analysis of state numbers shows:
•Inter-district magnet schools — the principal means of reducing urban
segregation in Hartford and statewide — first opened in the early
1990s. Since then, enrollment has grown to more than 18,000, including
almost 13,000 minority students.
•In the seven school districts that were more than 50 percent minority
in 1988 — suburban Bloomfield and the cities of Hartford, Bridgeport,
New Haven, New Britain, New London and Waterbury — total minority
enrollment in traditional, non-magnet public schools was about 75,000
in the 2006-07 school year. That represents an increase of about 8,000
— less than 12 percent.
•Meanwhile, the number of minority children attending traditional
schools in the remaining districts increased by almost 60,000, or 156
percent, to more than 98,000. Orfield and Richard Fry, author of the
Pew study, said the growth of minority households outside central
cities is part of a national trend.
"All groups of students are suburbanizing," Fry said. "That's
true both of public school enrollments and of the whole population."
Fry's study noted that in past years the most racially isolated
students nationally have been white, and the same was true of
Connecticut: In 1988, almost half of the state's white public school
children went to schools that were at least 95 percent white. Last
year, that proportion was about 12 percent. The number of
almost-all-white schools — those with minority enrollment of less than
5 percent — has fallen from almost 400 in 1988 to just over a quarter
that number in 2006, almost entirely because of the increase in
minority students in the suburbs. In Wethersfield, for example, where
only one school had minority enrollment over 5 percent in 1988, none of
the schools now has less than 18 percent.
But that "suburbanization" doesn't occur uniformly. Of the 77,000
minority students enrolled in districts that were less than 50 percent
minority in 1988, more than half live in just 12 communities.
"Are those places going to remain integrated, or are we just seeing a
temporary process, a transitional process?" Orfield said. "That's the
billion-dollar question here."
The Right Way To Go
The original Sheff lawsuit was premised on the idea of a largely
minority city in the center of a largely white region, said Jack
Dougherty, an assistant professor at Trinity College who has studied
the Hartford-area desegregation efforts and was a witness in the latest
Sheff hearing.
"It's less clear now if that's the right way to frame things,"
Dougherty said. "There are more suburban communities that have much
more in common demographically or fiscally with the city of Hartford."
"Should the remedy be reorganized to include different suburbs in
different ways? That's the question," he said. "A great opportunity to
make a cognitive shift here is to think about both city and suburban
schools, and to recognize the variety of suburban schools. Not all
suburbs are alike."
Hartford lawyer Wesley Horton, an attorney for the plaintiffs in Sheff
v. O'Neill, said changes in the region are irrelevant to the case. "The
fact that the suburbs are more integrated isn't any use for the kids
still in Hartford," he said. "Certain kids are lucky enough that their
parents can move to the suburbs. That's wonderful. … But what about the
kids that can't?"
And Elizabeth Horton Sheff, a Hartford city council member and mother
of named plaintiff Milo Sheff, said it's too soon to be tinkering with
the settlement. Although the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the
plaintiffs in 1996, it was another 5½ years before the state
legislature approved a plan to settle the case.
"When we started in 1989, yes, things were different," she said. "But
we didn't really get cracking with Sheff until 2003 — that's four years
ago."
Years before the settlement was approved, though, the two main remedies
of Sheff — development of magnet schools in Hartford and the region and
voluntary busing of students from Hartford to the region — were in the
works. Last year, fewer than 10 percent of Hartford's minority
students attended schools that actually met Sheff's goal of having a
minority enrollment below 75 percent, according to Dougherty's
study. Progress has been "very discouraging," Horton Sheff said.
But, she said, where the settlement's goals have been met, there have
been promising results, like higher test scores.
Still, she said, Sheff is only one means of reducing racial isolation.
Improved economic and housing opportunity would give parents of
minority students more choices of school districts.
"I believe that affordable housing should be on the plate," she said.
But, she added, "if you think that talking about providing quality
integrated education raises hackles, talk about putting affordable
housing in the suburbs and see how far you get."
A Limiting State Law?
Meanwhile, many suburban towns are themselves forced to deal with the
racial makeup of their schools under a 38-year-old state law that
prohibits racial imbalance within any district. The state says a school
is out of balance if the minority student population is 25 percent or
more above or below the district average in the same grades.
Dougherty, the Trinity professor, said the imbalance law is of limited
usefulness in promoting racial balance on a regional basis.
"The state really has no mechanism for dealing with racial change in
suburbs if Sheff doesn't address it and if the suburban racial change
is uniform," he said. "All we have right now is a mechanism that says,
'If one part of your suburb is out of whack with the rest of your
suburb, that's a problem.' But that's a limited mechanism, because that
talks about each box independently."
The most recent list released in the spring by the state
Department of Education says six schools in four districts are not in
compliance with the law because the minority student populations are 25
percent or more above or below the district average. Districts
with schools that are out of compliance have to submit plans for ending
the imbalance.
Another 30 schools are approaching racial imbalance, the department
says, because their minority enrollments are 15 percent to 25 percent
above or below the town average. Of the 13 towns on that list,
Manchester is the most often cited: six of its 10 elementary schools
have an impending imbalance, including Verplanck.
The prospect of coming under state scrutiny doesn't sit well with many
in Manchester. "They sit there and say Verplanck might be out of
balance," said Louise Svalestad, president of the Verplanck PTA and
mother of two students at the school. "You're looking at [a school in
which] 30 percent are Hispanic, 30 percent are white, 30 percent are
black — how much more balanced can you get?"
Diane Kearney, supervisor of equity programming for the Manchester
schools, said the district is looking at options for improving racial
balance in the schools so they reflect the world Manchester's children
will live in.
"School is a microcosm of what it used to be, so from that perspective,
it's important to maintain racial balance. But it shouldn't be forced
on us, that's the problem," she said. "I think it becomes
counterproductive and divisive when the law says, 'You have to do
this.'"
Longer term, though, the district is more concerned with improving race
relations townwide than with counting heads school-to-school.
"It's about building good race relations, so ultimately it doesn't
matter," said Kearney, who also has been a teacher and assistant
principal in Manchester. "If you better your race relations, then
difference becomes healthy and not divisive. Then it doesn't matter if
there's an imbalance."
To achieve that, Kearney said, the town has been engaged in
conversations about race involving students, faculty and parents for
the last several years.
"I think Manchester really is moving in a direction in which hopefully
race doesn't matter, because we are having conversations about race,"
she said. "Once you begin that conversation, I think the rest becomes
easy." "We have an advantage because we have to work together."
Sheff
Case Turns Into A Classroom;
College, Magnet School Students Are Court Observers
By MAGDALENE PEREZ | Courant Staff Writer
November 19, 2007
Before Jared Chase took a course on educational inequalities at Trinity
College, he never thought much about the challenges city students in
public schools face.
Chase grew up in Farmington, where his family of four had a house and
five cars. He went to a good school where the work was challenging, the
teachers supportive, and there was enough money to pay for
state-of-the-art facilities.
But then Chase enrolled in "Cities, Suburbs and Schools," a class
taught by Jack Dougherty, director of education studies at Trinity.
Dougherty is a witness for the plaintiffs in the landmark Sheff v.
O'Neill school desegregation case, which was recently back in court for
a hearing. And Chase — like students from many colleges and high
schools across the area — sat in as a way to learn more about
educational equality and the legal process.
In fact, research by some of Dougherty's students was key in creating a
report on the state's desegregation efforts — and where it falls short
— that Dougherty presented in court earlier this month.
For Chase, what really brought the differences between city and
suburban education home was a book he read in Dougherty's class, "The
Children in Room E4," that chronicled the experiences of fourth-graders
at Hartford's Simpson-Waverly Elementary School.
The book describes a rare field trip the children took out of the city.
Some students were amazed to see the Connecticut River. They pointed
and cheered.
"You get an understanding of the isolation city students experience,"
Chase said. "A lot of things you might take for granted."
Chase was one of several dozen students from Trinity, the University of
Connecticut and other schools to visit Hartford Superior Court over the
past two weeks as the Sheff v. O'Neill case returned to court.
Teenagers, graduate students, city magnet school children and
first-year law students attended the hearings with notebooks in hand.
Even two undergraduates studying psychology sat in the benches.
The reasons behind sending students into the courtroom is simple,
educators said: The case is being fought on behalf of educating every
Connecticut student fairly, and the hearing is an opportunity to give
students an up-close understanding of educational and legal issues.
In the nearly two decades since Sheff v. O'Neill was filed in 1989, it
has been the subject of many a master's thesis, Ph.D dissertation and
high school writing assignment, said Eugene Leach, a co-plaintiff in
the case and history professor at Trinity College.
"It's still a very innovative suit," Leach said. "I think students of
education have a lot to gain by studying it."
A former student at Wesleyan University, Ana Weibgen, wrote her senior
thesis on the Sheff case in 2005. She is now a paralegal for the racial
justice program at the American Civil Liberties Union, part of the
legal team representing the plaintiffs.
The long-running case aims to end the racial and economic isolation of
Hartford children. The plaintiffs, 10 families representing 19
children, first brought the case in 1989. The state Supreme Court ruled
on their behalf in 1996, but left it up to them to reach a compromise
with the state. A decade later, the plaintiffs are still arguing that
the state has not done enough to improve city education and integrate
schools.On the hearing's opening day, so many high school students
filled the courtroom that the judge called a recess to provide more
seating. Among those attending were 23 juniors and seniors from Capital
Preparatory Magnet School, accompanied by their social studies teacher,
Juliet Sullivan.
The trial provided a perfect opportunity for the city magnet, which
engages students in issues of social justice, to teach about a legal
battle that is important to the lives of its students, Sullivan said.
"We want the students to understand how decisions are made," Sullivan
said. "Everything that they were doing there could potentially directly
affect us."
Some educators have made the Sheff v. O'Neil trial a part of their
curriculum. At Capitol Preparatory, Sullivan is following the field
trip with a math and geography lesson that will study minority
enrollment in suburban schools.
And at Trinity, it was student research on the Project Choice program
and other desegregation efforts in the Hartford region that produced
the report Dougherty presented at the Sheff v. O'Neil hearing. Students
interviewed parents, created computer tables and even analyzed data on
the distances children travel to school.
"One thing we're trying to do is get students out of the classroom,"
Dougherty said. "I want them to not just read, but interact with real
people."
And students have appreciated leaving the chalkboard behind.
"It's actually kind of cool to see the things we've been reading about
in real life," said Mari Zigas, a student in Dougherty's class. "We got
to meet Elizabeth Sheff and some of the other plaintiffs. It's like
what we read come to life."
Schools
Chief Makes A Pitch; Adamowski Seeks Regional District
By RACHEL GOTTLIEB FRANK | Courant Staff Writer
November 15, 2007
A regional school district that would craft and run interdistrict
schools could be an effective way to diminish the racial and economic
isolation of Hartford's schoolchildren, the city's superintendent of
schools, Steven Adamowski, testified Wednesday.
The existence of 166 local and regional school districts in 169 towns
has had the effect of segregating minority children, he said in the
final day of testimony at Superior Court in Hartford in the landmark
Sheff v. O'Neill desegregation case.
"All the poor students are bottled up in one place. It is essentially
the reason we have the Sheff case," said Adamowski, whose city is now
party to the case...full
story here.
Open
Dialogue On Sheff
Hartford Courant
Stan Simpson
November 10, 2007
The excuses have certainly mounted about why there hasn't been more
suburban school engagement in Open Choice - an inclusion program that
transports Hartford students to suburbia to get them a better education.
Class size issues. Enrollment increases. Paltry state tuition
reimbursement.
An emerging concern from the 'burbs, usually expressed privately, is
test scores. The fear is that under No Child Left Behind, their schools
will be unduly penalized for taking in city kids, many of whom have
significant academic deficits.
I've heard it all - and I'm not unsympathetic.
The buy-in for Open Choice, now in its 41st year, has been uneven at
best - and particularly disappointing in the last few years. Of the
1,600 Open Choice seats the state set as a goal, about 500 slots are
available, and there is waiting list of 206 Hartford kids.
There's been a slow-go approach with Open Choice and for the
construction of several theme magnet schools, the two primary remedies
agreed upon after the landmark Sheff v. O'Neill desegregation court
ruling 11 years ago. The state Supreme Court ordered the legislature to
remedy the problem of segregated schools.
Well, the 24,000-student Hartford school district is more segregated
than ever. Several of the magnets have not been built. Those magnets
that are up are indeed attracting suburban students, but they are
mostly black and brown kids, not the intended target - whites.
The Sheff plaintiffs and the state were in court again this week. The
plaintiffs say the state is moving at a snail's pace; the state says
it's doing the best it can. This is what happens when a court makes the
right decision, then undermines it by allowing lawmakers to use the
honor system for implementation.
Since the 1996 decision, millions have been expended for new schools
and programs, yet wholesale segregation continues and test scores have
not significantly improved.
Unfortunately, the Sheff case is reviving discussions about whether
integration in education is worth it. Demographers tell us this
reality: Minority workers - black, brown and others - will make up more
than 40 percent of the state's workforce by 2030. A large majority of
that population will come from urban markets. By 2050, the country's
minority populations will be in the majority. Over the years, I've
highlighted a smattering of urban, segregated schools with mostly poor
kids that have defied the odds and produced impressive test scores. But
I believe there's tremendous value to a child learning among peers from
different ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds.
If Open Choice is to work, and magnet schools are to be built in a
timely manner, there has to be Open dialogue. Yes, more magnets should
be built in suburban towns if that will better encourage white parents
to participate. And yes, Hartford's role in running some of these
magnets should be handed over to the Capitol Region Education Council,
which has a record of running quality, diverse magnets. If suburban
schools are concerned about reimbursements and potentially being
punished because they are accepting city students with lower test
scores, then put those issues on the table - and come up with solutions.
Twice in the past 12 months the state education commissioner's office
has met informally with Hartford-region superintendents to discuss the
impediments to Open Choice. It should also meet with white suburban
parents to find out why they are not enrolling in the Sheff magnets.
If we want to promote real choice - then open up the discussion.
Money
Should Follow City Kids To
Suburbs
Hartford Courant
Rick Green
November 9, 2007
We've got over 100,000 seats in public school classrooms in suburbs
around Hartford and there's room for just 1,000 city kids.
One percent. That's so pathetic it's embarrassing to even
say. But as the Sheff school desegregation case is again in
Superior Court this week, it's a failure we have to confront.
Sure, Hartford schools must improve. Perhaps we need more regional
magnet programs. But can't we do better than the 1,070 children
currently in the 40-year-old Project Choice voluntary school busing
program?
Our affluent and middle class towns say they don't have space for more
than this. Fine, but there are consequences here - be prepared for the
day when we can't find enough skilled workers or bunks in our prisons.
There are hundreds of children on the waiting list for this proven
program that disperses poverty and opens opportunity. Suburban
superintendents will tell you these children invariably succeed and end
up in college. Isn't this what the Sheff case - and public education -
is about? As it turns out, there's a reason for this limited
success: Most of the money doesn't follow the kid to the suburbs.
"The grant that follows the child is woefully insufficient," said Bruce
Douglas, director of the Capitol Region Education Council, which runs
Project Choice.
So, for example, the state of Connecticut - which is under a court
order to desegregate metropolitan Hartford schools - gives Avon about
$2,500 for each of the 41 children it takes. The district, however,
spends about $11,000 per child. Meanwhile, Hartford keeps most of
the money it would have spent educating this child. Much of that money
comes from state taxpayers. This is no education crisis, it's a
taxpayer rip-off.
"There isn't enough of an incentive," said Avon Superintendent of
Schools Richard Kisiel, in comments repeated to me by other
superintendents.
There are a million bureaucratic reasons why the legislature set the
$2,500 amount. The idea that taxpayers' money should follow the student
is a radical notion in public education, where failure is almost never
penalized. Meanwhile, because "my parents are screaming about
class size," Kisiel said, Project Choice becomes "an issue I try to
keep it as low-profile as I can."
The Sheff plaintiffs say the state should have the authority to order
districts to take more kids. State Education Commissioner Mark
McQuillan told me he doesn't want to strong-arm districts to take more
Hartford kids, but he has commissioned a study to look at how much
space they really have in their classrooms.
"Some of this is about will," McQuillan told me. But it's also about
hiring teachers and expanding classrooms for children who don't live in
their town - not to mention overcoming worry that city kids will lower
test scores. Just look at the numbers: Glastonbury accepts 42 kids,
while Wethersfield has a woeful 13.
Two decades ago, West Hartford had 267 students coming from Hartford;
now it has 77. School Board Chairman Jack Darcey told me his district
is now 34 percent minority and schools have grown more overcrowded.
"We can probably do a little more," Darcey said. "You send the money
with the kid, you will see a different response."
One percent. We need a judge, a governor or an education commissioner
with the backbone to tackle this.
The Adamowski Gambit
Hartford Courant editorial
October 8, 2007
Controversial though it may have
been, a comment by Hartford Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski
at a state Board of Education meeting last week points to an underlying
change in the nature of the Sheff v. O'Neill
dilemma.
In a discussion about quotas of
white children in Hartford's host magnet schools, Mr. Adamowski told
state officials that "there is no research to suggest that minority
students will do better by sitting next to a white student."
The context was money. The state has
withheld operating funds for four of the city's host magnet schools
because they are not in compliance with the requirement that no more
than 75 percent of a student body be made up of racial minorities. (For
schools in operation before 2005, the requirement is no more than 80
percent of students from the same district.)
Hartford can get the funds - about
$1 million per school - if it files an "enrollment management plan" for
each school explaining how it plans to bolster the school and
non-minority enrollment. Mr. Adamowski has signaled that he wants to
cooperate with the state, so presumably he will file the paperwork and
get the funds.
The broader question some critics
raised is whether Mr. Adamowski is settling for some variation of
"separate but equal." His comment brought a sharp response from
desegregation advocates, who aver that minorities and whites benefit
from integrated classrooms. Indeed, most people, Mr. Adamowski clearly
included, see great value in racially integrated schools.
But Mr. Adamowski said in a later
interview that research shows economic integration - a child from an
affluent family sitting next to a child from a poor family - results in
better learning.
That opportunity has been lost at
many Hartford schools.
The Sheff case was filed in 1989 to
reduce both racial and economic segregation in Hartford schools. Since
then, large numbers of middle-class African American and Latino
children have moved to suburban schools, yet Hartford's schools remain
overwhelmingly minority. That suggests that poorer minority children
are being left behind.
The focus of resolving the Sheff
case has been on racial balance. Almost nothing is said of economic
integration, yet that seems to be an increasing part of the
problem. Public
policy should embrace both challenges. The interdistrict magnet schools
should be going after suburban kids, white and minority.
Alan Hadad, dean of magnet schools
at the University of Hartford, persuasively argues that admission
requirements instead of admission lotteries would draw more bright
suburban kids to Hartford. A new state law that allows regional magnet
schools to fill vacancies with students from towns that do not have
formal partnerships with the magnets should also bring more white kids
to the magnet schools.
On the economic front, the state
should stop building so much low-income housing in Hartford, and should
move more state jobs into the city. Perhaps we should stop looking at
schools in isolation.
The magnet schools have left
Hartford with a two-tiered school system that Mr. Adamowski rightly
believes must end. He has proposed a bold program to turn all city
schools into schools of choice. The state should support this effort,
and apparently does. The best of these schools will draw students of
all hues. If a school is "separate but better," it won't stay that way
for long.
A Study of the
Special Education Program
WESTON, CONNECTICUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
JUNE 2000
BY CLAIRE S. GOLD AND KATE MCGRAW
(NOTE:
This document contains 57 pages of text and 22 pages of appendices;
below
please find only the "Conclusion" section. Copies of the full
document
are available at the Weston Board of Education at no charge.
Also,
please note that the type face and other format characteristics of this
Internet version of the Conclusions of the study are different--but the
text is identical! It is reported that the Board of Education
listened
to public comment about the Special Education Program and discussed
this
report at its June 19, 2000 regular meeting for the first time.
"About
Town" was not present at that meeting.)
Section
IV.
Conclusion
The
findings of this report should
be weighed within a historical context. Weston has gone through
a recent history of much administrative turnover, the superintendent, a
new assistant superintendent, and three new principals. The
superindendency
alone has been in significant transition with at least four different
individuals
holding that position in the last dozen years. This, coupled with
turnover on the Board of Education, has contributed to changing focus
and
ever different policy and decision making. This set of
circumstances
is in part responsible for the pendulum swings so apparent in the
special
education program.
A
rather rigid and cost saving approach
of past years was replaced by one which some view as too permissive and
expensive. It should be clear that it is not the Director of
Special
Education, alone, that establishes policies and practices for special
education.
Weston
shares some of the same issues
that other affluent districts experience. A high powered
curriculum,
without a program of studies and teaching methodologies, broad enough
to
accommodate different rates and styles of learning, will leave average
and/or minimally learning disabled students struggling or
failing.
This issue is now more pronounced because the nature of the student
body
is changing. If it ever was, Weston is certainly no longer the
exclusive
domain of the intellectually gifted. The numbers of children with
a wide variety of cognitive, emotional and physical difficulties has
increased
markedly. The most important mission of a school district is to
assure
that each and every student develops to his maximum potential; the
mission
is not merely getting through the
curriculum.
Although
there are situations when
parents’ aspirations exceed their children’s ability, by and large,
parents
are generally satisfied if they see that every effort is being made to
help their children progress. When that does not happen, parents
will press for academic support and special education services.
Weaknesses
in the reading program,
gaps in remedial services and basic curriculum and the absence of
alternative
programs, particularly at the high school, exacerbate the demand for
special
services.
While
there are significant problems
to be resolved in the special education department, many of the issues
will not be resolved without a holistic approach by the entire school
district.
The Director of Special Education will need the power and authority of
the Board of Education and the Superintendent in order to work out a
complementary
relationship with regular education. The education of one hundred
percent of the students belongs to the entire school district. At
the present time there are students disabled by the curriculum.
Teachers
who see their responsibility as confined to the so-called normal
student
need to be required to broaden their perspective and practices;
building
administrators who may not see these children as their province need to
be brought into a much closer relationship with the special education
department
in planning, supervision, and accountability. Ownership of the
educational
development of special children does not lie only with the Department
of
Special Education.
With
the dollars spent and the general
high quality of much of the staff, Weston should be able to be more
effective.
There is need for further development of a program continuum in special
education, improved communication, and consistency of application of
special
education procedures.
Parents
need to be viewed as partners,
not adversaries. As partners, parents, too, need to keep their
commitments
to fulfill their role in the partnership. The IEP, Individualized
Education Program, is not an end in and of itself; it is a contract
which
should be fulfilled.
Planning
is going to be the key to
rectifying the existing problems. It must begin with clear
direction
from the Board of Education to the administrative team. It must
be
understood that whatever is done in one aspect of the educational
process,
will ultimately effect other aspects of the educational’
endeavor.
Programmatic changes in regular education
will either abate or exacerbate special education problems.
Therefore,
it is imperative that planning be joint and begin with a team effort at
the central office.
Staff
development planning will be
crucial. What is needed is staff development that is prescriptive
i.e., based on the specific instructional needs of students. It
should
be targeted to specific groups of staff, be continuous with good
follow-up.
It needs also to be a requirement of holding a position.
Knowledge
of the education issues associated with various disabilities has to be
the cornerstone of good instruction.
Although
the anticipated retirement
of many staff in the next few years is a challenge, it is also an
opportunity
for rebirth. New teachers require consistent, intensive and
on-going
training. Experienced exemplary teachers should be involved in
mentoring
these new staff members. It will be an excellent opportunity for
the district to reexamine its goals and implement new and strong
programs.
This
report is replete with findings
and recommendations. It is the sincere hope of the consultants
that
it be considered carefully. The Board of Education, the staff and
the school community will have to consider which recommendations seem
to
have the greatest merit. This will require prioritization,
defining
the tasks and laying out a plan for implementation. This plan
must
include the individuals responsible, the resources needed, a time line,
the means by which achievement will be judged, and an assessment of the
potential impact on other aspects of the school system.
The
consultants have appreciated
the opportunity to work with the Weston school community. We hope
to have played some part in helping the district to realize its full
potential.
Report: Special ed needs changes
Greenwich TIME
By Keach Hagey, Staff Writer
Published December 24 2005
An independent review of Greenwich schools' special education programs
recommends splitting the department that runs them in half and
eliminating the heads of two of the district's alternative high school
programs, among other streamlining measures. The report, prepared
by Florida-based management consulting firm MGT of America, contained
18 commendations and 40 recommendations, determined through visits,
surveys and reviews of department data throughout the last six months.
Mary Forde, director of Pupil Personnel Services and Special Education,
the department that now runs the programs, said the district's
leadership has not yet discussed the report's recommendations in
detail, but a few of the suggestions did give her pause.
"I have some questions about the recommendations about the structural
changes," she said.
The recommended structural changes include breaking up her department
into two new departments: one for special education, and another for
pupil personnel services, which includes things like guidance,
psychology and social work. Under this plan, the director of special
education would report to the assistant superintendent of curriculum,
research and evaluation, a position currently held by John Curtin.
They also include eliminating the positions of program associate at the
ARCH School and special education program administrator at the high
school, and converting one of the high school's psychologist positions
into a bilingual position. Such a reorganization would save the
district $36,090 a year, for a total savings of $180,450 over five
years, according to the report.
In order to help reduce the expenses from legal disputes with parents,
the firm recommended that the district conduct a risk analysis of its
disputes to determine those practices that must be changed to reduce
the district's exposure to expensive disputes. For example, the
district paid out $239,346 in 2003-04 and $324,321 in 2004-05 for
mediation and due process settlements, the report noted.
Some progress in this area has already been made, according to the
report. In addition to including a line for settlements in the 2006-07
budget, the district has helped reduce its legal costs in recent years
by hiring the Hartford-based education law firm Shipman and Goodwin for
particularly complex cases requiring specialized knowledge, Forde said.
The report commended the district for its ability to maintain
consistent special education policies, commitment to closing
achievement gaps and Forde's knowledge and expertise in special
education matters. It also approved of the district's inclusive
pre-kindergarten program for children with disabilities, new Data
Dashboard database system to help design intervention strategies and
inclusion of parents through the Special Education Services Committee
of the PTA Council.
Paige Davis, who represents Greenwich High School on the committee, had
not had a chance to look at the report in detail, but said that the
parent group had a good relationship with the district and looked
forward to working with them to improve special education.
"I think educating children like ours is tricky business, and as
parents, we want our kids to make as much progress as they can every
year," she said. "I think that anything that focuses on accountability,
measuring success for our kids and the better integration of special
education with regular education is a good thing. Some of our kids have
really great potential, if the teacher sees that in them and tries to
teach them at their highest level."
Forde said school officials now plan to meet with the consultants to
discuss the report, decide how to best align the report's
recommendations with their own goals for serving students and set up a
series of hearings with stakeholders to determine a plan of action.
"These are recommendations," she said. "We will look at them and decide
where we want to go in terms of outcomes for kids."
Dr. Susan Marks resigns as Norwalk
Public Schools superintendent
Hour Staff Report | Posted: Friday, July 13, 2012 2:24 pm
NORWALK — Schools Superintendent Susan Marks is set to vacate the post
Aug. 17 and onlookers are pointing to the ongoing budget drama as the
reason.
According to a prepared statement released by schools Friday, Marks
tendered her resignation at the Board of Education meeting Thursday
night, where the board settled on her budget reconciliation plan.
“It’s been a great opportunity for me. I have met some wonderful
people. I have never been to a city that cares so much about it’s young
people,” said Marks, who became the city’s first female superintendent
in 2009 after leaving her post in Maryland’s Montgomery County.
“A decision like this is not an easy one to make, and it wasn’t an easy
one for me to make. I love my work and I love what I do. For personal
reasons, I have decided to tender my resignation at this time.”
Marks said she would spend her last few weeks in Norwalk preparing for
the coming school year.
“It’s sad to see her go,” said Board of Education Chairman Jack
Chiaramonte.
“I hope the public understands how stressful this has been for all the
board members, central office and teachers,” he said. “She was a woman
who was very committed to improving Norwalk. She came here with great
vision.”
Both Chiaramonte and West Rocks Middle School Principal Lynne Moore,
who has sometimes been critical of the superintendent, were surprised
by Marks’ resignation.
“She’d not given us any comment that she would be anticipating leaving
but the work here is really, really difficult. It’s not a difficult
place to live and to try and enjoy it but when you’re in the throes of
funding a district and supporting kids, it’s very difficult work,”
Moore said.
According to Moore, Marks had the city’s best interests at heart but
financial difficulties kept her from moving forward.
“Personally, I think it was the lack of being able to do some things,”
she said.
Norwalk Federation of Teachers president Bruce Mellion was not
surprised by Marks’ resignation and said she did not have the support
of teachers, with 70 percent giving her a D and 30 percent an F in a
May 2012 survey.
“She was over her head before she even started. The one compliment I’ll
give her is she tried to get out to the schools to see what was
happening,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have nothing to show
for the 25 months we were here and we’re further behind than we were
when we started.”
Mellion said Marks picked the wrong battles and worked with the wrong
people.
“She shot her mouth off about things. She picked battles that she
shouldn’t have had and she didn’t listen to people who have been here.
She was really, really lost,” said Mellion, adding that Marks did not
respond as well to the needs of the city’s 11,000 students. “I think
she pandered to the mayor and the Board of Education and the Board of
Estimate.”
Thursday night, the Board of Education settled on their budget
reconciliation that cuts $6.3 million from the board’s initial budget
request.
This year’s budget was particularly difficult, with a reconciliation
target that started at $5.9 million before it ballooned to $9.9 million
due to a fiscal year 2011-12 budget deficit found in mid-April.
That number steadily came down, first to $7.7 million, then to $7.2
million and finally to the $6.3 million figure.
Each time the dollar amount was brought down, the board relied on Marks
to guide the money back into the budget.
According to schools officials, Marks will work with the Board of
Education to set up a transition plan until she leaves in August.
Corda wants changes
Norwalk HOUR,
Monday, Jan. 3, 2005
By BRIAN FRAGA Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK
-- School officials brought
up the potentially thorny issue of how the state classifies minority
students
during a recent discussion with state legislators on the racial and
cultural
balances in the public schools.
Schools
Superintendent Salvatore
Corda said current state guidelines that define minority students as
simply
being non-white threaten to put the Norwalk school district -- which
has
a minority population greater than 50 percent -- to be classified as
racially
unbalanced.
That
is because state law stipulates
that racial imbalance exists within minority districts when the
proportion
of minority (non-white) students is less than 25 percent or more than
75
percent of the total school population. According to a recent report
from
the school board's racial balance committee, the school district's
demographic
makeup consists of three main groups: 27 percent black, 34 percent
Hispanic,
35 percent white and the rest Asian.
Although
there is no one dominant
cultural group, the school district is still subject to the 25/75 rule
because blacks and Hispanics together account for more than 50 percent
of the student population. Corda is proposing for the state to identify
racial and ethnic groups based on the characteristics that define them
as groups, rather than lumping everybody who is non-white into one
category.
"A
school which reflects what Norwalk
actually looks like, could be considered by the state to be racially
unbalanced,
and that to me doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Corda said.
"It
would seem to me logic behind
the law was developed when the dominant populations in terms of
minority
was African-American, and Hispanics were very slight," Corda said.
"That
is no longer the case, so there
needs to be a rethinking how groups are characterized... They need to
be
differentiated." Several legislators who were present during the
special
meeting with Corda and the school board, however, warned the proposal
would
be a lightning rod in Hartford, and could go to the heart of the Sheff
v. O'Neill court case that barred unintentional segregation in the
Hartford
school district. State Rep. Larry Cafero, R-142nd District, warned
about
a "suspicious eye" being gazed by other districts at legislation that
would
be perceived as a "Norwalk bill."
"I
would suggest you get some other
support from other like-situated towns so that people in Hartford know
this isn't just a Norwalk problem," Cafero said.
Outgoing
state Sen. Robert L. Genuario,
R-25th District, also warned of a possible rollout effect where certain
schools in the city would have disproportionate percentages of white
and
minority students.
"You
have to consider if it is OK
for Norwalk to have one school that is 90 percent non-white and another
school 50 percent white, and if we are comfortable with that, "
Genuario
said.
"That
could be the roll out. It's
not an easy thing to deal with." The Norwalk Board of Education has
been
dealing with the issue since adopting its policy on racial balance in
the
1960s. The policy calls for ensuring the balance of students from the
different
racial and cultural groups in each individual school mirrors the
community's
demographics. State law requires that school boards formulate and
submit
plans to correct any existing racial imbalances in the schools.
The
Norwalk school board's existing
plan to ensure racial balance is to have the individual schools not
deviate
from the system-wide average for each minority group by plus or minus
10
percentage points. According to October 2003 data compiled by the
school
board's racial balance advisory committee, seven schools were
out-of-balance
based upon the 10 percent deviation guideline.
Those
were Naramake, Kendall, Jefferson,
Fox Run, Cranbury and Brookside elementary schools. The racial balance
advisory committee -- comprised of administrators, parents, citizens
and
teachers -- has been looking into possibilities of implementing new
mechanisms
to ensure racial balance, such as developing magnet schools and
instituting
modified parental school choice.
The
committee will conduct a financial
analysis of the various choices -- which include the existing program
--
in March and is expected to choose a course of action in June. No
changes
would be made before the 2006-07 academic year.
Brian
Fraga covers education. He
can be reached at (203) 354-1045 or by e-mail at education@thehour.com.
N E W J E R S E Y
E D U C A T I O N F O R M U L A R E W
R I T E I D E A
In New Jersey, this issue has been around for a long
time...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/12/11/nyregion/20071212_JERSEY_GRAPHIC.html
Corzine Wants to Change Formula for Local
Aid
NYTIMES
By DAVID W. CHEN
Published: March 28, 2008
LAMBERTVILLE,
N.J. — After listening to weeks of complaining by small-town officials
over proposed budget cuts, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said on Thursday that he
wanted to do away with the state’s 13-year-old multibillion-dollar
formula for municipal subsidies and come up with a new system by the
end of the year.
The proposal would not affect Mr. Corzine’s current $33 billion budget,
which calls for $168 million in cuts to municipalities as part of an
overall reduction of $500 million. Instead, Mr. Corzine said that he
hoped his new plan would be in place by the start of the next fiscal
year, which starts in July 2009, four months before he is expected to
seek re-election.
But the notion of revamping the entire formula, which is based on a
town’s per capita expenditures, suggests that Mr. Corzine is taking to
heart a bipartisan chorus of criticism from legislators and mayors.
The revamping proposal reflects a broader attempt by Mr. Corzine to
change the way the state has financed its public schools and is trying
to alter the way hospitals are reimbursed for costs associated with
caring for the poor, often in emergency rooms.
He said that while the formulas “may have very well served the state at
one point,” they “don’t relate to the realities of the world today.”
“The closer we can get to formulas that people believe are objective
and nonpolitical, I think, the better we are,” Mr. Corzine said at a
news conference, where he recognized the efforts of Lambertville and
West Amwell to share services, a procedure he has been advocating.
When asked about his proposal, mayors from towns large and not so large
said that they were stunned. They offered a guarded assessment, saying
that although they liked the principle, they were worried about the
details.
“I think it could be one of the most significant policy changes in the
past 35, 40 years,” said William G. Dressel Jr., executive director of
the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. “But recasting funding
formulas and trying to achieve fairness in the midst of one of the most
severe fiscal crises in the history of our state makes me a little
nervous, to say the least. There’s going to be large winners and
losers, and that concerns us greatly.”
As Mr. Dressel put it, “If he thinks he’s getting political heat now,
he hasn’t seen it.”
Municipal aid has been one of the most wrenching topics in Trenton this
year, not only because of Mr. Corzine’s proposed cuts, but also because
of the way he wants to achieve them: taking the biggest percentage of
money from the smallest towns, with populations under 10,000, in an
effort to force them to merge more operations with neighboring
communities.
But in budget hearings in recent weeks, many mayors have testified that
they are already sharing, and sharply criticized Mr. Corzine’s proposed
cuts as arbitrary.
As a result, Mr. Corzine said on Thursday that he and Joseph V. Doria
Jr., the state’s community affairs commissioner, would consider factors
like population density, income and special needs in arriving at a new
formula.
Robert Bowser, the mayor of East Orange, said in a telephone interview
that whatever formula is arrived at, he hopes that Mr. Corzine allows
municipalities to get involved early — unlike this year’s budget
process.
“I understand the governor is trying to do exactly what he was elected
to do — fix the whole financial mess of the state,” Mr. Bowser said.
“But he can’t do it by himself. This is not the corporate world.”
New Jersey Revamps State Aid to Schools
NYTIMES
By DAVID W. CHEN
Published: January 8, 2008
TRENTON — After a tense
three-hour stalemate, legislators handed Gov. Jon S. Corzine a dramatic
political victory on Monday night when they approved his $7.8 billion
plan to revamp New Jersey’s formula of financing the state’s public
schools.
Now on the Governor’s Desk (January 8, 2008) After the Legislature
threw in an extra $20 million for special education with his approval,
Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, was able to sway three Republican senators and
overcome opposition from urban lawmakers.
The plan is designed to direct more money to children who live outside
the poorest districts, which now receive more than half of all state
aid.
If the plan survives the scrutiny of the State Supreme Court, which Mr.
Corzine will seek, the state would apportion funds to schools based on
demographics, including family income, population growth, language
ability and special academic needs.
Under the formula, education spending would increase by an estimated
$532.8 million the first year, with all districts receiving at least a
2 percent increase for the next three years, and some receiving as much
as 20 percent more.
But for hours, the fate of the bill — and by extension, a major pillar
of Mr. Corzine’s agenda — was uncertain.
With the legislative session due to close on Tuesday at noon, the bill
stalled initially in the Senate when six Democrats joined 13
Republicans to freeze the vote at 20-19 in favor of the bill, one vote
shy of the majority needed.
So for the next three hours, Democratic and Republican supporters of
the bill surrounded one colleague after another who had initially voted
no, hoping to change minds.
The drama yielded moments of pure political theater and high-stakes
brinkmanship. At one point, at least 15 senators huddled in the middle
of the Senate floor, not unlike the way baseball players, anxious,
huddle around the pitcher’s mound.
At another point, Assemblyman Joseph R. Malone III, a Republican who
was part of a 41-36 majority that approved the bill in the Assembly
earlier in the evening, wandered down the hall to the Senate. He
escorted Senator Martha W. Bark, a fellow Republican who had voted no,
to his office, fueling speculation that he was trying to win her over.
But in the end, it was something much simpler — a promise, with Mr.
Corzine’s approval, of an additional $20 million for special education
in next year’s budget — that compelled Ms. Bark and two other
Republicans, Senator Gerald Cardinale and Senator Joseph A. Palaia, to
switch their votes.
“I’m jubilant,” said Senator Barbara Buono, a Democrat from Metuchen
who was the bill’s sponsor, and who helped to craft the compromise.
“This is the way it’s supposed to work.”
Mr. Corzine said in a statement: “The new law replaces a flawed system
with an equitable, balanced, and nonpartisan formula that addresses the
needs of all students, regardless of where they live. This formula puts
the needs of all children on an equal footing, and will give them the
educational resources they need for success.”
The vote on school financing capped a frenetic final day of the
legislative session. With the two houses meeting simultaneously, the
corridors of the State House teemed with lobbyists, reporters,
educators and other interest groups until 11 p.m.
Among the dozens of measures that passed on Monday, the two chambers
overwhelmingly approved bills authorizing a formal state apology for
New Jersey’s role in slavery. New Jersey, the last Northern state to
abolish slavery, became the first Northern state to apologize for it.
The two chambers also passed bills to increase judicial salaries, offer
tax credits for businesses that invest in urban transit areas and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Assembly also approved a bill, previously passed by the Senate, to
toughen the state’s hate crime and bullying laws.
Those legislators who will continue serving when the next session
begins on Tuesday will not have much time to catch their breath.
A few hours after they are sworn in, Mr. Corzine is scheduled to
outline in his State of the State address his long-simmering proposal
to squeeze more money out of the state’s toll roads. He is expected to
call on the Legislature to approve his idea of selling billions of
dollars worth of bonds that would be backed by higher tolls on the
state’s three toll roads, the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway
and Atlantic City Expressway.
But on Monday, the focus was education, which for the last two decades
has largely been guided by a landmark State Supreme Court ruling,
Abbott v. Burke, which found that students in poor and urban districts
were not receiving the same education as their counterparts in
wealthier ones, and therefore deserved a bigger percentage of the
state’s aid to schools.
Those who opposed Mr. Corzine’s bill did so for a variety of reasons,
including the sense that it was being rushed through, or that it
threatened to cut funding to poor urban districts. All six Senate
members of the Legislative Black Caucus opposed the bill.
“They don’t want the middle class suburban schools to examine this
formula, not in terms of what it takes from Abbott, but what it takes
from us,” said Senator Nia H. Gill, a Democrat from Montclair.
After the vote, Senate President Richard J. Codey summed up the relief
felt by the bill’s supporters when he grabbed Joseph V. Doria Jr., Mr.
Corzine’s commissioner of community affairs, who until recently had
been a Senate colleague.
“Joe, it’s like delivering a baby,” Mr. Codey joked. “It’s painful, but
it’s worth it.”
Panels Approve New Jersey School Financing
Plan
NYTIMES
By DAVID W. CHEN
Published: January 4, 2008
TRENTON
— Despite mounting criticism from the mayors of the state’s largest
cities, Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s proposal to revamp New Jersey’s formula
for financing schools cleared two important legislative hurdles on
Thursday.
By comfortable margins, the budget committees in both the State Senate
and Assembly approved Mr. Corzine’s plan directing more money to
children who live outside the poorest districts, which now receive more
than half of all state aid, in accordance with a court mandate. The
plan would also apportion funds to schools based on demographics
including family income, population growth, language ability and
special academic needs.
Over all, the formula would increase education spending by $532.8
million the first year, with all districts receiving at least a 2
percent increase for the next three years, and some receiving as much
as 20 percent more.
The plan will go to the floor of both chambers on Monday, the last full
day of the legislative session. But its passage was hardly assured,
since several of Mr. Corzine’s fellow Democrats, particularly from
urban areas, have promised to reject the new formula for financing
unless substantial changes are made.
Over the last two days, Mr. Corzine has met with two Democratic mayors
— Jerramiah T. Healy of Jersey City and Cory A. Booker of Newark — who
have been among his strongest allies, yet have been sharply critical of
the school plan.
Although Mr. Booker said Thursday that Mr. Corzine had given him some
reassurances on such issues as improving student performance, he
expressed qualms about what he said was the haste with which the
formula was being pushed through the Legislature.
“My preference is more deliberation,” he said. “The more deliberation,
the better.”
These sentiments were echoed by nearly all members of the Senate budget
committee, during the testimony of the education commissioner, Lucille
E. Davy.
State Senator Shirley K. Turner, a Democrat from Mercer County who is
chairwoman of the Education Committee, was especially curt, noting that
all but one of the towns she represents would receive the minimum 2
percent increase.
“They feel that they are being given the shaft,” Ms. Turner said. “I’m
in no position to support this school funding formula today.”
But in the end, she was one of four senators to abstain, and the
committee approved the measure 7-1, with some changes, including more
money for charter schools.
“I really believe this formula is logical, and it’s fair,” said State
Senator Barbara Buono, a Democrat from Middlesex County, who sponsored
the bill.
The measure was approved on a 9-3 vote in the Assembly committee.
But even if the measure is approved by the full Legislature on Monday,
it still requires the approval by the State Supreme Court.
The court has been guiding school financing issues since its ruling
more than two decades ago, Abbott v. Burke, found that students in poor
and urban districts were not receiving the same education as their
counterparts in wealthier ones.
Earlier on Thursday, the proposal cleared another hurdle when Attorney
General Anne Milgram released a letter saying that the new formula
would not violate the law.
Yet that did not prevent Gary S. Stein, a former State Supreme Court
justice who participated in numerous Abbott v. Burke decisions, from
warning legislators in a letter that the bill could be “‘one of the
most costly and counter-productive votes ever cast by the State’s
Legislature.”
Reaction to Corzine Plan Better Than
Anticipated
NYTIMES
By DAVID W. CHEN and WINNIE HU
Published: December 14, 2007
TRENTON
— It could have been a lot worse.
For decades, education financing — one of New Jersey’s most intractable
issues — has tripped up many a governor, thanks to court decisions that
required the state to spend the bulk of its education funds on students
in historically poor urban districts.
So when Gov. Jon S. Corzine began tackling a new financing formula
after taking office in January 2006, the odds were against him. And
early on, the signs were discouraging, as one delay begat another, and
people in Trenton began to whisper that a new formula might never
emerge because of the combustible mix of schools, money and politics.
Then, as word circulated in recent weeks that the financing plan
promised a year ago was ready, Mr. Corzine seemed to lose control of
the issue. Parts of the plan dribbled out to the press, but the
administration delayed releasing specific numbers. Educators and
legislators filled the vacuum by complaining about the formula’s
general tenets. Republicans criticized the timing of the formula, which
came near the end of a legislative session.
But when Mr. Corzine finally released his plan on Wednesday, the
reaction was, with some notable exceptions, not as poisonous as
anticipated. A group of Republicans set to join the State Senate
next month met on Thursday morning with Mr. Corzine, and actually said
that they were encouraged. And though they cautioned that they had
concerns about the fate of special education under the plan, and that
they needed to see an actual bill elaborating on the formula, the
governor had been fair and inclusive in devising the proposal, they
said.
“I think the process that the governor and his team have got has been
very different from previous governors in both parties,” said
Assemblyman Bill Baroni, a Republican from Mercer County who sits on
the education committee. “We may not always agree, but they’re
listening and they’re talking, and that is a fundamental change from
what has happened in the past.”
The proposal, “A New Formula for Success: All Children, All
Communities,” the proposal would steer more state money to poor and
disadvantaged children who live outside the so-called Abbott districts,
which now receive more than half of all state aid. The new approach,
which would increase overall spending by $532.8 million in the first
year, would apportion money to schools based on the characteristics of
the students, including income, language ability and special academic
needs.
Some education advocates contend that if the formula were applied in
full during the next school year, the state would have actually cut its
spending by more than $300 million. But by pumping more money into
education to come out $532.8 million in the black, and promising that
no district would see a reduction in aid for three years, Mr. Corzine
may have quelled some dissent.
As the formula makes its way through the State Legislature, of course,
changes will be inevitable. About two dozen mayors, for instance,
released a report on Thursday recommending alterations, like keeping
the system of allocating special education aid to districts without
regard to community wealth.
“Multiple governors have struggled with this issue, and no funding
formula has been deemed to be both constitutional and sustainable,”
said Jun Choi, the mayor of Edison and a former state education
official. “The fact that we are still struggling with this is an
indication of how challenging and complex the problem is.”
Perhaps the most vocal critics of the Corzine proposal have been
advocates for the Abbott districts, despite the fact that those
districts tend to be heavily Democratic.
“There seems to be a lot of discomfort and uncertainty about aspects of
the plan,” said Jerome C. Harris, chairman of the New Jersey Black
Issues Convention, a coalition of 35 African-American groups. “Not
having access to the details, and not being able to evaluate it whole
cloth, has left people who might have been supporters voicing cautious
optimism, and in some cases, skepticism.”
Yet, if nothing else, Mr. Corzine clearly cares about the issue. At
briefings on Wednesday with legislators at Drumthwacket, the governor’s
mansion, he was very much on top of the specifics of the plan, and
passionate about his goals, according to Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, a
Republican from Red Bank. Mr. Corzine is so determined that the
formula be enacted before the end of the legislative session on Jan. 7
that he unveiled the plan on two consecutive days in different
districts — on Wednesday in Burlington Township and on Thursday in
Carteret. His education commissioner, Lucille E. Davy, attended both
events, and testified on Thursday for an hour at a hearing of the
Senate budget and education committees.
Some legislators have criticized what they say is the haste with which
the administration is pushing the formula.
But Mr. Corzine, in Carteret, said: “Quite frankly, this concept has
been debated since 2002 — since we’ve stopped using formulas
altogether. This has been the slowest-moving train I can ever imagine.
When people say we are going too fast, I think they are failing to look
at the history of how long this kind of discussion has been happening.”
Mr. Corzine acknowledged that some people had complained about the
delay in the release of the details, but he said that the
administration was waiting for some population statistics to
incorporate into the formula.
Even supporters of the formula, however, noted that the governor could,
by handling the plan’s unveiling more deftly, have gained a bit more
political capital.
“Over all, I’m pleased with the way he’s handled it, because anyone can
be a Monday morning quarterback, and you’re never going to please
everybody with a school funding formula,” said the Senate president,
Richard J. Codey, who is, like Mr. Corzine, a Democrat.
“I only wish that he had announced the formula earlier,” Mr. Codey
said. “He could’ve done that lobbying maybe six months ago, and said,
in general terms, this is what it probably will look like, and try to
work out those kinks ahead of time.”
Increases in Education Aid Range From 2 to
20 Percent Under Corzine Plan
NYTIMES
By WINNIE HU and DAVID W. CHEN
Published: December 13, 2007
Each
of New Jersey’s 615 school districts would receive 2 percent to 20
percent more in state aid next year under a new financing formula
officially unveiled by Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Wednesday, nearly two
weeks after parts of the proposal were revealed by state lawmakers and
state education officials.
The proposed increases represent the largest gain in state aid in more
than a decade for some affluent suburban districts, but they were a
sharp disappointment for many historically poor urban districts that
have received more support in the past. Last year, every district also
received an increase in state aid, with the increases varying from 3
percent for wealthier districts to 10.3 percent for those less well
off.
The new formula would raise overall state education spending in the
2008-9 school year by $532.8 million, slightly less than the $579.1
million increase in the governor’s 2007-8 budget proposal. The state
proposes spending $7.8 billion total on education next year.
The plan, part of the governor’s effort to address criticism that many
districts have been shortchanged in favor of poor schools, will now go
before the State Legislature, where it is likely to be a subject of
intense debate.
The districts that would fare the best are working-class communities
like Carteret, Hamilton and Roselle Park, which have large and growing
numbers of poor and disadvantaged students. In all, 146 districts would
receive the maximum increase of 20 percent; these districts received
far less last year, about 9.6 percent on average, according to budget
figures.
The districts that would fare the worst under the plan are cities like
Newark, Asbury Park and Camden, each of which would receive a 2 percent
increase. At the other end of the spectrum, districts in wealthy beach
communities also would receive the minimum increase. In Cape May
County, for instance, all 18 districts, including Stone Harbor and Sea
Isle City, would receive the 2 percent increase.
Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy said that the Cape May County
districts had “the worst of both worlds” when it came to calculating
their share under the new formula: fewer students with shrinking
enrollments and greater wealth with rising property values.
“Those are the kinds of things that are likely to impact a district
being a candidate for additional aid,” she said.
Governor Corzine presented the new formula at a news conference on
Wednesday at B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington Township.
He received loud applause when he said that the district would probably
receive the maximum increase in part because it had a high number of
at-risk and special education students. “I knew there was a good
applause line in there somewhere,” he said.
For more than a year, Governor Corzine has made clear that he wants to
send more money to poor and disadvantaged students who live outside the
state’s 31 so-called Abbott districts, which receive more than half of
all state education aid under a court-ordered remedy.
The new formula would apportion money to schools based on the
characteristics of the students, including income, language ability and
special academic needs, regardless of where they live. It would also
reshape the way that the state divides nearly $1 billion a year for
special education by shifting a larger share of the money to special
education students in poor districts.
Preliminary breakdowns of state aid show that about two-thirds of the
Abbott districts would receive the 2 percent increase, though a few
would receive more. For instance, Union City would get a 16 percent
increase, and the City of Orange a 5 percent increase.
To seek support for the new formula, Governor Corzine said that no
district would see a reduction in aid for three years, though after
that a district could receive less if its enrollment were to decrease.
The governor said that he was confident that the new formula would
withstand a court challenge, saying that he and Commissioner Davy had
worked with lawyers “every step of the way to meet our thorough and
efficient mandate.”
Joseph Del Grosso, president of the Newark Teachers Union, which
represents 5,000 teachers in the city’s public schools, said he was
disappointed by the 2 percent increase for the Newark district.
“You
might as well say you’re flat-funding the district,” he said. “I’m sure
the Abbott districts have to pay just as much for operating expenses
like heating oil as the suburban districts, and 2 percent will mean
they will have to reduce educational services.”
New Jersey School Districts Compared In the Orange school district,
Nathan Parker, the superintendent, said that it was not clear to him
how the state aid had been calculated under the new formula. Even
though the district would receive a 5 percent increase compared with 3
percent last year, he said, the money would only partially offset the
district’s increased costs for teacher salaries, health care benefits
and utility bills, among other things.
David G. Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, which
has represented Abbott plaintiffs for years, condemned the proposed
formula. He said that if the formula were applied, the state would
essentially be cutting school aid by $320 million, with the bulk of it
in Abbott districts. Because of political sensitivities, he said, he
estimated that the state was adding $850 million “to minimize the harm
that would occur to over a third of the districts if the formula were
actually used.”
But some suburban districts viewed the proposed formula favorably. The
Glen Ridge district would receive a 10 percent increase in state aid,
to $1.2 million — nearly all of it directed toward special education,
and its largest increase in years. The money would be used to cover the
costs of educating a student population that has grown to 1,795
students this year from 1,497 in 2000.
As part of that total, the district would receive about $250,000 more
for 190 special education students, an increase partially offset by
decreases in other categories of state aid. “I’m surprised and pleased
and hopefully the funding is moving in the right direction toward
equity for funding of all students in the state of New Jersey,” said
Daniel Fishbein, the Glen Ridge superintendent.
Though Governor Corzine had pushed lawmakers to approve the formula by
the end of the session on Jan. 7, Mr. Corzine said on Wednesday that he
wanted a formula in place by Feb. 15 so that districts could plan their
budgets, which are due in April.
Hoboken’s Rebirth Fuels School Aid Formula
Fight
NYTIMES
By WINNIE HU
Published: December 12, 2007
HOBOKEN,
N.J. — In the early 1970s, Hoboken was so broken down that some
residents feared for their lives. Crime and arson were rampant, and
those who could afford to fled to neighboring towns like Secaucus.
But gleaming restaurants and luxury condominiums now beckon affluent
newcomers to Hoboken, like Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who keeps an apartment
there. And the city’s public school system, which once educated Frank
Sinatra, is going through a renaissance, with enrollment growing to
1,874 students this fall, after years of decline.
Hoboken’s rags-to-riches transformation is often cited by critics of
New Jersey’s so-called Abbott system, in which 31 historically poor
urban school districts receive the bulk of state school financing, to
illustrate its shortcomings. Cities like Hoboken, these critics say,
are no longer impoverished enough to merit special treatment.
“Hoboken is exactly why we need a new school funding formula,” said
Assemblyman Bill Baroni, a Republican from Mercer County. “Hoboken has
been blessed by an economic renaissance that a lot of other towns have
not seen. That’s why we need to make a new formula that talks about
kids and not ZIP codes.”
Governor Corzine is expected to officially unveil a new
school-financing proposal on Wednesday that would shift the emphasis
away from the Abbott system — which takes its name from a landmark New
Jersey Supreme Court case — by directing at least $400 million in new
state education money to poor students who live outside the Abbott
districts.
But Abbott districts say that academic achievement has risen
significantly under the system and that they should not be penalized in
an effort to expand benefits to the state’s 584 other districts in
rural and suburban areas. They also say that rising property values do
not always mean more money for schools.
In Hoboken, for example, school officials said that a majority of their
students come from housing projects, not the upscale condos whose
owners often send their children to private or parochial schools.
Seventy-five percent of the district’s students are poor enough to
qualify for free or reduced lunch, the seventh-highest level among all
Abbott districts, according to state statistics. Union City is first,
with 92.7 percent, followed by Passaic (84.7 percent) and Asbury Park
(81.9 percent).
Jack Raslowsky, the Hoboken schools superintendent, said that another
point lost in the political rhetoric is that Hoboken receives far less
state aid than the other Abbott districts. In the district’s $54
million budget, state aid accounted for just $12.4 million, of which
only $4.2 million for preschool programs was tied to its Abbott status.
The local share of contributions was $35 million.
But because it is an Abbott district, Hoboken’s school construction
projects are paid for by the state. This year, an $8.5 million
renovation was completed on the Calabro elementary school. In the last
five years, the state has spent $18 million to bring the district’s six
schools up to health and safety standards, which included repairing
leaking roofs and replacing windows and boilers.
The state has also agreed to renovate the Connors elementary school and
the Brandt middle school and build a new $25 million school complex
that will include high school and elementary school buildings and
athletic fields to accommodate the growing enrollment, particularly in
the preschool and lower grades.
But those projects were suspended last year after the state ran out of
money, and with the current debate over financing for Abbott districts,
their future remains uncertain. Hoboken school officials say they
cannot afford to pay for the new complex without state assistance.
Mr. Raslowsky said that because they are in an Abbott district, his
schools have been subject to more rigorous academic and financial
oversight. In return, he said, he expects the state to follow through
on its commitment to improve the district. “We’ve been promised this
great banquet,” he said. “We’ve finished the appetizers, but there’s
still the meal to go and we’re hungry.”
David Sciarra, an advocate for the children of the Abbott districts,
called the criticisms of Hoboken a “red herring” because the district
receives so little Abbott aid. More important, he said, were the
educational reforms introduced under Abbott to address decades of
neglect and concentrated poverty in urban schools. One such reform is
the focus on preschool programs in Abbott districts. “The Legislature
could remove Hoboken from Abbott, but it must have a plan in place to
continue those educational reforms,” he said.
At the Connors elementary school, which overlooks a housing project,
the 300 students were supposed to move into temporary classrooms this
September while their century-old building was being renovated. When
the renovation was suspended, students stayed where they were and the
building remained in disrepair.
The Abbott money has paid for three preschool classes at the school,
two of which are squeezed into the basement because of a shortage of
classroom space. The free preschool program has helped many families.
Danny LaViena, 49, a repairman, said that his 4-year-old grandson,
Selman Brashaw, was able to attend preschool only because of the Abbott
money.
“We’re low-income people, and we can’t get no money to pay for that,”
he said.
But on Monday afternoon, as a dozen 4-year-olds napped on mats on the
floor of one classroom, their teachers rattled off the things that they
still did not have: their own bathroom, child-friendly sinks or even a
school playground.
LEGAL
CHALLENGES AND OTHER FALLOUT FROM SANDY HOOK
Washington Post photo, right
- NATIONALLY: In the
first vote, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, Gun Control
Bill does not make it to 60 votes "yes" in the U.S. Senate (thus it can
be filibustered); it can be brought up again, however, because
Sen. Reid changed his vote to "no" so that he might move for
reconsideration at a later date. NOTE: Mental health aspect
in gun control got bi-partisan support. Here's
how other bills on guns fared.
- CONNECTICUT: Did
you realize that CT got anti-gun religion only after Sandy Hook?
- Weston Board of Selectmen updates the
existing assault weapons ban and reviews other aspects of the
ordinance, from 1993;
- OFFICE
OF LEGISLATIVE
RESEARCH
REPORT "QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GUN LAWS (Governor's action)" http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/rpt/2013-R-0013.htm
- One point of
interest for me - what is the story on
the right of a
community to enact its own regs ("pre-emption issue")?
Did someone say "pre-emption?"
Lawsuit:
New gun ban violates rights of people with disabilities
Arielle Levin Becker
April 11, 2013
A group representing people with
disabilities is filing a legal challenge to the state's expanded
assault weapons ban, arguing that the new law prohibits features that
make guns adaptable for people with physical limitations, taking away
their rights to use firearms.
The law, passed last week in response
to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, bans the sale of
dozens of weapons, some by name and some if they have certain features.
It covers the AR-15, a popular rifle, and any semiautomatic rifle that
can accept a detachable magazine and have either a folding stock,
pistol grip or forward grip.
The complaint argues that people with
disabilities "require adjustable or customizable firearms built on the
AR-15 platform, or other semiautomatic weapons with certain of the
prohibited features, such as pistol grips, forward grips, and folding
or telescoping stocks, in order to safely and effectively exercise
their fundamental right to bear arms."
The lawsuit's plaintiff, Scott Ennis,
is a New London resident with hemophilia A, a bleeding disorder that
causes joint damage. Ennis said he's unable to rotate his palm upward,
and needs to use a forward vertical grip to hold a firearm.
"Now that's banned," he said. "That's
a big problem."
North Stonington attorney Scott D.
Camassar, who represents Ennis, said the lawsuit will be filed in New
London Superior Court the coming days. It seeks an injunction to
prevent the law from being implemented, and asks the court to declare
that the law violates the plantiffs' rights.
Jaclyn M. Falkowski, a spokeswoman
for the attorney general’s office, said the office is reviewing the
complaint and will respond in court.
“However, it is our belief that this
legislation is lawful, and the Office of the Attorney General is
prepared to vigorously defend the law against this and any other
potential court challenge,” she said.
Andrew Doba, a spokesman for Gov.
Dannel P. Malloy, said the legal challenge was not a surprise.
"We believe the bill improves public
safety, and we will work with the Attorney General's office to defend
it," he said. "Let's not forget that this has happened before. In prior
instances where Connecticut has passed common sense restrictions on
firearms, there have been challenges. They have all been unsuccessful."
In addition to Ennis, the lawsuit is
being brought on behalf of Disabled Americans for Firearms Rights, an
organization Ennis founded. He said it has about 2,700 members in
Connecticut, many of whom joined in the past month and a half.
The debate about guns often doesn't
include specific issues related to people with disabilities, Ennis
said, but he noted that there are many people with disabilities who use
firearms, including many wounded veterans.
Prohibiting a person from using a gun
with both a forward grip and a collapsible stock -- which allows you to
hold a rifle closer to yourself -- doesn't affect its lethality, Ennis
said.
"There's no difference if a disabled
individual has a collapsible stock and a vertical grip than if he had
just a collapsible stock," he said.
Other gun-rights groups are also
likely to challenge the law.
----------------
Gun shop
where Newtown shootings weapon was purchased loses firearms license
New Haven REGISTER
By The Associated Press
Friday, April 5, 2013
EAST WINDSOR — A Connecticut shop that sold a gun to the Newtown school
shooter's mother has lost its federal firearms license.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revoked the
license of Riverview Gun Sales in East Windsor, about 15 miles north of
Hartford, in December. The agency didn't disclose why. The revocation
was first reported Thursday by The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y.
Authorities raided the store for undisclosed reasons shortly after the
December school shootings, after a man tried to steal a rifle.
Shop
owner David LaGuercia has said Nancy Lanza bought a gun from him years
ago, but couldn't remember what kind. LaGuercia didn't return a message
Friday. Adam Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six adults with
his
mother's rifle. He also killed his mother and himself.
----------------
Newtown
official gets new position
DAY
Article published Feb
26, 2013
Newtown (AP) - The head of the Connecticut school district where a
gunman killed 20 elementary school students and six faculty members
reportedly intends to take another job. Newtown Schools
Superintendent Janet Robinson tells The News-Times of Danbury on Monday
she intends to accept an offer from the Stratford School District to
become its new superintendent as of July 1. The News-Times said
Robinson has been praised for her leadership after the Dec. 14 Sandy
Hook Elementary School shooting, but has clashed with the school board
leadership. She previously was superintendent in Derby. She also had
been the superintendent in Preston.
OVERHEAD AND EXPENSES OF CHARITY AN ISSUE HERE?
Is this perhaps a case where donations are made to a tax-exempt entity
which disburses somewhat less than 100% of donations?
WHO PAID FOR LOBBYING COSTS (AIRPLANE
TICKETS, HOTEL BILLS,
FOOD...)?
From YouTube: MSNBC. Photo above taken at the White
House April 17th...CT
MIRROR
Heslin offered plea deal
Hartford Courant
John Pirro
Updated 8:16 pm, Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Read more:
http://www.newstimes.com/newtownshooting/article/Heslin-offered-plea-deal-4500234.php#ixzz2SkwIbqk1
MILFORD -- A state Superior Court judge on Wednesday offered the father
of a slain Sandy Hook Elementary School student a plea deal to resolve
criminal and motor vehicle charges against him and gave him until July
9 to accept it.
Neil Heslin of Shelton, a self-employed contractor transformed by the
Dec. 14 tragedy into an outspoken advocate for state and federal gun
control legislation, would have to serve a minimum of 30 days in jail
in exchange for his guilty plea to two counts of operating under
suspension, Judge Frank Iannotti said.
Noting that Heslin has already made financial restitution to three
victims to whom he gave bad checks last year, Iannotti also said he
would order a conditional discharge if Heslin pleads guilty to those
charges, a disposition that will allow him to avoid jail time if he
meets certain, as-yet unspecified conditions to be imposed by the court.
The 50-year-old defendant didn't speak during his brief court
appearance and was hustled out of the courtroom afterward by his
attorneys, Public Defender Bruce Weiant, who represented him in the
criminal cases, and Guy Soares, who handled the motor vehicle charges.
"No comment, no comment," Weiant said as they rushed past a reporter.
Heslin, along with other Sandy Hook parents, has appeared at rallies
and met with leading politicians, including President Barack Obama,
Vice President Joe Biden and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and
spent several weeks in Washington, D.C, lobbying the Senate on behalf
of stricter federal gun control laws. The latter effort apparently made
him miss his scheduled court appearance April 15 and spurred a demand
from the judge that Heslin account for his whereabouts that day.
His legal problems stemmed from some $3,600 worth of bad checks he used
to pay for building materials, home heating oil and auto repairs as
well as the two operating under suspension counts, incurred in 2011
while his drivers license was suspended for a previous drunken driving
arrest. He had come under criticism from some gun rights advocates,
conspiracy theorists and so-called Sandy Hook truthers on a variety of
Internet website postings.
Speaking to a reporter before the court hearing, Heslin gave no
indication he planned to give up his advocacy role.
"It's going to be a long, tough fight," he sad.
If Heslin does accept the judge's offer and plead guilty, he will also
serve two years probation on the motor vehicle charges and pay a total
of $1,000 in fines plus court costs.
Away from the spotlight, Sandy Hook parent
battles criminal charges
CT POST
John Pirro
Updated 10:04 pm, Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Neil Heslin, father of a slain Sandy Hook first-grader, has appeared
before Congress and the state Legislature urging the passage of tough
gun-control measures.
But on Wednesday he will make an appearance of another kind, this time
before a state Superior Court judge in Milford, to answer a variety of
criminal and motor vehicle charges ranging from operating with a
suspended license to issuing bad checks to larceny. Reached by
telephone on Tuesday, Heslin, who lives in Shelton, said he couldn't
discuss the five cases dating back to July 2011 that will require him
to be in court. He referred all comment to the lawyers representing him.
"You're welcome to call my attorneys and get their comments. I have no
objections to that, but I have representation," he said.
Calls to both lawyers weren't returned on Tuesday.
Heslin's status as a father of a murdered child in one of the country's
most notorious sprees of gun violence has turned the self-employed,
50-year-old contractor into a prominent activist, one who is often
shown on TV and in newspapers displaying the portrait of his murdered
son, Jesse Lewis.
It's made his legal troubles fodder for gun-rights websites, conspiracy
buffs and so-called truthers, who claim the massacre of 20
first-graders and six adults on Dec. 14 was part of a government plot.
And it illustrates how the high-visibility roles embraced by Heslin and
some others from Newtown have put their private lives squarely into
public view.
"One crooked gun control hero" and "Heckled Sandy Hook dad has sordid
past," are typical of the headlines on several Internet articles
seeking to discredit Heslin for his alleged "criminal associations."
The allegations against Heslin, if true, mostly paint a picture of a
man struggling with his business finances and stiffing his
creditors. Three of the cases involved writing bad checks, the
largest for $2,424, which he used to buy building materials he
purchased for a job that his company, V&H Construction, was doing
in Oxford.
Court documents indicate that when the supplier, O&G Construction
of Torrington, delivered the material on Sept. 19, 2011, Heslin
initially said he forgot his checkbook but provided the salesman with a
check later the same week. After the check, which also included a
disconnected phone number for Heslin's business and an invalid driver's
license number, was returned for insufficient funds, an O&G
representative contacted State Police.
Heslin promised to make good on it but never did, police said. In
addition to passing a bad check, a misdemeanor, he was charged with
third-degree larceny in that case. The two other cases involve
checks on closed accounts that Heslin allegedly used to pay for just
over $1,000 worth of home heating oil in June 2012 and a check for
$102.35 worth of repairs to his vehicle at an Ansonia tire shop six
months earlier.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The motor vehicle
charges were the result of stops by Shelton police in July and August
2011. The operating under suspension counts indicate that his license
had been suspended for a previous drunken-driving conviction, but there
was no information available about that case in state Superior Court
records. He also was charged with failure to display plates, carry
registration and carry insurance as a result of the July stop.
Former state Victim Advocate Michelle Cruz, now in private practice in
Hartford, said Tuesday that pointing out past indiscretions "is often
used as a way to undermine a victim's credibility." Heslin's legal
problems, she said, have nothing to do with his work on gun control.
"Whether someone has a pending matter shouldn't invalidate what someone
is saying about their victimization," she said. "This parent may have a
larceny charge that they have to deal with, but that has nothing to do
with a child being murdered," she said.
Cruz added that the publicity about Heslin's charges -- most of which
are at a level that rarely draws news media scrutiny -- also point to
why some victims shun the spotlight.
"Victims are sometimes reluctant to come forward out of fear of being
ridiculed, but they often have valid points about what they want to see
happen and how the situation has affected them," she said.
Heslin has been among the most forceful and visible of the Sandy Hook
parents pushing for gun restrictions. "I'm really ashamed to see that
Congress doesn't have the guts to stand up and make a change and put a
ban on these types of weapons," Heslin said at a news conference with
Vice President Joe Biden and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg after
the Senate failed to enact a ban on assault weapons.
Court records indicate that Heslin apparently drew the ire of Judge
Frank Iannotti for not showing up an appearance in state Superior Court
in Derby, where the five cases were being heard on April 15.
Heslin wouldn't say Tuesday why he wasn't present, but according to
several news reports he was in Washington, D.C., with several other
Newtown families, unsuccessfully lobbying the Senate to pass a variety
of gun-control bills, including one that would have instituted
universal background checks for firearms purchases. Iannotti
ordered Heslin to bring proof of his whereabouts on April 15 to court
in Milford, where the judge will sit Wednesday. Heslin didn't
want to discuss whether his legal problems might undermine his advocacy
efforts.
"I never gave it much thought. I guess you can look at it either way,"
he said. "If there's something to talk about, people are going to talk
about it, good or bad, no matter what. I don't really have any comment
on that part of it either. Down the road, I may be able to."
Decisions On Distributing Money To Newtown
Victims On Hold
The Hartford
Courant
By DAVE ALTIMARI
and JON LENDER, daltimar@courant.com
7:08 PM EDT, May 6, 2013
Hearings on how to divide $7.7 million among 40 families affected by
the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown have been
postponed after questions were raised about whether more money should
go those families.
The hearings were scheduled for this week. A three-person committee
headed by former federal judge Alan Nevas was formed to distribute the
money, which comes from an approximately $11.3 million fund under the
control of the Sandy Hook-Newtown Community Foundation Inc. The
group had determined that the money would be distributed among the
families of the 20 first-graders and six women killed in the Dec. 14
shooting, the 12 first-graders who survived the shooting, and two
teachers who were wounded.
The hearings were postponed after representatives of state Attorney
General George Jepsen's office met with some of the families late last
week and the decision was made to convene a meeting between the
attorney general's office and the foundation.
Foundation spokesman Patrick Kinney said that meeting could take place
as early as Wednesday. Kinney said Jepsen's office wants to review the
process that was used to determine the amount of money to be
distributed to the families. A source familiar with what
transpired during the meeting between Jepsen's representatives and some
of the families said some family members questioned why more money was
not being given to the families.
Questions about the "transparency" of the foundation's decision-making
were raised at Friday's meeting by family members and representatives
of the 40 families, a source familiar with the situation said Monday.
Among questions to be resolved are how the foundation decided on the
70-30 split of the $11.3 million between the families and the
community, the source said. Family members have said the foundation has
failed to provide clear answers on that, the source said. Other
issues to be resolved, according to the source, are: whether there
could be an increase in the percentage for the families; whether more
would go to families whose loved ones were killed; and whether victims'
families might be eligible for services made available to the overall
community, the source said.
Foundation members have indicated that they did not believe all of the
money raised should be distributed to the victims' families because the
community would have long-term needs after the shooting. It is
unclear how many families attended the meeting with the attorney
general's representatives.
A spokeswoman for Jepsen said he was "not available to discuss this
matter."
She released a statement from his office that said:
"The Attorney General met with various families who lost precious loved
ones on December 14 and their representatives on Friday. As a result of
the meeting, and consistent with his responsibilities to oversee
charitable activities and fundraising in Connecticut, the Attorney
General has scheduled a meeting with representatives from the Sandy
Hook Community Foundation to discuss issues surrounding the decision to
disburse $7.7 million to the families most affected by the tragedy."
The foundation created the three-member distribution committee to be
headed by Nevas with assistance from arbitrator Kenneth Feinberg. Some
families and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy have previously indicated that they
wanted Feinberg brought in as an independent authority to oversee the
distribution of funds. Feinberg helped distribute funds following
mass shootings at Virginia Tech and in Aurora, Colo. He also was
recently tasked with distributing funds raised for victims of the
Boston Marathon bombing.
The board had said it hoped to distribute the $7.7 million by the end
of this month. The next step would be to hold public hearings on what
to do with the remaining $3.5 million.
The United Way initially oversaw donations to the fund before handing
over administration to the local group. Kim Morgan, executive director
of the United Way of Western Connecticut, remains involved with the
fund.
More than 40 charitable groups, many formed after the shootings, have
collected more than $20 million, with about 15 percent of the money
distributed.
Copyright © 2013, The Hartford
Courant
CLICK
TO GO TO N.Y. DAILY NEWS STORY - SINCE, MORE INFORMATION RELEASED,
STORIES BELOW INCLUDING DOCUMENTS THEMSELVES.
MENTAL
HEALTH ISSUE
TAKES BACK SEAT TO SIZE OF MAGAZINES?
As the fog rises over the Newtown tragedy, we ask "Is there really any
question that Sandy Hook could happen again?"
Lawmakers in Connecticut Approve Gun Limits Bill
By PETER APPLEBOME and RAY RIVERA, NYTIMES
April
4, 2013
HARTFORD — With memories of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary
School as fresh as an open wound, Connecticut lawmakers early Thursday
passed what members called the nation’s most comprehensive package of
gun control legislation.
The vote came in a deeply divided Capitol packed with angry and
frustrated gun owners who arrived in buses and vans carrying signs
reading “Connecticut the Un-Constitution State,” “N.R.A. Stand and
Fight” and “Shall Not Be Infringed.” And it came in a state that has
historically been at the heart of the American gun manufacturing
industry.
But 110 days after Adam Lanza fired 154 shots in about 4 minutes with a
Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, killing 26 children and
educators, lawmakers voted for gun, school safety and mental health
legislation drawn up over the past month by a bipartisan group of
legislative leaders. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, has said he
will sign the bill into law.
Legislators called it the most divisive issue in memory and said the
legislation was an imperfect response to an impossibly complex issue.
Several objected to the rushed pace with which the 138 pages became
available only that morning.
Donald E. Williams Jr., a Democrat from Brooklyn, Conn., and the
Senate president pro tempore, began discussion of the legislation by
recalling the morning of the killings, on Dec. 14, when “for a few
seconds, it was hard to breathe” as people took in the news. He
concluded it by saying mass killings were not solely about mental
health issues, as gun advocates say, but also about firearms.
“It’s access to the weapons of war, the access to the weapons that can
kill mass amounts of children or adults in our schools and in our
communities,” Senator Williams said. “That’s the essential issue when
it comes to mass killings.”
The Senate minority leader, John McKinney, a Republican from Fairfield
who represents Newtown, where the school is, called the legislation the
most important of his 14 years in the Senate and concluded by reading
the names of those who died at the school.
Senator Beth Bye, a Democrat from West Hartford, choked up as she held
up a picture of one victim, Ana Marquez-Greene.
“Ana Grace would have turned 7 this week,” Senator Bye said. “Anyone
who has seen her picture or heard her sing knows that our whole world
lost a Connecticut treasure that day.” She added: “We can’t turn back
the clock, we can only go forward. And we’ve gone forward with
collaborative, innovative, groundbreaking legislation.”
Many were far less pleased, including gun owners and gun manufacturers
who said the bill was too broad and focused on the wrong issues. They
also criticized its becoming effective immediately, saying that put an
impossible burden on manufacturers and retailers.
“It’s a mental health issue, not a firearms issue,” said Jake McGuigan,
director of government relations for the National Shooting Sports
Foundation in Newtown. “Nothing in this legislation would have stopped
what happened in this horrible tragedy in Sandy Hook.”
Asked if there were any limits he could support on the sale or
possession of weapons or magazines, he said: “No. We believe in going
after the individual and not the cosmetic features of firearms.”
Two gunmakers, Mark Malkowski of Stag Arms and Jonathan Scalise of
Ammunition Storage Components, both in New Britain, declined to say
whether they would continue to operate in the state.
The legislation includes a ban on the sale of magazines carrying 10 or
more bullets and requires registration of existing ones. It also
includes an expansion of the existing assault weapons ban, requires
background checks on all firearms sales and sets up a registry of
weapons offenders. Among the mental health measures are changes
intended to require insurers to make faster decisions on coverage for
mental health and substance abuse issues, a program to help educators
recognize signs of mental illness and a doubling in the number of
specialized treatment teams providing intensive support to people with
serious mental illness.
Hundreds of opponents of the bill gathered throughout the day at
Cabela’s sporting goods in East Hartford, where a line of buses
supplied by the National Rifle Association waited to transport them to
the Capitol. They were joined at the Capitol by supporters of the
legislation, many wearing green to commemorate Sandy Hook. The two
sides mingled, sometimes engaging in relatively respectful debate,
often keeping their distance.
At Cabela’s, Jim and Elma Stoveken of Ridgefield brought along two of
their elementary-school-age grandsons.
“We’re not crazed for guns or anything like that,” Mr. Stoveken, 73, a
retired financial manager, said. “We just have guns for target shooting
and home protection.”
Legislative debate was respectful and often emotional, with legislators
citing constitutional, mental health and public safety issues and the
proper role of government.
On the Senate floor, Senator Tony Guglielmo, a Republican from Stafford
Springs, said the legislation would affect law-abiding citizens more
than criminals.
“The premise is wrong,” he said. “How do you get Adam Lanza tied up
with the Rockville Rod and Gun Club? That’s what I want to know.”
In the Senate, two of 22 Democrats voted against the legislation, and 6
of 14 Republicans voted for it. In the House, 13 of the 98 House
Democrats present voted against the bill, and 20 of the 51 Republicans
there voted for it.
Senator Catherine Osten, a Democrat who represents a rural stretch of
eastern Connecticut, said she supported elements of the bill but could
not support adding new regulations on people who follow the law.
“I also cried when those children died that day, as everyone here did,
and if I could assure those parents that this legislation would stop
that from happening again, I would vote yes,” she said.
Senator Michael McLachlan, a Danbury Republican, said that much in the
bill made him uncomfortable, but that the Newtown shooting “changed a
lot of people’s viewpoints on a lot of things, on the preciousness of
life, on the priority of our lives, and it certainly affected me in a
very great way.”
He cited one of the victims, whose grandparents and great-grandparents
he had known his whole life.
“Under different circumstances, I would look at this bill very
differently,” he said, “But today I’m supporting this bill in hopes
that I am properly honoring Caroline Phoebe Previdi.”
The House approved the legislation around 2:30 a.m. Thursday after
debate in the chamber continued until the early morning hours. Despite
overall support for the legislation, there were repeated calls for more
emphasis on mental health. Some representatives, particularly Robert
Sampson, a Republican from Wolcott, expressed skepticism whether the
gun provisions would accomplish much, if anything, in a world where
handguns, not rifles, account for the overwhelming majority of gun
deaths.
But from beginning to end, the victims were never far away. Around
12:40 a.m. Mitch Bolinsky, a freshman Republican who has been elected
from Newtown a month before the tragedy, rose to speak.
"On Dec. 14, evil visited my town and everything changed,” he said. He
cited the strength he’d seen in Newtown, the compassion shown for the
town, the painful journey everyone had been through and read the names
of those who died at the school. He said the legislation was not
perfect, especially on mental health but said his constituents
overwhelming supported the firearms provisions and as a result he would
vote in favor of the bill.
"I dedicate my vote to the memory of those whose lives were lost at
Sandy Hook Elementary School,” he said.
State lawmakers set to
unveil gun-control legislation
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Updated 10:58 pm, Saturday, March 30, 2013
HARTFORD -- Lawmakers and gun-control advocates anticipate the
strongest laws in the nation to emerge Monday, when leaders of the
General Assembly finally unveil their bipartisan response to the Sandy
Hook Elementary School massacre. After closed-door House and
Senate caucuses review the secret list of gun-control, school-safety
and mental-health legislation, top Democratic and Republican leaders
will meet a final time, then announce what they will debate and vote on
later in the week.
"We're hoping we can reach a conclusion," said Senate Minority Leader
John McKinney, R-Fairfield, whose district includes Newtown. "We should
have a comprehensive package that will be more encompassing than we've
seen anywhere else."
"A lot of that depends on our respective caucuses," said House Minority
Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk. "The goal was to set an
example on how Democrats and Republicans could work together and the
goal was always comprehensive. That's not to say exhaustive. In the
future, we'll still be looking at ways to improve on issues of mental
health and school safety."
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn agreed
that it could be the most comprehensive bill in the country.
"I'm looking forward to our caucus Monday," Williams said Friday. "It's
been a lengthy negotiation, but fruitful. We've discussed every issue."
The House and Senate debates are scheduled for Wednesday. At the
start of the legislative session, leaders appointed a 52-member
committee of lawmakers, with three subcommittees studying guns, school
safety and mental health. Earlier this month, the subcommittees
presented recommendations to House and Senate leaders for final
bipartisan negotiations. Democrats have 99-52 and 22-14
majorities in the House and Senate, respectively, but leaders agreed at
the start of their private negotiations on March 6 that a bipartisan
agreement would carry more weight.
"I think a lot of our discussions, especially on mental health, are
leading us to future discussions down the road," McKinney said. "But
this will be a comprehensive package that will be more encompassing
that we've seen anywhere else. I hope we have bipartisan support to
hopefully send a message to Washington that people can come together
and make progress on these issues."
"If we do a good thing, people will take note," Cafero said. "Leading
by example was not the goal. We want an effective, comprehensive piece
of legislation."
A widening of the state's 1993 ban on assault weapons to include
semi-automatic, military style rifles is expected in the final bill,
along with a requirement that all gun sales, including rifle purchases
and private transactions, must include criminal background
checks. Whether a ban on ammunition magazines over 10 rounds
would allow those currently owning them to retain them was still being
discussed last week.
Gun-control advocates stress that prohibiting the larger magazines is
key to reducing incidents such as the Sandy Hook shootings.
There, Adam Lanza was able to fire about half of the 300 rounds of .223
caliber ammunition for his Bushmaster XM15 rifle that he brought in 10,
30-round magazines. He killed 20 first-graders and six adults before
committing suicide with a handgun.
Ron Pinciaro, executive director of the Fairfield-based Connecticut
Against Gun Violence, said Friday that Congress needs states such as
Connecticut to be "the laboratories for change" that could lead to
better national gun-control measures.
"A lot will depend on what happens in those caucuses," he said in a
phone interview. "I think they're going to cover all the bases on the
main proposals. The sticking point now is the `grandfathering' of those
large magazines."
Pinciaro said if the General Assembly prohibits ownership of large
magazines, there are "very clear" constitutional grounds for public
safety. Some gun enthusiasts call such a measure a violation of their
constitutional right to property. Gun-control advocates and Gov.
Dannel P. Malloy, who introduced his own proposals Feb. 21 in response
to the Newtown shootings, say large magazines can be mechanically
altered to accept fewer bullets, or they can be sold to people in other
states.
Pinciaro noted that the evidence released by state prosecutors last
week shows that Lanza left his smaller magazines at home, bringing the
30-round magazines for the Bushmaster, plus a Saiga 12-gauge
semi-automatic shotgun with two magazines containing 70 rounds of
ammunition he left in his vehicle outside the school.
Pinciaro believes the bill will also include tougher safe-storage
requirements for gun owners and a limit on the number of guns someone
can buy each month. Pinciaro, while agreeing with lawmakers that
Connecticut may end up with the toughest gun-control laws in the
nation, said it will likely fall short of what he and others
want. CAGV has proposed the registration of all handguns, with
annual renewals under the stipulation that they remain in the
possession of legal owners. Currently, permits are needed only to carry
handguns and are renewed every five years.
"Most urban violence is carried out by those prohibited from using guns
and the (federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)
has reported that 60 percent of the guns involved in crimes in
Connecticut were purchased in Connecticut," Pinciaro said. "There are
things we'll want to go back to in future legislative sessions."
Relation to this
previous event?
An inventory of carnage: Newtown
warrants unsealed
Authorities today released chilling details of Adam Lanza's
troubled life and his horrific assault on Sandy Hook Elementary School,
providing tantalizing hints and clues, but no answers about what
launched the bloodiest primary school shooting in U.S. history.
Lanza killed 26 children and educators in less than five
minutes, firing 154 rounds from a Bushmaster XM15 military-style rifle.
He was prepared to kill far more: Police found three more 30-round
magazines on him, with another 15 rounds in his rifle.
The first new on-the-record details from law enforcement came
in search-warrant documents unsealed by the Superior Court and in a
written statement from Danbury State's Attorney Stephen J. Sendensky
III, who is overseeing the investigation.
Lanza carried the rifle, extra magazines and two loaded
handguns, a 10 mm Glock and a 9 mm Sig Sauer during the attack. He left
a loaded Saiga shotgun, which resembles an AK-47 assault weapon, and 70
shells in the passenger compartment of his mother's 2010 Honda Civic,
which he parked in the fire lane outside the school.
The details are likely to whet the considerable appetite for
gun-control at the General Assembly, especially restrictions on
military-style weapons and a ban on high-capacity magazines.
"In some cases, the facts really do speak for themselves, and
in this case they only add starker detail to what we already knew,"
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said.
Legislators have not scheduled a vote, but debate is widely
expected Wednesday in the Connecticut General Assembly on a bill that
would ban the sale of military-style rifles such as the AR-15, as well
as magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. The XM15 is
Bushmaster's version of the AR-15, the nation's best-selling rifle.
Lanza killed himself with the Glock in one of the two
classrooms he attacked, clad in military gear. Sedensky said a search
warrant affidavit incorrectly said he wore a bullet-proof vest and that
he died in the middle of three classrooms he attacked.
His mother, Nancy Lanza, was discovered at their home, dead
in bed, shot once in the forehead. A rifle was on the floor. There were
no signs of a struggle, and a gun safe was unlocked.
The state police affidavits and inventories of the items
seized at two crime scenes, the Lanza home and Sandy Hook Elementary,
described a home chock full of guns and ammo, including four weapons in
a safe kept in Adam's bedroom, near a gaming console and clippings of
other mass killings.
But investigators offered no detailed narrative and provided
scant details from witnesses about what sent him on a mission on Dec.
14 to his old elementary school, killing 20 first-grade students and
six educators and then taking his own life as police answered frantic
911 calls.
Malloy said Lanza carefully chose his weapons, taking a
Bushmaster fitted with a 30-round magazine and 9 extra magazines,
loaded with .223-caliber bullets. In all, the magazines contained 300
rounds.
"This is exactly why we need to ban high capacity magazines
and why we need to tighten our assault weapons ban," Malloy said. "I
don't know what more we can need to know before we take decisive action
to prevent gun violence. The time to act is now."
Anticipating today's release, legislators gave up on an
effort to bring a gun-control bill to a vote this week.
The Lanzas' house at 36 Yogananda Street in Newtown, a pale
yellow Colonial with dark green shutters, contained guns and ammunition
- more than 1,000 rounds in a gun safe and closet, ammo for shotguns,
handguns and rifles.
The Lanzas - the affidavit does not specify whom - also had a
collection of knives and three Samurai swords.
In one affidavit, authorities quoted an acquaintance
describing the killer as a "shut in and avid gamer who plays Call of
Duty," a video game that gives the player the perspective of a soldier
on violent missions. The school he attacked was described as "his life"
by a witness quoted in the affidavit.
An inventory of items found in the house reflected the
mother's passionate interest in firearms and shooting and the
challenges posed by the youngest of her two sons, 20-year-old Adam.
His report card from Sandy Hook was in the house. So were
emails and documents relating to weapons, including the purchase of a
Glock handgun and an NRA certificate awarded to Adam. Police found a
holiday card made out to him, with a check made out for a firearm.
Among the books seized, two were about autism: "Look me in
the eye, my life with Aspergers," and "Born on a blue day. Inside the
mind of an autistic savant."
A third was the "NRA guide to the basics of pistol shooting."
The documents can be read in their entirety here and here.
Newtown Gunman Had Swords,
Guns, & Ammo; Witness Says School Was His ‘Life’
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Hugh McQuaid & Christine Stuart | Mar 28, 2013 10:36am
According to search warrants released by prosecutors
Thursday, a witness told police that Newtown gunman Adam Lanza was a
reclusive shut-in with access to numerous weapons and a large quantity
of ammunition.
The disclosure of the warrant documents Thursday morning by
prosecutors came one week after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called for the
release of more information from the ongoing investigation into the
Dec. 14 murder of 20 first graders and six educators at an elementary
school in Newtown.
Malloy’s request came amid criticism from lawmakers over a
leak of previously undisclosed information by the state police.
Legislative leaders have been working for weeks to negotiate a
bipartisan bill in response to the shooting and have requested as much
information as possible to inform their legislation.
The search warrants unsealed Thursday confirm much of what
has been reported in the months since the shooting. The warrants also
indicated that while the shooter’s mother, Nancy Lanza, had a safe for
the family’s extensive gun collection, it was either kept unlocked or
the shooter was able to easily access it.
Malloy has called for a package of stricter gun regulations
in response to the shooting. Although he requested additional
information from prosecutors, he said he didn’t believe that
information was necessary to pass legislation.
He issued a statement Thursday saying the warrants confirmed
the need to expand the state’s assault weapons ban and to prohibit
high-capacity ammunition magazines.
“We knew that he had ready access to weapons that he should
not have had access to. We knew that these weapons were legally
purchased under our current laws. We knew he used 30-round magazines to
do it, and that they allowed him to do maximum damage in a very short
period of time,” Malloy said in a Thursday statement.
The guns used in the shootings were apparently all purchased
by the shooter’s mother, according to State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky
III. There is currently no indication that the shooter had attempted to
purchase the guns and was denied.
The gunman shot his mother with a .22 caliber rifle before
heading to Sandy Hook Elementary School. There, he took the lives of 26
people in about five minutes with a Bushmaster AR-15 before killing
himself with a Glock 10 mm handgun.
Lanza was found among the dead wearing military-style
clothing and a bulletproof vest. His mother was later found in their
home “lying in a supine position on a bed in the 2nd floor master
bedroom. “The white female sustained an apparent gunshot wound to her
forehead. Investigators located a rifle on the floor near the bed,”
according to the warrant.
Police recovered 154 spent .223 shell casings from the
school. They also found six additional 30-round magazines for the
Bushmaster rifle. Three were empty, and the others were partially
loaded.
The police found a loaded, 12-gauge shotgun in the passenger
compartment of the car that the shooter drove to the school. Police
said they moved the shotgun to the trunk for safekeeping.
The witness, whose name was redacted from the warrant,
described Lanza as a “shut in” and an “avid gamer.” The witness told
police that Sandy Hook Elementary School was Adam’s “life.”
At the Lanza home, law enforcement officials also found
documents including “personal notes, memoirs, and thoughts believed to
have been written and/or collected by Adam Lanza.”
Police also found a holiday card with a check from Nancy
Lanza to Adam Lanza for a “C183.” The search warrant identifies the
C183 as a firearm, but it’s unclear what weapon this is referring to.
“Documents such as these are routinely utilized by
investigators to develop [a] psychological profile of the author of
such,” the search warrant says. It also says the seized documents were
to be turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for analysis.
There were five search warrants released Thursday. Three from
Dec. 14 (here,
here,
and here),
one from Dec.
15 and one from Dec.
16. The investigation is ongoing and won’t be completed until June.
Newspaper:
Lanza built spreadsheet on mass murders
CT POST Staff
reports
Updated
12:01 am, Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Connecticut law enforcement authorities have discovered a detailed
spreadsheet that shows Adam Lanza plotted the shootings at Sandy Hook
Elementary School and researched mass murders for years, the New York
Daily News reported.
"What investigators found was a chilling spreadsheet seven feet long
and four feet wide that required a special printer, a document that
contained Lanza's obsessive, extensive research -- in nine-point type
-- about mass murders of the past, and even attempted murders," the
newspaper said.
Hearst Connecticut Newspapers previously has reported that
investigators found reams of material that showed Lanza's obsession
with other mass murders and that investigators believe he had plotted
his Dec. 14 rampage for some time.
The Daily News story attributed the information to an unnamed veteran
police officer who attended last week's International Association of
Police Chiefs and Colonels midyear meeting in New Orleans. At the
meeting, Col. Daniel Stebbins, of the Connecticut State Police, briefed
other high-ranking police officials on the investigation into the
shootings, when Lanza, armed with an AR-15 Bushmaster semi-automatic
rifle and two handguns, killed 20 first-graders and six adults at
Newtown's largest elementary school.
Before driving to the school, Lanza first shot and killed his mother,
Nancy, in the Yogananda Street home they shared.
The source told the Daily News that investigators believe the
spreadsheet was in reality a video game score sheet, one that the
20-year-old mass murderer wanted to have his name atop, and that he
picked the school because it gave him the best chance to rack up the
greatest number of "kills."
He also said that investigators now believe Lanza had planned the
massacre for years.
Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance issued a statement
Monday morning saying that police would not be releasing any further
information on the case. Stebbins' comments at the New Orleans seminar
were intended "for law enforcement professionals only," and should not
have been made public until the families of the victims had been
briefed, Vance said.
"Following every tragic mass murder incident in this country, it is
customary for law enforcement to share their lessons learned from the
investigation," Vance said. "It is unfortunate that someone in
attendance chose not to honor Col. Stebbins' request to respect the
families' right to know specifics of the investigation first."
But unlike some previous instances when information about the shootings
and Lanza's possible motivation were reported by the news media, Vance
didn't dispute the accuracy of the story.
He said a final state police report is "still several months away."
Earlier this month, Hearst reported that State Police investigators had
recovered from Lanza's home what a source described as documents
related to "virtually every mass murder" in the United States and
abroad.
Lanza showed particular interest in the October 2006 shooting at a
one-room Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pa., in which gunman
Charles Carl Robert IV took hostages and shot 10 schoolgirls, five of
them fatally, before killing himself.
Lanza also had researched Anders Behring Breivik's shooting spree in
Norway in July 2011. Breivik killed 77 people, eight of them by setting
off bombs in downtown Oslo, before he shot and killed 69 others, many
of them teenagers, at a summer camp on Utoya island in July 2011.
Investigators have theorized that Lanza wanted to exceed Breivik's
death toll, sources told Hearst.
Malloy Says He'll Propose Language To Get
Legislators Moving On Gun
Control
Will Discuss Plans At Danbury
Conference Attended By Biden
The
Hartford Courant
By JON LENDER, jlender@courant.com
10:28 PM EST, February 20, 2013
HARTFORD— Exhibiting frustration with what he sees as the General
Assembly's lack of progress on gun control, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said
Wednesday that he will propose language Thursday that can be pushed
through the House and Senate into law.
The sudden pronouncement by the Democratic governor came on the eve of
a visit Thursday by Vice President Joe Biden for a conference in
Danbury on legislative solutions to gun violence — an event that is
partly intended to generate political momentum for gun control
proposals by the White House and congressional Democrats in the
aftermath of the Dec. 14 Newtown school massacre.
"No one can deny there is a critically important debate playing out
right now on how to move forward to prevent gun violence — it's
happening in Washington, and in state houses and town halls across our
nation. Connecticut is at the center of that debate," Malloy's director
of communications, Andrew Doba, said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"At this critical juncture, in the wake of unspeakable tragedy in our
own state, the governor believes that we cannot let the chance to
affect real, positive change pass us by."
Doba released no particulars but said the language of the governor's
proposal will be "very specific." For example, he said, it will
describe in detail "what an assault weapon is" under an expanded and
intensified version of the state's current assault-weapons ban.
A Republican legislative leader charged that Malloy was using Biden's
visit to try to short-circuit ongoing deliberations about possible new
state laws and policies — deliberations by both a bipartisan
legislative task force and a special study commission of his own that
he appointed last month.
"It is unfortunate and bewildering that the governor would at this
juncture declare he is prepared to usurp the work of the task force
before it has had a chance to put forth its bipartisan response to the
events of Dec. 14," House Republican leader Larry Cafero said.
"Both parties have been working very hard and in a cooperative manner.
It appears the governor has unilaterally decided that there can be no
bipartisan proposal. He wants to act before either his own task force
or the one the legislature created are scheduled to report," Cafero
said.
Asked why Malloy chose the day before the nationally promoted Danbury
conference to express impatience that he had never voiced before, Doba
declined to comment.
Since January the General Assembly has been considering legislation,
including expanding the state's ban on assault weapons, prohibiting
high-capacity ammunition magazines, beefing up school security and
improving the mental health system to identify and treat disturbed
individuals such as Newtown killer Adam Lanza.
When Malloy appointed his special Newtown study commission in January,
he gave it a March 15 deadline for issuing preliminary findings. He
also said that it could take as much time as it needed, adding: "This
is not a race." Meanwhile, the legislative task force, although it is
working faster than Malloy's panel, still isn't finished, either.
Democratic House Speaker Brendan Sharkey also had advocated a measured
approach, saying in mid-January that "taking quick action is important,
but taking smart action is more important."
Other states — most prominently New York — have reacted more quickly to
the Connecticut tragedy. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed through
legislation in January including a ban on magazines containing more
than seven bullets. Malloy hadn't given any public indication of
dissatisfaction with the pace of progress in Connecticut until the
Journal Inquirer of Manchester published a story Wednesday saying he
had told its editors and reporters in an interview that it's "apparent
to me that the legislature will not reach bipartisan consensus on this
issue" and that he needs to step in.
On Thursday about noon, Malloy will appear at the Danbury conference on
gun violence with not only Biden, but also several of Connecticut's
members of Congress, and others including municipal officials and
experts.
At 10 a.m. — two hours before Malloy appears in Danbury — the
governor's office will put out a press release giving his proposed
legislative language for quick action in the General Assembly, Doba
said. Malloy will talk about proposals at the conference, Doba said.
Malloy and other Democrats have called for expanding the state's
assault-weapons ban for reasons including the fact that the current ban
doesn't cover the Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that Lanza used
to kill 20 first-graders and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School
in Newtown.
Doba said Wednesday evening that Malloy "thinks we should act quickly
and decisively to make Connecticut safer. Connecticut has time and
again come together to tackle the difficult issues. We must do that
again."
Malloy's fellow Democrat, state Senate President Pro Tempore Donald
Williams, issued a statement agreeing with the governor's new
statements. "I share the governor's concern that this process is
dragging on," Williams said. "While this bipartisan task force has
allowed us to gather input from concerned citizens from across
Connecticut, it is time to pass a strong bill."
Copyright © 2013, The Hartford
Courant
Investigators recover Lanza computer
data
CT POST
John Pirro, Michael P. Mayko and Ken Dixon
Updated 8:28 pm, Saturday, February 16, 2013
NEWTOWN -- Investigators have succeeded in recovering some data from
one of the damaged hard drives in a computer used by Adam Lanza and
have subpoenaed computers of people they believe were in contact with
the Sandy Hook mass murderer, a law enforcement source said Friday.
Another smashed hard drive still is being reconstructed by technicians
with the U.S. Department of Defense, the source said.
Authorities are particularly interested in what relationships Lanza had
within the online and video game community, hoping there may be clues
about what provoked him to shoot his mother to death and then kill 20
first-graders and six educators at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on
the morning of Dec. 14.
Earlier in their investigation, State Police had found a trove of
violent gaming material at the Newtown home Lanza shared with his
mother, Nancy.
Lanza attempted to destroy the computer hard drives either on the day
of the shootings or shortly earlier.
Investigators also have concluded that Adam Lanza's mother did not
restrict his access to the Bushmaster rifle and three other guns he
took to Sandy Hook school to embark on his killing spree, according to
another law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
Nancy Lanza "had the means to secure the weapons" inside the Yogananda
Street home she shared with her 20-year-old son, but the security
measures she employed didn't include keeping them away from Adam, the
source said. Nancy Lanza and her son had frequently used area firing
ranges.
How Nancy Lanza's weapons were stored is of interest to state lawmakers
as they draft gun-control proposals in the aftermath of the Newtown
school shooting.
They have asked the state's attorney's office for an update on the
investigation, seeking information not only about the weapons Lanza
used but also the state of his mental health.
In addition to the high-powered rifle that Lanza wielded to blast his
way into the school, the two handguns he was carrying and a shotgun
police found in the trunk of the car he drove, there was one other
weapon in the Lanza house -- an "old Springfield rifle" -- one of the
law enforcement sources told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.
The source said the bullets that struck three cars in the Sandy Hook
Elementary parking lot were fired from inside one of the classrooms and
exited the building through the windows. It's not yet clear whether the
shots had been aimed at arriving police officers or were just shots
that had gone wild.
State police also are returning to families the since-laundered clothes
worn by the victims when they were killed. Some of the families are
accepting them. Others don't want them back.
Investigators appear to be making slow but dogged process.
"There is a lot of evidence that was recovered, but the question is,
what does it tell us?" said one law enforcement source. "This is not a
who-done-it."
Stephen J. Sedensky III, the state's attorney in Danbury who oversees
the investigation, said Friday, "I expect that it will go on for a
number of months, but I hope that it can be (completed) within the time
frame that I testified to before the Legislature, which is the summer."
In the two months since the shootings, Newtown residents have sought to
achieve some degree of normalcy, albeit a new one.
The students of Sandy Hook now attend classes at the former Chalk Hill
Middle School in neighboring Monroe. The building was quickly upgraded
with the latest security measures and also refurbished to remind
students of their old home.
The fate of the Sandy Hook school has been the subject of two lively
town hall meetings, with residents divided over whether the building
that housed kindergarten through fourth grade should be razed or
converted to some other use.
Some parents in the school district are pushing for a continued
presence by armed security guards or police officers at all seven
district schools.
More than $9 million has been raised by the United Way's Sandy Hook
Relief Fund, the largest of several ventures to help the victims'
families, first responders and the community at large.
Several family members of the victims have joined Sandy Hook Promise, a
community group that seeks a broad national dialogue on ways to avoid
future mass shootings and on how to promote community healing.
Victims' family members have cautiously stepped into the public arena,
joining gun-control rallies, urging attention for mental health
treatment and attending President Barack Obama's State of the Union
address.
On Friday, Obama at a White House ceremony awarded the Presidential
Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor, to the families of
the six slain teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook.
The recommendations of Vice President Joe Biden's task force on gun
violence either have been enacted into executive actions by Obama or
referred to Congress for review. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said
last week that lawmakers are likely to support universal background
checks for gun purchasers, but are divided on whether to limit
large-capacity ammunition magazines and to ban assault weapons.
Two state task forces are reviewing the events of Dec. 14 -- a
blue-ribbon panel appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and a bipartisan
group of state legislators.
House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. said Friday he anticipates
bills to come before the House and Senate by March 13, and perhaps a
week earlier.
Cafero said he has given Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane a list of 10
questions that would aid lawmakers in fashioning proposals, including
whether Nancy Lanza used a storage locker or some sort of safe to store
her weapons; details on Adam Lanza's mental health history; whether he
attempted to buy guns on his own; and exactly which guns he used in the
killings.
Criminal charges weighed in Newtown deaths
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Updated 11:26 pm, Thursday, January 24, 2013
HARTFORD -- The prosecutor investigating the Newtown school massacre
told a new panel Thursday not to expect a final report on the Dec.14
slaughter anytime soon. Danbury State's Attorney Stephen J.
Sedensky
III announced that while no criminal prosecution seems likely to emerge
from the mass murder and suicide, he wants to suppress much of the
evidence from the public, anyway.
"This is an ongoing criminal investigation, for which I have obtained
extensions of time from the Superior Court to keep documents sealed, so
that the investigation may continue unencumbered by distractions,"
Sedensky said.
"The rules of professional responsibility for prosecutors require that
I take steps to prevent publicity that would have a substantial
likelihood of materially prejudicing a potential prosecution," he said.
In a brief appearance before Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's 16-member Sandy
Hook Advisory Commission, Sedensky said that he expects the State
Police report on the shootings to be several months away.
"Of course, if the investigation reveals that there should be a
criminal prosecution, then that prosecution would take precedence over
any report," Sedensky said to the panel of municipal officials, mental
health experts, security professionals and social-service providers.
"Though no such prosecution currently appears on the horizon, I am sure
you can appreciate that all leads need to be investigated and evidence
examined before final decisions and statements are made," he said.
He offered to meet privately with a representative of the advisory
panel to provide information that he might not release to the
public.
Sedensky said that during the first week after the shootings, federal,
state and local police worked around the clock investigating the crime
scenes at Sandy Hook Elementary School; at the 36 Yogananda Street home
of Nancy Lanza, whose son Adam, 20, murdered her before driving her car
to the school; and elsewhere.
It will be months before a report is released.
"We are hoping for some time this summer, perhaps in June," said
Sedensky, a Newtown resident, adding that details on the mental health
of Adam Lanza, are protected from disclosure under privacy regulations
and might not be able to be provided to the commission.
Bill Ritter, the former governor of Colorado who district attorney of
Denver investigated the aftermath of the 1999 shootings at Columbine
High School in Littleton, told the panel that the nation is watching.
"You could wind up saving lives at some point in the future," said
Ritter, who later became governor and became a target for a deranged
gunman who was shot and killed by a State Trooper outside his office.
"Healing can happen¦but it can be a long-term process."
Richard Bonnie, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law
who was an adviser to the Virginia Tech Review Panel following that
2007 shooting, warned that legislation and regulatory changes can be
affected by emotions.
"Tragedy can compromise thoughtful policy making," he said via video
connection from Virginia.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, in the panel's first meeting Thursday morning,
said that the consequence that seems to be separating Newtown from
other mass shootings in that momentum for a positive reaction to the
crime seems to be gaining every day, not fading.
"We must take a serious look at public safety, particularly school
safety, so our children can grow up and go to school without the fear
of violence in a culture that does in fact glorify violence," Malloy
said.
"We need to have a discussion about stopping that," Malloy said. "The
recommendations you will craft over the coming weeks and months will no
doubt take us toward that goal: better mental health, better safety in
our schools and a system that is set up to stop the glorification of
the violence."
Later in the afternoon, after Sedensky's testimony, Malloy, a former
prosecutor, was asked by reporters about the reticence to release more
details of the shooting.
"I think there's always this situation where a prosecutor is trying to
make the right balance," Malloy said.
"This was an attack so outrageous, in the killing of 20 six-year-olds
that in many ways it's going to have an imprint, the likes of
which¦(CQ)I can remember remember where I was, in the classroom,
when
someone came in to say President Kennedy was shot," Malloy said. "I
think this is that kind of event. So I think he needs to take the time
necessary to conclude the investigation. Having said that, I would hope
that as little time is necessary. It's more important to get it right
than to rush out a report."
On Friday morning, a legislative subcommittee looking into issues of
school security after the Sandy Hook shootings, will hold a public
hearing starting at 9:30 in Room 2-C of the Legislative Office Building.
THE
SELECTMEN'S PUBLIC HEARING 3-21-13 IN SHADOW OF CT BILLS/POLICY BEING
CONSIDERED...
WESTON
PUBLIC HEARING ON FIREARMS ORDINANCE CLOSED:
(L-R) No
action to be
taken until target practice issue is resolved; those previously
objecting no longer do (most clearly opposed are now OK with Weston's
new ordinance); Police Commission weighed in with three
lawyerly changes...30 minutes total for this public hearing - compared
to the previous one, just below.
WESTON UPDATES ITS EXISTING
1990 GUN ORDINANCE: Nothing to be done in Weston until Spring,
as we heard it.
WHAT BEING ABLE TO OWN A GUN MEANS TO
SOME FROM OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD...
We were hit hard with this observation - something to consider,
for sure!
SELECTMEN'S MEETING, WMS CAFETERIA 1-17-13
- watch the Town TV channel and website to see this informative
meeting!!!
Weston Selectmen elicit
public opinion - a picture story not in order of speaking (to protect
identity.on Internet). There were close to total 300 (250 seated)
people in WMS Cafeteria.
NON RESIDENTS PERMITTED TO SPEAK SO LONG AS
THEY STAYED ON THE TOPIC AS IT AFFECTS WESTON, IN THEIR OPINION.
SELECTMEN ADDRESS
ISSUES: An
ongoing discussion; indication that action should come from CT and U.S.
Governments on guns.
Two Connecticut State Police
officers (with their great hats) and Weston Police present, directing
traffic, controlling flow of pedestrians and cars outdoors as well as
checking audience.inside the cafeteria.
THOSE WHO ATTENDED GOT COPIES
Xeroxes of 1990 ordinance as well as draft copies of revisions just
done. In photo at right, Selectman Dennis Tracey (r) did drafting
and research so far.
Armed security guards on radar of Greenwich
Public Schools
Neil Vigdor, Greenwich Time
Updated 10:27 pm, Friday, January 4, 2013
Connecticut's wealthiest municipality is openly considering the posting
of armed guards in all of its public schools, where security has become
a paramount concern of parents following last month's shooting rampage
in Newtown.
In a district-wide letter sent out Thursday, Greenwich Public Schools
Superintendent William McKersie said he is continuing to field emails
from parents and staff calling for security to be beefed up, with an
untold number of them lobbying for armed guards.
"Adding armed guards at all schools, which some parents have advocated,
is a complicated step that presents many pros and cons, and may
ultimately have minimal effects in the type of tragedies in Newtown and
Columbine," McKersie wrote. "Nevertheless, we will consider the option
as we review our safety and security procedures relative to best
practices in Connecticut and nationally."
McKersie, who is in his first year as Greenwich's schools chief, told
Greenwich Time Friday that parents have weighed in on both sides of
posting armed guards throughout the district...
Selectman
Drew Marzullo panned the idea of assigning armed security guards to
each school, however.
"An armed guard does not stand the chance against a psycho or a
terrorist with a semi-automatic weapon wearing body armor," Marzullo
said. "This notion of combating gun violence by introducing more guns
in public areas is a dangerous, false sense of security."
The Democrat raised concerns about the precedent that posting armed
guards would set.
"Schools with multiple entrances, playgrounds, movie theaters,
Greenwich Avenue places of worship, where does it stop?" Marzullo said.
"Having armed guards is not in the value or fabric of our community."
Marzullo couched his comments to say that if it is necessary to have
armed security at schools, he prefers that they be police or
professional law enforcement officers.
While Greenwich Public Schools take stock of the security at each of
its facilities, from checking locks to reviewing lock-down drills,
McKersie wrote that there will be a heightened law enforcement presence
throughout the district.
"Please know that the Greenwich Police Department will continue to
provide an increased presence around all our schools for the next
couple of weeks," McKersie wrote. "Police will be in uniform and in
civilian attire, as well as in standard and unmarked police vehicles.
In addition, police patrols will continue to give highest priority to
any and all events in or around our schools."
A message seeking comment from school board Chairman Leslie Moriarty
was left by the newspaper Friday.
Guns and Mental Illness
By JOE NOCERA, NYTIMES
December 28, 2012
Many years ago, when I was a young reporter at Texas Monthly magazine,
I spent the better part of six months in the company of a man who
suffered from schizophrenia. His name was Fred Thomas; he was 23 years
old; and he had been steadily deteriorating since high school, which is
when most men first show symptoms of the disease.
I watched Fred as he was shuttled in and out of the state hospital in
Austin, Tex. — one of the few that had not been closed down by the
mid-1980s — where he was wildly overmedicated, and then released to
either his mother’s home, which was invariably disastrous, or a halfway
house ill equipped to help someone as delusional as he was.
I learned about the group homes that had sprung up after the closure of
the mental hospitals. They were so gruesome that one outplacement
worker told me she had never been to one “because I don’t want to know
where I am sending them.” I spent time at a homeless shelter that had
become, in effect, a mental institution without doctors or aides.
Ultimately, the article I wrote was about how the
“deinstitutionalization movement” of the 1960s and early 1970s — a
movement prompted by the same liberal impulses that gave us civil
rights and women’s rights — had become a national disgrace.
What spurs this recollection are two things. The first is Nina
Bernstein’s powerful report in The Times this week about the plight of
the mentally ill in New York. Although the article was pegged to the
loss of services after Hurricane Sandy, in truth, Sandy only
exacerbated a situation that was already terrible. With the mentally
ill rarely institutionalized for any length of time — on the theory
that their lives will be better if they are not confined in a hospital
— other institutions have sprung up to take their place.
Prisons, for instance. According to E. Fuller Torrey, a psychiatrist
who founded the Treatment Advocacy Center, a staggering 20 percent of
the prison population is seriously mentally ill. Around a third of the
homeless are mentally ill.
And one more statistic: “Ten percent of homicides are committed by
seriously mentally ill people who are not being treated,” says Torrey.
In the wake of the massacres in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn.,
there have been essentially two central arguments about the cause.
Liberals have stressed the need for new gun regulations that would make
it more difficult for the likes of James Holmes and Adam Lanza to get
ahold of killing machines like semiautomatics. There is no lack of
sensible ideas: background checks for all gun purchasers, a national
registry that would allow guns to be traced, an assault weapons ban,
controls on ammunition, and so on. Nouriel Roubini, the economist,
wrote in a Twitter message that gun owners should be required to have
liability insurance, an intriguing idea. Some legislators who once
blindly followed the bidding of the National Rifle Association are now
saying they are reconsidering in the wake of Newtown.
Many conservatives, however, have placed the blame for the recent rash
of mass shootings not on the proliferation of guns but on the fact that
James Holmes and Adam Lanza were allowed to go about their business
unfettered, despite their obvious mental illness. The editorial writers
at The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that changing the way we
treat the mentally ill “strikes us as a more promising path” for
reducing mass killings than a fight over gun control.
In truth, both are necessary. If conservatives need to face the need
for gun regulations — controls that will make guns less ubiquitous
while still staying on the right side of the Second Amendment —
liberals need to acknowledge that untreated mental illness is also an
important part of the reason mass killings take place. Yes, it is true,
as has been noted in recent weeks, that most mentally ill people don’t
commit crimes. But it is equally true that anyone who goes into a
school with a semiautomatic and kills 20 children and six adults is, by
definition, mentally ill.
The state and federal rules around mental illness are built upon a
delusion: that the sickest among us should always be in control of
their own treatment, and that deinstitutionalization is the more humane
route. That is not always the case. Torrey told me that Connecticut’s
laws are so restrictive in terms of the proof required to get someone
committed that Adam Lanza’s mother would probably not have been able to
get him help even if she had tried.
“Mentally ill street people shame the society that lets them live as
they do,” I wrote toward the end of that article in Texas Monthly. It
has been 50 years since deinstitutionalization became the way we dealt
with the mentally ill.
How much more proof do we need that it hasn’t worked?
Lawyer withdraws Sandy Hook suit,
may refile
Michael P. Mayko, CT POST
Updated 7:09 pm, Monday, December 31, 2012
Just
days after filing a $100 million lawsuit claiming the state failed to
adequately protect the students at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a New
Haven lawyer has withdrawn it. But that doesn't preclude a future
filing, Irving Pinsky said.
"I received new evidence on security at the school, which I need to
evaluate," Pinsky said Monday.
Once that happens, Pinsky said he may re-submit the paperwork to J.
Paul Vance Jr., who as the state's claims commissioner has the
authority to determine if a claim is justified and requires hearings.
Vance must approve any claim before a state agency can be sued.
Vance is the son of Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance, the
state police spokesman assigned to the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook school
massacre investigation. Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old Newtown resident,
killed 20 children and six female staff members before turning the gun
on himself.
Nearly two weeks after Lanza's autopsy, his father, Peter, claimed the
body Thursday at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in
Farmington. Peter Lanza resides in Stamford and works at General
Electric Financial Services
Pinsky said once he reviews the evidence, he will decide what "route to
take."
His clients are the parents of a 6-year-old girl who survived the
attacks, but was traumatized by the shooting, gunfire and the screaming
she heard over the school's loudspeaker that day.
"We haven't decided which route to take yet," Pinsky said. "A lot
depends on the evidence we uncover."
Earlier in the day, Attorney General George Jepsen said his office will
defend the state against any claim Pinsky might file.
"However, the Office of the Claims Commissioner is not the appropriate
venue for that important and complex discussion," Jepsen said.
"Although the investigation is still under way, we are aware of no
facts or legal theory under which the state of Connecticut should be
liable for causing the harms inflicted at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Nor does the claim letter filed in this case identify a valid basis to
support a claim against the state...and its taxpayers..."
Conn. AG: State isn't liable for
school shooting
DAY
Dec 31, 4:56 PM EST
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut's attorney general says he
sympathizes with families affected by the deadly Newtown school
shooting but the state isn't liable for the harm inflicted.
Attorney General George Jepson responded Monday to a New Haven
attorney's request to the state claims commissioner last week to sue
the state for $100 million on behalf of a 6-year-old survivor.
Jepson says people affected "deserve a thoughtful and deliberate
examination" of the tragedy and appropriate public policy responses.
But he says the claims commissioner's office isn't the appropriate
venue.
Attorney Irving Pinksy says his request is about school safety. He says
his client sustained "emotional and psychological trauma and injury" on
Dec. 14 after a gunman forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School
and killed 20 children and six adults and then killed himself.
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First intent to sue made in Sandy Hook
shootings
Susan Tuz, CT POST
Updated 10:07 pm, Friday, December 28, 2012
NEWTOWN -- A New Haven attorney is seeking permission from the
state to sue on behalf of a 6-year-old girl who was "traumatized" by
what she heard over the loudspeakers at Sandy Hook Elementary School
the morning of the mass shootings.
The request, the first apparent litigation effort filed in the
shootings, comes just two weeks after the death of 20 children and six
educators.
Attorney Irving Pinsky sent a notice of claim and request for
permission to sue the state to Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. on
Thursday on behalf of "Jill Doe, a minor child of six years of age and
resident of Newtown, Connecticut."
He is asking for $100 million on the child's behalf and brings the
claim through the child's parents, cited as "John and Jane Doe."
"I'm not releasing her name or her parents' names," Pinsky said Friday.
"She's a little girl and she's suffered enough."
Pinsky said he was contacted by the girl's parents within days of the
shootings and agreed to take the case because "we must stand together
to protect our children. If we don't, nothing will change."
He hopes suits such as this would bring legislators to act to change
gun control laws.
Pinsky cites in the claim that the child "was a student on the
premises" of Sandy Hook Elementary School and heard "conversations,
gunfire, and screaming" transmitted through the school's intercom
system on the day Adam Lanza attacked.
As a result, the child has "sustained emotional and psychological
trauma and injury, the nature of the extent has yet to be determined,"
the basis of claim reads.
"The State Board of Education, Connecticut Department of Education and
State Commissioner of Education failed... to provide a safe school
setting at Sandy Hook Elementary School," the claim reads.
Also the state "failed to determine whether the Newtown Board of
Education had in fact provided a safe school setting," the intent
claims.
The state's claims commissioner has the power to determine whether many
types of claims of damages or injuries lodged against the state
government are just.
The commissioner, after reviewing evidence, and if necessary,
scheduling hearings, can approve immediate payment of claims worth
$7,500 and under; recommend the General Assembly pay or reject claims
over $7,500; and allow lawsuits against Connecticut to proceed.
His decision can be appealed by only the Legislature.
Earlier this year, he rejected Charla Nash's request to sue the state
for damages related to her severe mauling by a chimpanzee in 2009.
Sandy Hook Shooter's Pause May
Have Aided Students' Escape
Detectives reviewing Lanza's
psychiatric records
The
Hartford Courant
By EDMUND H. MAHONY, DAVE ALTIMARI
and JON LENDER, daltimar@courant.com
3:02 PM EST, December 23, 2012
As many as a half-dozen first graders may have survived Adam Lanza's
deadly shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School because he
stopped firing briefly, perhaps either to reload his rifle or because
it jammed, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the
events.
A source said that the Bushmaster rifle that Lanza used in the
shootings is at the state police forensic laboratory undergoing several
tests, including tests to determine whether it was jammed.
The children escaped from the first-grade classroom of teacher Victoria
Soto, one of the six educators Lanza killed in Newtown after shooting
his way through a glass door with the .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle
on the morning of Dec. 14.
On Friday, detectives obtained and began examining records related to
psychiatric care Lanza had received in an attempt to determine a
motive. Several friends of his mother have said that he suffered from
Asperger's syndrome but authorities have not confirmed that or
indicated it had anything to do with the shootings.
Lanza killed 27 people — 20 children, four teachers, the school
principal, a school psychologist and his mother, Nancy — before
shooting himself in the head as police began arriving at the school.
The arriving officers encountered a shocking scene in Soto's classroom.
Lanza had shot her, as well as special education teacher Anne Marie
Murphy and six of Soto's 6- and 7-year old students. Seven of Soto's
students were found huddled and unharmed in a classroom closet,
apparently hidden by Soto when she heard shooting. The other students
fled the classroom.
Based on initial statements from surviving children and the fact that
unfired bullets from Lanza's rifle were found on the ground, detectives
suspect that some students were able to run to safety when Lanza
stopped firing, probably for a short period of time, the officials said.
It is possible that Lanza, who reloaded the rifle frequently,
mishandled or dropped a magazine and unfired bullets fell to the floor,
they said.
But it also is possible, they said, that the mechanism that fed bullets
into the rifle jammed, causing Lanza to remove the magazine and clear
the weapon. Unfired bullets could have fallen to the classroom floor
during that process as well, law enforcement officials said.
The six children who escaped Lanza's rampage ran to a home a short
distance from the school. Upon reaching the home, one of the boys told
the owner that "we obeyed the rules, we stayed on the sidewalk," one of
the officials said.
The authorities have learned generally from the children who ran away
that something may have happened to Lanza's rifle that caused him to
stop firing. The substance of the statements, which are not entirely
consistent, is that a piece of the weapon, probably a magazine holding
live bullets, was dropped or fell to the classroom floor.
Investigators have decided not to formally interview the children,
based on advice from Yale child psychologists. Given the chaotic nature
of the scene, it is also possible that some children escaped while
Lanza was shooting others in the room.
State police are expected to wrap up work at the school and release the
school as a crime scene in the next few days. They still are trying to
determine how many shots Lanza fired.
Lanza killed himself in Soto's classroom with one of the two pistols he
carried into the building. He killed himself as police entered the
building.
Police found a loaded 20-round shotgun in the trunk of the car similar
to what is known as a "street sweeper." Police believe that Lanza
didn't bring it into the school because he couldn't carry all of the
weapons and ammunition. Lanza, who was about 6 feet tall, weighed
barely 110 pounds, law enforcement sources said.
The few people who knew Lanza have portrayed him in the days since the
mass shootings as an awkward, emotionally isolated, withdrawn young
man. He attended public schools in Newtown, but at times was
home-schooled by his mother, who was said by authorities and others to
be the only person with whom he was socially engaged.
Lanza lived with his mother. He had two bedrooms and used one of them
to keep computer equipment on which he is said to have enjoyed playing
video games involving violent war games.
Before the shootings at the elementary school, Lanza shot his mother
four times with a .22-caliber rifle as she lay in bed. He left the
rifle at the house. All the guns were properly registered to Nancy
Lanza.
Adam Lanza also broke apart his computer equipment in a way that has
prevented authorities from retrieving data that could reveal with whom
he may have corresponded or played video games.
He then drove to the school, getting there about 9:30 a.m. He walked up
to the front entrance and fired at least a half dozen rounds into the
glass doors. The thunderous sound of Lanza blowing an opening big
enough to walk through the locked school door caused Principal Dawn
Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Scherlach to bolt from a nearby
meeting room to investigate.
He shot and killed them both as they ran toward him. Two other staff
workers in a meeting with Hocksprung and Scherlach were injured in the
hail of bullets but made it back inside the conference room where one
called 911 from under a table.
Lanza then turned toward the first classroom on his left, that of
teacher Kaitlin Roig. By then, authorities said, Roig had hidden with
her students in a closet in her classroom. Before securing the closet
door, which opened inward, authorities said she concealed the door
behind a movable bookcase.
Lanza then walked past Soto's classroom into the third one, where
Lauren Rousseau was teaching. He shot and killed Rousseau, special
education teacher Rachel D'Avino and 14 students.
One member of the class was not killed, although it is not clear if the
child escaped the shooting or was not in the room.
"I think the community is very much respecting their privacy," Newtown
schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said of the student's family. "I
think that everyone is very sensitive to what a horrific experience
this 6-year-old ... has been through."
Lanza then backtracked to Soto's classroom.
Much later, after police had found Lanza's body and were searching for
survivors, an officer had to slide a badge beneath the closet door
before Roig could be persuaded to open it.
Courant staff writer Matthew Sturdevant contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2012, The Hartford
Courant
...BEYOND THE ACTIONS TAKEN IN
1990 BY THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Gun control debate on local level because of Sandy Hook, proposed at
Selectmen's meeting. Friday, N.R.A. proposes immediate
solution, no press q&a.
A THOUGHTFUL
ARTICLE BY FORMER PSYCHIATRIST (WHO KNEW!)
Do you think Weston will take
up the proposal to have guards in place after the Christmas vacation as
offered by the N.R.A., for free (we thought we heard that) late this
morning? Sounds like an offer our budget conscious Board of
Selectmen should look at, once the alternative program descriptions are
available. Since we have a local assault weapons position
already, as former First Selectman Guidera may have suggested, as was
reported by First
Selectman Weinstein, perhaps we are better
prepared for leading the way in CT?
AG far left
above.
To meet in secret with first responder and law enforcement officials.
U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder coming
to Newtown
Westport News
December 20, 2012 at 10:53 am by Jim Shay
Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Newtown on Thursday to meet
law enforcement officials and investigators who are examining the
school massacre there, a Justice Department official told Reuters this
morning.
Holder, the chief U.S. law enforcement official, will go after his
scheduled meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and other cabinet
officials about measures to reduce gun violence, the official
said. Federal law enforcement officials have been assisting local
and state
investigators to try to determine why and how the shooter killed 20
children and six adults on Friday. In Newtown, Holder will meet
with first responders and law enforcement
officials.
The official requested anonymity because Holder’s visit to Newtown is
not a public trip. He will not be doing any
public events during the
visit.
Gunman Adam Lanza burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown
last Friday, killing 20 children and six adults before committing
suicide.
Biden convened the first meeting of his working group to explore
solutions following the Newtown shooting. Biden met with Thomas
Nee, President of the National Association of
Police Organizations, and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles
Ramsey, President of Police Executive Research Forum & Major Cities
Chiefs Association.
Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, Education Secretary
Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius also attended,
as well as other law enforcement representatives and senior White House
officials. Biden acknowledged that he has long working
relationships with many
leaders in the law enforcement community, many of whom worked with him
to help write the 1994 crime bill. Biden said many of them helped come
up with ideas about community policing, among other initiatives.
“I’ve worked with some of you for a long, long time,” he said.
Biden said, “We have to have a comprehensive way in which to respond to
the mass murder of our children that we saw in Connecticut.”
Biden said, “The president is absolutely committed to keeping his
promise that we will act and we will act in a way that is designed –
even if as he says we can only save one life — we have to take action.”
Biden added that “there’s some things we can immediately do, and we’re
going to need your help.” He said he sees “no reason” why the assault
weapons ban can’t pass the Congress. “Quite frankly, you guys helped me
write it,” he said. (Check transcript for this full quote; audio in
this portion is hard to hear clearly.)
“We’ve worked on everything from cop-killer bullets to type of weapons
that should be off the street,” Biden added. “That’s what I want to
talk to you about today, I want to hear your views, because for
anything to get done we’re going to need your advocacy.”
Newtown gunman Adam Lanza's
body claimed by father
NYPOST
From ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 10:11 AM, December 31, 2012
Posted: 7:45 AM, December 31, 2012
HARTFORD, Conn. — The father of the gunman who killed 26
people in a Connecticut elementary school, including 20 first-graders,
has claimed his son's body, a spokesman for the family said Monday...
Adam Lanza's Body Claimed
The Hartford Courant
By DAVE ALTIMARI, daltimari@courant.com
8:02 AM EST, December 31, 2012
Adam Lanza's body was claimed several days ago by someone who wanted to
remain anonymous, State Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II said
Sunday. Lanza's burial site also is being kept secret.
Lanza, 20, killed himself inside a classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown on Dec. 14 after a shooting rampage that left 26
people dead in the school, including 20 children. Lanza earlier killed
his mother, Nancy, at their house.
Carver has ruled Lanza's death a suicide but he is awaiting results of
toxicology tests before completing the case. In addition he has
asked geneticists from the University of Connecticut to study Lanza's
DNA for any mutations or other abnormalities that could shed light on
his motivation for the shootings.
Nancy Lanza's body was claimed by a funeral home in New Hampshire and
she was buried in a private ceremony earlier this month. She was born
in Kingston, N.H. Carver would not comment on whether the same funeral
home claimed Adam Lanza's body.
Peter Lanza, Adam Lanza's father, lives in Stamford, although sources
said he had little contact with his son the past two years. Carver
would not comment on whether Peter Lanza or someone representing him
claimed the body.
Copyright © 2012, The Hartford
Courant
Funeral held in NH for mother of Conn.
gunman
DAY (AP)
Dec 20, 6:19 PM EST
KINGSTON, N.H. (AP) -- A private funeral has been held in New Hampshire
for the mother of gunman who shot and killed 20 children at a
Connecticut elementary school.
The police chief in Kingston says the funeral was held Thursday for
Nancy Lanza at an undisclosed location. He says about 25 family
members attended the ceremony in the town of about 6,400, where Nancy
Lanza once lived.
Her son Adam Lanza burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,
Conn., last Friday, killing 20 children and six adults before
committing suicide.
Out-of-state family to claim body
of shooter's mom
DAY
Dec 20, 6:52 AM EST
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut's chief medical examiner says
arrangements are being made out of state for the burial of the mother
of Adam Lanza, who fatally shot 20 children and six adults in a Newtown
elementary school.
The New Haven Register reports (http://bit.ly/T9lc3X ) that Dr. H.
Wayne Carver said a funeral home outside Connecticut wants to claim the
body of Nancy Lanza, who was shot last Friday by her son shortly before
he headed to Sandy Hook Elementary School where he went on a deadly
rampage.
Carver says he doesn't know the name of the funeral home, but says
police in New Hampshire are fielding questions from the media. Nancy
Lanza once lived in New Hampshire and her brother is a retired police
captain in Kingston, N.H.
Carver wouldn't say whether Adam Lanza's body remains unclaimed.
---
Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com
M. Jodi Rell: We need to reset our moral
compass
Danbury News-Times
Updated 6:55 am, Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Read more:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/opinion/article/M-Jodi-Rell-We-need-to-reset-our-moral-compass-4129268.php#ixzz2FcSDhoWo
Many of you may know that for over two decades, I had the honor of
serving the people of Connecticut in elected offices. I first served as
a state representative, then as lieutenant governor and governor.
On March 6, 1998, I was serving as lieutenant governor when a
disgruntled employee went into the Lottery headquarters in Newington,
shot and killed four people, then shot and killed himself. One of those
killed that day was my friend, Linda Mlynarczyk, the Chief Financial
Officer of the Lottery Corporation. Gov. John Rowland and I
attended the funerals of the victims and grieved with their families. I
had never experienced anything like it. Did this really happen in
Connecticut?
On Sept. 11, 2001, the horrific terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center shattered our nation like no other event in my memory. I was
serving as lieutenant governor and watched and listened as the governor
called EVERY family with Connecticut ties. We cried and we
grieved, we mourned the loss of life, but we also hugged survivors,
heard stories of heroism and later built a lasting memorial to those
lost that day.
On Aug. 30, 2010, I was serving as governor when once again a
disgruntled employee opened fire at the Hartford Distributors facility.
He managed to kill eight people before he took his own life. As I
went to the scene, I remember thinking about the victims -- wondering
about their lives. These men were not strangers, they were our
brothers, our fathers, uncles, husbands. What will their families do
without them?
Once again, I cried and grieved with the families.
On Dec. 14, 2012, I was NOT serving in elected office. Rather, I was
serving as chauffeur for my 6-year-old grandson. I took him to
school and at the pupil drop-off, an aide opened the car door and led
him into the building. Just a few steps into his journey, my grandson
turned, smiling at me.
He waved and said, "Bye, Mema."
"Bye," I replied, and whispered, "I love you."
Later, as the events of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
unfolded, I kept thinking of my grandson and our goodbye that
morning. How many mothers, fathers, other "memas," "nanas" or
"grandmas" had said goodbye that morning -- and now would not see their
child again. What horror had befallen on our cute and quaint
little Sandy Hook? Why was our beloved state once again in the midst of
violence? What an unspeakable crime! What sadness! What grief!
What misery!
To the families and to the wonderful people of Newtown, please know
that I cry and grieve with you. Unfortunately, as a state
representative, lieutenant governor and governor, I have learned that
we cannot legislate common sense. There is evil in our world, and
we must recognize that.
It is time for a national dialogue on how to address this malady that
has beset our nation. It's about more than gun control.
It's about more than mental health issues. It's about more than
violence seen in movies, TV shows and video games. Our country is
better than this. We need to reset our moral compass. We need to commit
ourselves to being a better society.
It starts today and it must last longer than our short-term memory.
Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell is a
resident of Brookfield.
Newtown shooter wanted to join Marines
MariAn Gail Brown, CT POST
Published 10:59 pm, Wednesday, December 19, 2012
NEWTOWN -- Adam Lanza aspired to be a Marine, one of "the few, the
proud."
Failing that, he planned to join another branch of the military.
That is what he told his mother Nancy Lanza, his biggest cheerleader,
and that is what she relayed to one of her closest friends, Ellen
Adriani of Sandy Hook. At first, Nancy Lanza supported her
youngest son's dream. She liked the idea that the military would give
him purpose, a career path and structure to his life. But the more she
thought about it, the more she saw a downside.
"It became overwhelmingly clear to her that it [military service]
wasn't right for him," Adriani said. "She squashed" any notion of Adam
joining the Marines or any branch of the armed services by reminding
him "that he didn't like to be touched," said Adriani, and that if he
were injured "doctors and medics would have to handle him to treat him."
Lanza, 20, harbored a dream of joining the military after he stopped
taking college-level courses at Western Connecticut State University in
Danbury, said a local merchant who knew Nancy and her son. Lanza
first made his military aspirations known when he was 17, about the
time his older brother Ryan was attending Quinnipiac University in
Hamden.
The Adam Lanza who went on a shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown last Friday was outfitted for war. Only his targets
were civilian, not military. He was clad in body armor, black
clothing and wielding a Bushmaster rifle, equivalent to a military M16.
He was also armed with a 9mm Glock originally used by the Austrian
military -- and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Lanza was a familiar face at area shooting ranges in recent years,
federal agents said, but not in the past six months. Nevertheless, he
had ample opportunity to hone his skills firing off as many virtual
rounds as he wanted in the comfort of his own home. It was clear
he was an avid gamer from the trove of gory video and Internet gaming
material investigators seized.
Peter Wlasuk, a Newtown plumber who claims he worked at the Lanzas'
home, informed The Sun of London that Lanza would play soldier in
violent video games such as "Call of Duty" for hours in a windowless,
bunker-like basement.
"They had one poster of every piece of military equipment the U.S. ever
made," Wlasuk told the British newspaper.
Lanza's dreams are hauntingly similar to another school shooter, Eric
Harris, who along with Dylan Klebold killed 12 people at Columbine High
School in Colorado in 1999.
Harris had hoped to join the Marines, too, according to the Rocky
Mountain News. Five days before the shootings a recruiter told Harris
he wasn't eligible because he had used psychiatric medicine. Like
Harris, Lanza enjoyed playing violent computer and video games.
All three weapons Lanza used when he stormed Sandy Hook Elementary
School were lawfully owned and registered to his mother, who grew up on
a New Hampshire farm where she learned early how to shoot and handle
guns.
Adriani
visited Lanza's girlhood home last October, when the two of them
attended a retirement party for Lanza's brother, James Champion, a
police officer.
"She was a real farm girl," Adriani said, and had a respect for
firearms. "She was one of the most responsible people I know. She kept
them locked up. She was safety conscious in every aspect of her life.
If you got into her BMW and didn't buckle up, as soon as the car
started making that ding-ding-ding sound she'd stop driving and
wouldn't start until you were safely buckled in."
Adriani met Nancy Lanza several years ago at the My Place restaurant in
Newtown, where a number of their mutual friends hang out. The two
shared a passion for gardening and good food.
All of what Adriani knows of Adam Lanza she concedes she learned from
his mother, whom police said he shot in the head. He then drove to the
school to kill 20 children and six women before killing himself.
"Nancy was proud of both of her sons," Adriani said. "They were the
world to her. Adam had been doing some computer work for someone I
know. He was incredibly bright. And Nancy was looking into some schools
for him and the possibility of moving, too."
As he progressed through the school system he did well academically,
but socially he was an outcast. When anyone passed him in the
hallway between classes, fellow classmates say, he would press himself
against the wall, shunning even inadvertent physical contact.
Whether Adam Lanza was depressed about giving up his military dream or
resuming his education, Adriani said she has no idea.
In the past year or so, Nancy Lanza had started traveling more, leaving
him home alone more often, Adriani said. And Adam Lanza had started
taking on more responsibility at home, grocery shopping and venturing
out alone.
COURANT
PRESS CONFERENCE REPORT
V-P Biden now in charge plus cabinet members and others, to recommend
actions in the "multifacited" matter
of mass shootings - in January.
FROM CHANNEL 12 REPORT
WEDNESDAY (DEC.19) MORNING...
NEWTOWN - There is a new theory emerging in the Newtown massacre.
Some believe Adam Lanza went on a shooting spree because his mother
planned to commit him to a mental institution. Adam Lanza shot
his mother Nancy as she slept in her bed. He then went to the
school where his mother volunteered and gunned down 26 victims.
Published reports say Lanza may have shot the children because he
thought his mother loved them more than she loved him and she was going
to send him away.
Geneticist
Asked To Join Search For Clues In Newtown Massacre
State Police Say
Investigation Will Take Months
The Hartford Courant
By DAVID OWENS, dowens@courant.com
10:34 PM EST, December 18, 2012
NEWTOWN As detectives continue to comb through evidence and talk to
people who witnessed Friday's mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary
School, the state's chief medical examiner is seeking clues in the
gunman's biology.
Dr. H. Wayne Carver has asked a
geneticist at the University of Connecticut to join in his
investigation of the killings. Carver is awaiting toxicology testing
results for gunman Adam Lanza, 20, and information that may help answer
the question of why Lanza gunned down 20 first-graders and six women at
Sandy Hook.
"I'm exploring with the department
of genetics what might be possible, if anything is possible," Carver
said Tuesday. "Is there any identifiable disease associated with this
behavior?"
Carver said he does not know whether
Lanza had Asperger's syndrome — a possibility that has been raised —
but he said Asperger's "is simply not on the menu, in terms of what is
wrong with this kid. Asperger's is not associated with behavior
patterns that are violent."
Determining why Lanza went on a
rampage that apparently ended only when fast-arriving police prompted
him to kill himself may be difficult. Lanza destroyed a hard drive from
his computer, which authorities had hoped would reveal clues about what
he did, and he killed his mother as she slept.
Carver said that Nancy Lanza died of
four gunshots to the head from a .22-caliber rifle. She was in bed when
her son killed her, and likely still asleep, Carver said. The rifle was
left at the house.
Mary Ellen O'Toole, a retired FBI
profiler and behavioral scientist, said seeking an answer in Adam
Lanza's biology is worthwhile.
"I think it's great to consider if
there's something here that would help people understand this
behavior," O'Toole said.
There will be other important clues
contained in the reports that detectives prepare about the crime scene
and their interviews with witnesses, O'Toole said. Some of that
information may help behavioral scientists answer the key question: why?
One thing is apparent from the
evidence made public so far, she said. The assault on Sandy Hook
Elementary "was not an impulsive act," she said. "This was well thought
out."
The planning could have gone on for
days, weeks or months, she said.
State police Lt. J. Paul Vance has
repeatedly described the investigation as a process during which
Newtown and state police detectives will peel back the layers of the
case. Just how much of the story detectives will finally be able to
tell remains unknown, but it will not be a fast process.
"It's going to take months," Vance
said.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has declared
Friday a day of mourning and has asked that people observe a moment of
silence at 9:30 a.m. He has also asked houses of worship and government
buildings with bells to ring them 26 times in honor of the victims.
"Let us all come together
collectively to mourn the loss of far too many promising lives at Sandy
Hook Elementary School," Malloy said. "Though we will never know the
full measure of sorrow experienced by these families, we can let them
know that we stand with them during this difficult time."
Malloy has also asked governors
throughout the nation to join Connecticut "during this time of
reflection and mourning."
"Mourning this tragedy has extended
beyond Newtown, beyond the borders of Connecticut, and has spread
across the nation and the world," Malloy said. "On behalf of the state
of Connecticut, we appreciate the letters and calls of support that
have been delivered to our state and to the family members during their
hour of need."
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C.,
Connecticut's senators thanked their colleagues for a resolution of
condolence and support for Newtown and urged Congress to never let such
a tragedy occur again.
"Criminal and deranged people should
not be able to get their hands on firearms,'' said Democrat Richard
Blumenthal, who called for "a meaningful and thoughtful debate. .. This
is our moment."
"The Supreme Court has made it clear
that government can impose sensible regulation,'' said Blumenthal, who
called for new restrictions on high capacity ammunition magazines that
enable weapons to quickly fire multiple rounds.
"What real hunter uses or needs
30-round clips?"
Independent Joseph Lieberman said,
"The question is, 'Can we do anything to stop this from happening
again?' "
"We can prevent this from happening
to people again," Lieberman said. "We can certainly prevent it from
happening to some people. I have seen some progress. Some colleagues
who have been protectors of gun rights are saying things have to
change."
He cited Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. On Monday, in response to the Newtown
shootings, Warner said "enough is enough" and called for "rational gun
control."
"I hope we will act," Lieberman
said. "There will be no better tribute, no better consolation to the
families that lost loved ones."
Copyright ©
2012, The Hartford Courant
Son's
difficulties dominated mother's life
DAY
(we later visited the Post for pictures)
The Washington Post
By MICHAEL S. ROSENWALD, TIM CRAIG and
PETER SLEVIN
Article published Dec 18, 2012
Kingston, N.H. - Her nickname was Beanie.
She grew up here in her family's
1740s farmhouse not far from the town's center, an idyllic New England
backdrop of general stores, ice cream shops, and the historic home of
Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. By all accounts, Nancy Jean Champion - or
Beanie, as her high school yearbook calls her - had a charmed
upbringing. Her mom was a school nurse. Her brother became a town
police officer. And after she married her sweetheart in 1981, becoming
Mrs. Peter J. Lanza, the couple built a house next door to her
childhood home.
"They were very nice people," said
the owner of the local pizza shop here. "They are from a lovely family."
In 1988, the couple welcomed a baby
boy, Ryan. Four years later, another baby boy arrived: Adam. Nancy, who
worked in the Boston financial district to put her husband through
college, became a stay-at-home mother increasingly focused on the
challenges of her youngest. Last week, Adam shot his mother four
times in her bed, authorities said, killing her. Next he gunned down 26
other people, most of them not much older than he was when he bounced
around the grassy family homestead as a little boy.
While investigators either don't
know or haven't said why Adam Lanza went on a horrific killing spree at
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a clearer portrait of
the family that raised him is emerging through interviews around the
country with friends and family and in divorce documents sealing the
end of Lanza's marriage three years ago. From the outside, the Lanza family
portrait was one of wealth and privilege, of jobs landed at marquee
corporations - he at General Electric, she briefly at John Hancock.
They moved to a hilltop home in Newtown, a village exurb of New York
City.
But it was their difficult second
son who came to dominate the family's time and collective psyche,
especially Nancy's. He had few friends, had trouble in schools and had
difficulty reaching the stepping-stones of normal teenage life. At age
20, he had only recently begun to drive.
As time passed, the family fractured
and broke apart. Around the time of the divorce, Ryan Lanza graduated
from college and moved to work in New York. Adam stayed with Nancy
Lanza, and her life took on strange habits. She didn't let visitors
into their home. She collected powerful weapons. And she began to bring
her increasingly troubled son to "multiple shooting ranges," officials
from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said
Monday, to practice using those guns together.
'She wasn't
afraid'
"She wasn't afraid to be there for
her kids," said Marsha Lanza, who is married to Peter Lanza's brother
Michael, at her home in Crystal Lake, Ill. "She was involved. That's
why, when I heard that he shot her, that floored me. That just didn't
make sense to me, because your mom did all this stuff for you, what the
hell were you thinking? Why did you take your revenge out on her? What
did she do?"
Nancy and Peter moved to Newtown in
1998. Peter commuted to New York City to work as a vice president in
accounting for GE. Nancy
had health problems - multiple sclerosis - for which she sought
treatment in New York, according to her former sister-in-law.
In 2009, the couple filed for
divorce, saying their 28-year marriage had "broken down irretrievably,"
according to court records. What led to the breakup is unclear. Peter
has remarried, to Shelley Rae Cudiner, a librarian at the University of
Connecticut.
Nancy was a stay-at-home mom when
they divorced, listing no income in court papers. Peter made $445,000 a
year and agreed to pay $240,000 a year in alimony and child support,
according to court records. That sum was set to rise in 2012 to
$289,800.
Adam had Asperger's syndrome, the
parents told Paula Levy, the family therapist who was their divorce
mediator, Levy said in an interview with the Associated Press. The
parents were unified in their commitment to meet all of Adam's needs,
Levy said and gave few details about his condition. The generous settlement, said John
Aldrich, a family law attorney in Connecticut, "could have been, they
took into account that with a special-needs child, the mother was going
to be more hands-on, require more money for her son. There is no magic
percentage."
The couple agreed to joint custody
of Adam and of their partial set of Boston Red Sox season tickets.
Nancy got the house and the rights to final decisions about Adam.
"They always stayed civil," Marsha
Lanza said. "They always stayed friends."
Caring for Adam took time and
patience, and educating him presented challenges. Newtown school officials couldn't be
reached to comment on his schooling, but interviews in recent days with
acquaintances and family members, as well as published reports, suggest
that Adam bounced from public school, to a private Catholic school, to
home schooling, to taking college courses at Western Connecticut State
University, according to the Associated Press.
He was not close with his older
brother, Ryan, who lives in Hoboken, N.J., and works for Ernst &
Young.
"I know they were totally different
kids," Marsha said. "Just totally different kids. Oil and water. I
mean, they didn't obviously click. They tolerated each other because
they were brothers."
At some point while he was in high
school, Adam joined a technology club, a move Nancy apparently
supported. Gloria
Milas, whose son Joshua was in the club, said the teens would sit
around and link to each other by computer and play games - called LAN
parties, for local area network - with each player on a computer. She
said that contrary to published reports, the games were not violent.
She likened them to Mario Brothers and games like that.
"They were always laughing," she
said. "When this all came out, I asked my son, I begged him, 'Were you
playing games that were violent?' He said no."
Adam did like to shoot guns - real
ones, with his mom. It is not clear when Nancy became a gun collector,
but she had at least six firearms registered to her, including the
semiautomatic assault rifle used in the massacre, and she sometimes
showed off an antique rifle to visitors. The mother and son's "shooting
activities" at "multiple ranges" went back several years, ATF officials
said, but the last activity was more than six months ago.
If Adam Lanza's mental health had
begun to worsen, Nancy Lanza had not shared it widely. The crowd at My
Place, a local restaurant where she often hung out, always was happy to
see her show up and have a microbrew at the bar. But those friends
didn't really know her home life.
She
did confide that she had recently discovered a school in Washington
state that she thought would be good for Adam, said Mark Tambascio, the
restaurant's proprietor.
"They
were going to move out there together," Tambascio, who had known Nancy
Lanza for several years, said Sunday night.
Her connections to her New Hampshire
home town remained strong. Her brother, James Champion, rose to
become a captain on the eight-member Kingston police force. He retired
in November 2011 but remains a part-time officer and county sheriff's
deputy. Nancy returned to Kingston for her brother's retirement
party. Less than a
week before Nancy was killed, her brother was hailed as a town hero
after he resuscitated a man who began having an apparent heart attack
while running on the high school track.
"He's always been a great guy," said
Brian Stack, the principal at the high school. "He single-handedly
saved that guy's life, and he should be celebrating that this week
instead of this."
As Newtown began its wrenching
ritual of multiple funerals Monday, two services had yet to be planned.
"She was my friend," said Marsha
Lanza. "I said to my husband, 'Who's going to bury Nancy?' He said,
'Knowing my brother, he'll take care of it, because that's the right
thing to do.' "
Nancy's family, including her mother
and three adult siblings, have gathered at the old family farmhouse in
Kingston, according to a family friend. They have been told the two
bodies may not be released by the medical examiner for another
week. The first snow
of winter came Monday, and the ground is covered in white, as are the
cars coming to the home carrying people from around town offering
condolences. There's a banner outside that says, "Merry Christmas."
Rosenwald
reported from Washington and Slevin reported from Chicago. Rick Maese
and Peter Hermann in Newtown, Conn., and Sari Horwitz, Alice Crites and
Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.
School gunman an early
university student in Connecticut
DAY
Associated Press
Article published Dec 17, 2012
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — A spokesman for Western Connecticut State
University says the man identified as the gunman who killed 26 children
and adults in an elementary school was an unusually young college
student.
Paul Steinmetz, spokesman for the Danbury school, confirmed Monday that
Adam Lanza earned a 3.26 grade point average while a 16-year-old
student. He dropped out of a German language class and withdrew from a
computer science class, but earned an A in a computer class, A-minus in
American history and B in macroeconomics.
Steinmetz said Lanza was among a small group of 16-year-olds among the
school's 5,000 undergraduates.
The Hartford Courant and The Wall Street Journal first reported Lanza's
academic record at Western Connecticut State.
Steinmetz says Lanza took his last class in the summer of 2009 and did
not return.
Special
Session on Wednesday may take care of this...or our own Police
Commission at their next meeting might care to propose it?
In Town at Ease With Its Firearms,
Tightening Gun Rules Was Resisted
By MICHAEL MOSS and RAY RIVERA, NYTIMES
December 16, 2012
People in the rural, hilly areas around Newtown, Conn., are used to
gunfire. In one woodsy stretch, southeast of downtown, the Pequot Fish
and Game Club and the Fairfield County Fish and Game Protective
Association, where members can fish in ponds and hunt pheasant, lie
within a mile of each other, and people who live nearby generally call
them good neighbors.
But in the last couple of years, residents began noticing loud,
repeated gunfire, and even explosions, coming from new places. Near a
trailer park. By a boat launch. Next to well-appointed houses. At 2:20
p.m. on one Wednesday last spring, multiple shots were reported in a
wooded area on Cold Spring Road near South Main Street, right across
the road from an elementary school.
Yet recent efforts by the police chief and other town leaders to gain
some control over the shooting and the weaponry turned into a
tumultuous civic fight, with traditional hunters and discreet gun
owners opposed by assault weapon enthusiasts, and a modest tolerance
for bearing arms competing with the staunch views of a gun industry
trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which has
made Newtown its home.
The place that witnessed one of the worst mass killings in United
States history on Friday, leaving 20 schoolchildren and 8 adults dead,
is a bucolic New England town comfortable with its firearms, and not an
obvious arena for the nation’s debate over gun control. But the
legislative battle right here shows how even the slightest attempts to
impose restrictions on guns can run into withering resistance, made all
the more pointed by the escalation in firepower.
“Something needs to be done,” said Joel T. Faxon, a hunter and a member
of the town’s police commission, who championed the shooting
restrictions. “These are not normal guns, that people need. These are
guns for an arsenal, and you get lunatics like this guy who goes into a
school fully armed and protected to take return fire. We live in a
town, not in a war.”
The gunman’s mother, Nancy Lanza, had collected several weapons,
including powerful handguns and a semiautomatic rifle that she and her
son, Adam, were fond of shooting, and it remains unclear where they
took their target practice. Much of the gunfire and the explosions
reported by residents to the police in recent months came from a spot
less than three miles from their house. Police logs identified the spot
as one of the town’s many unlicensed gun ranges, where the familiar
noise of hunting rifles has grown to include automatic gunfire and
explosions that have shaken houses.
“It was like this continuous, rapid fire,” said Amy Habboush, who was
accustomed to the sound of gunfire but became alarmed last year when
she heard what sounded like machine guns, though she did not complain
to the police. “It was a concern. We knew there was target practice,
but we hadn’t heard that noise before.”
Earlier this year, the Newtown police chief, Michael Kehoe, went to the
Town Council for help. The town had a 20-year-old ordinance aimed at
hunters that included a ban on shooting within 500 feet of occupied
dwellings, but the chief complained that the way the law was written
had left him powerless to enforce the rules or otherwise crack down on
the riskiest shooting.
The
police department logged more than 50 gunfire complaints this year
through July, double the number for all of 2011, records show. Some of
the complaints raised another issue. Gun enthusiasts here, as elsewhere
in the country, have taken to loading their targets with an explosive
called Tannerite, which detonates when bullets strike it, sending shock
waves afield. A mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder,
Tannerite is legal in Connecticut, but safety concerns led Maryland
this year to ban it.
Mr.
Faxon, the police commission member, who is a lawyer, said he wrote the
new ordinance, which would have imposed additional constraints on
shooting, including limited hours, and a requirement that any target
shooting range, and the firearms that would be used there, be approved
by the chief of police to make sure they were safe. This was no liberal
putsch, Mr. Faxon said; three of the five commission members are
Republicans, and two members are police officers.
“I’ve hunted for many years, but the police department was getting
complaints of shooting in the morning, in the evening, and of people
shooting at propane gas tanks just to see them explode,” Mr. Faxon said.
The proposal was submitted to the council’s ordinance committee, whose
chairwoman, Mary Ann Jacob, would play a heroic role on Friday. Ms.
Jacob is a librarian aide at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where she is
credited with protecting many lives by throwing two rooms crowded with
children into lockdown as the gunfire erupted.
“We’re growing,” Ms. Jacob said in an interview on Saturday, describing
a town where hikers and mountain bikers now compete with gun owners for
use of the many trails and wooded areas. “The police chief is not
looking to change behavior or go after a group of people, but rather
he’s trying to give his officers the ability, if an incident occurs, to
react appropriately. Right now, if you’re standing on your property and
my house is 20 feet away, you can shoot.”
The first meeting took place on Aug. 2, with about 60 people crowding
into the room. Some spoke in favor of the new rules, the meeting
minutes show. But many voiced their opposition, citing the waiting
lists at established gun ranges. Among the speakers was a
representative of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who was
described as saying he believed there was a greater danger of swimming
accidents. “No privileges should be taken away from another
generation,” he said.
The president and spokesman of the group did not respond to messages
left Sunday. Citing the continuing investigation, the group said on its
Web site it would not be commenting on the massacre, but that “our
hearts go out to the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy
in our community.”
A second committee gathering in September drew such a large crowd that
the meeting was moved into a high school cafeteria, where the
opposition grew fierce. “This is a freedom that should never be taken
away,” one woman said. Added another, “Teach kids to hunt, you will
never have to hunt your kids.”
“No safety concerns exist,” the National Shooting Sports Foundation
spokesman said, according to the minutes.
The proposed ordinance was shelved, and Ms. Jacob said the committee
was in the midst of researching a more limited rule, perhaps one
restricted to making the existing ban on firing weapons within 500 feet
of an occupied building more enforceable.
“Five hundred feet!” Mr. Flaxon said in an interview. “A BB gun can go
that far.”
Newtown residents said many of the ranges in the area have long waiting
lists of people eager to join, which has led to the profusion of
informal ranges.
On High Rock Road, where many gunfire complaints originated, what
appeared to be three or more gun ranges were set back from the road.
The owner of one, Scott Ostrosky, said he and his friends had been
shooting automatic weapons since he bought the 23-acre property more
than 12 years ago. It is safe, he said, because his land is sandwiched
between two other gun ranges, the 123-acre Pequot hunting club and the
500-acre Fairfield club.
The explosions his neighbors hear are targets that are legally
available at hunting outlets. “If you’re good old boys like we are,
they are exciting,” he said. He said he was distraught at the school
massacre but said guns should not be made the “scapegoat.”
“Guns are why we’re free in this country, and people lose sight of that
when tragedies like this happen,” he said. “A gun didn’t kill all those
children, a disturbed man killed all those children.”
Reporting on the Connecticut
shootings was contributed by Alison Leigh Cowan, Robert Davey, Joseph
Goldstein, Kia Gregory, Raymond Hernandez, Thomas Kaplan, Randy
Leonard, Andy Newman, William K. Rashbaum, Michael Schwirtz, Michael D.
Shear, Ravi Somaiya and Vivian Yee.
This article has been revised to
reflect the following correction:
Correction:
December 17, 2012
An earlier version of this article
misspelled the name of an owner of a gun range on High Rock Road. He is
Scott Ostrosky, not Ostrovsky.
What pushed shooter to
kill?
CT POST
Paul Grondahl, Tim Loh and Ken Dixon
Updated 8:16 am, Sunday, December 16, 2012
NEWTOWN -- A divorce, a shattered family dynamic and a disturbed,
enigmatic young man with easy access to his mother's extensive gun
collection may have sowed the seeds of Friday's massacre in Sandy Hook
Elementary School. Adam Lanza, 20, was remembered Saturday as a
quiet, "anti-social" student at Newtown High School, which he left
before graduation in 2010, to be home-schooled by his mother, Nancy
Lanza, whose murder in the home they shared set off the rampage.
Nancy Lanza, 52, was recalled as an educated, striking woman and a
loving mother who was proud of Adam and his older brother. Friends say
she was optimistic about Adam's cloudy mental outlook and was even
planning on following him to a college when he eventually got himself
together and was accepted somewhere. But her perchant for
firearms and her family excursions -- taking her two sons target
shooting in recent years -- may have come back to haunt this upscale
community of 27,000.
Marsha Moscowitz, a former school bus driver, said Saturday that Adam
was very shy, reserved and memorable for being a loner in the hustle
and bustle of the daily rides to and from school.
"Not every student sticks out," said Moscowitz, 56. "You know how
certain kids stick out? He stuck out because he never really talked."
Unlike his older brother Ryan, 24, who graduated from Quinnipiac
University and moved to the New York City area for a job with a major
accounting firm, Adam stayed in the family home on Yogananda Street,
apparently aimless. John Bergquist, 37, a Newtown native who was
friends with Nancy Lanza, said he would see her about once a week at My
Place Pizza and Restaurant in a shopping plaza off Church Hill Road, up
the hill from Sandy Hook.
"She was very beautiful, with a great sense of style," said Bergquist,
who works at the nearby Dodgington Market and Deli, where he last saw
her, while selling her a couple of Powerball tickets for the big
drawing in late November.
"She had season's tickets to the Red Sox, being from New Hampshire,"
said Bergquist. "She'd speak lovingly of both Adam and Ryan; but Adam,
he was her life. Every time she would speak of Adam, she said he had
his "medical" issues, but she would always lend itself in the positive,
about how he was making progress, making friends. She would move with
him wherever he went to go to college. I thought he was good to go."
Bergquist said that the last time they spoke, he and Nancy joked about
giving him a percentage of a winning Powerball ticket. "She was all
into investing and we negotiated beforehand what my cut would have
been: $5 million," he recalled.
Following their 2009 divorce, Nancy Lanza may have volunteered at Sandy
Hook Elementary School, although her role was not clear Saturday as
investigators continued to sift through evidence in the school and her
Yogananda Street home, about 4.7 miles away. Moscowitz said she
thought Nancy Lanza was a substitute teacher at the school, but there
are no such records of her in that job. State Police Lt. Paul Vance
told reporters Saturday that there was no connection between Nancy
Lanza and the school system.
Vance was cryptic, but said there was enough material being gathered at
the school and the home to eventually announce a motive. Lanza
apparently shot and killed his mother, then drove her car to the school
that he attended as a youngster. He forced his way in, carrying two
handguns and an assault-style rifle, which he used for many of the
murders, said Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, the state's chief medical
examiner. In an interview Saturday afternoon, Vance said that
Lanza had more weaponry than the three guns, but declined to provide
details.
The 2009 divorce decree between Nancy Lanza and her ex-husband Peter
Lanza, a General Electric executive who remarried and lives in
Stamford, included provisions for alimony. So Nancy Lanza was able to
purchase the 3,100-square-foot home in February of 2011, with the
appraised value of $707,000, according to the town tax assessor. She
was a gun enthusiast who was known to take her sons target shooting.
Moscowitz remembered both Peter and Nancy Lanza, but was more friendly
with Nancy, whom she recently encountered at the Big Y Supermarket.
"The mother was quiet, too, and didn't talk much," said Rhonda Cullens,
a neighbor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter's dead mother,
Nancy Lanza. "Right now, it's just shock and disbelief. We're totally
devastated. It's affecting all of us."
Yogananda Street remained sealed off as a crime scene by yellow police
tape and was surrounded by scores of investigator vehicles Saturday
morning.
"This is a very nice, quiet neighborhood and the only crime we have to
worry about is kids smashing a mailbox," said Cullens, who lived a
block away and was a casual acquaintance of Nancy Lanza. "We're a very
close-knit, welcoming and warm neighborhood. A lot of people moved here
because the school system is so good. It's shocking that anything like
this would happen in our community."
Cullens, a stay-at-home mom of two college-aged sons, recalled playing
the drinking and dice game Bunco with Lanza and other neighborhood
women on a monthly ladies' night out several years ago. They were the
wives of executives who commuted to white-collar jobs in New York City
or suburban corporate parks at GE, IBM and other large corporations.
"She was very nice and friendly," Cullens said of Lanza. "We had some
conversations during the Bunco games. She seemed like the rest of us."
Cullens never saw the shooter or Lanza's other son, Ryan, who
reportedly lives in New Jersey and was interviewed by authorities
shortly after the mass killing at the school.
Cullens never met Lanza's former husband and she did not know that the
couple had divorced until long after the split in a neighborhood where
the 4,000-square foot homes are often set on large, heavily-treed,
secluded lots that create a zone of privacy that neighbors are
reluctant to cross. Cullens has lived there since 1993 and she said the
Lanza home was built around 1998.
Cullens was still shaken by the horrific, frightening scene that
unfolded Friday morning in the small, tight-knit community just moments
after Adam Lanza's shooting rampage that killed his mother and 20 young
students and six adults dead at the elementary school.
Cullens is an amateur photographer who was taking down a photo exhibit
of the local photo club Friday morning at the Municipal Center when the
scene turned tragic. News began filtering in that there had been a
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Police and troopers began arriving and the building, which houses the
Board of Education and Board of First Selectmen, went into lockdown
mode. A big-screen TV was tuned to the unfolding tragedy. Some people
cried. Others hugged. Everyone searched for answers amid the chaos and
a gripping fear that their might be more shooters loose and bent on
violence.
"Rhonda, where are your kids?" a friend asked Cullens. She said they
had just finished finals week at college and were at the family home.
"Are you sure?" the friend asked. A bolt of fright shot through
Cullens. That's when the Municipal Center was locked down, police
secured the Board of Education offices and the situation grew even more
tense.
Cullens tried to remain calm and she told others around her: "Start
praying. There's been a shooting at Sandy Hook."
She described a scene of panic and devastation.
"You could see the shock on everyone's face," she said. "A lot of
people were crying."
Cullens' two sons had attended Sandy Hook Elementary School, she was a
volunteer there and knows most of the teachers and staff. When she saw
her sons' beloved kindergarten teacher on TV, safe and uninjured, she
wept tears of joy.
"It was a sense of overwhelming relief," Cullens said. "And then I just
kept watching for other people I knew from the school, to see if they
were OK."
The Municipal Center was whipsawed by emotions of dread and fear Friday
morning.
"All sorts of rumors about maybe another shooter on the loose were
floating around," she said. "When we heard police were searching our
neighborhood, I heard a guy call his wife and say, `Lock the doors.' "
That's when Cullen called her house and told her two college-aged sons
to lock their doors and be alert for any sign of an intruder.
"It was scary, very scary," Cullens said. "We didn't know what was
going on. We were terrified there could be more shootings." Cullens
said the people at the Municipal Center all had direct connections to
teachers, staff, parents and students at the school and they waited
grimly to get word if they were alive.
"When I saw a picture of one of the secretaries I dearly loved, I just
broke down and hugged other people there," Cullens said. She learned
that the secretary, whose name she did not want to disclose, was sick
and had not reported to work at the school Friday.
"Otherwise, she probably would have been sitting in the office and
might not have ..." she said, as her voice trailed off.
Cullens continued to say silent prayers and was relieved each time she
saw a TV image of someone she knew at the school who had survived.
"Thank God they're OK," she repeated to herself. "The whole thing was
just heart-wrenching."
Gunman
broke into school, shot victims multiple times
DAY
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press
Article published Dec 16, 2012
Newtown — The gunman behind the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre
stormed into the building and shot 20 children at least twice with a
high-powered rifle, executing some at close range and killing adults
who tried to stop the carnage, authorities said Saturday.
He forced his way into the school by breaking a window, officials said.
Asked whether the children suffered, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. H.
Wayne Carver paused. "If so," he said, "not for very long."
The terrible details about the last moments of young innocents emerged
as authorities released their names and ages — the youngest 6 and 7,
the oldest 56. They included Ana Marquez-Greene, a little girl who had
just moved to Newtown from Canada; Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher
who apparently died while trying to hide her pupils; and principal Dawn
Hochsprung, who authorities said lunged at the gunman in an attempt to
overtake him and paid with her life.
The tragedy has plunged Newtown into mourning and added the picturesque
New England community of handsome Colonial homes, red-brick sidewalks
and 27,000 people to the grim map of towns where mass shootings in
recent years have periodically reignited the national debate over gun
control but led to little change.
Faced with the unimaginable, townspeople sadly took down some of their
Christmas decorations and struggled Saturday with how to go on. Signs
around town read, "Hug a teacher today," "Please pray for Newtown" and
"Love will get us through."
"People in my neighborhood are feeling guilty about it being Christmas.
They are taking down decorations," said Jeannie Pasacreta, a
psychologist who was advising parents struggling with how to talk to
their children.
School board chairwoman Debbie Leidlein spent Friday night meeting with
parents who lost children and shivered as she recalled those
conversations. "They were asking why. They can't wrap their minds
around it. Why? What's going on?" she said. "And we just don't have any
answers for them."
The tragedy brought forth soul-searching and grief around the globe.
President Barack Obama planned to visit Newtown today. Families as far
away as Puerto Rico planned funerals for victims who still had their
baby teeth, world leaders extended condolences, and vigils were held
around the U.S.
"Next week is going to be horrible," said the town's legislative
council chairman, Jeff Capeci, thinking about the string of funerals
the town will face. "Horrible, and the week leading into Christmas."
Looking for a reason
Police shed no light on what triggered Adam Lanza, 20, to carry out the
second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, though state police
Lt. Paul Vance said investigators had found "very good evidence ...
that our investigators will be able to use in painting the complete
picture, the how and, more importantly, the why." He would not
elaborate.
However, another law enforcement official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said investigators have found no note or manifesto from
Lanza of the sort they have come to expect after murderous rampages
such as the Virginia Tech bloodbath in 2007 that left 33 people dead.
Lanza shot to death his mother, Nancy Lanza, at the home they shared,
then drove to the school in her car with at least three of her guns,
forced his way in and opened fire, authorities said. Within minutes, he
killed 20 children, six adults and himself.
Education officials said they had found no link between Lanza's mother
and the school, contrary to news reports that said she was a teacher
there. Investigators said they believe Adam Lanza attended Sandy Hook
Elementary many years ago, but they had no explanation for why he went
there Friday.
Authorities said Adam Lanza had no criminal history, and it was not
clear whether he had a job. Lanza was believed to have suffered from a
personality disorder, said a law enforcement official who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Another law enforcement official, also speaking on condition of
anonymity, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's, a mild form
of autism often characterized by social awkwardness. People with the
disorder are often highly intelligent. While they can become frustrated
more easily, there is no evidence of a link between Asperger's and
violent behavior, experts say.
The law enforcement officials insisted on anonymity because they were
not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation.
Richard Novia, the school district's head of security until 2008, who
also served as adviser for the school technology club, of which Lanza
was a member, said he clearly "had some disabilities."
"If that boy would've burned himself, he would not have known it or
felt it physically," Novia said in a phone interview. "It was my job to
pay close attention to that."
Heroes emerge
Amid the confusion and sorrow, stories of heroism emerged, including an
account of Hochsprung, 47, and the school psychologist, Mary Sherlach,
56, rushing toward Lanza in an attempt to stop him. Both died.
There was also 27-year-old teacher Victoria Soto, whose name has been
invoked as a portrait of selflessness and humanity among unfathomable
evil. Investigators told relatives she was killed while shielding her
first-graders from danger. She reportedly hid some students in a
bathroom or closet, ensuring they were safe, a cousin, Jim Wiltsie,
told ABC News.
"She put those children first. That's all she ever talked about," a
friend, Andrea Crowell, told The Associated Press. "She wanted to do
her best for them, to teach them something new every day."
There was also 6-year-old Emilie Parker, whose grieving father, Robbie,
talked to reporters not long after police released the names of the
victims but expressed no animosity, offering sympathy for Lanza's
family.
"I can't imagine how hard this experience must be for you," he said.
On Saturday, Carver, the medical examiner, said that all the victims at
the school were shot with a rifle, at least some of them up close, and
that all were apparently shot more than once. All six adults killed at
the school were women. Of the 20 children, eight were boys and 12 were
girls.
Asked how many
bullets were fired, Carver said, "I'm lucky if I can
tell you how many I found."
Parents identified the children through photos to spare them some
shock, Carver said.
Odd and remote
Relatives of the shooter were at a loss for words.
"The whole family is traumatized by this event," said Donald Briggs
Jr., police chief of Kingston, N.H., who knows the family. "We reach
out to the community of Newtown and express our heartfelt sorrow for
this incomprehensible and profound loss of innocence," the family said
in a statement.
James Champion, Nancy Lanza's brother and a retired police captain in
Kingston, N.H., said through the police chief that he had not seen his
nephew in eight years. Champion, who still works as a part-time
officer, said he would not discuss what might have triggered the
rampage since the case is under investigation.
Acquaintances describe the former honor student as smart but odd and
remote.
Olivia DeVivo, now a student at the University of Connecticut, recalled
that Lanza always came to school toting a briefcase and wearing his
shirt buttoned all the way up. "He was very different and very shy and
didn't make an effort to interact with anybody" in his 10th-grade
English class, she said.
Lanza would also go through crises that would require his mother to
come to school to deal with. Such episodes might involve "total
withdrawal from whatever he was supposed to be doing, be it a class, be
it sitting and read a book," said Novia, the tech club adviser.
When people approached Lanza in the hallways, he would press himself
against the wall or walk in a different direction, clutching his black
case "like an 8-year-old who refuses to give up his teddy bear," said
Novia, who now lives in Tennessee.
Even so, Novia said his main concern about Lanza was that he might
become a target for teasing or abuse by other students, not that he
might become a threat.
"Somewhere along in the last four years there were significant changes
that led to what has happened Friday morning," Novia said. "I could
never have foreseen him doing that."
Nancy Lanza, who was once a stockbroker for John Hancock in Boston and
once lived in Kingston, N.H., was a kind, considerate and loving
person, Briggs said.
"She was very involved in the community and very well-respected,"
Briggs said.
Lanza's family was struggling to make sense of what happened and
"trying to find whatever answers we can," his father, Peter Lanza, said
in a statement late Saturday that also expressed sympathy for the
victims' families.
Sandy Hook Elementary will be closed this week — some parents can't
even conceive of sending their children back, Leidlein said — and
officials are deciding what to do about the town's other schools.
Asked whether the town would recover, Maryann Jacob, a clerk in the
school library who took cover in a storage room with 18 fourth-graders
during the shooting rampage, said: "We have to. We have a lot of
children left."
Contributing to this report were
Associated Press writers Jim Fitzgerald, Bridget Murphy, Pat Eaton-Robb
and Michael Melia in Newtown; Adam Geller in Southbury; and Stephen
Singer in Hartford.
State
police update investigation into Newtown school shooting
By The Forum Staff on December 15, 2012
According to Connecticut State Police, on Friday, Dec. 14, at
approximately 9:30 a.m., Newtown police received a 911 call reporting a
possible shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12 Dickenson
Drive in Newtown. Newtown officers immediately responded and requested
assistance from Connecticut State Police. Troopers, both on-duty and
off-duty, responded to the scene.
Surrounding police agencies also sent assistance to the scene. Four
Weston police officers assisted:
Sgt. Pat Daubert who was in the Newtown area at the time of the
shooting and Officer Daniel Cascone, who grew up in Newtown, went to a
staging area at a firehouse near the Sandy Hook school. They
helped with traffic control and reuniting children who were evacuated
from the school with their parents. Sgt. Matt Brodacki assisted police
and the medical examiner with photo identifications of the victims so
formal notifications could be made to the families. Officer Dann
McInnis assisted patrol in Newtown during the midnight shift.
In addition, Weston Police Chaplains, Father Michael Dunn and Reverend
Bernard Wilson went to Newtown to help parents, children, and first
responders through any trauma they may have suffered.
Officer Joe Miceli is planning to assist Newtown police tonight during
the midnight shift.
Upon arrival on the scene, teams of troopers and officers formed
“Active Shooter Teams” and immediately entered the school. Teams
performed rescues of students and staff, removing them to a safe
location as they searched for the shooting suspect within the building.
The building was evacuated, and students walked hand in hand out to a
safe location.
Teams encountered several students and staff suffering from gunshot
wounds. The building was secured, the ”shooter” was located deceased,
and Newtown EMS personnel entered to provide emergency care for the
wounded.
Eighteen children were pronounced dead at the scene, and two children
were taken to Danbury Hospital and later pronounced dead. Six adult
victims were also pronounced dead at the scene. Teams located the
shooter on scene; he was also pronounced dead.
The perimeter was also searched and secured by responding law
enforcement.
The building was secured and at the request of the Newton police chief
and Danbury state’s attorney, two Connecticut State Police Major Crime
Squads responded to conduct the investigation into this crime. Troopers
are assisted by Newtown Police detectives, Danbury state’s attorney,
and many federal, local, and states law enforcement agencies
The processing of the scene began immediately with documentation of the
crime scene and identifying and gathering both physical and forensic
evidence. The urgent focus of the major crime investigators was to work
with the Office of the Chief State’ s Medical Examiner to establish the
identity of all the deceased victims. This was accomplished overnight,
and the next of kin were all notified that positive identification was
made.
The family of each victim was assigned a trooper or officer to
establish and maintain an open line of communication. This was put into
place so families of the victims can have immediate contact related to
any questions they may have and to also provide State Police
investigators with the ability to communicate with families without
delay.
The families have requested no press interviews, and Connecticut State
Police are asking that this request be honored.
The deceased victims have been taken to the Office of The Chief State’s
Medical Examiner where a post mortem examination will be conducted to
determine the manner and cause of death.
State Police Major Crime investigators are continuing to process the
school crime scene, gathering evidence and documenting the entire
facility. State Police detectives, assisted by Newtown detectives,
processed the interior and exterior crime scene. Teams of investigators
flooded the community and followed each lead, developing extensive
information
Second crime scene
A second crime scene was located by investigators at a residence on
Yogananda Street in Newtown. A female was located deceased inside the
residence.
This scene was secured and an additional State Police Major Crime Squad
responded to this scene to investigate this incident. Preliminary
information determined that the deceased was a relative of the
“shooter” at the elementary school.
As of Saturday morning, the school scene is still being processed by
detectives and it is anticipated this process will take several
days. In addition, troopers are continuing to follow any and all leads
in this case utilizing law enforcement in-state as well as out of state
as required.
Crisis counseling teams are on-site to provide support to the families
of all of the victims.
Gunman Forced His Way Into School, Police Say
By MARC SANTORA and JAMES BARRON, NYTIMES
December 15, 2012
The gunman in the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting forced his
way into an elementary school in Connecticut, where he shot 26 people,
20 of them children, a spokesman for the State Police said on Saturday
as the medical examiner completed the grim task of identifying the
victims.
The chilling details about the opening moments of the carnage in the
bucolic community of Newtown came as investigators pressed for
information about the gunman, Adam Lanza, 20. A police spokesman, Lt.
J. Paul Vance, said investigators had produced “some very good
evidence,” but he provided no explanation for a massacre that unfolded
with chilling speed as Mr. Lanza opened fire in one classroom and then
another, turning a place where children were supposed to be safe — an
elementary school with a sign out front that said, “Visitors Welcome” —
into a national symbol of heartbreak and horror.
Lieutenant Vance said the victims’ bodies had been taken from the
school, Sandy Hook Elementary. He said the one survivor of the
massacre, a woman who was shot and wounded at the school, would be
“instrumental” in piecing together what had happened. He declined to
describe what evidence investigators — who combed through the one-story
school on Saturday — had found.
Officials said the killing spree began early on Friday at the house
where Mr. Lanza had lived with his mother, Nancy Lanza. There, he shot
her in the face, making her his first victim, the authorities said.
Then, leaving her dead after taking three guns that apparently belonged
to her, he climbed into her car for the short drive to the school. Two
of the guns were semiautomatic pistols; the other was a semiautomatic
rifle.
Outfitted in combat gear, Mr. Lanza forced his way into the school,
apparently defeating an intercom system that was supposed to keep
people out during the day unless someone inside buzzed them in. This
contradicted earlier reports that he had been recognized and allowed to
enter.
“He was not voluntarily let into the school at all,” Lieutenant Vance
said. “He forced his way in.”
The lieutenant said the authorities were “investigating the history of
each and every weapon” that Mr. Lanza carried to the scene of the
rampage and said that the guns were found in the school, “in proximity”
to where Mr. Lanza shot himself to death.
A federal law enforcement official said the three guns recovered at the
school — Glock and Sig Sauer pistols and an M4 .223-caliber Carbine —
were bought legally by the gunman’s mother and registered in her name.
Other weapons were recovered from her home, the official said.
The dead included the principal, Dawn Hochsprung, 47, law enforcement
officials said, and even before the medical examiner had released the
identities of the victims, some were being mourned on the Internet. One
was Ana Greene, the 6-year-old daughter of the jazz saxophonist Jimmy
Greene, who moved to Newtown in July. Several other jazz musicians
express condolences on Facebook, and Mr. Greene posted a response in
which he thanked them.
“As much as she’s needed here and missed by her mother, brother and
me,” he wrote, “Ana beat us all to paradise.” He added, “I love you,
sweetie girl.” (The Ottawa Citizen quoted a family member as saying
that Mr. Greene’s son, who also attended the school, was “fine.”)
Dorothy Werden, 49, lives across the street from Christopher and Lynn
McDonnell, who lost their daughter Grace, 6, on Friday. In an interview
Saturday morning, she said that several other families who had lost
children lived close by, and that the Lanza household was a block away.
Ms. Werden said she saw Grace getting on a bus Friday morning, as she
did every day at 8:45. Shortly afterward, she received a call that
there had been a lockdown at the school — something that happens
periodically, she said, because there is a prison nearby. It was only
when she saw police cars from out of town speed past her that she knew
something was wrong.
“A lot of my friends in the neighborhood lost their children,” she
said. The feeling in the once-quiet streets Saturday morning is
“absolute, indescribable devastation,” she added.
“The fact that the killer killed his mom a block away while we were
getting our kids ready for school, it’s too much for your brain to
process. And the fact that I have to look across the street and see the
McDonnells’ house,” she said, before trailing off.
The shooting affected a small community of close-knit families, Ms.
Werden added. “The fact that it’s contained in the Sandy Hook area,”
she said, “I don’t think we’ll recover from this for a very long time.”
Like the rest of the nation, she said, local residents were asking one
question: Why?
“Why did he have to go to the elementary school and kill all of those
defenseless children?” Ms. Werden said.
Terrifying new details emerged Saturday about how teachers and school
staff members scrambled to move children to safety as the massacre
began. Maryann Jacob, a library clerk, said she initially herded
students behind a bookcase against a wall “where they can’t be seen.”
She said that spot had been chosen in practice drills for school
lockdowns, but on Friday, she had to move the pupils to a storage room
“because we discovered one of our doors didn’t lock.”
Ms. Jacob said the storage room had crayons and paper that they tore up
for the children to color while they waited. “They were asking what was
going on,” she said. “We said: ‘We don’t know. Our job is just to be
quiet.’” But she said that she did know, because she had called the
school office and learned that the unthinkable had happened just steps
away.
Law enforcement officials said Mr. Lanza had grown up in Newtown, and
he was remembered by high school classmates as smart, introverted and
nervous. They said he had gone out of his way not to attract attention
when he was younger.
There was still no public explanation of what had motivated Mr. Lanza.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed his
brother, Ryan Lanza, in Hoboken, N.J. His father, Peter Lanza, who was
divorced from his mother, Nancy Lanza, was also questioned, an official
said.
President Obama, meanwhile, used his weekly radio and Internet address
to mourn the victims, saying that “every parent in America has a heart
heavy with hurt.” Republicans, who normally prepare a reply to the
president’s address, did not do so this time.
The president’s address was similar to a statement he read in the White
House press room on Friday, when he paused, more than once, and wiped
his eyes.
“Our hearts are broken today,” Mr. Obama said in his address. He
mentioned other places where there had been mass shootings this year,
including a mall in Oregon, a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and a movie
theater in Colorado, as well as “countless street corners in places
like Chicago and Philadelphia.”
“Any of these neighborhoods could be our own,” Mr. Obama said. “So we
have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more
tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”
Lieutenant Vance said 18 youngsters were pronounced dead at the school,
and two others were taken to hospitals, where they were declared dead.
All the adults killed at the school were pronounced dead there.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
were tracing all of the guns registered to Mr. Lanza’s mother and had
completed the work on several, the official said, but would not provide
additional details.
The agents were also visiting all the licensed federal firearms dealers
in the area to determine if they might have records on any other
weapons linked to the gunman or to his family, and they were canvassing
sporting ranges in an effort to learn whether the gunman might have
visited them for recreational use.
On Friday night, thousands of people flocked to local churches,
attending candlelight vigils and seeking comfort in community.
“These 20 children were just beautiful, beautiful children,” Msgr.
Robert Weiss of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church told reporters.
“These 20 children lit up this community better than all these
Christmas lights we have.”
Former
excellent state legislator Julia Wasserman
A Town of Tradition at a Loss as Grief
Engulfs Holiday Joy
By JIM DWYER and EMILY S. RUEB, NYTIMES
December 15, 2012
The phone rang just after 10 Saturday morning in an old farmhouse along
Walnut Tree Hill Road. Julia Wasserman had been undecided about even
going to the farm, which she and her late husband bought decades ago,
and where people still come to cut their own Christmas trees. She
answered.
Yes, she said, the farm was open.
After she was finished, Ms. Wasserman shrugged her shoulder. “I wasn’t
even going to come today,” Ms. Wasserman said. “I didn’t know what the
right thing to do was. I still don’t know. But the man said he wanted
to come, to bring his kids out. That they needed it...”
Newtown, incorporated in 1711, takes its child-friendly, Norman
Rockwell ambience seriously. The all-purpose landmark is the downtown
flagpole, which dates to 1876. Fat and packed with small-town ephemera
including weekly equestrian news, the Newtown Bee dates to 1877 and has
been owned by the same family since 1881. Scrabble was developed in
Newtown by a local lawyer, James Brunot, in 1948, who adapted an
earlier version and changed its name from “Criss-Crosswords” to
“Scrabble.”
Late Friday evening, the Colony Diner, just off Route 84, was still
busy. It is a classic, with a menu the size of an encyclopedia and
desserts lit in a refrigerated display case. Heaped along the ceilings,
like drifts of snow, were white Christmas lights, pushback against the
dominance of the winter night. A fat Santa figure stood in a stack of
bread, holding a chalked sign that read: “Challah Bread, $3.95.”
“They’ve already started putting things on the door,” the man behind
the cash register said to the manager.
The manager stepped out to look at them. People had turned over
place mats and made crayon drawings on the backs: a purple angel,
hovering over words written in green, “RIP Children & Adults of
Newtown.” They were taped to the entryway window.
The manager came back inside. “Leave them there,” he said.
“Oh yeah,” the cashier said.
The manager spoke again, his voice flat: “We have to leave them.”
Peter Applebome and Matt Flegenheimer
contributed reporting.
A
Gunman, Recalled as Intelligent and
Shy, Who Left Few Footprints in Life
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER, NYTIMES
December 14, 2012
He carried a black briefcase to his 10th-grade honors English class,
and sat near the door so he could readily slip in and out. When called
upon, he was intelligent, but nervous and fidgety, spitting his words
out, as if having to speak up were painful.
Pale, tall and scrawny, Adam Lanza walked through high school in
Newtown, Conn., with his hands glued to his sides, the pens in the
pocket of his short-sleeve, button-down shirts among the few things
that his classmates recalled about him. He did all he could to
avoid attention, it seemed.
Until Friday.
The authorities said Mr. Lanza, 20, wearing combat gear, carried out
one of the deadliest school shootings in the nation’s history. He
killed 20 children and six adults at the elementary school where his
mother worked, they said. He then apparently turned his gun on himself.
Earlier, the police said, he also killed his mother. In his brief
adulthood, Mr. Lanza had left few footprints, electronic or otherwise.
He apparently had no Facebook page, unlike his older brother, Ryan, a
Hoboken, N.J., resident who for several hours on Friday was
misidentified in news reports as the perpetrator of the massacre.
Adam Lanza did not even appear in his high school yearbook, that of the
class of 2010. His spot on the page said, “Camera shy.” Others who
graduated that year said they did not believe he had finished school.
Matt Baier, now a junior at the University of Connecticut, and other
high school classmates recalled how deeply uncomfortable Mr. Lanza was
in social situations. Several said in separate interviews that it
was their understanding that he had a developmental disorder. They said
they had been told that the disorder was Asperger’s syndrome, which is
considered a high functioning form of autism.
“It’s not like people picked on him for it,” Mr. Baier said. “From what
I saw, people just let him be, and that was that.”
Law enforcement officials said Friday that they were closely examining
whether Mr. Lanza had such a disorder. One former classmate who
said he was familiar with the disorder described Mr. Lanza as having a
“very flat affect,” adding, “If you looked at him, you couldn’t see any
emotions going through his head.”
Others said Mr. Lanza’s evident discomfort prompted giggles from those
who did not understand him.
“You could tell that he felt so uncomfortable about being put on the
spot,” said Olivia DeVivo, also now at the University of Connecticut.
“I think that maybe he wasn’t given the right kind of attention or
help. I think he went so unnoticed that people didn’t even stop to
realize that maybe there’s actually something else going on here — that
maybe he needs to be talking or getting some kind of mental help. In
high school, no one really takes the time to look and think, ‘Why is he
acting this way?’ ”
Ms. DeVivo remembered Mr. Lanza from sixth grade and earlier, talking
about aliens and “blowing things up,” but she chalked this up to the
typical talk of prepubescent boys.
Still, after hearing of the news on Friday, Ms. DeVivo reconnected with
friends from Newtown, and the consensus was stark. “They weren’t
surprised,” she said. “They said he always seemed like he was someone
who was capable of that because he just didn’t really connect with our
high school, and didn’t really connect with our town.”
She added: “I never saw him with anyone. I can’t even think of one
person that was associated with him.”
Mr. Baier, who sat next to Mr. Lanza in the back of their
sophomore-year honors math class, said Mr. Lanza barely said a word all
year, but earned high marks. He said he knew this only from peeking at
Mr. Lanza’s scores when their teacher handed back their tests.
Out of view of his classmates, Mr. Lanza’s adolescence seemed to have
been turbulent. In 2006, his older brother graduated high school and
went to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, leaving him alone with
their parents — whose marriage was apparently coming apart.
In 2008, they divorced after 17 years, court records show. His father,
Peter Lanza, a tax executive for General Electric, moved to Stamford,
and in January 2011 married a woman who is a librarian at the
University of Connecticut.
His mother, Nancy, kept their home in Newtown, a prosperous, hilly
enclave of spacious, newer homes about five miles from the elementary
school where she worked. Adam Lanza was thought to have been living in
the house, too. Friends remembered Ms. Lanza as being very
involved in her sons’ lives.
“Their mother was very protective, very hands-on,” said Gina McDade,
whose son was a playmate of Ryan Lanza’s and spent much time at his
home, which she described as a two-story Colonial with a pool.
“It was a beautiful home,” Ms. McDade said. “She was a good
housekeeper, better than me. You could tell her kids really came first.”
Beth Israel, 43, said she and her family lived down the street from the
Lanzas, and her daughter went to school with Adam Lanza. She said she
had not spoken to any members of the family in three years.
“He was a socially awkward kid,” Ms. Israel said. “He always had
issues. He was kind of a loner. I don’t know who his friends were.”
She said she would speak with his mother on occasion, but said the
family was not social. On Friday, police officers and agents from
the Federal Bureau of Investigation swarmed through the Lanzas’
neighborhood, blocking off streets and asking residents to leave their
homes. Throughout the afternoon, Ms. Lanza’s surviving son, Ryan,
was named by some news outlets as the killer.
Ryan Lanza’s identification had been found on the body of his underage
brother, leading to the mistaken reports.
Brett Wilshe, a neighbor of Ryan Lanza’s in Hoboken, said he
communicated with him by instant message at 1:15 p.m.
“He said he thought his mom was dead, and he was heading back up to
Connecticut,” Mr. Wilshe said. “He said, ‘It was my brother.’ ”
Connecticut
shooter used weapon ‘made
for combat’ to kill 27 people at elementary school
Witnesses
told reporters the madman fired at least 100 rounds, which the expert
said would have required him to pack extra magazines so he could
quickly reload.
By Daniel Beekman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, December 14, 2012, 3:14 PM
The shooter who killed at least 27 people at a Newtown,
Connecticut elementary school — including 18 children — was brandishing
up to four weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest, witnesses told
reporters. A law enforcement source said one of those weapons was a
.223 caliber rifle, a highly lethal firearm made for combat.
Witnesses told reporters the madman fired at least 100 rounds, which
the expert said would have required him to pack extra magazines so he
could quickly reload.
A .223 caliber rifle is a semi-automatic assault rifle that allows its
shooter to fire up to six bullets a second. The gun was first used in
the Vietnam War, said Ronald Scott, an independent firearms consultant
and former head of the firearms lab for the Massachusetts state police.
In Connecticut, a permit is required to purchase a handgun, while
assault weapons are banned completely from the state, according to the
National Rifle Association.
"This is a small caliber, but don't let that mislead you," Scott said.
"This is different from a typical .22 caliber bullet. It contains a
sufficient amount of propellant to create an incredible velocity of
about 3000 feet a second.”
Scott said .223 rifles are compatible with high-capacity magazines that
are restricted in some states. The special magazines allow a shooter to
fire up to 50 rounds at a time without reloading, he said
"If you pull the trigger as fast as you can without aiming, you can
fire up to six bullets a second," Scott said.
"What makes the .223 so lethal is that it travels so fast that when it
strikes someone it has the tendency to be unstable. It can tumble a bit
and fragment. If it hits someone in the ribs or leg, the chance is
fairly good it's going to fragment somewhat and create a huge wound
path.
"When it strikes someone and goes through them it creates this
tremendous wind channel, like the wake of a boat."
Scott said .223 rifles are easily obtained by people with the legal
right to buy them. Obtaining a .223 rifle illegally is more difficult
but manageable, he said.
"If you want one you're going to find it," he said.
"I myself don't understand why there's a need for people to have
assault rifles. They aren't used for hunting. There are people who use
them for target practice. These are made for combat. There's really no
other use for them."
Judge Enters Not Guilty Plea for Suspect in Theater Rampage
By JACK HEALY, NYTIMES
March 12, 2013
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A judge here entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday
for James E. Holmes, a former neuroscience student charged with killing
12 people and wounding scores more in a mass shooting in a suburban
Denver movie theater.
In the days before Tuesday’s hearing, the judge in the case, William B.
Sylvester, had laid the groundwork for Mr. Holmes to plead not guilty
by reason of insanity, describing the mental examinations and
court-ordered interviews that would flow from such a plea.
But Mr. Holmes’s lawyers told the court on Tuesday that they were not
ready to enter any plea, and said they did know when they might be
ready.
Clearly frustrated, Judge Sylvester refused the defense’s requests for
more time and entered the simple not guilty plea for Mr. Holmes.
Mr. Holmes, 25, was arrested moments after the July 20 shooting at the
Century theaters in Aurora, clad in black body armor. Prosecutors have
already presented hours of testimony and documentary evidence that Mr.
Holmes was the gunman who slipped out of a midnight screening of “The
Dark Knight Rises,” armed himself in the parking lot, and then
re-entered through an emergency exit and started shooting.
Mr. Holmes can still change the plea, but prosecutors signaled they
would fight any such move.
“As far as we’re concerned, they are entering a plea of not guilty, and
what they have done to this point is not sufficient to enter a plea of
not guilty by reason of insanity,” Karen Pearson, an assistant district
attorney for Arapahoe County, said in court.
On Tuesday, prosecutors said they would announce whether they would
seek the death penalty against Mr. Holmes at an April 1 hearing.
The judge set a four-week trial for the month of August. Given the
delays so far in the case, that date may not hold.
Note related to Batman
4 dead after police standoff at a
Colo. townhome
Stamford ADVOCATE
Updated 12:24 pm, Saturday, January 5, 2013
AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Four people, including an armed suspect, died
after an hours-long police standoff Saturday at a Colorado townhome,
authorities said.
Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said a SWAT team was called after gunshots
were heard at the Aurora, Colo., home at about 3 a.m. Investigators
said three victims, all of them adults, appeared to have been killed
before officers arrived.
Carlson said the suspect shot at officers at about 8:15 a.m. and was
killed during a gunfight about 45 minutes later when police entered the
home. It remained unclear if officers shot the suspect or if he shot
himself.
A motive for the killings also was unknown.
"We're just getting in there with our crime scene detectives, so
obviously we'll have to determine if it was our rounds or his rounds,"
Carlson said. "This is a big investigation, and a lot is entailed."
A fifth person escaped uninjured before officers arrived and reported
that she saw three people inside the home who "appeared lifeless,"
Carlson said. The sergeant declined to elaborate about the woman's
escape.
Police declined to release the name of the suspect or the victims.
Violence marred Aurora and put the Denver suburb in the national
spotlight nearly six months ago when a gunman's bloody rampage inside a
movie theater left 12 people dead. Prosecutors will go to court Monday
to outline their case against the suspect, James Holmes.
Colorado Prosecutors End Bid to See
Suspect’s Notebook
By JACK HEALY, NYTIMES
September 20, 2012
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — James E. Holmes, accused of killing 12 people
inside a Colorado movie theater, appeared in court on Thursday, his
once-shaggy hair now shorn and brown rather than neon orange, as
prosecutors abandoned their fight to see a notebook he sent to a
university psychiatrist, saying they did not want to delay proceedings.
The contents of the notebook could provide a revealing glimpse into the
mental state of Mr. Holmes in the days and weeks leading up to the
shootings inside a sold-out midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight
Rises” in Aurora, Colo. But public defenders for Mr. Holmes have
argued that the notebook cannot be made public or shared with
prosecutors because it is privileged communication between Mr. Holmes
and Dr. Lynne Fenton, a psychiatrist at the University of
Colorado-Denver, who saw Mr. Holmes briefly in June.
Police seized the notebook a few days after the shootings when it was
discovered in a campus mailroom. It has been under seal with the court
since then. On Thursday, prosecutors agreed to let Mr. Holmes’s
lawyers examine and take photographs of the notebook and the packaging
in which it had been sent.
Prosecutors said on Thursday they were giving up their fight to examine
the notebook the defendant mailed to his psychiatrist just hours before
the July 20 shootings because they anticipated that it might ultimately
be entered into evidence by Mr. Holmes’s lawyers as part of an insanity
defense, and thus they would get to see it anyway. His lawyers
have described him as mentally ill, but have not yet said how Mr.
Holmes will plead.
In abandoning their efforts, prosecutors may have few other options.
Mr. Holmes was arrested outside the Century 16 theater minutes after
the shootings, wearing commando-style gear and with four guns in his
car. As the case moves slowly toward trial, much will rest on his
mental state and actions in the minutes, days and weeks before the
killings. Prosecutors and police have described his purchases of
firearms, explosives and 6,000 rounds of ammunition as calculating and
deliberate, suggesting that Mr. Holmes had created an intricate plan to
kill as many people as possible.
The attack was the deadliest mass murder in Colorado since the 1999
massacre at Columbine High School.
Fellow graduate students at the University of Colorado, Denver, said
that Mr. Holmes, always quiet and socially awkward, had seemed to grow
increasingly isolated and silent in the spring before he took steps to
drop out in June. In a text message to one student, Mr. Holmes
suggested he was suffering from “dysphoric mania” — a form of bipolar
disorder — and said that he was “bad news.”
After appearing impassive and dazed in other hearings, the defendant’s
eyes darted over the faces of the lawyers, court officials and
reporters gathered in the second-floor courtroom on Thursday. He even
appeared to smile to himself a few times. Prosecutors also filed
10 additional charges against Mr. Holmes but did not immediately
release any details about them.
Colorado massacre suspect silent in first
court hearing
Hartford Courant
Keith Coffman and Mary Slosson, Reuters
1:04 PM EDT, July 23, 2012
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) - The man accused of killing a dozen people
in a Colorado movie theater during a showing of the new "Batman" film
gave little away in his first court appearance on Monday, sitting
silently in a red jailhouse jump suit and with his hair dyed bright red.
James Eagan Holmes, 24, who was detained immediately after the massacre
early on Friday morning, appeared groggy and emotionless during the
brief hearing, looking straight ahead and occasionally closing his
eyes. He was shackled at the wrists and ankles.
About 40 members of the victim's families were seated on the left side
of the courtroom. One family member seated in the front row glared at
Holmes throughout the entire proceeding.
Several times when Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester
asked Holmes a question, one of his attorneys answered for him.
Police say Holmes was dressed in body armor and toting three guns when
he opened fire at a packed midnight screening of the new Batman movie
at a theater complex in the Denver suburb of Aurora in the early hours
of Friday. Fifty-eight other people were wounded, and many of them have
serious injuries.
The former neuroscience student also left his apartment booby-trapped
with explosives that police said could have destroyed the apartment
complex. They conducted a controlled detonation over the weekend.
Police say they are still searching for a motive for the crime, which
baffled fellow students and acquaintances. They described him as a
quiet high-achiever whose past gave little inkling that anything was
amiss.
At the hearing the judge set a date of next Monday for formal charges
to be filed.
POSSIBLE DEATH PENALTY
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers said she would consult
with the victims and families of the dead before making a decision on
seeking the death penalty.
She told reporters outside the court house that the decision on the
death penalty had to be made within 60 days of his arraignment, "so
it's months down the line."
Chambers has prosecuted two of the three inmates who are now on
Colorado's death row.
Holmes was represented by a public defender during the brief hearing
before Sylvester. It was not clear if any of his family attended the
hearing.
On Sunday, President Barack Obama traveled to the suburb of 325,000 to
offer comfort to families of the victims. He told them their loved ones
would be remembered long after the justice system was done with the
killer.
The dead included war veterans, an aspiring sportscaster who had barely
escaped a shooting in a Toronto mall earlier this summer, and a
6-year-old girl.
The crime meets all the elements of Colorado capital case law,
including premeditation, multiple victims, and the killing of a child,
said former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman.
"If James Holmes isn't executed, Colorado may as well throw away its
death penalty law," he said.
Many in Aurora have vowed to deny Holmes the publicity they believe he
craves by not uttering his name.
"I refuse to say his name. In my house we're just going to call him
Suspect A," Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper told a memorial on the
steps of the suburb's municipal center on Sunday night. He captured a
spirit of defiance voiced by citizens as well as religious and
political leaders.
Holmes and his motives remained largely a mystery, with past associates
saying he displayed no hints of a mental illness or violent tendencies.
He was armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P .223 semi-automatic
rifle, similar to an AR-15 assault rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a
Glock .40-caliber handgun. Police found an additional Glock .40-caliber
handgun in his car. All the weapons had been bought legally.
He is in solitary confinement to protect him from other prisoners.
Holmes had recently dropped out of a doctoral degree program in
neuroscience at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical School, a
few blocks from his apartment.
Prior to PhD
studies with prestigious scholarship...
...After
graduation Mr Holmes returned to San Diego, where he is said to have
struggled to find a job. Eventually,
he got part-time work at
McDonald's.
I-BBC
23 July 2012 Last updated at 12:22 ET
Aurora shooting: Suspect James Holmes
appears in court
The US man accused of killing 12 people in a shooting at a Batman film
screening in Aurora, Colorado has appeared in court for the first time.
James Holmes, 24, sat in court in a red jail suit with dyed orange
hair, and appeared sleepy during the proceedings.
Nine of 58 people wounded by the gunman remain in critical condition.
On Sunday, President Barack Obama met survivors and families of the
dead as hundreds of people took part in a service of remembrance.
Mr Holmes is to be held without bail at a jail in Centennial, Colorado,
the judge said...
BACKGROUND
21 July 2012
Last updated at 07:31 ET
Profile: Aurora cinema shooting suspect James Holmes
Before he allegedly shot 12 people dead
at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday, James Holmes was considered
a quiet young man, introverted but pleasant.
The 24-year-old had been studying for a PhD in neuroscience at the
University of Colorado at Denver, although he was about to quit.
"He basically was socially awkward, but not to the degree that would
warrant suspicion of mass murder or any atrocity of this magnitude,"
said Billy Kromka, a research assistant at a lab where he spent several
months last summer.
The FBI said he had no significant criminal record - local police said
he had a speeding ticket from 2011 - and no links to terrorism.
Scholarship
Mr Holmes was born on 13 December 1987 in
San Diego County, California, where he spent at least part of his
childhood.
In 2006, he graduated from Westview High School in the upmarket
district of Torrey Highlands, where his parents still live. A yearbook
showed he played football (soccer, across the pond) for the school's
junior varsity, or "B" team.
A former classmate, Breanna Hath, said Mr Holmes was extremely quiet,
"really sweet, shy" and "didn't have any creepy vibe about him at all".
"There were no real girls he was involved with," she told the
Washington Post. "It seemed he was really into a video game group that
hung out together."
Intellectually gifted, Mr Holmes won a scholarship to study at the
University of California at Riverside, where he gained a bachelor's
degree in neuroscience in 2010.
"He had the capability to do anything he wanted academically," Timothy
White, the university's chancellor, told reporters on Friday.
After graduation Mr Holmes returned to San Diego, where he is said to
have struggled to find a job. Eventually, he got part-time work at
McDonald's...
Pain, puzzles in wake of Colorado tragedy
Bomb experts disarm suspect's
apartment booby-trapped with intricate trail of explosives.
Anchorage Daily News
By JACK HEALY and SERGE F. KOVALESKI, The New York Times
Published: July 21st, 2012 11:43 PM
Last Modified: July 22nd, 2012 12:02 AM
AURORA, Colo. -- Killing a dozen people and wounding more than 50
others was apparently not enough for James Eagan Holmes, according to
the police. Inside his otherwise ordinary apartment lay an intricate
series of explosive booby traps, seemingly designed to kill anyone who
entered while pursuing his trail.
Holmes, 24, who the police say brought terror to a midnight movie
screening in this Colorado community, also left behind a litany of
questions, many of them focused on how and why a once-promising student
could now stand accused of being the lone gunman behind the deadliest
mass shooting in Colorado since the 1999 Columbine High School attacks.
Holmes had been a shy, awkward boy who once seemed quietly bound for
big things. He was a science student from Southern California who won
scholarships and internships, graduated "at the top of the top" from
the University of California, Riverside, and moved to Colorado last
year to take the next step: a doctoral program in neuroscience.
Holmes had an appointment at the university under a one-year
Neuroscience Training Grant from the National Institutes of Health, a
spokeswoman for the university said. The federal grant pays for six
pre-thesis doctoral students in the university's Neuroscience Program
at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Such grants are usually quite difficult
to obtain, going to only the top students.
But Holmes struggled through his first academic year at the University
of Colorado, Denver, and had dropped out by this spring. Neighbors from
his gang-ridden neighborhood in Aurora described him as a solitary
figure, recognizable as one of the few white residents of a largely
Hispanic neighborhood, and always alone. Alone as he bought beer and
liquor at neighborhood shops, as he ate burritos at La California
restaurant or got his car fixed at the Grease Monkey auto shop. Alone
as he rode his bicycle through the streets.
He appears to have sought companionship through the website Adult
Friend Finder, posting a photo of himself with bright orange hair and
saying that he was "looking for a fling." In an online profile, he
described himself as a nice guy, or as nice as any man "who does these
sorts of shenanigans," though its authenticity could not be
independently verified.
Some nights neighbors heard loud music throbbing in his third-floor
apartment and often complained about it, or noticed a strange, purple
light in the windows. Sometimes, the windows were masked by newspaper,
as if he wanted no one to see inside.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Saturday Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates offered an explanation for
why that might have been. When the police arrived after apprehending
Holmes outside the theaters where the shootings had occurred, they
found an apartment full of explosives and shells. The array had been
designed "to kill whoever entered it," Oates said.
For more than four months, Oates said, the suspect had been getting
large mail-order deliveries at his home and at his college.
"What we are seeing here is evidence of some calculation and
deliberation," he said.
After more than a day of efforts involving bomb-defusing robots and
painstaking patience, law-enforcement officers said they had defused
the main threats inside the apartment by Saturday afternoon. They set
off controlled detonations that could be heard from across the street.
By the afternoon, teams of firefighters in heavy gear appeared to be
entering the apartment -- a place that may hold hints about Holmes.
Holmes' background was science. Before dropping out he took a class
that explored the biological origins of psychiatric and neurological
disorders, and was scheduled to give a presentation on "MicroRNA
Biomarkers," according to a class schedule published online. The topic
appears to demonstrate an interest in the genetic basis of mental
illness.
With his academic career in tatters, law enforcement officials say,
Holmes began to assemble another plan. Over the last two months, he
bought two handguns, a shotgun and an assault rifle from local gun
dealers. He bought and stockpiled 6,000 rounds of ammunition online.
The police said he began to receive large deliveries to his home and
work. He outfitted himself with black body armor and a gas mask.
And early Friday morning, the police said, he walked into a darkened
multiplex here in Aurora -- a sprawling city east of Denver -- where a
midnight showing of the new Batman movie had just begun, and began
firing bullets at the families and teenagers packed into the sold-out
auditorium. The police said that when he was arrested, he compared
himself to the Joker character in the Batman movies.
Twelve people were killed, and 58 were wounded, and the authorities
said that 11 remained hospitalized in critical condition Saturday.
The initial spasms of shock and disbelief soon turned to open grief and
outrage. Memorials sprang up near the site of the shooting. The White
House said Saturday that President Barack Obama would fly to Aurora on
Sunday afternoon to meet with families of the victims of the killing
spree and with local officials.
Neighbors, acquaintances and teachers who knew the suspect found
themselves searching for any glimmer that could offer some small clue
as to how the quiet man from their memories came to be arrested in such
horrific crimes.
Apart from a speeding ticket, Holmes had no previous encounters with
the police in Aurora. He had no history of trouble with the police at
college in California. He left no easily identifiable online messages
or videos that might offer any insight to his mind-set. It also
remained unclear how Holmes was able to afford the large amount of
weapons, ammunition and protective gear he had, and how he learned to
booby-trap his apartment.
He was being held away from other inmates at the Arapahoe County Jail
on Saturday because of the case's high profile, Sheriff Grayson
Robinson said. Holmes is due to make his first court appearance at 9:30
Monday morning. In interviews, neighbors and friends from Southern
California and Aurora described a young man as anonymous as a glass of
water, more Invisible Man than Joker, who left the lightest of
impressions on people. He grew up on a pleasant street of Spanish-style
tract homes east of San Diego. His mother, Arlene Rosemary Holmes, is a
registered nurse. News reports and a LinkedIn profile suggest that his
father is a software company manager in the area.
When he was younger, Holmes dabbled in soccer and running cross-country
but seemed to give them up for academic pursuits. Breanna Hath, 23, a
classmate who graduated from Westview High School with Holmes in 2006,
said he had a small group of friends who played video games and were "a
little nerdy."
"He was really shy, really quiet, but really nice and sweet," Hath said.
He won merit scholarships to the University of California, Riverside,
and graduated in 2010 as an honors student in neuroscience, school
officials said.
"I think he was kind of quirky, just the way you expect smart people to
be," the school's chancellor, Timothy P. White, said in an interview on
Saturday. "Quirky in the sense that he probably had a wry sense of
humor. He kept to himself more than he socialized. But he was social.
He wasn't a hermit or an introvert. He wasn't a loner."
But friends and neighbors said Holmes was hesitant to make small talk
if seen on the street, slow to smile in conversations with strangers,
often seemingly tucked away inside himself. They described him as
pleasant and benign.
A law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity said
that the trip wire was about waist high and that among the hazards
found in the roughly 800-square-foot apartment were bullets in jars
that were rigged to detonate. And there were about 30 aerial shells,
typically used in fireworks, which had been fashioned to be explosive
devices.
With the major trip wires and explosives defeated, the police said they
could enter the apartment and search for clues as to what spurred the
gunman to go on his shooting rampage.
12 Killed in Shooting at Colorado Theater
NYTIMES
By DAN FROSCH, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM, TIMOTHY WILLIAMS and MICHAEL S.
SCHMIDT
July 20, 2012
AURORA, COLO. — A gunman armed with three weapons,
including a rifle and shotgun, opened fire in a theater crowded with
families and children at a midnight showing of the Batman movie “The
Dark Knight Rises” in a Denver suburb early Friday morning, killing at
least 12 people and wounding at least 38 others, the local police and
federal officials said.
Just before he began shooting, the police said the man, identified as
James Holmes, 24, had appeared in front of the packed theater in
Aurora, Colo., and set off at least one smoke device before firing
randomly at audience members, who had just settled into their seats.
Mr. Holmes was arrested in a parking lot behind the theater near his
car without further incident, according to the Aurora Police. He had a
gas mask and was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun. The
authorities believe Mr. Holmes had acted alone, and that the death toll
may increase because some of the wounded were seriously injured.
With the investigation in its earliest stages, the authorities on
Friday morning said they were unsure what prompted the attack and
whether Mr. Holmes had ties to any hate groups.
“No motivation yet,” one senior law enforcement official said, adding,
“The kid’s not talking.”
After his arrest, Mr. Holmes told the police that he had explosives at
an Aurora residence, and on Friday morning, F.B.I. agents, along with
agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and
local police had cordoned off a north Aurora neighborhood and focused
attention on a third-floor apartment in a redbrick building.
Firefighters perched on a cherry picker were seen breaking the window
with an ax.
John Priest, who lives in the neighborhood, said that his 21-year-old
son had been in the movie theater with two friends during the shooting,
but had been unharmed. The two friends, however, had each been wounded
— one was hit by a bullet in the buttocks and grazed in the leg, and
the other was shot in the leg. Neither injury is life threatening, he
said.
“How could people do something like this?” he said. “I don’t understand
this.”
At Gateway High School, where the authorities have directed people to
gather to get news about friends and family members, Rosemary Ratcliff
said she had so far been unable to find her son, Abdullah, 17, who she
believes had been at the midnight screening.
“I haven’t heard from him, and none of his friends are picking up their
phones,” she said in a near-whisper as she left the school.
The authorities have not released the names of victims, but Pentagon
officials said that some members of the military were among the
casualties. The officials said they did not yet have an accurate count,
or know what branches of the service the victims were from or whether
they were dead or injured.
The shooting erupted at the Century 16 Movie Theater, during the first
showings of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Throngs had gathered, some dressed
as characters from the highly anticipated Batman sequel.
Witnesses said the gunman appeared to have entered the theater through
an exit door and described smelling either pepper spray or tear gas in
the theater as the gunfire rang out.
Dan Oates, Aurora’s police chief, said that the smoke device had made
“a hissing sound” before starting to emit smoke.
President Obama, who spent the night in southern Florida as part of a
campaign swing, was notified of the shooting by his top
counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, at 5:26 a.m., according to
the White House. He later released a statement saying that he and the
first lady were “shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic
shooting in Colorado,” and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Mr. Obama was briefed Friday morning by Mr. Brennan, Robert S. Mueller
III, the F.B.I. director, and Jack Lew, the White House chief of staff.
“We do not believe at this point there was an apparent nexus to
terrorism,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, told reporters
on Air Force One.
Mr. Obama will return to Washington on Friday afternoon, cutting short
his Florida trip, his campaign said.
In a seven-minute speech in Fort Myers, Fla., Mr. Obama talked in
highly personal ways about the tragedy. “My daughters go to the
movies,” he said. “What if Malia and Sasha had been in the theater as
so many of our kids do every day? Michele and I will be fortunate
enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.”
He reflected on the fragility of life and the triviality of so much of
what passes for daily existence, calling on the country to remember
what really matters. “The people we lost in Aurora loved and were
loved,” he said. “They were mothers and fathers, they were husbands and
wives, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors.
They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet
fulfilled.”
He asked for a moment of silence and asked the crowd to “spend a little
time thinking about the incredible blessings that God has given us.”
Both Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumed Republican presidential
nominee, said they planned to pull television campaign advertisements
in Colorado.
The movie studio Warner Bros., which is owned by Time Warner, released
a statement Friday morning, saying that the company and the filmmakers
were “deeply saddened” and “extend our sincere sympathies to the
families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has waged a national
campaign for stricter gun laws, called on President Obama and Mr.
Romney to more concretely address the issue of gun violence in their
campaigns.
“You know, soothing words are nice,” Mr. Bloomberg said during his
weekly radio show, “but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to
be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are
going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the
country.”
On Friday morning, television images showed several ambulances moving
about and dozens of police officers gathered at the Century 16 movie
complex in the early morning darkness. A police robot could be seen
inspecting a white compact sedan, its two doors and trunk wide open, in
the parking lot of the movie complex, television images showed, though
it was unclear whether the car belonged to the gunman.
“I saw a man walk in through the exit,” a witness told a reporter from
9NEWS in Colorado, saying he threw what appeared to be a pair of gas
canisters to the ground. “He waited for both the bombs to explode
before he did anything. Then, after both of them exploded, he began to
shoot.”
Cellphone video appeared to show the traumatic scene outside of the
large multiplex immediately after the shooting. Some people wandered
away with bloodstained shirts as others could be heard screaming, “Get
out of here!”
A witness told CNN affiliate KUSA that he was in one of the other
theaters showing the movie. “It’s crazy to think I could have been in
the other line,” he said.
“We were watching a scene of the movie — it was a shootout scene, there
were guns firing,” he said. “Then loud bangs came from the right of the
theater. Smoke took over the entire theater, and it was really thick
and no one could really see anything. Me and my sister were sitting
there wondering what was going on. Five people were limping, wounded,
slightly bloody.”
“I saw a girl who was pretty much covered in blood. It made me think
the worst,” the man said. “A cop came walking through the front door
before everyone was cleared up and before everything was completely
under control holding a little girl in his arms, and she wasn’t moving.”
Dan Frosch reported from Aurora,
Colo., William K. Rashbaum, Timothy Williams and J. David Goodman
reported from New York and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington. Peter
Baker contributed reporting from West Palm Beach, Fla., Elisabeth
Bumiller from Washington and Victoria Shannon from New York. Kitty
Bennett contributed research.
Gunman kills 12 in Denver
suburb at Batman movie
Hartford Courant
Keith Coffman and Stephanie Simon, Reuters
11:50 AM EDT, July 20, 2012
AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - A gunman in a gas mask and bullet-proof vest
killed 12 people at a midnight premiere of the new Batman movie in a
suburb of Denver early on Friday, sparking pandemonium when he hurled a
gas canister into the auditorium and opened fire on moviegoers.
Some 55 others, including children, were hurt in the attack on the
showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" at a mall in the suburb of Aurora,
some of whom were treated for the effects of tear gas, hospital
officials said.
Police took the suspect into custody in the parking lot behind the
theater, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates told a news conference.
Multiple media outlets named the suspect as James Eagan Holmes, 24,
though Reuters had not independently confirmed his identity.
The suspect booby-trapped his Aurora apartment with sophisticated
explosives, Oates told reporters.
"We are trying to determine how to disarm the flammable or explosive
material. We could be here for hours or days," Oates said. "The
pictures are fairly disturbing. It looks very sophisticated, how it's
booby-trapped. It could be a very long wait."
Police lifted to his third-floor window by a crane searched the
suspect's apartment building with a remote camera.
Firefighters, police and sheriff's deputies from several jurisdictions
swarmed the scene with heavy weaponry and trucks from the bomb squad.
BLOODY CHAOS AT CINEMA
The gunman, appeared at the front of the theater during the movie and
released a canister which let out a hissing sound before gunfire
erupted, police said.
"When we got out of the theater it was just chaos. There was this one
who guy was on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up
blood," witness Donovan Tate told KCNC television. "There were bullet
holes in some people's backs, some people's arms. There was this one
guy who was stripped down to just his boxers. It looked like he was
shot in the back or something. It was crazy."
Confusion reigned as shooting broke out during an action scene in the
summer blockbuster, one of more highly anticipated films of the year.
The gunman may have blended in with other moviegoers who wore costumes
as heroes and villains.
"He looked like he was in the military or like he was a SWAT person so
he just kind of blended in with the chaos of the crowd. People thought
he was probably like a cop or something," witness Jennifer Seeger told
NBC's "Today."
"He came in and threw in the gas can and then I knew it was real. He
shot the ceiling and right after he shot the ceiling he pointed the gun
right at me. At that point I dove into the aisle. And I got lucky
because he didn't shoot me," she said.
President Barack Obama, who was notified of the shooting early on
Friday morning by his homeland security adviser, John Brennan, urged
Americans to "stand together" with the people of Aurora and said
political campaigning ahead of the November 6 election should be set
aside.
"There are going to be other days for politics. This, I think, is a day
for prayer and reflection," Obama told supporters at a previously
scheduled campaign event in Fort Myers, Florida, that he cut short to
address the shooting.
"We're going to stand by our neighbors in Colorado during this
extraordinarily difficult time," he said.
White House officials saw no connection to terrorism, an Obama
spokesman said.
Obama's opponent, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, pulled
all television ads in Colorado until further notice and a scheduled
campaign event was to be dedicated to addressing the shootings,
campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.
MEMORIES OF COLUMBINE
The shooting evoked memories of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High
School in Littleton, also a Denver suburb and 17 miles from Aurora,
where two students opened fire and killed 12 students and a teacher.
Aurora Police spokesman Frank Fania said the suspect was carrying a
knife, a rifle and a handgun when arrested, and one other gun was
recovered from the theater. The gunman was also wearing a bulletproof
vest and a gas mask.
"He did not resist, he did not put up a fight," Fania said.
Chandler Brannon, 25, who had been watching the movie with his
girlfriend, said that about 20 minutes into the movie he saw a smoke
bomb go off and heard what sounded like fireworks. He later realized
they were a rapid volley of gunshots.
"I told my girlfriend to just play dead," he told Reuters, adding that
he never got a full view of the gunman. "All I could see was a
silhouette."
One man told an NBC affiliate he was in the adjacent theater watching
another screening of the "Batman" movie when he heard gunshots and the
theater filled with thick, choking smoke.
He saw bullets holes in the wall, and some people in his theater were
wounded. "I heard moaning ... they were in pain."
In all six hospitals reported receiving 55 patients from the scene. Ten
victims died in the theater and two died in the hospital, Fania told
NBC.
"This is one of the most horrific nights I've ever had to work," said
Comilla Sasson, an emergency doctor at University of Colorado Hospital
in Aurora where 22 patients ranging in age from three months to 45
years arrived in private cars, police cars and ambulances.
SECURITY PRECAUTIONS
In New York, police will deploy officers at screenings of "The Dark
Knight Rises" throughout the city "as a precaution against copycats,"
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement.
The Paris movie premiere was cancelled on Friday, event organizers
said. Workmen cleared away barriers that had been set up in preparation
for the premiere at a cinema on the capital's Champs Elysees avenue.
"Warner Bros. is deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident.
We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the
victims at this tragic time," said Jessica Zacholl, a spokeswoman for
Time Warner-owned Warner Bros., the studio behind the film.
The film, with a budget of $250 million, opened on 4,404 screens, the
second widest release ever behind "Twilight: Eclipse," and industry
analysts had said it stood a good chance of matching or beating the
opening weekend box office record of $207 million set by Disney's
"Avengers" in May.
The prior release in the Batman series, "The Dark Knight," has grossed
more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office since its release in
2008.
(Additional reporting by Ellen
Wulfhorst, Joseph O'Leary, Sunaina Karkarey and Cynthia Johnston;
Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Vicki Allen)
Glock pistols the rage: weapon of choice for terroristists using
guns.
'Jihad Jane' terror suspect pleads guilty in Pa.
YAHOO
By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press
1 February 2011
PHILADELPHIA – A Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane"
online pleaded guilty Tuesday to her role in a plot to kill a Swedish
cartoonist who had offended Muslims. Colleen LaRose, 47, helped foreign
terror suspects intent on starting a holy war in Europe and South Asia,
prosecutors said.
LaRose, who also was accused of using the online screen name "Fatima
LaRose," has been in custody since October 2009 and faces a possible
life sentence under the four charges to which she pleaded guilty.
Speaking clearly but quietly, LaRose said Tuesday she had never been
treated for any mental health problems and was entering her plea
freely. She whispered a few comments to her lawyers, some of them
prompting a smile from public defender Mark T. Wilson. Wilson
declined
to comment afterward.
"We'll have a lot to say at sentencing," he said.
LaRose and co-defendant Jamie Paulin-Ramirez of Leadville, Colo., are
the rare U.S. women charged with terrorism. Paulin-Ramirez pleaded not
guilty after being arrested in Ireland with other terror
suspects. The
March 2010 indictment charged LaRose with conspiring with jihadist
fighters and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy
war, or jihad. The indictment was announced hours after authorities
arrested seven suspected terrorists in Ireland allegedly linked to
LaRose.
In e-mails recovered by the FBI over 15 months, LaRose agreed to marry
an online contact from South Asia so he could move to Europe. She also
agreed to become a martyr, the indictment said. The man she had
agreed
to marry told her in a March 2009 e-mail to go to Sweden to find the
artist, Lars Vilks, who had depicted the Prophet Muhammad with the body
of a dog, the indictment said.
Vilks has questioned the sophistication of the plotters but said he is
glad LaRose never got to him. LaRose pleaded guilty Tuesday to
four
counts: conspiracy to support terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a
foreign country, lying to investigators and attempted identity theft.
LaRose and her co-conspirators discussed that her appearance and
American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out their
plans, prosecutors said.
"Today's guilty plea, by a woman from suburban America who plotted with
others to commit murder overseas and to provide material support to
terrorists, underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face,"
said Assistant U.S. Attorney General David Kris.
Both LaRose and Paulin-Ramirez come from difficult backgrounds.
LaRose, born in Michigan, moved to Texas as a girl and had married
twice by age 24. Her first marriage came at 16, to a man twice her age.
Both unions were long over by the time she met Pennsylvanian Kurt
Gorman in 2005.
LaRose lived with Gorman and his father in Pennsburg, caring for the
older man while Gorman worked at his family's small business, Gorman
said last year. He called her a "good-hearted person" who mostly stayed
around the house.
But her online ties grew to a loose band of allegedly violent
co-conspirators from around the world, prosecutors said. They found her
after she posted a YouTube video in June 2008 saying she was "desperate
to do something somehow to help" ease the suffering of Muslims, the
indictment said. Despite Web images that show LaRose in a Muslim
head
covering, Gorman said he never picked up on any Muslim leanings. She
did not attended religious services of any kind, he said. Gorman said
he sensed nothing amiss in their five-year relationship — until LaRose
fled days after his father's funeral.
LaRose had removed the hard drive from her computer and set off for
Europe, according to the indictment. She had swiped Gorman's passport
and planned to give it to the co-conspirator she had agreed to marry,
the indictment said. It's unclear how she was able to travel
overseas,
given that the FBI, presumably tipped to her online postings, had
interviewed her in July 2009. According to the indictment, she then
denied soliciting funds for any terrorist causes or making the postings
ascribed to "JihadJane."
By Sept. 30, 2009, she wrote online that it would be "an honour &
great pleasure to die or kill for" her intended spouse, the indictment
said. "Only death will stop me here that I am so close to the target!"
she is accused of writing.
She was arrested the following month upon her return to the U.S.
Among
those LaRose allegedly recruited was Paulin-Ramirez, a single mother
who also spent long hours on the Internet before moving to Ireland with
her 6-year-old son and marrying a terror suspect from Algeria the day
she arrived. Paulin-Ramirez, who allegedly went by "Jihad Jamie,"
faces a maximum 15-year term if convicted of aiding terrorists.
A lawyer for her has not returned calls for comment this week on
whether she too plans to plead guilty.
Pa.
suspect: Caretaker by day, 'Jihad
Jane' online
YAHOO
By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 11, 8:11 am ET
PHILADELPHIA – Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her
boyfriend's father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small
town north of Philadelphia.
But online, federal authorities say, the devoted caretaker developed a
daring alter ego, refashioning herself as "Jihad Jane" while helping
recruit and finance Muslim terrorists — and eventually moving overseas
to try to kill an artist she perceived as an enemy to Islam.
LaRose, 46, was charged Tuesday with conspiring with jihadist fighters
and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy war, or
jihad. The indictment was announced hours after authorities arrested
seven suspected terrorists in Ireland allegedly linked to LaRose, who
has been in prison since her Oct. 15 arrest while returning to the
United States.
In e-mails recovered by the FBI over 15 months, LaRose agreed to marry
an online contact from South Asia so he could move to Europe. She also
agreed to become a martyr, the indictment said.
But perhaps she felt like one already.
Born in Michigan, LaRose moved to Texas as a girl and had married twice
by age 24. Her first marriage came at 16, to a man twice her age in
Tarrant County, Texas, public records show. There are no records or
reports of any children from either union, both of which were long over
by the time she met Pennsylvanian Kurt Gorman in 2005.
LaRose lived with Gorman and his father in Pennsburg, caring for the
older man while Gorman worked at his family's small business in another
town, Gorman said this week.
"She was a good-hearted person," he said Wednesday. "She pretty much
stayed around the house."
But online, she grew increasingly devoted to a loose band of what
authorities say were violent co-conspirators from around the world.
They found her after she posted a YouTube video in June 2008 saying she
was "desperate to do something somehow to help" ease the suffering of
Muslims, the indictment said.
She eventually agreed to try to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had
angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a
dog, according to a U.S. official who wasn't authorized to discuss
details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Despite Web images that show LaRose in a Muslim head covering, Gorman
said he never picked up on any Muslim leanings. She never attended
religious services of any kind, he said. Gorman, 47, sensed nothing
amiss in their five-year relationship until the day after his father's
funeral last August.
"I came home and she was gone. It doesn't make any sense," he said
Wednesday outside his firm in nearby Quakertown.
That same day, LaRose had removed the hard drive from her computer and
set off for Europe — federal authorities won't specify where. She had
swiped Gorman's passport and planned to give it to the co-conspirator
she had agreed to marry, the indictment said.
It's unclear how she was able to travel overseas, given that the FBI,
presumably tipped to her online postings, had interviewed her July 17.
According to the indictment, she denied soliciting funds for any
terrorist causes or making the postings ascribed to "JihadJane."
By Sept. 30, she wrote online that it would be "an honour & great
pleasure to die or kill for" her intended spouse, the indictment said.
"Only death will stop me here that I am so close to the target!" she is
accused of writing.
Her federal public defenders, Mark T. Wilson and Ross Thompson,
declined to on the case again Wednesday.
Irish police disclosed, though, that they had arrested two Algerians,
two Libyans, a Palestinian, a Croatian and an American woman married to
one of the Algerian suspects. They were not identified by name.
"I'm glad she didn't kill me," Vilks told The Associated Press on
Wednesday, saying the suspects appeared to be "low-tech." He said he
has built defense systems in his home to thwart would-be terrorists,
including a safe room and electrified barbed wire.
LaRose is scheduled to appear in court March 18 on the indictment,
which was returned March 4 and unsealed Tuesday. The document does not
link her to any organized terrorist groups.
She is unusual in being one of just a handful of U.S. women ever
charged with terrorism, the Justice Department said. And her online
conversations suggest she knew that to be an advantage — as she thought
her blond, American profile would help her move freely in Sweden to
carry out the attack, the indictment said.
The case "shatters the conventional wisdom that somehow the U.S. is
immune to the heady currents of radicalization that have affected
citizens of other Western countries," said Georgetown University
professor Bruce Hoffman, an international securities expert.
LaRose lived in a tidy red brick apartment building on Main Street, a
busy roadway lined with porch-front houses, many decorated with
American flags, and a post office.
"It's a great place. A quiet little town," said Pennsburg real estate
agent Debbie Turner. "But you never know who your neighbors are. You
have to be careful."
LaRose had a few minor convictions in Texas in the 1980s for
trespassing and other misdemeanors, according to online records, which
list her then as 4 feet 11 and 105 pounds. She was also twice arrested
in Texas on misdemeanor public intoxication charges.
"For all intents and purposes, she's the neighbor next door," said
Hoffman, noting that the Internet enables like minds around the world
to meet up, for better or worse.
"You could get all the thrills of participation in an illegal
clandestine act in the comfort of your own bedroom," he said. "This is
someone who, I think, because of the communicative power of the
Internet is able to ... enter into something that is larger than
herself."
FACT
CHECK: Civilian police officers responded
to the incident and a female police officer fired 4 shots into the
suspected terrorist.
I-BBC - Page last updated at 17:03
GMT, Sunday, 8 November 2009
US Senate may probe army
shooting
Flags at Fort Hood and the across the US
are flying at half mast
|
Senior US Senator Joe Lieberman says
he plans to open a congressional investigation into last week's deadly
shooting at a Texas army base.
Mr Lieberman, who chairs the
Senate Homeland Security Committee, told Fox TV that he wanted to find
out whether it was a terrorist attack.
Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim army major, is suspected of
killing 13 people.
Mr Lieberman also said he hoped to determine whether the army
missed signs that Maj Hasan harboured extreme views.
The 39-year-old army psychiatrist opened fire at the Fort
Hood base on Thursday. Besides those killed, 29 people were wounded.
Maj Hasan was shot by a
fellow soldier and remains in a coma.
'Rants'
Mr Lierberman said that if Maj Hasan had shown signs of
becoming an Islamist radical, the army should have discharged him.
 |
MAJOR NIDAL MALIK HASAN
Born in US to Palestinian parents
Joined the army and trained to be a
psychiatrist
Treated soldiers returning from combat
zones
Described as a devout Muslim
Said to have been unhappy about imminent
overseas deployment
|
The Associated Press news agency reports that some of Maj
Hasan's
colleagues had expressed concern about his growing anger over the US
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Another army psychiatrist, Val
Finnell, told AP he had complained to army administrators about what he
considered Maj Hasan's "anti-American" rants.
"In retrospect, I'm not surprised he did it," Mr Finnell said
of the shootings.
Investigators are still looking into the motive of the
attack.
But Army Chief of Staff George Casey warned against
speculation.
He
told ABC's This Week programme on Sunday that focusing on Maj Hasan's
religion could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the
military.
Reports suggested that Maj Hasan, who was due to be sent to
Afghanistan, had been increasingly unhappy in the army.
His cousin told US media last week that he had been opposed
to his imminent deployment, describing it as his "worst nightmare".
Mr Hasan's cousin also said the gunman had been battling
racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity."
Maj Hasan was born in the US of Palestinian parents and has
been described as a devout Muslim.
Colo. Church Gunman Had Been Kicked Out
NYTIMES
By JUDITH KOHLER | Associated Press Writer
6:40 PM EST, December 10, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The gunman believed to have killed four
people at a megachurch and a missionary training school had been thrown
out of the school a few years ago and had been sending it hate mail,
police said in court papers Monday.
The gunman was identified as Matthew Murray, 24, who was home-schooled
in what a friend said was a deeply religious Christian household.
Murray's father is a neurologist and a leading multiple-sclerosis
researcher.
Five people -- including Murray -- were killed, and five others wounded
Sunday in the two eruptions of violence 12 hours and 65 miles apart.
The first attack took place at Youth With a Mission, a training center
for missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada; the other occurred at
the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where Murray was shot to death
by a security guard. The training center maintains an office at the
10,000-member church.
"Through both investigations it has been determined that most likely
the suspect in both shootings are one in the same," police said in
court papers.
Colorado Springs police said the "common denominator in both locations"
was Youth With a Mission.
"It appears that the suspect had been kicked out of the program three
years prior and during the past few weeks had sent different forms of
hate mail to the program and-or its director," police said.
In a statement, the training center said health problems kept Murray
from finishing the program. It did not elaborate. Murray did not
complete the lecture phase or a field assignment as part of a 12-week
program, Youth With a Mission said.
"The program directors felt that issues with his health made it
inappropriate for him to" finish, it said.
Police gave no immediate details on the hate mail. And the training
center said that Murray left in 2002 -- five years ago, not three --
and that no one there can recall any visits or other communication from
him since then.
Earlier Monday, a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of
anonymity said it appeared Murray "hated Christians."
Investigators have not said whether Murray singled out his victims. But
the two people killed at the church -- sisters Stephanie and Rachael
Works, ages 18 and 16 -- frequented the training center, their uncle
Mark Schaepe of Lincoln, Neb., told The Gazette of Colorado Springs.
Authorities searched the Murray house on a quiet street in Englewood on
Monday for guns, ammunition and computers. No one was home when a
reporter visited the split-level brick home early Monday. Murray's
father, Ronald S. Murray, is chief executive of the Rocky Mountain
Multiple Sclerosis Center in Englewood.
Matthew Murray lived there along with a brother, Christopher, 21, a
student at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla.
A neighbor, Cody Askeland, 19, said the brothers were home-schooled,
describing the whole family as "very, very religious."
Christopher studied for a semester at Colorado Christian University
before transferring to Oral Roberts, said Ronald Rex, dean of
admissions and marketing at Colorado Christian. He said Matthew Murray
had been in contact with school officials this summer about attending
the school but decided he wasn't interested because he thought the
school was too expensive.
Police said Murray's only previous brush with the law was a traffic
ticket earlier this year.
Senior Pastor Brady Boyd of New Life Church said the gunman had no
connection to the church. "We don't know this shooter," Boyd said. "He
showed up on our property yesterday with a gun with the intention of
hurting people, and he did."
The gunman opened fire at 12:30 a.m. at the Youth With a Mission
center. Witnesses said the man asked to spend the night there and
opened fire with a handgun when he was turned down. They described him
as a young man, perhaps 20, in a dark jacket and cap.
Later, at New Life Church, a gunman wearing a trench coat and carrying
a high-powered rifle opened fire in the parking lot and later walked
into the church as a service was letting out.
Jeanne Assam, a church member who volunteers as a security guard, shot
and killed Murray, who was found with a rifle and two handguns, police
said. The pastor called her "a real hero."
"When the shots were fired, she rushed toward the scene and encountered
the attacker there in a hallway. He never got more than 50 feet inside
our building," he said. "There could have been a great loss of life
yesterday, and she probably saved over 100 lives."
Boyd said the gunman had a lot of ammunition and estimated that 40
rounds had been fired inside the church, leaving what looked like a
"war scene."
Jessie Gingrich, who had left New Life and was in the parking lot
getting into her car, saw the gunman get a rifle from his trunk and
open fire on a van with people inside. Gingrich said she cowered in her
vehicle, fumbling with the key.
"I was just expecting for the next gunshot to be coming through my car.
Miraculously -- by the grace of God -- it did not," she told ABC's
"Good Morning America."
About 7,000 people were in and around the church the time of the
shooting, Boyd said. Security had been beefed up after the shootings
hours earlier in Arvada, he said. The church had a total of 15 to 20
volunteer security officers inside at the time of the attack, he said.
Some members of the congregation reacted with compassion and
forgiveness, in keeping with their faith.
Ashley Gibbs was getting into a car with David Harris when they heard
the gunshots. They stayed in the vehicle.
"It was obvious that he was in some sort of pain and going through a
lot," Gibbs told "Today." "I just prayed God would bring him peace."
New Life, with a largely upper middle-class membership, was founded by
the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was dismissed last year after a former male
prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with
him. Haggard admitted committing unspecified "sexual immorality."
The two people killed at the missionary center were identified as
Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24.
Johnson, who grew up in Chisholm, Minn., loved working with children
and wanted to see the world, said family friend Carla Macynski.
"Tiffany was a well-liked, easygoing 26-year-old. She was friendly,
adventurous and a definite leader," Macynski said as she choked back
tears. Johnson had traveled to Egypt, Libya and South Africa with the
missionary group.
Crouse, of Alaska, was a former skinhead who went through a dramatic
spiritual conversion at 18. He had helped build a foster home at a Crow
Indian reservation in Montana, said Ronny Morris, who works with a
Denver chapter of the mission.
"Whenever somebody asks me to give a specific situation where a kid's
life has been changed or transformed, I always think of Phil, because
he had such a radical transformation of life," said pastor Zach
Chandler in Anchorage, Alaska.
Youth With a Mission was started in 1960 and now has 1,100 locations
with 16,000 full-time staff, said Darv Smith, director of a Youth With
a Mission center in Boulder.
The Colorado shootings came days after a 19-year-old gunman opened fire
at a busy department store in Omaha, Neb., killing
eight people and himself.
Site of Amish Schoolhouse
Shooting Razed
DAY
By MARTHA RAFFAELE, Associated Press Writer
Oct 12, 8:18 AM EDT
NICKEL MINES, Pa. (AP) -- Workers with heavy machinery rather than hand
tools moved in before dawn Thursday and demolished the one-room Amish
schoolhouse where a gunman fatally shot five girls and wounded five
others.
Construction lights glared in the mist as a large backhoe tore into the
overhang of the school's porch around 4:45 a.m., then knocked down the
bell tower and toppled the walls. Within 15 minutes, the building was
reduced to a pile of rubble. By 7:30 a.m., the debris was gone, leaving
just a bare patch of earth.
The schoolhouse had been boarded up since the killings 10 days earlier,
with classes moved to a nearby farm. The Amish planned to leave a quiet
pasture where the schoolhouse stood.
"I think the Amish leaders made the right decision," Mike Hart, a
spokesman for the Bart Fire Company, said as loaders lifted debris into
dump trucks to be hauled away.
The Amish are known for constructing buildings by hand, without the aid
of modern technology, but for this job they relied on an outside
demolition crew to bring closure to a painful chapter for their
peaceful community.
A group of 20 to 30 people, many of them in traditional Amish dress,
gathered nearby to watch as the schoolhouse was leveled.
"It seems this is a type of closure for them," Hart said.
The destruction of the West Nickel Mines Amish School came a week after
the solemn funerals of the five girls killed by gunman Charles Carl
Roberts IV. Roberts came heavily armed and apparently prepared for a
long standoff. He held the 10 girls hostage for about an hour before
shooting them and killing himself as police closed in.
The five girls wounded in the Oct. 2 shooting are still believed to be
hospitalized. The hospitals are no longer providing any information
about the patients at the request of their families.
Hart, who has been coordinating activities with the Amish community and
whose company will help provide security, said destroying the school is
about trying to reach some closure.
Hart said private contractors were handling the demolition, and the
debris would be hauled to a landfill.
He has said classes were expected to resume for the school this week at
a makeshift schoolhouse in a garage on an Amish farm in the Nickel
Mines area.
What
Good Looks Like
The lessons the
world can learn from a community that rejects modern times.
By Day Staff Writer
Published on 10/9/2006
The 1985 movie “Witness” starring Harrison Ford presented a gripping
view of the Amish culture, which attempts to isolate its members from
the corrupting influences of modern civilization. The movie speculated
about what can happen when modern-day evil penetrates that insular
world.
Last week, the world saw the same plot in real life, when a gunman
invaded an Amish one-room school in rural Pennsylvania and shot and
killed five young girls. While the event shocked the community of the
victims, the lessons about the nature of good and evil were ours to
learn.
The most striking of these lessons had to do with the attitude of the
Amish toward the murderer and his family. The assailant, who killed
himself after his killing spree, had driven a milk truck serving the
Amish dairy farmers. The Amish not only forgave him, but also offered
to help his family cope with their sorrow. They've even set up a fund
for the dead murderer's wife and three children.
This sounds incredible here in the outside world, where revenge is more
commonplace and if that's not enough, is stirred up on television talk
shows. In our world, children play electronic games about killing in
which there is no pain or consequences. In place of meeting real
people, many in our modern world meet and communicate over the
Internet. It is possible to engage in the “global community” without
coming into direct contact with a real person.
But, as we have seen in the barrage of news coverage following the
killings, the Amish find out what's going on by meeting with one
another, not through text-messaging or cell phone calls.
Their world eschews all modern conveniences, including automobiles. One
of the news photographs from this past week's events showed an Amish
horse and buggy passing a row of television vans with satellite dishes,
vividly illustrating the contrast of cultures and values.
Simplicity seems to characterize everything Amish, from the simple
tools and agricultural implements they use to the wooden caskets in
which the five young girls were buried last week.
They have not escaped evil. They would be the first to admit that's not
possible. But they have rejected the influences that implement it: cars
that pollute the atmosphere and endanger life on earth and all the
noisy electronic messaging that agitates our lives and provides a voice
for bad influences as well as good. The Amish don't rail against that
world, but choose not to live there. They aren't angry at the murderer
who killed their children because they understand the world from which
he came better than most of us.
Our world has benefits, too. Through the eyes of our cutting-edge
electronic communications, we were able to watch this week as the Amish
buried their dead with simplicity and grace and we saw, lest we forget,
what good really looks like.
A
pattern in rural school shootings:
girls as targets; Monday's deadly shooting in Nickel Mines, Pa.,
was the fourth such incident in five weeks.
By Gail Russell Chaddock and Mark Clayton | Staff writers of The
Christian Science Monitor
Wednesday, 10/04/06
NICKEL MINES, PA., AND BOSTON – The scene Monday at the buff-colored,
one-room schoolhouse in the gentle heart of Amish country was
wrenching, but also distressingly familiar. One of four fatal
school shootings to beset rural America in just over a month, the
rampage that killed five young girls raises anew a host of old concerns
- about campus security in countryside settings, access to guns by
unstable individuals, and "copycat" violence advanced by media
attention.
They are startling incidents against the backdrop of declining numbers
of school fatalities. But this premeditated attack, like another one
five days earlier in which a drifter corraled teenage girls, killing
one, at the high school in Bailey, Colo., have an unusual and
disturbing feature: girls as targets.
"The predominant pattern in school shootings of the past three decades
is that girls are the victims," says Katherine Newman, a Princeton
University sociologist whose recent book examines the roots of
"rampage" shootings in rural schools.
Dr. Newman has researched 21 school shootings since the 1970s. Though
it's impossible to know whether girls were randomly victimized in those
cases, she says, "in every case in the US since the early 1970s we do
note this pattern" of girls being the majority of victims.
The two cases are reminiscent of a 1989 shooting in Canada, when a
jobless hospital worker killed 14 female engineering students at the
University of Montreal, accusing them of stealing jobs from men, says
Martin Schwartz, an Ohio University sociologist and an expert on
violence against women. He sees such incidents as related to a culture
of violence against women, "a mutation - something beyond."
In Bailey, an armed drifter walked into Platte Canyon High School last
Wednesday, ordering men out and sexually assaulting some of the six
girls he held hostage, shooting one before killing himself. In this
week's tragedy in Pennsylvania's bucolic Lancaster County, the gunman
ordered boys and adults to leave, bound the 10 girls, and shot them,
then himself.
Small towns are no safeguard
Another similarity between the Pennsylvania and Colorado cases - as
well as two other recent school shootings in Vermont and Wisconsin - is
their rural settings. It is rare for mass school shootings to occur in
cities, Newman says. Despite their safe image, rural communities can be
an especially fertile breeding ground for revenge, she and others agree.
"People think small towns are safer, but in a small community
grievances can fester," says Cheryl Meyer, a professor of psychology at
Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, who has researched
similarities of school shootings in rural and small towns. "It's so
often about revenge. Even if something happened 20 years ago, it
doesn't mean it is gone. People talk about it and everybody remembers.
It just trails after you."
Such a motive may have factored into Monday's shootings in the tiny
hamlet of Nickel Mines, Pa., police say.
Flanked by corn fields and a few white oaks, the Amish schoolhouse
could have been lifted out of the 19th century. With no guards,
chain-link fence, or "drug-free zone" signs - or even a telephone - it
seemed a world apart.
The gunman, Charles Carl Roberts, lived just down the road with his
family in a double-wide trailer. He hauled milk from Amish farms at
night, usually before the next day's milking began about 4 a.m. A
co-worker says he might never have met the farmers he serviced. Then,
he would take his children to school.
On Monday, however, he left suicide notes for his family, then drove
his pickup truck to a school he no doubt passed many times on
late-night milk routes. He brought to the school a semi-automatic
pistol, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a
rifle - along with restraints, lumber to block the doors, and a change
of clothing. In a scene that seemed to echo the Bailey shooting,
the gunman ordered boys and school aides out, then bound 10 girls ages
6 to 13. He called his wife on his cellphone.
Police arrived after a teacher ran for help to a nearby farm. They
called him on his cellphone, but no answer. Then the gunman opened
fire, and police stormed the barricaded building, breaking through
windows. Five of the girls died at the scene or at hospitals. At
press time, officials said five remained in critical condition.
Law-enforcement officials, working to unearth Roberts's motive, said
Tuesday that sexual assault seemed the most likely one. In a suicide
note, they said, Roberts recalled an incident 20 years ago when he, a
pre-teen at the time, molested younger children. The note indicated he
had been haunted by dreams about molesting young girls, police said.
"I don't think it was an attack on the Amish community, but a target of
opportunity," Col. Jeffrey Miller, commissioner of the Pennsylvania
State Police, said Monday. "It was almost impenetrable," he said of the
barricaded school. "His goal was to be in there for an extended period
of time. He was hunkering down for a hostage-related siege."
'Copycat' concerns
The apparent similarities between the Bailey and Nickel Mines shootings
- and their close proximity in time - raise experts' concerns about
"copycat" attacks.
News media bear some responsibility for this phenomenon, says James
Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston. This is
especially the case when attackers' personalities and grudges are
exposed to high-profile public analysis - as when two teenage attackers
in the Columbine attack were featured on the cover of a news magazine,
he says.
"We've seen with school shootings and postal shootings that the
shooters can become role models for others," Dr. Fox says. "While most
sympathize with the victims, others empathize with the shooters. It's
the publicity they get that turns the shooter into a celebrity that
spawns more of them."
Some see in the latest school shootings echoes of the 1980s, when there
was a spate of carefully planned attacks on students by adults from
outside the schools.
Between 1988 to 1989, there were nine premeditated attacks by adults
targeting schoolchildren, says Fox. In those cases, however, there was
no pattern of girls being targets - a new wrinkle. To him, that year
stands out for its "contagion of adults who got even with society by
killing its most beloved members - schoolchildren."
While national crime statistics show a steady drop in the murder rate,
including violent school fatalities, there seems to be fewer incidents
but "more spectacular stuff going on," Dr. Schwartz says. "Splashy
violence is what's going up, even though crime as a whole going down.
The only thing not going down is fear engendered by these types of
high-profile events."
In Nickel Mines, the news media showed up almost as promptly as police
- within minutes jamming the narrow streets and nearby fields with
satellite trucks, television crews, and crane-high lights.
For grieving Amish families, driving past the crime scene late into the
night or talking quietly in small groups nearby, the fierce media glare
came as a shock to a community that resolutely avoids the spotlight.
"I was irate when I first heard about the school, then the hurt
started," says an Amish fireman, who helped maintain a security
perimeter around the school late Monday night. He says local firemen
and policemen had expected a crush of news media, because of the
intense public interest in school shootings. But, he adds, "we never
expected to have to deal with it here."
"It's unbelievable. We never expected that anything like this would
happen," says Ruth, a Mennonite neighbor who wanted to give only her
first name.
"I don't understand it, but it's not from God," says Fannie Beiler,
another Mennonite. "He wants us to love one another."
There are scores of such schools in the quiet farming communities
around Lancaster County, a center for the Old Order Amish in the United
States. An estimated 28,000 Amish live in the area - of about 200,000
nationwide.
Amish families live simply - no cars, electricity, cellphones, or iPods
- and grieve quietly. A keystone of their faith is pacifism. When a
young Amish boy in the next town of Bart was killed on his way to help
a neighbor with the milking by a hit-and-run driver two weeks ago,
there was no talk of lawsuits. Nor did Amish families join their
"English" neighbors in calling for a new sign cautioning drivers to
slow down.
In Bart, Paula Flinn set up a hand-painted sign on her front lawn for
their Amish neighbors, who drove past the house in closed, black
buggies at a rate of 50 an hour, some late into the night, after the
shooting. Her sign reads: "Our prayers and thoughts are with you."
5
Girls Dead in Amish School Shooting; Police: Gunman at Amish
School Heavily Armed
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 10/03/2006 08:16:00 AM EDT
NICKEL MINES, Pa. (AP) -- Two more children died Tuesday morning of
wounds from the shootings at an Amish schoolhouse, raising the death
toll to five girls plus the gunman who apparently was spurred by a
two-decades-old grudge.
The toll from the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a
week rose twice within a matter of hours Tuesday with the deaths of a
9-year-old girl at Christiana Hospital in Delaware and a 7-year-old
girl at Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey.
Five additional girls were hospitalized.
The Bush administration on Monday called for a school violence summit
to be held next week with education and law enforcement officials to
discuss possible federal action to help communities prevent violence
and deal with its aftermath. State police spokeswoman Linette
Quinn said the two girls who died early Tuesday had suffered "very
severe injuries, but the other ones are coming along very well."
"Her parents were with her," hospital spokeswoman Amy Buehler Stranges
said of the 7-year-old. "She was taken off life support and she passed
away shortly after."
Authorities said the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, wrote what
authorities described as suicide notes, took guns and ammunition and
went to a nearby one-room schoolhouse, where he opened fire on several
girls and took his own life, authorities said. Roberts, a father
of three from nearby Bart Township and was not Amish, did not appear to
be targeting the Amish and apparently chose the school because he was
bent on killing young girls as a way of "acting out in revenge for
something that happened 20 years ago," said state police Commissioner
Jeffrey B. Miller.
"This is a horrendous, horrific incident for the Amish community.
They're solid citizens in the community. They're good people. They
don't deserve ... no one deserves this," Miller said.
The names of the dead were not immediately released.
Of the injured, a 6-year-old girl remained in critical condition and a
13-year-old girl was in serious condition at Penn State Children's
Hospital, spokeswoman Buehler Stranges said. She said the names of the
children were not being released. Three girls, ages 8, 10 and 12,
were flown to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where they were out
of surgery but remained in critical condition, spokeswoman Peggy Flynn
said.
Roberts brought with him supplies necessary for a lengthy siege,
including three guns, a stun gun, two knives, a pile of wood and a bag
with 600 rounds of ammunition, police said. He also had a change of
clothing, toilet paper, bolts and hardware and rolls of clear tape.
He released about 15 boys, a pregnant woman and three women with
infants, barred the doors with desks and wood and secured them with
nails, bolts and flexible plastic ties. He then made the girls line up
along a blackboard and tied their feet together. The teacher and
another adult fled to a nearby farmhouse, and authorities were called
at about 10:30 a.m. Miller said
Roberts apparently called his wife from a cell phone at around 11 a.m.,
saying he was taking revenge for an old grudge. Miller declined to say
what the grudge could have been.
"It seems as though he wanted to attack young, female victims," Miller
said.
Miller told NBC's "Today" that Roberts lost a daughter "approximately
three years ago" and that that may have been a factor in the
shooting. He said a teacher had to run to a farm house to call
police because there wasn't one at the school, in keeping with Amish
custom. Parents refused to fly in planes - again in keeping with
Amish tradition - and had to be driven to see their children at
hospitals, Miller told "Today." Some were taken to the wrong hospitals
in the confusion, Miller said.
From the suicide notes and telephone calls, it was clear Roberts was
"angry at life, he was angry at God," and co-workers said his mood had
darkened in recent days, Miller said.
In a statement released to reporters, the gunman's wife, Marie Roberts,
called her husband "loving, supportive and thoughtful."
"He was an exceptional father," she said. "He took the kids to soccer
practice and games, played ball in the backyard and took our 7-year-old
daughter shopping. He never said no when I asked him to change a
diaper."
"Our hearts are broken, our lives are shattered, and we grieve for the
innocence and lives that were lost today," she said. "Above all, please
pray for the families who lost children and please pray too for our
family and children."
The attack bore similarities to a deadly school shooting last week in
Bailey, Colo., but Miller said he believed the Pennsylvania attack was
not a copycat crime. "I really believe this was about this individual
and what was going on inside his head," he said. On Friday, a
school principal was shot to death in Cazenovia, Wis. A 15-year-old
student, described as upset over a reprimand, was charged with
murder.
Milk
Man Kills Girls at Pa. Amish School
DAY
By MARK SCOLFORO; Associated Press Writer
Oct 2, 3:36 PM EDT
NICKEL MINES, Pa. (AP) -- A 32-year-old milk truck driver took about a
dozen girls hostage in a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday, barricaded
the doors with boards and killed at least three girls and apparently
himself, authorities said.
It was the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week,
and similar to an attack just days earlier at a school in Colorado.
The gunman, identified as Charles Carl Roberts IV, was inside for over
half an hour and had barred the doors with 2x4s with the girls inside,
State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said. By the time officers
broke windows to get in, three girls and the gunman were dead, Miller
said. Seven others were taken to hospitals, three in critical condition.
"It appears that when he began shooting these victims, the victims were
shot execution style in the head," Miller said.
Roberts had walked into the one-room West Nickel Mines Amish School
with a shotgun and handgun, then released about 15 boys, a pregnant
woman and three other women with infants before barring the doors with
the girls inside, Miller said.
The girls were lined up along a blackboard, Miller said. "He had wire
ties with him and flex ties, and he began to tie the girls' feet
together," Miller said.
A teacher was able to call police around 10:30 a.m. and reported that a
gunman was holding students hostage.
About 11 a.m., Roberts apparently called his wife from a cell phone,
saying he was "acting out in revenge for something that happened 20
years ago," Miller said. "It seems as though he wanted to attack young,
female victims."
Moments later, Roberts told a dispatcher he would open fire on the
children if police didn't back away from the building. Troopers heard
gunfire in the building seconds later. The school has about 25 to
30 students in all, ages 6 to 13.
"It seems as though he wanted to attack young, female victims," Miller
said. He released no further details about that what the grudge Roberts
mentioned could have involved.
Lancaster County Coroner G. Gary Kirchner initially said six people
were killed, but later said he wasn't certain about that number.
At least seven people were taken to hospitals, including at least three
girls, ages 6-12, who were admitted to Lancaster General Hospital in
critical condition with gunshot wounds, spokesman John Lines
said. The small school, surrounded by a white board fence, sits
among farmlands just outside Nickel Mines, a tiny village about 55
miles west of Philadelphia.
Hours after the attack, about three dozen people in traditional Amish
clothing, broad-brimmed hats and bonnets stood near the small
schoolhouse as investigators walked in a line through fields searching
for evidence.
The shootings were disturbingly similar to an attack last week at
Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colo., where a man took several
girls hostage in a school classroom and then killed one of them and
himself. Authorities said the man sexually molested the girls.
"If this is some kind of a copycat, it's horrible and of concern to
everybody, all law enforcement," said Monte Gore, undersheriff of Park
County, Colo.
"On behalf of Park County and our citizens and our sheriff's office,
our hearts go out to that school and the community," he said.
Nationwide, the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Littleton,
Colo., remains the deadliest school shooting, claiming the lives of 15
people, including the two teenage gunmen. On Friday, a school principal
was gunned down in Cazenovia, Wis. A 15-year-old student, described as
upset over a reprimand, was charged with murder in the killing.
Several
killed in Pennsylvania school attack
October 2, 2006
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gunman attacked an Amish school
in Pennsylvania on Monday, shooting and killing a number of people
including an unknown number of students before he was captured or
killed, police said.
"There are a number dead. The exact number I am not sure at this point.
There are also a number of wounded. And the shooter is not at large,"
said state police Corporal Ralph Striebig of rural Lancaster County.
"There are multiple injuries. There are multiple casualties. I cannot
give any names or numbers. It's a horrible, horrible tragedy,"
Lancaster County Coroner Gary Kirchner told Reuters.
A local hospital said that three girls including one aged 11 were in
critical condition with gunshot wounds.
The hostage-taker was either killed or captured at the scene. "One or
the other, but he's not at large," Striebig said.
The incident, the third school shooting in a week in the United States,
happened at Georgetown Amish School in Bart Township.
"The three that are here are in a critical condition, they will be
airlifted from our hospital to pediatric hospitals in the region," said
Lancaster General Hospital spokesman John Lines. "They arrived here
suffering from gunshot wounds."
A spokeswoman at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center said it
was also receiving patients from the school, but gave no information
yet on how many.
Amish schools typically group students from the first through eighth
grade -- aged about six to 14 -- in the same schoolhouse, so the
victims were likely "teens or pre-teens. They're all in one school from
first grade up," Striebig said.
The Amish people dress and live simply in Lancaster County farm
country, shunning modern machines and vehicles including cars, and
cultivating their land using old-fashioned traditions.
The shooting was a shock to a community that one resident called almost
crime-free.
Aaron Meyer, owner of a local buggy company, told CNN: "In this
township of about 30,000 people, we have no police. Because there's
just virtually no crime. Many of these townships here have no police at
all."
The shooting in Pennsylvania followed reports earlier on Monday of
lockdowns at two Las Vegas area schools as police searched for an armed
youth, local television reported.
Last Friday a 15-year-old student killed his school's principal in
western Wisconsin.
Last Wednesday a drifter took six female high school students hostage,
molested them and then shot one to death and killed himself as police
closed in.
Coroner:
6 Dead in Amish School Shooting
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer
1:58 PM EDT, October 2, 2006
NICKEL MINES, Pa. -- A gunman killed six people at a one-room Amish
schoolhouse Monday morning in Pennsylvania's bucolic Lancaster County,
and several others were taken to hospitals with injuries, authorities
said.
"So far, six confirmed dead, and the helicopters are pulling into
(Lancaster General Hospital) like crazy," Coroner G. Gary Kirchner
said.
It was unclear if the shooter was among the six. State Police Cpl.
Ralph Striebig said earlier that the shooter was dead.
Three girls, all in critical condition with gunshot wounds, were
admitted to Lancaster General Hospital, spokesman John Lines told
WGAL-TV. Officials at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
confirmed that victims also were being admitted there. A spokeswoman
said the hospital anticipated more than one patient.
Police surrounded the one-room school in southeast Lancaster County
late Monday morning, and the Lancaster County 911 Web site reported
that dozens of emergency units were dispatched to a "medical emergency"
at 10:45 a.m.
Three dozen people in traditional Amish clothing, broad-brimmed hats
and bonnets stood near the small school building, surrounded by a low
white fence, speaking to one another and authorities. Others gathered
with a group of children at a nearby farm while investigators stretched
out in a line across a field searching for evidence.
The school is situated among farmlands just outside Nickel Mines, a
tiny village about 55 miles west of Philadelphia.
Gun
Reported at North Las Vegas School
Hartford Courant
By Associated Press
12:14 PM EDT, October 2, 2006
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Two schools were locked down
Monday while police searched for a teenager who had been spotted on a
high school campus with a gun, authorities said.
No students were hurt, and police said there was no initial indication
that the teenager, who they said was not a student, had threatened
anyone with the weapon, said Sean Walker, a North Las Vegas police
spokesman.
The teen ran from the school after being confronted by campus police as
students were arriving at Mojave High School, Walker said.
A handgun was found behind a nearby church, and both the high school
and nearby Elizondo Elementary School were locked down while police
searched the surrounding neighborhoods for the teen, Walker said.
School districts across the country have been especially sensitive to
threats after deadly shootings last week at schools in Wisconsin and
Colorado.
On Friday, a school principal was gunned down in Cazenovia, Wis., and a
15-year-old student, described as upset over a reprimand, was charged
with murder. Just two days earlier, an adult gunman held six girls
hostage in a school at Bailey, Colo., before killing a 16-year-old girl
and then himself.
On Sept. 21, three high school seniors in Green Bay, Wis., were charged
with conspiracy to commit homicide for allegedly planning to attack a
school with guns and bombs.
School
Safety Back Under Scrutiny
Hartford Courant
By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer
7:02 PM EDT, October 1, 2006
DENVER -- A bearded drifter walks into a Colorado school and fatally
shoots a student before taking his own life. Wisconsin authorities
charge three boys with plotting a bomb attack on their high school and,
two weeks later, a student in a rural school allegedly shoots his
principal. A gunman bursts into a Vermont elementary school looking for
his ex-girlfriend and guns down a teacher.
All of this in the past month alone.
Since the 1999 Columbine massacre that left 15 people dead, there has
been a determined effort among administrators, principals and teachers
to improve school safety. Law enforcement officers across the nation
and around the world have added training specifically intended to
address school violence.
But experts say there is simply no way to guarantee that a stranger or
student won't be able to injure or kill on school grounds.
"There's no perfect security, from the White House to the schoolhouse,"
said Kenneth Trump, president of the National School Safety and
Security Services consulting firm in Cleveland.
Since Columbine, school officials have gotten better at preventing
student violence, he said, but authorities can't prepare for every
problem.
"When you factor in unpredictable outsiders, when you have a roaming
monster walking into the schools, we have to be realistic," Trump said.
"There are some incidents you're not going to be able to prevent."
Trump's firm counts 17 nonfatal school shootings so far this school
year, beginning Aug. 1. There were 85 the previous school year and 52
in the 2004-2005 school year.
Since Columbine in 1999, the number of fatal school shootings in a
school year has ranged from three (2002-03) to 24 (2004-05), according
to National School Safety and Security Services. The firm does not
track cases before Columbine.
Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener was among the law enforcement
officials who eagerly applied for federal aid to beef up security at
Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, the site of last week's attack in
which a man held six girls hostage before killing one and himself.
A deputy was assigned to be the school's resource officer --
essentially, its security guard. But that guard was called away on
sheriff's business last Wednesday and gunman Duane Morrison walked
inside with two handguns. He reportedly sat in the school parking lot
and wandered the hallways for as long as 35 minutes before the siege
began.
Despite the death of 16-year-old Emily Keyes, things could have been
worse, authorities said.
"Basically, the tragedy of Columbine taught law enforcement and
educators how to avoid future tragedies," Gov. Bill Owens said. "In a
couple of significant ways, the tragedy of Columbine may have helped
prevent an even worse tragedy (here)."
He said educators had been instructed in August on what to do. The
school was also designed using concept learned from the Columbine
attacks, which helped authorities keep the gunman in one room.
Ever since Columbine, school officials have been taught to write
emergency response plans and practice them, to lock down schools and
evacuate when it appears safe. That seemed to work well in Bailey as
hundreds of students were whisked to safety.
Law enforcement officers who once were taught to set up a perimeter and
wait for SWAT teams to show up are now trained in "active shooter"
programs that call for the first officers on the scene to enter the
building and work as quickly as possible to locate the gunman, Trump
said.
"That's why we were able to isolate it to just one room and get
everybody else out," Wegener said. "Still, you can't prepare for
something like this. You do the best you can."
Student Zach Barnes, 16, also said students last year practiced drills
for emergencies including a gunman in the school. Students were told to
remain calm, taught where to go and how to leave the school. Still,
there appeared to be at least one glitch Wednesday.
"We were sitting there in math class and over the intercom they said,
`Students and teachers, we have a code white, repeat code white,' and
nobody really knew what a code white was," Barnes said.
He said his teacher pulled a sheet of paper from her desk, checked it
and then herded her students into a nearby classroom that had a solid
door. After about 25 minutes, a police officer led them into the
hallway and out of the school.
Colorado has left decisions on providing security in schools up to some
172 school boards, but state lawmakers said they will look at training
and other issues following the Bailey attack.
Providing security guards at every entrance to every school would be
difficult, said Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Golden, but others
said video cameras and security systems could help fill the gap.
"If we could plug in some technology, that would help," said George
Voorheis, superintendent of Colorado's largely rural Montrose &
Olathe Schools District RE1J.
.Gunman's Friendly Exterior Masked Past
NYTIMES
By ASHLEY M. HEHER and CARYN ROUSSEAU | Associated Press Writers
9:42 AM EST, February 16, 2008
DEKALB, Ill. - Steven Kazmierczak's quiet, dependable and fun-loving
exterior masked troubling details from his past that emerged as a
stunned community struggled to understand what caused the 27-year-old
to open fire on a class at Northern Illinois University, leaving six
people dead.
A former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center said
Kazmierczak was placed there after high school by his parents. She said
he used to cut himself, and had resisted taking his medications.
He also had a short-lived stint as a prison guard that ended abruptly
when he didn't show up for work. He was in the Army for about six
months in 2001-02, but he told a friend he'd gotten a psychological
discharge.
Exactly what set Kazmierczak off -- and why he picked his former
university and that particular lecture hall -- remained a mystery.
On Thursday, Kazmierczak, armed with three handguns and a pump-action
shotgun, stepped from behind a screen on the lecture hall's stage and
opened fire on a geology class. He killed five students before
committing suicide.
University Police Chief Donald Grady said Friday that Kazmierczak had
become erratic in the past two weeks after he stopped taking his
medication.
Kazmierczak spent more than a year at the Thresholds-Mary Hill House in
the late 1990s, former house manager Louise Gbadamashi told The
Associated Press. His parents placed him there after high school
because he had become "unruly" at home, she said.
Gbadamashi said she couldn't remember any instances of him being
violent.
"He never wanted to identify with being mentally ill," she said. "That
was part of the problem."
The attack was baffling to many of those who knew him.
"Steve was the most gentle, quiet guy in the world. ... He had a
passion for helping people," said Jim Thomas, an emeritus professor of
sociology and criminology at Northern Illinois who taught Kazmierczak,
promoted him to a teacher's aide and became his friend.
Kazmierczak once told Thomas about getting a discharge from the Army.
"It was no major deal, a kind of incompatibility discharge -- for a
state of mind, not for any behavior," Thomas said. "He was concerned
that that on his record might be a stigma."
Kazmierczak enlisted in September 2001, but was discharged in February
2002 for an "unspecified" reason, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said.
He worked from Sept. 24 to Oct. 9 as a corrections officer at the
Rockville Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Rockville,
Ind. His tenure there ended when "he just didn't show up one day,"
Indiana prisons spokesman Doug Garrison said.
Authorities were searching for a woman who police believe may have been
Kazmierczak's girlfriend. According to a law enforcement official who
spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under
investigation, authorities were looking into whether Kazmierczak and
the woman recently broke up.
On Feb. 9, Kazmierczak walked into a Champaign gun store and picked up
two guns -- a Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun. He bought the
two other handguns at the same shop -- a Hi-Point .380 on Dec. 30 and a
Sig Sauer on Aug. 6.
All four guns were bought legally from a federally licensed firearms
dealer, said Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. At least one criminal
background check was performed -- Kazmierczak had no criminal record.
Kazmierczak had a State Police-issued FOID, or firearms owners
identification card, which is required in Illinois to own a gun,
authorities said. Such cards are rarely issued to those with recent
mental health problems.
NIU President John Peters said Kazmierczak compiled "a very good
academic record, no record of trouble" at the 25,000-student campus in
DeKalb. He won at least two awards and served as an officer in two
student groups dedicated to promoting understanding of the criminal
justice system.
Kazmierczak (pronounced kaz-MUR-chek) grew up in the Chicago suburb of
Elk Grove Village. He was a B student at Elk Grove High School, where
school district spokeswoman Venetia Miles said he was active in band
and took Japanese before graduating in 1998. He was also in the chess
club.
A statement posted on the door on the Urbana home of Kazmierczak's
sister, Susan, said: "We are both shocked and saddened. In addition to
the loss of innocent lives, Steven was a member of our family. We are
grieving his loss as well as the loss of life resulting from his
actions."
At NIU, six white crosses were placed on a snow-covered hill around the
center of campus, which was closed Friday. They included the names of
four victims -- Daniel Parmenter, Ryanne Mace, Julianna Gehant,
Catalina Garcia. The two other crosses were blank, though officials
have identified Kazmierczak's final victim as Gayle Dubowski.
By Friday night, dozens of candles flickered in packed snow at
makeshift memorials around campus as hundreds of students, mostly
wearing the school colors of red and
black, packed a memorial service.
"It's kind of overwhelming. It feels strong, it feels like we're all in
this together," said Carlee Siggeman, 18, a freshman from Genoa who
attended the vigil with friends.
___
Associated Press writers Don Babwin, Deanna Bellandi, Dave Carpenter,
Tamara Starks, Carla K. Johnson, Lindsey Tanner, David Mercer, Nguyen
Huy Vu, Michael Tarm and Mike Robinson in Chicago, Anthony McCartney in
Lakeland, Fla., and Matt Apuzzo and Lolita Baldor in Washington
contributed to this report, along with the AP News Research Center in
New York.
A graduate student:
NIU Gunman Stopped Taking Medication
NYTIMES
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 15, 2008
Filed at 1:58 p.m. ET
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) -- The man who
gunned down five people at Northern Illinois University in a suicidal
rampage became erratic after halting his medication and carried a
shotgun to campus inside a guitar case, police said Friday.
The man, 27-year-old former student
Stephen Kazmierczak, was also wielding three handguns during Thursday's
ambush inside a lecture hall.
Two of the weapons -- the
pump-action Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun -- were purchased
legally less than a week ago, on Feb. 9, authorities said. They were
purchased in Champaign, where Kazmierczak was enrolled at the
University of Illinois.
A spokesman for the federal Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said the other two guns were also
traced to the Champaign gun shop, but the ATF was still determining
when Kazmierczak picked them up.
Kazmierczak had a valid Firearm
Owner's Identification Card, which is required for all Illinois
residents who buy or possess firearms, authorities said.
The gunman's father, Robert
Kazmierczak, briefly came out of his single-story house in Lakeland,
Fla., to talk to reporters.
''Please leave me alone. I have no
statement to make and no comment. OK? I'd appreciate that. This is a
very hard time. I'm a diabetic and I don't want to go into a relapse,''
he said before breaking down crying.
He then went back inside his house,
which has a sign on the front door that says ''Illini fans live here.''
President Bush talked by telephone
with NIU President John Peters and said people will be praying for the
families of the victims and for the Northern Illinois University
community.
Campus Police Chief Donald Grady
said investigators recovered 48 shell casings and six shotgun shells
following the attack in Cole Hall. The gunman paused to reload his
shotgun after opening fire on a crowd of terrified students in a
geology class, sending them running and crawling toward the exits. He
shot himself to death on the stage of the hall.
Kazmierczak, whose first name was
earlier listed as Steven, was taking some kind of medication, Grady
said.
''He had stopped taking medication
and become somewhat erratic in the last couple of weeks,'' Grady said,
declining to name the drug or provide other details.
Correcting information his office
released earlier Friday, DeKalb County Coroner Dennis J. Miller said
five students, not six, were killed in the rampage, in addition to the
gunman. Miller said the higher victim total was the result of confusion
over the fate of a patient taken to another county for treatment.
''There was a miscommunication,''
Miller said.
The motive of the killer, who
graduated from NIU in 2006 but was a student there as recently as last
year, was still not known. Grady said Kazmierczak was an
''outstanding'' student while at NIU and authorities were still trying
to determine why he would kill. There was no known suicide note.
''We were dealing with a disturbed
individual who intended to do harm on this campus,'' Peters said.
Witnesses said the gunman, dressed
in black and wearing a stocking cap, emerged from behind a screen on
the stage of 200-seat Cole Hall and opened fire just as the class was
about to end around 3 p.m. Officials said 162 students were registered
for the class but it was unknown how many were there Thursday.
John Giovanni, 20, of Des Plaines
said the gunman calmly fired at the greatest concentration of students.
''He was shooting from the hip. He
was just shooting,'' said Giovanni, who turned and ran so fast that he
lost a shoe. ''I was running but I was hurtling over people in the
fetal position.''
Peters said four people died at the
scene, including three students and the gunman. The other died at a
hospital. The teacher, a graduate student, was wounded but was expected
to recover.
Miller released the identities of
four victims: Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester; Catalina Garcia,
20, of Cicero; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville; and Julianna
Gehant, 32, of Meridan.
Another victim, Gayle Dubowski, a
20-year-old sophomore from Carol Stream, died at a Rockford hospital,
Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said.
The killer had been a graduate
student in sociology at Northern Illinois as recently as spring 2007,
Peters said. He also said the suspect had no record of police contact
or an arrest record while attending Northern Illinois, a campus with
25,000 students about 65 miles west of Chicago.
The gunman was a student at the
University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Chancellor Richard Herman
said. The university is about 140 miles south of Chicago.
Lauren Carr said she was sitting in
the third row when she saw the shooter walk through a door on the
right-hand side of the stage, pointing a gun straight ahead.
''I personally Army-crawled halfway
up the aisle,'' said Carr, a 20-year-old sophomore. ''I said I could
get up and run or I could die here.''
She said a student in front of her
was bleeding, ''but he just kept running.''
''I heard this girl scream, 'Run,
he's reloading the gun!'''
More than a hundred students cried
and hugged as they gathered outside the Phi Kappa Alpha house early
Friday to remember Parmenter. Flowers, candles and small notes were
left in the snow near Cole Hall. Flags were flying at half-staff. At a
house across the street, a hand-drawn banner made out of a sheet said:
'NIU We Pray 4 U'
The campus was closed on Friday.
Students were urged to call their parents and were offered counseling
at any residence hall, according to the school Web site.
The school was closed for one day
during final exam week in December after campus police found threats,
including racial slurs and references to shootings earlier in the year
at Virginia Tech, scrawled on a bathroom wall in a dormitory. Police
determined after an investigation that there was no imminent threat and
the campus was reopened. Peters said he knew of no connection between
that incident and Thursday's attack.
------
Associated Press writers Carla K.
Johnson, Michael Tarm, David Mercer, Martha Irvine, Nguyen Huy Vu,
Sarah Rafi, Mike Robinson, Anthony McCartney in Lakeland, Fla., and
photographer Charles Rex Arbogast contributed to this report.
Glock pistols. The extra long
clip that Congress opposes; Mr. Himes illustrates karate chop
alternative.
Who cares about politics? Putting bread on the
table is prioty #1. Center, the extra-long gun clip that may be
outlawed by Congress..
Himes promotes legislation banning
high-capacity ammo clips
Greenwich TIME
Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer
Published: 10:31 p.m., Friday, January 21, 2011
Silent for the most part on gun control during his first two years in
Congress, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said he can see no reason for
civilians to have high-capacity gun magazines like the one that was
used in this month's shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., that left six
people dead and wounded 14 others, including his House colleague
Gabrielle Giffords. Himes is an original co-sponsor of a bill
introduced this week by U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., seeking to
ban the production and transfer of gun magazines holding more than 10
bullets.
McCarthy's husband was murdered and her son was severely wounded by
gunman Colin Ferguson during the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting
rampage.
"I've never heard a good argument why hunters, target shooters or
people interested in self-defense need to fire more than 10 rounds,"
Himes said.
All 57 sponsors of McCarthy's bill, which endeavors to restore a
restriction that was part of the federal assault weapons ban from 1994
to 2004, are Democrats.
"In the wake of the attack on Gabby on others, I just realized the
debate shouldn't be pro-gun and anti-gun," Himes said. "It should be
how do we keep guns out of the hands of madmen and how do we restrict
technology that produces massacres."
Bob Montlick, 74, a self-described independent who said he voted for
Himes in 2008 and owns Bob's Gun Exchange in Darien, called the
legislation misguided.
"The magazine ban is totally useless," Montlick said. "What they're
doing of course is knee-jerk-type response."
Montlick recommended that politicians focus on the types of individuals
who can obtain a gun, which he said is a lethal weapon irrespective of
the number of bullets fired from it.
"So the capacity has nothing to do with the intent of the user," said
Montlick, a Norwalk resident. "A legal gun owner is not the problem,
and the high-capacity gun is not the problem."
Montlick's shop sells the Glock 19, the same semi-automatic model used
by Tucson gunman Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old with an apparent history
of mental illness. Retailing for $529 at Montlick's shop, the
Glock 19 comes with a standard capacity magazine that holds 15 rounds.
Optional magazines are available that hold 17, 19 and 33 bullets.
Among the gun-control groups supporting the ban is the Washington,
D.C.-based Violence Policy Center, which noted that high-capacity
ammunition magazines have been used in 10 of the nation's deadliest
shootings.
"The Arizona attack joins a long list of mass shootings made possible
by the easy availability of ammunition magazines that can hold up to
100 rounds: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Luby's, Wedgewood Baptist Church,
Stockton, and all too many others," Kristen Rand, the group's
legislative director said in a statement posted on the organization's
website. "High-capacity ammunition magazines facilitate mass shootings
by giving attackers the ability to fire numerous rounds without
reloading," Rand said. "An effective ban on high-capacity magazines
will help prevent tragedies like the one that claimed six lives and
wounded numerous others (Jan. 8). We can save lives in the future with
this simple, effective proposal."
Himes said that the only reason that Loughner was subdued was because
he stopped to reload.
"They hit him with a chair when he stopped to reload," Himes said.
Himes insisted that he is not trying to encroach on the Second
Amendment rights of citizens.
"I like shooting. I really enjoy shooting," Himes said. "I have no
interest in taking away guns from people who are going to use them
responsibly."
Messages seeking comment from the National Rifle Association were left
with the group's media affairs office on Friday. Himes also
pointed out that existing high-capacity clips would be grandfathered
under the bill.
"If you own a high-capacity clip, it's not going to get taken away from
you," Himes said. "Possession is not a crime. You just can't transfer
it."
Montlick said that it's unfair to blame gun manufacturers for incidents
such as the one in Tucson, however.
"Some people say, `Let's blame Glock for this,'" Montlick said. "That's
no different than saying, `Let's blame General Motors when someone gets
killed in a Chevrolet.'"
Monltick disputed whether a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips would
even be effective.
"You shove the next one in and you keep shooting," Montlick said of
reloading. "It's a matter of one or two seconds. If (Himes) wants to
come in the store, I'll be glad to show him."
Insanity plea likely in Arizona
shootings, experts say
New Haven REGISTER
By Angela Carter, Register Staff, acarter@nhregister.com
Monday, January 17, 2011
In the wake of Jared Lee Loughner’s attempted assassination of U.S.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., the legal community finds it
plausible that his defense attorney will use the so-called insanity
plea.
“There is no other defense. He did it in front of hundreds of people,”
said high-profile New Haven defense attorney Hugh Keefe, who has argued
that a client was not guilty by reason of insanity in many cases, and
taught about its standards at the University of Connecticut last
semester. Loughner’s court-appointed lawyer, Judy Clarke, is
known for serving on the defense team that convinced a jury to spare
the life of Susan Smith, a mother who drowned her two sons, ages 3 and
14 months.
Keefe said it would not be a surprise if Clark used the insanity
defense, not just to avoid the death penalty, but to make sure Loughner
gets treatment during his sentence if he is convicted but found to be
mentally ill.
Loughner, 22, is accused of opening fire and unleashing 31 shots in
Tucson Jan 8, where Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet with
constituents she calls “Congress on Your Corner.” Authorities charged
him with multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and
attempting to kill a member of Congress. He could face state
charges as well in the wounding of 13 others and the deaths of six
people, including one of Giffords’ staff persons; 9-year-old Christina
Taylor Green, who was born the day of the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and
Arizona’s chief federal judge, John M. Roll.
Keefe said he defended a man who attempted to rape a woman in Milford
at midday and in front of witnesses, claiming he believed Jesus wanted
him to impregnate her. The client was found guilty and committed to
Whiting Forensic Institute. In Connecticut, he said the question
that forensic psychologists must answer is not whether the killer knew
right from wrong. Examiners must establish whether the act was
committed as a result of some mental disease or defect and therefore
the defendant could not appreciate the wrongfulness of the act; or,
whether the defendant could not control his or her behavior because of
paranoia or delusions, for example.
“It’s used very infrequently,” he said. “You’re essentially looking for
a place where the guy who has a mental problem can get some treatment.”
Keefe and Clint David, an attorney, nationally known legal expert and
managing shareholder with David, Goodman & Madole in Dallas, both
said the insanity defense is unpopular with juries.
“Whenever anybody does anything like this, the first reaction is the
person must be crazy,” David said. But crime investigators look into
whether the accused took steps to cover up their actions or evade
police, which can make it difficult to prove that at the time of the
offense, the person was unable to distinguish right from wrong.
“People are cynical. Jurors are cynical,” Keefe said, counting in the
media as well.
According to a timeline made public by the Pima County Sheriff’s
department, Loughner was out the entire night before the 10:10 a.m.
shooting. He took 35mm film to Walgreens to be developed, shopped at
Circle K convenience store and booked a room at Motel 6.
He tried twice to buy ammunition and was able to make a purchase the
second time at a Super Walmart. Loughner’s final message to friends via
his MySpace account was “goodbye.” He flashes a smirk in his arrest
mugshot.
A “battle of the experts,” takes off in the court room, David said,
between the prosecution and defense teams, with prosecutors having an
advantage when it comes to influencing the jury.
“You’ve kind of got the jury on your side already because they’re
going: Yeah, right,” in response to mental impairment arguments from
the defense, David said. Four state have banned the use of the
insanity plea: Idaho, Kansas, Montana and Utah. Congress made it
harder to apply insanity claims after John Hinckley Jr. was found not
guilty by reason of insanity in his attempted assassination of
President Ronald Reagan. Hinckley remains confined at St. Elizabeths
Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Among the murderers who were unsuccessful in using the insanity plea
were David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz, Sirhan Sirhan and Charles Manson and
Jack Ruby, who fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who assassinated
President John F. Kennedy.
The insanity defense is not reserved for those who kill. Lorena Bobbitt
argued she was insane at the moment she cut off her husband’s penis.
She was set free after three months of psychiatric treatment.
The most common instance of mass murder occurs in families, with
someone shooting all the family members and them himself or herself,
said James Cassidy, associate professor and coordinator of Criminal
Justice Graduate Programs, director of the center for Forensic
Psychology and chair of the Criminal Justice Department at the
University of New Haven.
Loughner’s case, one where a perpetrator assaults strangers, is more
rare. Typically, there are warning signs, Cassidy said, in a
person’s remarks or claims of hearing voices or seeing things. There
may be a history of arrests, assaults or even bomb-making.
Cassidy said that in a study of criminal cases across eight states,
only one percent of defendants used the insanity plea, and of them,
only 25 percent were acquitted on those grounds.
Keefe said it is a misperception that defendants “get off” free and
clear. They serve out their sentence in a hospitalized setting but
receive as much time — or more — as they would without claiming
insanity. In 2006, the Supreme Court upheld restrictions that
Arizona places on the admission of mental health evidence.
Assistant House Democratic Leader Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said there
has not been any talk in the Arizona legislature since the shootings
about introducing legislation related to using or banning the insanity
plea.
“I’m not a big proponent of rushing through any legislation based on
what we’re feeling now,” said Farley, who was with Giffords’ family in
the hours following the shooting. “I doubt we can stop this type of
thing by legislation. The best thing we can do is to fully fund out
mental health programs. We need to prevent people who are mentally ill
from having guns and make sure they’re getting access to treatment.”
Farley’s campaign manager, Daniel Hernandez, rushed to Gifford’s side
and applied pressure to her wounds. Hernandez is credited with saving
Giffords’ life, has been heralded as a hero and sat beside President
Barack Obama during a televised memorial last week.
“I’m so proud of him. He and his sisters are part of our family. I love
him like a son,” Farley said.
Officers stopped suspect on day of Ariz. shooting
YAHOO
By AMANDA LEE MYERS and JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press
12 Ja nuary 2011
TUCSON, Ariz. – A wildlife officer pulled over the suspect in the
assassination attempt against an Arizona congresswoman less than three
hours before the deadly attack, authorities said Wednesday as they
pieced together more details of a frenzied morning. Jared Lougher
ran
a red light but was let off with a warning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the
Arizona Game and Fish Department
said. The officer took Loughner's
driver's license and vehicle registration information but found no
outstanding warrants on Loughner or his vehicle.
Wildlife officers don't usually make traffic stops unless public safety
is at risk, such as running a red light, the department said in a news
release, which didn't say where the stop took place. It's the
latest
evidence of Loughner's busy morning before police say he shot and
killed six and wounded more than a dozen at a Tucson grocery
store.
Also that morning, Loughner, 22, ran into the desert from his angry
father, who was chasing his son after seeing him remove a black bag
from the trunk of a family car, said Rick Kastigar, chief of the
department's investigations bureau. Investigators are still searching
for the bag.
The sheriff's deputies who swarmed the Loughners' house removed what
they describe as evidence Loughner was targeting Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords, who doctors said Tuesday was breathing on her own for the
first time after taking a bullet to the forehead. Among the handwritten
notes was one with the words "Die, bitch," which authorities told The
Associated Press they believe was a reference to Giffords.
Investigators with the Pima County Sheriff's Department previously said
they found handwritten notes in Loughner's safe reading "I planned
ahead," "My assassination" and "Giffords." Capt. Chris Nanos said all
the writings were either in an envelope or on a form letter Giffords'
office sent him in 2007 after he signed in at one of her "Congress on
Your Corner" events — the same kind of gathering where the massacre
occurred.
Meanwhile, this city held a tribute to victims the eve of a
presidential visit.
On Tuesday night, several hundred mourners filled a Tucson church for a
public Mass to remember the slain and pray for the injured. As people
filed in, nine young girls sang "Amazing Grace." The youngest victim of
the attack, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, was a member of that
choir.
"I know she is singing with us tonight," said Tucson Bishop Gerald
Kicanas, who presided over the service.
President Barack Obama visits Arizona Wednesday and will honor the
victims in a speech to a rattled state and nation. In one
apparent
reaction to the shooting, the FBI said background checks for handgun
sales jumped in Arizona following the shootings, though the agency
cautioned that the number of checks doesn't equate to the number of
handguns sold. Still, there were 263 background checks in Arizona
on
Monday, up from 164 for the same day a year ago — a 60 percent rise.
Nationally, the increase was more modest: from 7,522 last year to 7,906
Monday, a 5 percent jump.
Loughner's parents, silent and holed up in their home since the
shooting spree, issued a statement Tuesday, expressing remorse over the
shooting.
"There are no words that can possibly express how we feel," Randy and
Amy Loughner wrote in a statement handed to reporters waiting outside
their house. "We wish that there were, so we could make you feel
better. We don't understand why this happened.
"We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so
very sorry for their loss."
Sheriff's deputies had been to the Loughner home at least once before
the attack, spokesman Jason Ogan said. He didn't know why or when the
visit occurred, and said department lawyers were reviewing the
paperwork and expected to release it Wednesday. The visits were
for
nonviolent incidents, including a report by Jared Loughner of identity
theft, a noise complaint and Amy Loughner's claim that someone had
stolen her license plate sticker, according to a report by The Wall
Street Journal.
In addition to the new details about the hours before the shooting,
interviews with those who knew Loughner or his family painted a picture
of a young loner who tried to fit in. Before everything
fell apart,
he went through the motions as many young men do nowadays: Living at
home with his parents, working low-wage jobs at big brand stores and
volunteering time doing things he liked. None of it worked. His
relationship with his parents was strained. He clashed with co-workers
and police. And he couldn't follow the rules at an animal shelter where
he spent some time.
One close high school friend who requested anonymity to avoid the
publicity surrounding the case said he would wait outside 10 minutes
for Jared to leave the house when they were going out. When Jared would
get into the car, he'd say that it took so long because his parents
were hassling him. The parents of another close friend recalled
how
Loughner's parents showed up at their doorstep in 2008 looking for
their son, who had left home about a week before and broken off
contact.
While the friend, Zach Osler, didn't want to talk with the AP, his
parents Roxanne and George Osler IV did. With the Loughners at
their
house, Zach Osler told them the name of the place where their only
child was staying, Zach's father said. Loughner was arrested in
October 2008 on a vandalism charge near Tucson after admitting he
scrawled the letters "C" and "X" on a road sign in a reference to what
he said was Christianity. His address listed on the police report was
an apartment near his home.
Loughner eventually moved back in with his parents. Even when
Loughner
tried to do good, it didn't work out. A year ago, he volunteered
walking dogs at the county animal shelter, said Kim Janes, manager of
the Pima Animal Care Center. He liked dogs; neighbors remember him as
the kid they would see walking his own. But at the shelter, staff
became concerned: He was allowing dogs to play in an area that was
being disinfected after one had contracted a potentially deadly
disease, the parvovirus.
"He didn't think the disease was that threatening and when we tried to
explain how dangerous some of the diseases are, he didn't get it,"
Janes said.
Loughner wouldn't agree to keep dogs from the restricted area, and was
asked to come back when he would. He never returned. Loughner
also
jumped from paid job to job because he couldn't get along with
co-workers, according to the close high school friend who requested
anonymity. Employers included a Quiznos sandwich shop and Banana
Republic, the friend said. On his application at the animal
shelter,
he listed customer service work at Eddie Bauer.
Loughner grew up on an unremarkable Tucson block of low-slung homes
with palm trees and cactus gardens out front. Fittingly, it's called
Soledad Avenue — Spanish for solitude. Solitude found Loughner,
even
when he tried to escape it. He had buddies but always fell out of
touch, typically severing the friendship with a text message. Zach
Osler was one such friend. Loughner's father moved into the house
as a
bachelor, and eventually got married, longtime next-door neighbor
George Gayan said. Property records show Randy Loughner has lived there
since 1977.
Gayan said he and Randy Loughner had "differences of opinion but
nothing where it was radical or violent." He declined to provide
specifics. "As time went on, they indicated they wanted privacy," Gayan
said.
Unlike other homes on the block, the Loughners' is obscured by plants.
It was assessed in 2010 at $137,842. Randy Loughner apparently
has not
worked for years — at least outside his home.
Amy Loughner got a job with the county parks and recreation department
just before Jared was born, and since at least 2002 has been the
supervisor for Roy P. Drachman Agua Caliente Park on the outskirts of
the city. She earns $25.70 an hour, according to Gwyn Hatcher, Pima
County's human resources director.
Linda McKinley, 62, has lived down the street from the Loughner family
for decades and said the parents could not be nicer — but that she had
misgivings about Jared as he got older.
"As a parent, my heart aches for them," she said.
She added that when she was outside watering her plants she would see
Jared riding down the street on his bike, often talking to himself or
yelling out randomly to no one. McKinley recalled that once he
yelled
to some children on the street: "I'm coming to get you!"
Majority doesn't blame
rhetoric for Giffords shooting
YAHOO
11 January 2011
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A majority of
Americans reject the view that heated political rhetoric was a factor
in the weekend shootings in Arizona which killed six and critically
wounded a congresswoman, a CBS News said on Tuesday.
Since the Saturday incident in which
Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank
range, various politicians and commentators have said a climate in
which strong language and ideological polarization is common may have
contributed to the attack.
Some of the analysts cited
anti-government statements from the man arrested in the shooting, Jared
Lee Loughner, as support for that view.
But CBS said its nationwide
telephone poll found that, "57 percent of respondents said the harsh
political tone had nothing to do with the shooting, compared to 32
percent who felt it did."
Rejection of a link was strongest
among Republicans, 69 percent of whom felt harsh rhetoric was not
related to the attack, while 19 percent thought it played a part.
Among Democrats 49 percent placed no
blame on the heated political tone against 42 percent who did. Among
independents the split was 56 percent to 33 percent, CBS said.
It said its poll of 673 adults had a
margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Community College drop out
VIDEO: Ariz. rampage suspect may
seek Unabomber lawyer
Associated Press
Article published Jan 10, 2011
PHOENIX (AP) — A 22-year-old
man described as a social outcast with wild beliefs steeped in mistrust
faces a federal court hearing on charges he tried to assassinate Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords in a Tucson shooting rampage that left six people
dead.
Public defenders are asking that the
attorney who defended Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Timothy McVeigh
and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski defend Jared Loughner, who makes his
first court appearance Monday at 2 p.m. MST (4 p.m. EST).
The hearing in Phoenix comes just a
few hours after President Barack Obama leads a shocked and saddened
nation in a moment of silence for the victims and their families. Obama
will observe the moment of silence at 11 a.m. EST with White House
staff on the South Lawn.
As authorities filed the charges
against Loughner Sunday, they alleged he scrawled on an envelope the
words "my assassination" and "Giffords" sometime before he took a cab
to a shopping center where the congresswoman was meeting with
constituents Saturday morning.
A federal judge, a congressional
aide and a young girl were among the six people killed, while Giffords
and 13 others were injured in the bursts of gunfire outside a Tucson
supermarket.
Giffords, 40, lay in intensive care
at a Tucson hospital, after being shot in the head at close range.
Doctors said she had responded repeatedly to commands to stick out her
two fingers, giving them hope she may survive.
About 200 people gathered outside
Giffords' Tucson office Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil. Earlier
in the day, people crammed the synagogue where Giffords has been a
member, as well as the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ, which lost one
member in the attack and saw another one wounded.
"I don't know how to grieve. This
morning I don't have the magic pill, I don't have the Scripture... I
can't wrap my head around this," said the church's Rev. Mike Nowak, his
strong preacher's voice wavering.
Authorities weren't saying late
Sunday where Loughner was being held, and officials were working to
appoint an attorney for him. Heather Williams, the first assistant
federal public defender in Arizona, said they're asking that San Diego
attorney Judy Clarke be appointed.
Clarke, a former federal public
defender in San Diego and Spokane, Wash., served on teams that defended
McVeigh, Kaczynski and Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman who drowned
her two sons in 1994.
Loughner is charged with one count
of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of
killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of
attempting to kill a federal employee. More charges are expected.
Discoveries at Loughner's home in
southern Arizona, where he lived with his parents in a middle-class
neighborhood lined with desert landscaping and palm trees, have
provided few answers to what motivated him.
Court papers filed with the charges
said he had previous contact with Giffords. The documents said he had
received a letter from the Democratic lawmaker in which she thanked him
for attending a "Congress on your Corner" event at a mall in Tucson in
2007.
Investigators carrying out a search
warrant at his parents' home in a middle-class neighborhood found an
envelope in a safe with the words "I planned ahead," ''My
assassination" and the name "Giffords" next to what appears to be his
signature.
Neighbors said Loughner kept to
himself and was often seen walking his dog, almost always wearing a
hooded sweat shirt and listening to his iPod.
Comments from friends and and former
classmates bolstered by Loughner's own Internet postings have painted a
picture of a social outcast with almost indecipherable beliefs steeped
in mistrust and paranoia.
"If you call me a terrorist then the
argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem," he wrote Dec. 15 in a
wide-ranging posting.
Two high school friends said they
had fallen out of touch with Loughner and last spoke to him around
March, when one of them was going to set up some bottles in the desert
for target practice and Loughner suggested he might come along. It was
unusual — Loughner hadn't expressed an interest in guns before — and
his increasingly confrontational behavior was pushing them apart. He
would send bizarre text messages, but also break off contact for weeks
on end.
"We just started getting sketched
out about him," the friend said.
Around the same time, Loughner's
behavior also began to worry officials at Pima Community College, where
Loughner began attending classes in 2005, the school said in a release.
Between February and September,
Loughner "had five contacts with PCC police for classroom and library
disruptions," the statement said. He was suspended in September after
college police discovered a YouTube video in which Loughner claimed the
college was illegal according to the U.S. Constitution.
He withdrew voluntarily the
following month, and was told he could return only if, among other
things, a mental health professional agreed he did not present a
danger, the school said.
Police said he purchased the Glock
pistol used in the attack at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson in
November.
An official familiar with the
shooting investigation said Sunday that local authorities were looking
at a possible connection between Loughner and an online group known for
white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric.
The official, who spoke on condition
of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said local
authorities were examining the American Renaissance website for
possible motives.
The group's leaders said in a
posting on their website that Loughner never subscribed to their
magazine, registered for any of the group's conferences or visited
their Internet site.
Giffords, a conservative Democrat
re-elected in November, faced threats and heckling over her support for
immigration reform and the health care overhaul. Her office was
vandalized the day the House approved the landmark health care measure.
It was not clear whether those
issues motivated the shooter to fire on the crowd gathered to meet
Giffords.
The six killed included U.S.
District Judge John Roll, 63, and 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green,
who was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and was featured in a book called
"Faces of Hope" that chronicled one baby from each state born on the
day terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people.
The author, Christine Naman, said:
"Tragedy seems to have happened again."
Green was recently elected as a
student council member and went to the morning's event because of her
interest in government.
Others killed were Giffords aide
Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and
Phyllis Schneck, 79.
In
the matter of the Virginia Tech disaster...
Twists Multiply in Alabama Shooting
Case
NYTIMES
By SHAILA DEWAN and KATIE ZEZIMA
February 15,
2010
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — On Friday, this
city of rocket scientists and brainy inventors was stunned when a
neuroscientist with a Harvard Ph.D. was arrested in the shooting deaths
of three of her colleagues after she was denied tenure.
But that was only the first surprise
in the tale of the neuroscientist, Amy Bishop, who was regarded as
fiercely intelligent and had seemed to have a promising career in
biotechnology. Every day since has produced a new revelation from Dr.
Bishop’s past, each more bizarre than the last.
On Saturday, the police in
Braintree, Mass., said that she had fatally shot her brother in 1986
and questioned whether the decision to dismiss the case as an accident
had been the right one.
On Sunday, a law enforcement
official in Boston said she and her husband, James Anderson, had been
questioned in a 1993 case in which a pipe bomb was sent to a colleague
of Dr. Bishop’s at Children’s Hospital Boston. The bomb did not go off, no one was ever
charged in the case, and no proof ever emerged connecting the couple to
the bomb plot. On
Sunday, Mr. Anderson firmly defended his wife in an interview at their
home in Huntsville, saying that she had been completely cleared in the
pipe bomb case and that her brother’s death had been accidental.
“That’s incorrect,” he said about
reports linking him and his wife to the bomb plot. “We were not
suspects. They questioned everybody that ever knew this guy.”
The target of the mail bomb was Dr.
Paul Rosenberg, according to The Boston Globe, which first reported
that the couple had been questioned in the case. After returning home
from a vacation, Dr. Rosenberg opened a package that contained two
6-inch pipe bombs connected to two nine-volt batteries, The Globe
reported. The doctor and his wife fled and called the police.
Officials said that Dr. Bishop was
concerned that Dr. Rosenberg would give her a negative evaluation on
her doctorate work, the newspaper wrote, and that they were concerned
about the incident involving her brother. The authorities in Boston
searched Dr. Bishop’s computer at the time and found a novel she was
working on about a scientist who killed her brother and atoned by
excelling at her work, The Globe reported.
Though he firmly protested his
wife’s innocence in the earlier cases, Mr. Anderson said he remained
mystified over Friday’s shootings, which left three professors dead and
three other people wounded after a faculty meeting at the University of
Alabama, Huntsville. Dr.
Bishop was charged with capital murder; three charges of attempted
murder were added on Sunday. Mr. Anderson said he did not know of any
specific incident that could have led to the shooting, and did not know
that his wife allegedly had a gun when she went to the meeting.
“I had no idea,” he said. “We don’t
own one.”
Those killed were Gopi Podila, 52,
the chairman of the biology department; Maria Ragland Davis, 50, a
professor who studied plant pathogens; and Adriel Johnson, 52, a cell
biologist who also taught Boy Scouts about science. Two of the wounded were Joseph Leahy, 50,
a microbiologist, and Stephanie Monticciolo, 62, a staff assistant,
both of whom were in critical condition. The third was Luis Cruz-Vera,
40, a molecular biologist, who was released from the hospital on
Saturday.
Mr. Anderson said that months ago,
the university administration overruled a successful appeal of the
decision to deny Dr. Bishop tenure in spring 2009.
“She won her appeal,” he said, “and
the provost canned it.”
The university has declined to
elaborate on the details of Dr. Bishop’s tenure application, saying
only that she was denied last spring and that she could stay at the
university only until the end of this academic year. Even if a faculty
member successfully appeals a tenure denial, the final decision rests
with the administration.
But Dr. Bishop had continued
to fight, appealing to two members of the University of Alabama
System’s Board of Trustees for help and hiring a lawyer, who was
“finding one problem after another with the process,” Mr. Anderson
said. One issue was a dispute over whether two of her papers had been
published in time to count toward tenure, he said.
“She exceeded the qualifications for
tenure,” Mr. Anderson said. “The review board said, ‘Grant it or go
through the process again.’ ”
Mr. Anderson said that his wife’s
research was generating millions of dollars for the university, that
she had published numerous papers and that she was a good teacher.
But that estimate of her financial
benefit to the university seems likely to be premature. One of her
innovations, an automated system for producing cell cultures that the
couple developed together, has attracted $1.25 million in financing but
has not yet reached the market. Another, a potential treatment for
degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, is in the process of being
licensed from the university. Typically, universities share the
proceeds from such licenses with the scientists responsible.
The police said Saturday that Dr.
Bishop was 45, but her birth date on a university Web site indicated
that she was 44.
Mr. Anderson said he could not gain
access to his wife’s e-mail account and did not know if she had
received any news that might have set off the shooting. The police, he
said, had taken a thick binder documenting her tenure battle, her
computer and the family van. At least one of the trustees had recently
told her that he could not help reverse the tenure decision, a family
friend said.
Mr. Anderson said he had already
told the Huntsville police that they might come across the Boston pipe
bomb incident during their investigation.
Sylvia Fluckiger, who worked as a
laboratory technician at Children’s Hospital when Dr. Bishop and Dr.
Rosenberg were working there, said Dr. Bishop had acknowledged that she
was questioned by the police about the pipe bomb incident.
“She was visited by the police,” Ms.
Fluckiger said. “What she said is they asked her if she had ever used a
stamp, taken it off an envelope and put it somewhere else.”
Ms. Fluckiger said Dr. Bishop “had a
smirk on her face” when asked about the incident. “I don’t know why she
was smirking,” she said. “It was a funny expression on her face.”
“We did know that there was a
dispute between Paul Rosenberg and her,” Ms. Fluckiger said, adding
that she could not recall the details.
On Saturday, the police in Braintree
said they were considering reopening the case of the shooting death of
her brother, Seth Bishop, 18. Although a state police report said
investigators determined that the shooting was an accident, Police
Chief Paul Frazier said other officers remember that it came after an
argument and questioned why local police documents could not be found.
On Sunday, Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan
of Braintree, a Boston suburb, issued a statement saying the town would
conduct a “full and thorough review” of its records for any material
relating to Seth Bishop’s death. But he noted that records from 1986
were created and maintained manually, which would complicate their
retrieval.
Standing at his door after church on
Sunday, Mr. Anderson confirmed the existence of the novel reported in
The Globe, as well as two others his wife worked on in her spare time.
The couple has four children, ranging from grade-school to college age.
Mr. Anderson said that somewhere in his files he had a letter sent by
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after the bomb
investigation, saying: “You are hereby cleared in this incident. You
are no longer a subject of the investigation.”
“This is one thing from the past I
hoped would not be dredged up,” he said.
Shaila Dewan
reported from Huntsville, and Katie Zezima from Boston.
Denied
tenure, kills three at Biology Dept. at U. of Alabama.
Accused Alabama prof shot, killed brother
in 1986
DAY
By KRISTIN M. HALL and DESIREE
HUNTER, Associated Press
Writer
Feb 13, 9:15 PM EST
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- The
professor accused of killing three colleagues during a faculty meeting
was a Harvard-educated neurobiologist, inventor and mother whose life
had been marred by a violent episode in her distant past.
More than two decades ago, police
said Amy Bishop fatally shot her teenage brother at their Massachusetts
home in what officers at the time logged as an accident - though
authorities said Saturday that records of the shooting are missing.
Bishop had just months left teaching
at the University of Alabama in Huntsville when police said she opened
fire with a handgun Friday in a room filled with a dozen of her
colleagues from the school's biology department. Bishop, a rare woman
suspected in a workplace shooting, was to leave after this semester
because she had been denied tenure.
Police say she is 42, but the
university's Web site lists her as 44.
Some have said she was upset after
being denied the job-for-life security afforded tenured academics, and
the husband of one victim and one of Bishop's students said they were
told the shooting stemmed from the school's refusal to grant her such
status. Authorities have refused to discuss a motive, and school
spokesman Ray Garner said the faculty meeting wasn't called to discuss
tenure.
William Setzer, chairman of
chemistry department at UAH, said Bishop was appealing the decision
made last year.
"Politics and personalities" always
play a role in the tenure process, he said. "In a close department it's
more so. If you have any lone wolves or bizarre personalities, it's a
problem and I'm thinking that certainly came into play here."
The three killed were Gopi K.
Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and two
other faculty members, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson. The
wounded were still recovering in hospitals early Saturday. Luis
Cruz-Vera was in fair condition; Joseph Leahy in critical condition;
and staffer Stephanie Monticciolo also was in critical condition.
Descriptions of Bishop from students
and colleagues were mixed. Some saw a strange woman who had difficulty
relating to her students, while others described a witty, intelligent
teacher.
Students and colleagues described
Bishop as intelligent, but someone who often had difficulty explaining
difficult concepts.
Bishop was well-known in the
research community, appearing on the cover of the winter 2009 issue of
"The Huntsville R&D Report," a local magazine focusing on
engineering, space and genetics. However, it was unclear how many of
her colleagues and students knew about a more tragic part of her past.
She shot her brother, an 18-year-old
accomplished violinist, in the chest in 1986, said Paul Frazier, the
police chief in Braintree, Mass., where the shooting occurred. Bishop
fired at least three shots, hitting her brother once and hitting her
bedroom wall before police took her into custody at gunpoint, he said.
Frazier said the police chief at the
time told officers to release Bishop to her mother before she could be
booked. It was logged as an accident.
But Frazier's account was disputed
by former police Chief John Polio, who told The Associated Press he
didn't call officers to tell them to release Bishop. "There's no
cover-up, no missing records," he said.
Attempts by AP to track down
addresses and phone numbers for Bishop's family in the Braintree area
weren't immediately successful Saturday. The current police chief said
he believed her family had moved away.
After being educated at Harvard
University, Bishop moved to Huntsville and in 2003 became an associate
professor at the University of Alabama's campus there. The school, with
about 7,500 students, has close ties with NASA and is known for its
engineering and science programs.
Setzer, the chemistry chairman, said
he was not aware of the incident with Bishop's brother.
Bishop and her husband placed third
in a statewide university business plan competition in July 2007,
presenting a portable cell incubator they had invented. They won
$25,000 to help start a company to market the device.
Her husband, James Anderson, was
detained and questioned by police but has not been charged. Police said
Bishop was quickly caught after Friday's shooting. A 9-millimeter
handgun was found in the bathroom of the building where the shootings
occurred, and Huntsville police spokesman Sgt. Mark Roberts said Bishop
did not have a permit for it.
Bishop was in custody and it wasn't
immediately known if she has an attorney. No one was home at the
couple's house.
Several experts said campus
shootings commonly occur because the shooter has some kind of festering
grievance that university officials haven't addressed, and the granting
of tenure can be a polarizing and politicized process for many
academics.
"Universities tend to string it out
without resolution, tolerate too much and to have a cumbersome decision
process that endangers the comfort of many and the safety of some,"
said Dr. Park Dietz, who is president of Threat Assessment Group Inc.,
a Newport Beach, Calif.-based violence prevention firm.
Tenure, which makes firing and other
discipline difficult if not impossible, can seem generous to outsiders.
But the job protection gives professors the freedom to express ideas
and conduct studies without fear of reprisal. The system typically
emphasizes research over teaching, and tenured professors typically are
paid more.
While it's rare for the stresses of
the tenure process to incur violence, what's even rarer is for a woman
to be accused in such an incident like the one Friday that also left
three of Bishop's colleagues injured, two critically.
"Workplace shootings of that kind
are overwhelmingly male," said Franklin E. Zimring, a law professor and
director of violence prevention at the University of California,
Berkeley. "Going postal was essentially a monopoly position of the XY
chromosome."
---
Associated Press Writers Jay Lindsay
in Braintree, Mass., and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles contributed to
this report.
© 2010 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect
YAHOO
By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, Associated Press Writer
November 6, 2009
WASHINGTON – His name appears on
radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his
deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He
required counseling as a medical student because of problems with
patients.
There are many unknowns about Nidal
Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass
killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive.
For six years before reporting for
duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at
the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry,
as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and
preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the
military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in
Bethesda, Md., in 2001.
While an intern at Walter Reed,
Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra
supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at
the time. Grieger said
privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the
problems had to do with Hasan's interactions with patients. He recalled
Hasan as a "mostly very quiet" person who never spoke ill of the
military or his country.
"He swore an oath of loyalty to the
military," Grieger said. "I didn't hear anything contrary to those
oaths."
But, more recently, federal agents
grew suspicious.
At least six months ago, Hasan came
to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet
postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that
equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade
to save the lives of their comrades. They had not determined for certain
whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation
had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials
who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to
discuss the case.
In an interview with The Washington
Post, Hasan's aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, Va., said he had been
harassed about being a Muslim in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terror attacks and he wanted out of the Army.
"Some people can take it and some
people cannot," she said. "He had listened to all of that and he wanted
out of the military."
She said he had sought a discharge
from the military for several years, and even offered to repay the cost
of his medical training.
A military official told The
Associated Press that Hasan was in the preparation stage of deployment,
which can take months. The official said Hasan had indicated he didn't
want to go to Iraq but was willing to serve in Afghanistan. The
official did not have authorization to discuss the matter publicly and
spoke on condition of anonymity.
A second military official said
Hasan's family has Palestinian roots. There have been reports that he
was harassed for his Muslim religion, but the official says there is no
indication Hasan filed a complaint within the military about
that. Terrorism task
force agents plan to interview several of Hasan's relatives Friday,
according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case.
Noel Hasan said her nephew "did not
make many friends" and would say "they military was his life."
A cousin, Nader Hasan, told The New
York Times that after counseling soldiers returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, Hasan knew war
firsthand.
"He was mortified by the idea of
having to deploy," Nader Hasan said. "He had people telling him on a
daily basis the horrors they saw over there."
Federal law-enforcement agents
ordered an evacuation of the apartment complex where Hasan lived in
Killeen, Texas, Thursday night and conducted a search of his home, said
Hilary Shine, director of public information for the city. She didn't
say what was found during the search. Officials said earlier that federal
search warrants were being drawn up to authorize the seizure of his
computer.
Retired Army Col. Terry Lee, who
said he worked with Hasan, told Fox News that Hasan had hoped President
Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Lee said
Hasan got into frequent arguments with others in the military who
supported the wars, and had tried hard to prevent his pending
deployment. Hasan
attended prayers regularly when he lived outside Washington, often in
his Army uniform, said Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan
attended in Silver Spring, Md. He said Hasan was a lifelong Muslim.
"I got the impression that he was a
committed soldier," Khan said. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan's
desire for a wife.
On a form filled out by those
seeking spouses through a program at the mosque, Hasan listed his
birthplace as Arlington, Va., but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan
said.
"I don't know why he listed
Palestinian," Khan said, "He was not born in Palestine."
Nothing stood out about Hasan as
radical or extremist, Khan said.
"We hardly ever got to discussing
politics," Khan said. "Mostly we were discussing religious matters,
nothing too controversial, nothing like an extremist."
Hasan earned his rank of major in
April 2008, according to a July 2008 Army Times article. He served eight years as an enlisted
soldier.
He also served in the ROTC as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg. He received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry there in
1997.
New Tech Gunman Records Fail to Predict Bloodshed
NYTIMES
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 19, 2009 (Filed
at 5:53 p.m. ET)
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) -- Recently
discovered mental health records released on Wednesday contain no
obvious indications that the Virginia Tech gunman was a year and a half
away from committing the worst mass shootings in modern U.S. history.
The records contain previously
unseen handwritten notes from the counselors who talked to Seung-Hui
Cho in 2005, and in one report Cho denied having any suicidal or
homicidal thoughts. On April 16, 2007, Cho killed 32 students and
faculty members on the Blacksburg, Va., campus and took his own
life. The counselors'
notes indicate they were concerned for the troubled student, but the
records don't contain any evidence that they saw serious warning signs
to believe Cho would commit violence.
The missing files were released
almost five weeks after they were discovered at the home of the former
director of the university's counseling center.
University officials have said Cho
talked to two different therapists during 45-minute telephone triage
sessions in the fall, then made one court-ordered 45-minute in-person
visit that December. Cho
denied the homicidal thoughts in the telephone sessions and in the
in-person meeting with counselor Sherry Lynch Conrad on Dec. 14, 2005.
Cho met with Conrad at Cook Counseling Center after being detained in a
mental hospital overnight because he had expressed thoughts of suicide.
''He denies suicidal and/or
homicidal thoughts. Said the comment he made was a joke. Says he has no
reason to harm self and would never do it,'' Conrad wrote.
That was Cho's last contact with the
counseling center. The counselor wrote that she gave him emergency
contact numbers and encouraged him to return the next semester in
January, but he didn't make an appointment. Edward J. McNelis, an attorney for Conrad
and the counselors who spoke with Cho by phone, said he had advised
them not to comment because they are named in civil lawsuits filed by
two of the victims' families.
A telephone message left for Conrad
was not immediately returned.
The files first turned up July 16,
when former Cook Counseling Center director Robert C. Miller found them
in his home while preparing for those civil suits, which name him as a
defendant. Miller said
in a court filing that the Cho records were in a manila folder along
with several others, and he packed it up with his personal documents in
late February or early March 2006 when he transferred from the center
to another position at the university. The files were released by Virginia Tech
following the approval of Cho's family. It was their decision whether
to release them because of privacy laws.
''My mother, father and I all agree
that it is the correct thing to do to release the newly discovered
medical records of my brother,'' Cho's sister, Sun Cho, said in a
letter authorizing the release.
University spokesman Mark Owczarski
said with the release of the records the school was seeking to provide
the victims' families ''with as much information as is known about
Cho's interactions with the mental health system.''
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said
in a statement he was pleased that the Cho family wanted the records
released and that his administration remained committed to openness
about events surrounding the mass shootings.
''We will never fully comprehend
what led Seung-Hui Cho to carry out his assault on his fellow students
and instructors,'' Kaine said. ''His actions were by nature
inexplicable, and I don't expect the questions surrounding the tragedy
will ever really end.''
Robert Hall, attorney for the
families who have sued, noted that the file contained no mention of
discussions former English Department Chairwoman Lucinda Roy had with
Miller about Cho. She consulted the counseling center director when she
was trying to tutor Cho that fall after his disturbing writings and
bizarre behavior got him kicked out of class.
''It's like there are parallel
universes,'' he said, one in which the faculty is concerned and tries
to get help for a seriously disturbed student and another in which the
school therapists appeared to know little about Cho's troubles.
Relatives of victims said the files
showed that Cho slipped through the cracks despite red flags.
''They definitely weren't paying
attention, and that's what led to April 16th,'' said Suzanne Grimes,
whose son Kevin was wounded but survived.
''It just sounded like he was going
through a McDonald's,'' said Michael Pohle, whose son Michael Pohle Jr.
was killed. ''It just looked like he was passed through from one person
to another person and there was no collaboration going on.''
Lori Haas, whose daughter Emily Haas
was injured, said she was more concerned about the circumstances under
which the records were found more than two years after the shootings.
''I'm just suspicious of the manner
in which information has been dribbled out,'' she said.
Roger O'Dell, whose son Derek O'Dell
was injured, said he hoped the records could be helpful in altering
treatment of troubled individuals.
''There are lessons to be learned,''
he said.
------
Associated Press
Writer Steve Szkotak in Richmond contributed to this report.
Va. Tech Families
Want Shooting Probe Reopened
NYTIMES
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July
28, 2009, Filed
at 11:22 a.m. ET
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) -- Families of the
Virginia Tech shooting victims asked Gov. Tim Kaine on Tuesday to
reopen a state commission's investigation of the 2007 mass killings in
which 32 people died.
A group of parents of many of those
killed and injured in the rampage by student gunman Seung-Hui Cho
issued a statement urging Kaine to reopen the review because of
inaccuracies in the report.
The families' statement followed
disclosure last week that the former director of the university's
counseling center recently found missing mental health records for Cho
at his home.
Cho committed suicide after killing
students and faculty members in a dormitory and classroom building on
the Blacksburg campus on April 16, 2007 -- the worst mass shootings in
modern U.S. history.
''We still suffer emotional pain
dealing with the impenetrable layers of bureaucracy in our simple quest
for answers,'' the statement said. ''An accurate, complete and thorough
accounting of what happened before, during and after April 16th, 2007
is the legacy we seek on behalf of those who died and those who
survived.''
The families said they want more
information about the discovery of Cho's records at the home of Dr.
Robert C. Miller. Miller has said he inadvertently took the files as he
left his job as director of Cook Counseling Center more than a year
before the shootings.
Kaine said in response to a caller's
question on his monthly radio show on Washington's WTOP that the
professional staff who investigated and wrote the Virginia Tech Review
Panel report is already investigating Miller's possession of Cho's
records.
Reconvening the appointed members of
the panel, including former State Police Superintendent Gerald
Massengill and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, would be a
problem because all were volunteer members when they served.
''These records are critical. They
never should have been removed from the counseling center. I want to
know why,'' Kaine said.
Suzanne Grimes, whose son Kevin
Sterne was wounded but survived, said she and other family members who
have conducted their own investigation of the events of that day have
found other errors in the report.
''With the revelation that Dr.
Miller has discovered the missing records, it just raises whole new
questions of what else is out there that we're unaware of,'' she said.
The review panel issued its report
four months after the shootings, in August of 2007. A separate criminal
investigation into the shootings is ongoing. A telephone message left for Massengill
was not immediately returned.
Va. Tech Gunman’s
Mental Health Records Found
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:08 p.m. ET
July 22, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Mental health
records for Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho that were missing for
more than two years have been discovered in the home of the university
clinic's former director, according to a state memo sent to victims'
family members.
Cho killed 32 people on April 16,
2007, then committed suicide as police closed in. His mental health
treatment has been a major issue in the vast investigation of the
shootings, yet the records' location had eluded authorities until they
were uncovered by attorneys for some families of Cho's victims.
A memo from Gov. Tim Kaine's chief
legal counsel to victims' family members says Cho's records and those
of several other Virginia Tech students were found last week in the
home of Dr. Robert C. Miller. The memo was obtained by The Associated
Press on Wednesday.
The memo said Cho's records were
removed from the Cook Counseling Center on the Virginia Tech campus
more than a year before the shootings, when Miller transferred from his
position at the clinic. Records for several other students were also at
his home, the memo said.
''I appreciate your call, but I'm
not making comment at this time,'' Miller said when reached at a number
for his private practice.
Kaine said a Virginia State Police
criminal investigation was under way into how the records disappeared
from the center where Cho was ordered to undergo counseling. Removing
records from the center is illegal, he said. Kaine said he was dismayed that it took
two years before they were found by the attorneys.
''That is part of the investigation
that I am very interested in and, of course, I'm very concerned about
that,'' Kaine said.
The medical records are protected
under state privacy laws. The state planned to release the records
publicly as soon as possible, either by consent from Cho's estate or
through a subpoena. The
discovery calls into question the thoroughness of the criminal probe
two years ago and the findings of a commission Kaine appointed to
review the catastrophe, one victim's relative said.
''Deception comes to my mind in my
first response,'' said Suzanne Grimes, whose son Kevin Sterne was
injured in the shootings.
''To say it doesn't make sense is an
injustice,'' she said. ''It gives me the impression: 'What else are
they hiding?'''
She praised Kaine's willingness to
investigate the disappearance of the records and have them released.
''Until we get all the answers to
what happened on that day and days prior, there's no sense of
closure,'' Grimes said.
Andrew Goddard, whose son, Colin,
survived four gunshots, welcomed the new information.
''We're not looking to hang people.
We're looking for more of the truth about what happened,'' he said.
While a large part of the shooting
investigation focused on how university officials and law enforcement
responded following the first reports of deaths in a Virginia Tech
dormitory, family members of victims have also inquired how the
troubled Cho slipped through the cracks at university counseling.
In April, on the second anniversary
of the shootings, families of two slain students sued the state, the
school and its counseling center, several top university officials and
a local mental health agency, claiming gross negligence in the chain of
events that allowed Cho to commit his killing spree. The lawsuits also claim the local health
center where Cho had gone to say he felt suicidal did not adequately
treat or monitor him.
The discovery shakes up that
lawsuit, an attorney for the two families said.
''Why would he (Miller) take any
student mental health records to his home at any time, and why that
student?'' Robert T. Hall said.
''It certainly is a question of
whether there is more to the Seung-Hui Cho mental health history than
we've been told,'' Hall said in a telephone interview from vacation in
Vermont.
Goddard, who was appointed last year
to the state board of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance
Abuse Services, said he wasn't sure how helpful the records would be.
But he said if they showed Cho was
''anything other than this mildly upset student,'' that needed to come
out.
Internet
Key in Probe of Va. Tech Gunman
Hartford Courant
By ADAM GELLER and CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press Writers
6:20 AM EDT, April 22, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Computer forensics are playing a key
role in the probe of the Virginia Tech gunman, with investigators
revealing he bought ammunition clips on eBay designed for one of two
handguns used to kill 32 people and himself.
The eBay account and other Internet activities provided insight
Saturday into how Seung-Hui Cho may have plotted for the rampage,
including the purchase of two empty ammo clips about three weeks before
the attack.
EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said the purchase of the clips from a Web
vendor based in Idaho was legal and that the company has cooperated
with authorities. Attempts to reach the Idaho dealer were unsuccessful.
"Within 24 hours, after Cho's identity was made public, we had reached
out to law enforcement to offer our assistance in any investigation,"
Durzy said.
Authorities are also examining the personal computers found in Cho's
dorm room and seeking his cell-phone records.
Cho, 23, also used the eBay account to sell items ranging from Hokies
football tickets to horror-themed books, some of which were assigned in
one of his classes.
A search warrant affidavit filed Friday stated that investigators
wanted to search Cho's e-mail accounts, including the address
Blazers5505@hotmail.com. Durzy confirmed Cho used the same blazers5505
handle on eBay.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said investigators are
"aware of the eBay activity that mirrors" the Hotmail account.
One question investigators hope to answer is whether Cho had any e-mail
contact with Emily Hilscher, one of the first two victims.
Investigators plan to search her Virginia Tech e-mail account.
Experts say that when the subject of an investigation is a loner like
Cho, his computers and cell phone can be a rich source of information.
Authorities say Cho had a history of sending menacing text messages and
other communications -- written and electronic.
On March 22, Cho bought two 10-round magazines for the Walther P22. A
day later, he made a purchase from a vendor named "oneclickshooting,"
which sells gun accessories and other items. Details on the purchase
were unclear, and the seller could not be reached for comment.
Cho sold tickets to Virginia Tech sporting events, including last
year's Peach Bowl. He sold a Texas Instruments graphics calculator that
contained several games, most of them with mild themes.
"The calculator was used for less than one semester then I dropped the
class," Cho wrote on the site.
He also sold many books about violence, death and mayhem. Several of
those books were used in his English classes, meaning Cho simply could
have been selling used books at the end of the semester.
His eBay rating was superb -- 98.5 percent. That means he received one
negative rating from people he dealt with on eBay, compared with 65
positive.
"great ebayer. very flexible," the buyer said of his Chick-fil-A Peach
Bowl tickets, which went for $182.50.
Andy Koch, Cho's roommate from 2005-06, said he never saw Cho receive
or send a package, although he didn't have much interaction with the
shooter. Students can sign up for a free lottery on a game-by-game
basis, and the tickets are free.
"We took him to one football game," he said. "We told him to sign up
for the lottery, and he went and he left like in the third quarter, and
that was it. He never went again. He never went to another game."
Cho sold the books on the eBay-affiliated site half.com. They include
"Men, Women, and Chainsaws" by Carol J. Clover, a book that explores
gender in the modern horror film. Others include "The Best of H.P.
Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre"; and "The
Female of the Species: Tales of Mystery and Suspense" by Joyce Carol
Oates -- a book in which the publisher writes: "In these and other
gripping and disturbing tales, women are confronted by the evil around
them and surprised by the evil they find within themselves."
Books by those three authors were taught in his Contemporary Horror
class.
Experts say things like eBay transactions can be hugely valuable in
trying to figure out the motivation behind crimes.
An examination of a computer is "very revealing, particularly for a
person like this," said Mark Rasch of FTI Consulting, a computer and
electronic investigation firm. "What we find ... particularly with
people who are very uncommunicative in person, is that they may be much
more communicative and free to express themselves with the anonymity
that computers and the Internet give you."
Cho's computer could hold a record of just about anything he has done,
even of activities or communications he may have tried to erase. But
Rasch said that likely will not be a problem, noting the way the gunman
created a record of his thinking in videos, photos and documents.
"This guy wanted to leave a trail. He wasn't trying to conceal what he
did," Rasch said.
AP:
Va. gunman's family feels hopeless
By ALLEN G. BREED and AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer
April 20, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The family of Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho told
The Associated Press on Friday that they feel "hopeless, helpless and
lost," and "never could have envisioned that he was capable of so much
violence."
"He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare," said a
statement issued by Cho's sister, Sun-Kyung Cho, on the family's behalf.
It was the Chos' first public comment since the 23-year-old student
killed 32 people and committed suicide Monday in the deadliest shooting
rampage in modern U.S. history.
Raleigh, N.C., lawyer Wade Smith provided the statement to the AP after
the Cho family reached out to him. Smith said the family would not
answer any questions, and neither would he.
"Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions. It
is a terrible tragedy for all of us," said Sun-Kyung Cho, a 2004
Princeton University graduate who works as a contractor for a State
Department office that oversees American aid
for Iraq.
"We pray for their families and loved ones who are experiencing so much
excruciating grief. And we pray for those who were injured and for
those whose lives are changed forever because of what they witnessed
and experienced," she said. "Each of these people had so much love,
talent and gifts to offer, and their lives were cut short by a horrible
and senseless act."
The Chos' whereabouts are unclear. But Virginia State Police said they
are under law enforcement protection.
The statement was issued during a statewide day of mourning for the
victims. Silence fell across the Virginia Tech campus at noon and bells
tolled in churches nationwide in memory of the victims.
"We are humbled by this darkness. We feel hopeless, helpless and lost.
This is someone that I grew up with and loved. Now I feel like I didn't
know this person," Cho's sister said. "We have always been a close,
peaceful and loving family. My brother was quiet and reserved, yet
struggled to fit in. We never could have envisioned that he was capable
of so much violence."
She said her family will cooperate fully and "do whatever we can to
help authorities understand why these senseless acts happened. We have
many unanswered questions as well."
Wendy Adams, whose niece, Leslie Sherman, was killed in the massacre,
said of the family's statement: "I'm not so generous to be able to
forgive him for what he did. But I do feel for the family. I do feel
sorry for them."
"I do believe they're living a nightmare," she added.
Robert Jeffers of Idaho Falls, Idaho, a friend of slain 25-year-old
student Brian R. Bluhm, said: "I hope people can see that the right
action to take from all of this is love, not hate."
"Based on this sorrowful statement, it is apparent that the family
grieves with everyone in the world," Virginia Tech spokesman Larry
Hincker said.
Cho's name was given as "Cho Seung-Hui" by police and school officials
earlier this week. But the the South Korean immigrant family said their
preference was "Seung-Hui Cho." Many Asian immigrant families
Americanize their names by reversing them and putting their surnames
last.
While Cho clearly was seething and had been taken to a psychiatric
hospital more than a year as threat to himself, investigators are still
trying to establish exactly what set him off, why he chose a dormitory
and a classroom building for the rampage, and how he selected his
victims.
"The why and the how are the crux of the investigation," Virginia State
Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. "The why may never be
determined because the person responsible is deceased."
During the campus memorial, hundreds of somber students and area
residents, most wearing the school's maroon and orange, stood with
heads bowed on the parade ground in front of Norris Hall, the
classrooom building where all but two of the victims died. Along with
the bouquets and candles was a sign reading, "Never forgotten."
"It's good to feel the love of people around you," said Alice Lo, a
Virginia Tech graduate and friend of Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, a French
instructor killed in the rampage. "With this evil, there is still
goodness."
The mourners gathered in front of stone memorials, each adorned with a
basket of tulips and an American flag. There were 33 stones — one for
each victim and Cho.
"His family is suffering just as much as the other families," said
Elizabeth Lineberry, who will be a freshman at Virginia Tech in the
fall.
President Bush wore an orange and
maroon tie in a show of support. The White House said he also asked top
officials at the Justice, Health and Human Services and Education
Departments to travel the country, talk to educators, mental health
experts and others, and compile a report on how to prevent similar
tragedies.
Seven people hurt in the rampage remained hospitalized, at least one in
serious condition.
Va.
Tech stunned by images of gunman
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
April 19, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Two days after the worst killing spree in modern U.S.
history, videos and photographs of an armed Cho Seung-Hui stunned the
university community where he killed 32 people before committing
suicide Monday.
In the photos and recordings mailed to NBC midway through his rampage,
23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui delivered a snarling, profanity-laced tirade
about rich "brats" and their "hedonistic needs."
"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today," he
says in a harsh monotone. "But you decided to spill my blood. You
forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was
yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off."
NBC said the package contained a rambling and often incoherent 23-page
written statement, 28 video clips and 43 photos. Several of the photos
showed him aiming handguns at the camera.
The package arrived at NBC headquarters in New York on Tuesday and was
opened Wednesday. It bore a Postal Service time stamp showing that it
had been mailed at a Blacksburg post office at 9:01 a.m. Monday, about
an hour and 45 minutes after Cho first opened fire.
"I saw his picture on TV and when I did I just got chills," said Kristy
Venning, a junior from Franklin County, Va. "There's really no words.
It shows he put so much thought into this and I think it's sick."
The package helped explain one of the biggest mysteries about the
massacre: where the gunman was and what he did during that two-hour
window between the first burst of gunfire, at a high-rise dorm, and the
second attack, at a classroom building.
"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats," says Cho, a South Korean
immigrant whose parents work at a dry cleaners in suburban Washington.
"Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds
wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your
debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your
hedonistic needs. You had everything."
Earlier in the day, authorities disclosed that more than a year before
the massacre, Cho was accused of sending unwanted messages to two women
and was taken to a psychiatric hospital on a magistrate's orders and
was pronounced a danger to himself. But he was released with orders to
undergo outpatient treatment.
The disclosure added to the rapidly growing list of warning signs that
appeared well before the student opened fire. Among other things, Cho's
twisted, violence-filled writings and sullen, vacant-eyed demeanor had
disturbed professors and students so much that he was removed from one
English class and was repeatedly urged to get counseling.
Some of the pictures in the video package show him smiling; others show
him frowning and snarling. Some depict him brandishing two weapons at a
time, one in each hand. He wears a khaki-colored military-style vest,
fingerless gloves, a black T-shirt, a backpack and a backward, black
baseball cap. Another photo shows him swinging a hammer two-fisted.
Another shows an angry-looking Cho holding a gun to his temple.
He refers to "martyrs like Eric and Dylan" — a reference to the teenage
killers in the Columbine High School massacre.
NBC News President Steve Capus said the package arrived in Tuesday
afternoon's mail, but was not opened until Wednesday morning. It was
sent by overnight delivery and apparently had the wrong ZIP code, NBC
said.
An alert postal employee brought the package to NBC's attention after
noticing the Blacksburg return address and a name similar to the words
reportedly found scrawled in red ink on Cho's arm after the bloodbath,
"Ismail Ax," NBC said.
Capus said that the network notified
the FBI around noon, but held
off reporting on it at the FBI's request, so that the bureau could look
at it first. NBC finally broke the story just before police announced
the development at 4:30 p.m.
It was clear Cho videotaped himself, Capus said, because he could be
seen leaning in to shut off the camera.
State Police Spokeswoman Corinne Geller cautioned that, while the
package was mailed between the two shootings, police have not inspected
the footage and have yet to establish exactly when the images were made.
Cho repeatedly suggests he was picked on or otherwise hurt.
"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my
conscience," he says, apparently reading from his manifesto. "You
thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks
to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and
the defenseless people."
A law enforcement official said Cho's letter also refers in the same
sentence to President Bush
and John Mark Karr, who falsely confessed last year to having killed
child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. The official spoke on condition of
anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities disclosed that in November and December
2005, two women complained to campus police that they had received
calls and computer messages from Cho. But the women considered the
messages "annoying," not threatening, and neither pressed charges,
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said.
Neither woman was among the victims in the massacre, police said.
After the second complaint about Cho's behavior, the university
obtained a temporary detention order and took Cho away because an
acquaintance reported he might be suicidal, authorities said. Police
did not identify the acquaintance.
On Dec. 13, 2005, a magistrate ordered Cho to undergo an evaluation at
Carilion St. Albans, a private psychiatric hospital. The magistrate
signed the order after an initial evaluation found probable cause that
Cho was a danger to himself or others as a result of mental illness.
The next day, according to court records, doctors at Carilion conducted
further examination and a special justice, Paul M. Barnett, approved
outpatient treatment.
A medical examination conducted Dec. 14 reported that that Cho's
"affect is flat. ... He denies suicidal ideations. He does not
acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment
are normal."
The court papers indicate that Barnett checked a box that said Cho
"presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness."
Barnett did not check the box that would indicate a danger to others.
It is unclear how long Cho stayed at Carilion, though court papers
indicate he was free to leave as of Dec. 14. Virginia Tech spokesman
Larry Hincker said Cho had been continually enrolled at Tech and never
took a leave of absence.
A spokesman for Carilion St. Albans would not comment.
Though the incidents with the two women did not result in criminal
charges, police referred Cho to the university's disciplinary system,
Flinchum said. But Ed Spencer, assistant vice president of student
affairs, would not comment on any disciplinary proceedings, saying
federal law protects students' medical privacy even after death.
Some students refused to second-guess the university.
"Who would've woken up in the morning and said, `Maybe this student
who's just troubled is really going to do something this horrific?'"
said Elizabeth Hart, a communications major and a spokeswoman for the
student government.
One of the first Virginia Tech officials to recognize Cho's problems
was award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni, who kicked him out of her
introduction to creative writing class in late 2005.
Students in Giovanni's class had told their professor that Cho was
taking photographs of their legs and knees under the desks with his
cell phone. Female students refused to come to class. She said she
considered him "mean" and "a bully."
Lucinda Roy, professor of English at Virginia Tech, said that she, too,
relayed her concerns to campus police and various other college units
after Cho displayed antisocial behavior in her class and handed in
disturbing writing assignments.
But she said authorities "hit a wall" in terms of what they could do
"with a student on campus unless he'd made a very overt threat to
himself or others." Cho resisted her repeated suggestion that he
undergo counseling, Roy said.
Questions lingered over whether campus police should have issued an
immediate campus-wide warning of a killer on the loose and locked down
the campus after the first burst of gunfire.
Police said that after the first shooting, in which two students were
killed, they believed that it was a domestic dispute, and that the
gunman had fled the campus. Police went looking for a young man, Karl
David Thornhill, who had once shot guns at a firing range with the
roommate of one of the victims. But police said Thornhill is no longer
under suspicion.
___
Associated Press writers Allen G.
Breed, Vicki Smith, Sue Lindsey and Justin Pope in Blacksburg, Va.,
Matt Barakat in Richmond, Va., Colleen Long and Tom Hays in New York,
and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.
Va. gunman sent
videos and photos to NBC
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
April 18, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Midway through his murderous rampage, the Virginia
Tech gunman went to the post office and mailed NBC a package containing
photos and videos of him brandishing guns and delivering a snarling,
profanity-laced tirade about rich "brats" and their "hedonistic needs."
"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today,"
23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui says in a harsh monotone. "But you decided to
spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one
option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that
will never wash off."
NBC said the package contained a rambling and often incoherent 23-page
written statement, 28 video clips and 43 photos. Several of the photos
showed him aiming handguns at the camera.
The package arrived at NBC headquarters in New York on Tuesday and was
opened Wednesday, two days after Cho killed 32 people and committed
suicide in the deadliest one-man shooting rampage in modern U.S.
history. It bore a Postal Service time stamp showing that it had been
mailed at a Blacksburg post office at 9:01 a.m. Monday, about an hour
and 45 minutes after Cho first opened fire.
That would help explain one of the biggest mysteries about the
massacre: where the gunman was and what he did during that two-hour
window between the first burst of gunfire, at a high-rise dorm, and the
second fusillade, at a classroom building.
"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats," says Cho, a South Korean
immigrant whose parents work at a dry cleaners in suburban Washington.
"Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds
wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your
debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your
hedonistic needs. You had everything."
Earlier in the day, authorities disclosed that more than a year before
the massacre, Cho was accused of sending unwanted messages to two women
and was taken to a psychiatric hospital on a magistrate's orders and
was pronounced a danger to himself. But he was released with orders to
undergo outpatient treatment.
The disclosure added to the rapidly growing list of warning signs that
appeared well before the student opened fire. Among other things, Cho's
twisted, violence-filled writings and sullen, vacant-eyed demeanor had
disturbed professors and students so much that he was removed from one
English class and was repeatedly urged to get counseling.
Some of the pictures in the video package show him smiling; others show
him frowning and snarling. Some depict him brandishing two weapons at a
time, one in each hand. He wears a khaki-colored military-style vest,
fingerless gloves, a black T-shirt, a backpack and a backward, black
baseball cap. Another photo shows him swinging a hammer two-fisted.
Another shows an angry-looking Cho holding a gun to his temple.
He refers to "martyrs like Eric and Dylan" — a reference to the teenage
killers in the Columbine High massacre.
NBC News President Steve Capus said the package arrived in Tuesday
afternoon's mail, but was not opened until Wednesday morning. It was
sent by overnight delivery and apparently had the wrong ZIP code, NBC
said.
An alert postal employee brought the package to NBC's attention after
noticing the Blacksburg return address and a name similar to the words
reportedly found scrawled in red ink on Cho's arm after the bloodbath,
"Ismail Ax," NBC said.
Capus said that the network notified
the FBI around noon, but held
off reporting on it at the FBI's request, so that the bureau could look
at it first. NBC finally broke the story just before police announced
the development at 4:30 p.m.
It was clear Cho videotaped himself, Capus said, because he could be
seen leaning in to shut off the camera.
State Police Spokeswoman Corinne Geller cautioned that, while the
package was mailed between the two shootings, police have not inspected
the footage and have yet to establish exactly when the images were made.
Cho repeatedly suggests he was picked on or otherwise hurt.
"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my
conscience," he says, apparently reading from his manifesto. "You
thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks
to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and
the defenseless people."
A law enforcement official said Cho's letter also refers in the same
sentence to President Bush
and John Mark Karr, who falsely confessed last year to having killed
child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. The official spoke on condition of
anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities disclosed that in November and December
2005, two women complained to campus police that they had received
calls and computer messages from Cho. But the women considered the
messages "annoying," not threatening, and neither pressed charges,
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said.
Neither woman was among the victims in the massacre, police said.
After the second complaint about Cho's behavior, the university
obtained a temporary detention order and took Cho away because an
acquaintance reported he might be suicidal, authorities said. Police
did not identify the acquaintance.
On Dec. 13, 2005, a magistrate ordered Cho to undergo an evaluation at
Carilion St. Albans, a private psychiatric hospital. The magistrate
signed the order after an initial evaluation found probable cause that
Cho was a danger to himself or others as a result of mental illness.
The next day, according to court records, doctors at Carilion conducted
further examination and a special justice, Paul M. Barnett, approved
outpatient treatment.
A medical examination conducted Dec. 14 reported that that Cho's
"affect is flat. ... He denies suicidal ideations. He does not
acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment
are normal."
The court papers indicate that Barnett checked a box that said Cho
"presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness."
Barnett did not check the box that would indicate a danger to others.
It is unclear how long Cho stayed at Carilion, though court papers
indicate he was free to leave as of Dec. 14. Virginia Tech spokesman
Larry Hincker said Cho had been continually enrolled at Tech and never
took a leave of absence.
A spokesman for Carilion St. Albans would not comment.
Though the incidents with the two women did not result in criminal
charges, police referred Cho to the university's disciplinary system,
Flinchum said. But Ed Spencer, assistant vice president of student
affairs, would not comment on any disciplinary proceedings, saying
federal law protects students' medical privacy even after death.
Some students refused to second-guess the university.
"Who would've woken up in the morning and said, `Maybe this student
who's just troubled is really going to do something this horrific?'"
said Elizabeth Hart, a communications major and a spokeswoman for the
student government.
One of the first Virginia Tech officials to recognize Cho's problems
was award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni, who kicked him out of her
introduction to creative writing class in late 2005.
Students in Giovanni's class had told their professor that Cho was
taking photographs of their legs and knees under the desks with his
cell phone. Female students refused to come to class. She said she
considered him "mean" and "a bully."
Lucinda Roy, professor of English at Virginia Tech, said that she, too,
relayed her concerns to campus police and various other college units
after Cho displayed antisocial behavior in her class and handed in
disturbing writing assignments.
But she said authorities "hit a wall" in terms of what they could do
"with a student on campus unless he'd made a very overt threat to
himself or others." Cho resisted her repeated suggestion that he
undergo counseling, Roy said.
Questions lingered over whether campus police should have issued an
immediate campus-wide warning of a killer on the loose and locked down
the campus after the first burst of gunfire.
Police said that after the first shooting, in which two students were
killed, they believed that it was a domestic dispute, and that the
gunman had fled the campus. Police went looking for a young man, Karl
David Thornhill, who had once shot guns at a firing range with the
roommate of one of the victims. But police said Thornhill is no longer
under suspicion.
Va.
Tech gunman had mental
problems: police
By Andrea Hopkins and Patricia Zengerle
April 18, 2007 12 noon
BLACKSBURG, Virginia (Reuters) - The gunman who went on a rampage at
Virginia Tech had been confronted by university police in 2005 over
complaints he was bothering women students and was sent to a mental
health facility because of worries he was suicidal, police said on
Wednesday.
The new details added to a chilling portrait of Cho Seung-Hui, a
23-year-old South Korean student who massacred 32 people and then took
his own life at the university on Monday in the deadliest shooting
spree in modern U.S. history. Fellow students and teachers have
described a troubled loner whose writings for his English degree were
so laced with violence and disillusionment that they alarmed some of
those around him.
University Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said his officers
approached Cho in late 2005 when two women students complained of
"annoying" phone calls and instant messages from him.
"I'm not saying they were threats; I'm saying they were annoying.
That's the way the victims characterized them, as annoying messages,"
Flinchum told a news conference.
After the second incident Cho's roommate told police he "might be
suicidal," prompting them to issue a "temporary detention order" and
send him to a mental health facility for evaluation, Flinchum
said. Authorities would not say how long Cho was evaluated.
"We did not have any contact with him after December 2005 that I'm
aware of at this time," Flinchum said.
Cho, who immigrated to the United States 15 years ago with his family
and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., chained doors closed to
prevent escape and worked his way through classrooms, shooting his
victims one by one. He later killed himself. Virginia Gov. Tim
Kaine said he would appoint W. Gerald Massengill, who headed the
Virginia State Police during the September 11 attacks and the killing
spree of a sniper pair in 2002, to head a panel to review the
university's response to the shootings. The review had been requested
by the university.
Neighbors, roommates and teachers described Cho as a withdrawn person
who rarely spoke. Two students who said they were Cho's roommates said
he had harassed several female students and once told them he wanted to
kill himself, which prompted the roommates to report their concerns to
the police. Cho used two handguns, which police confirmed he had
purchased legally, and stopped only to reload. Police have stopped
short of saying he was responsible for the shooting deaths of two other
people two hours earlier at a dormitory but said tests showed the same
gun was used in both incidents.
In His Words
And His Silence, Hints Of Anger And Isolation
Cho's
eruption of violence, in which 32 victims and himself were killed on
the Virginia Tech campus here in a rampage of gunfire, was never
directly signaled by his actions or words, several of his acquaintances
said Tuesday. But those acquaintances were frequently disturbed by his
isolation from the world and his barely concealed anger.
By Manny Fernandez , Marc Santora , New York Times News
Service
Published on 4/18/2007
Blacksburg, Va. — Cho Seung-Hui rarely spoke to his own dormitory
roommate. His teachers were so disturbed by some of his writing that
they referred him to counseling. And when Cho finally and horrifyingly
came to the world's attention on Monday, he did so after writing a note
that bitterly lashed out at his fellow students for what he deemed
their moral decline.
Cho's eruption of violence, in which 32 victims and himself were killed
on the Virginia Tech campus here in a rampage of gunfire, was never
directly signaled by his actions or words, several of his acquaintances
said Tuesday. But those acquaintances were frequently disturbed by his
isolation from the world and his barely concealed anger.
Joe Aust, who shared Room 2121 at Harper Hall with him, said he had
spoken to Cho often but had received only one-word replies. Later, Aust
said, Cho stopped talking to him entirely. Aust would sometimes enter
the room and find Cho sitting at his desk, staring into nothingness.
“He was always really, really quiet and kind of weird, keeping to
himself all the time,” said Aust, a 19-year-old sophomore, who, though
finding Cho strange, had not thought him menacing.
Yet there were signs that Cho's behavior was more than just bizarre.
Lucinda Roy, who taught Cho in a poetry workshop in the fall of 2005,
said that in October of that year he submitted a piece of writing that
was so disturbing that she contacted the campus police, counseling
services, student affairs and officials in her department. She
described the writing as a “veiled threat rather than something
explicit.”
University officials said he could be excused from the class unless she
wanted to tutor him individually, which she agreed to do three times
from October to December 2005. During those sessions, she said in an
interview, he always wore sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low.
“He seemed to be crying behind his sunglasses,” she said.
Roy said she had been so nervous about taking him on as an individual
student that she worked out a code with her assistant: If she mentioned
the name of a dead professor, her assistant would know it was time to
call security.
In another writing class, Cho submitted two profoundly violent and
profane plays. Ian MacFarlane, a classmate who now works for America
Online, posted the plays on the company's Web site Tuesday, saying they
had horrified the rest of the students.
“When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare,”
MacFarlane wrote. “The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that
used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of.”
As a result of them, MacFarlane added, “we students were talking to
each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school
shooter.”
In one play, called “Richard McBeef,” Cho wrote of a teenage boy who
accuses his stepfather of murdering the boy's father and of trying to
molest the boy himself.
“I hate him,” the boy says of the stepfather in a copy of the play on
the Web site. “Must kill Dick. Must kill Dick. Dick must die.”
Though the level of anger was clear to those who knew Cho, there
remains no indication of the precise motive for Monday's events.
“What was this kid thinking about? There are no indications,” said a
federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
There were just the snippets of a lonely young life: prescription
medicines, ominous words and two newly bought handguns, the first of
which was purchased on March 13.
Cho was a 23-year-old senior, skinny and boyish-looking, his hair cut
in a short, military-style fashion. He was a native of South Korea who
grew up in Centreville, Va., a suburb of Washington, where his family
owns a dry-cleaning business. He moved with his family to the United
States at age 8, in 1992, according to federal immigration authorities,
and was a legal permanent resident, not a citizen.
In the suite in Harper Hall where he lived with five other students, he
was known as a loner, almost a stranger, amid a student body of 26,000.
He ate his meals alone in a dining hall. Karan Grewal, 21, another
student in the suite of rooms where he lived, recalled that when a
candidate for student council visited the suite this year to pass out
candy and ask for votes, Cho refused even to make eye contact.
On Tuesday afternoon, investigators were examining a note Cho had left
behind in his dorm room, a rambling and bitter list of the moral laxity
he found among what he considered the more privileged students on
campus.
Cho went to bed early by college standards, about 9 p.m. He often rose
early, but in recent weeks he had been rising even earlier, frequently
before dawn, said Aust. Such was the case Monday.
Cho awoke before 5 a.m., then sat down to work on his computer and
awakened his roommate in the process. Grewal, who shares a room in the
same suite, saw Cho in the bathroom shortly after 5 a.m.
As usual, Cho did not say anything to Grewal. No good morning, no
hello, Grewal said. Cho stood in the bathroom, brushing his teeth,
wetting his contact lenses and applying a moisturizer. He also took a
prescription medicine, though neither Aust nor Grewal knew what the
medication was for. Prescription medications said to be related to the
treatment of psychological problems were found among his effects,
officials said.
Sources:
Virginia Tech gunman left note. ‘Horrible coincidence’ of two
shooters
Hartford Couranr
By Aamer Madhani, Tribune national correspondent
4:54 PM EDT, April 17, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The suspected gunman in the Virginia Tech shooting
rampage, Cho Seung-Hui, was a troubled 23-year-old senior from South
Korea who investigators believe left an invective-filled note in his
dorm room, sources say.
The note included a rambling list of grievances, according to sources.
They said Cho also died with the words "Ismail Ax" in red ink on one of
his arms.
Cho had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, according to
an investigative source, including setting a fire in a dorm room and
allegedly stalking some women.
A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room
that railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful
charlatans" on campus.
Cho was an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that
he was referred to the school's counseling service, the Associated
Press reported.
Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English
department, said she did not personally know the gunman. But she said
she spoke with Lucinda Roy, the department's director of creative
writing, who had Cho in one of her classes and described him as
"troubled."
"There was some concern about him," Rude said. "Sometimes, in creative
writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if
they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real
it might be. But we're all alert to not ignore things like this."
She said Cho was referred to the counseling service, but she said she
did not know when, or what the outcome was.
Cho, from Centreville, Va., a rapidly growing suburb of Washington,
D.C., came to the United States in 1992, an investigative source said.
He was a legal permanent resident. His family runs a dry cleaning
business and he has a sister who attended Princeton University,
according to the source.
Investigators believe Cho at some point had been taking medication for
depression. They are examining Cho's computer for more evidence.
The gunman's family lived in an off-white, two-story town house in
Centreville.
"He was very quiet, always by himself," neighbor Abdul Shash said of
the gunman. Shash said the gunman spent a lot of his free time playing
basketball, and wouldn't respond if someone greeted him. He described
the family as quiet.
Marshall Main, who lives across the street, said the family had lived
in the townhouse for several years.
According to court records, Virginia Tech Police issued a speeding
ticket to Cho on April 7 for going 44 mph in a 25 mph zone, and he had
a court date set for May 23.
Cho was found among the 31 dead found in an engineering hall. Police
said the victims laid over four classrooms and a stairwell.
"He was a loner," said Larry Hincker, a university spokesman, who added
that investigators are having some difficulty unearthing information
about him.
A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because
the information had not been announced, said Cho was carrying a
backpack that contained receipts for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm
pistol. Ballistics tests by the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms showed that one gun was used in Monday's two
separate campus attacks that were two hours apart.
As a permanent legal resident of the United States, Cho was eligible to
buy a handgun unless he had been convicted of any felony criminal
charges, a federal immigration official said.
Police said Cho killed 30 people in a Virginia Tech engineering
building Monday morning and then killed himself. Another two
students were shot to death two hours earlier in a dorm room on the
opposite side of the university's sprawling 2,600-acre campus, bringing
the day's death toll to 33.
Students at Harper Hall, the campus dormitory where Cho lived, said
they had little interaction with him and no insight into what might
have motivated the attack. Officials said the same gun was used
in the attack in the dorm room and the larger-scale classroom killings.
"At this time, the evidence does not conclusively identify Cho as the
gunman at both locations," said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent
of Virginia State Police.
All classes at Virginia Tech will be closed for the remainder of the
week, said school President Charles Steger.
'Horrible coincidence' of two gunmen
Fairfax County, Va., police investigators said today that Cho was a
2003 graduate of the same high school attended by an 18-year-old who
went on a shooting rampage last year at a Virginia police station,
killing two officers.
Michael Kennedy, armed with an AK-47, fired more than 70 rounds in the
parking lot of the Sully District police station on May 8, killing Det.
Vicky Armel and Master Police Officer Michael Garbarino. Kennedy was
shot to death by police.
Cho and Kennedy lived in Centreville and graduated from Westfield High
School, said Officer Courtney Thibault of the Fairfax County Police
Department. She said Cho graduated four years ahead of Kennedy.
Once Cho's identify was released by police in Blacksburg, Thibault said
Fairfax County police launched an investigation to determine if there
was any connection between the two shooters. She said they found
nothing tying the two young men together.
"It's just a horrible coincidence," she said. "It's hard to believe."
Kennedy's father, Brian Kennedy, was charged earlier this month with
helping his son obtain the AK-47 used in the rampage. Federal
prosecutors claim he was illegally in possession of a small arsenal of
weapons, including rifles, shotguns, handguns and more than 2,500
rounds of ammunition.
Campus holds convocation
The new details were revealed as the university underwent a day of
mourning.
Thousands of people gathered in the basketball arena, and when it
filled up, thousands more filed into the football stadium, for a
memorial service for the victims. President Bush and the first lady
attended.
"Laura and I have come to Blacksburg today with hearts full of sorrow,"
he said in six-minute remarks. "This is a day of mourning for the
Virginia Tech community and it is a day of sadness for our entire
nation.
Steger received a 30-second standing ovation, despite bitter complaints
from parents and students that the university should have locked down
the campus immediately after the first burst of gunfire. Steger
expressed hope that "we will awaken from this horrible nightmare."
Many students showed up for the memorial service hours ahead of time,
some in tears or carrying flowers. There was already an overflow crowd
at the arena by early afternoon, and many people arriving were turned
away.
Some victims' names released
Among the dead was a professor, Liviu Librescu. Students who were in
Librescu's engineering class at Norris Hall told the Tribune late
Monday that the professor tried to protect the students in his class
when they realized a gunmen was loose in the building.
Alec Calhoun was in Librescu's solid mechanics engineering class when
gunfire erupted in the room next door. He said Librescu, went to the
door and pushed himself against it in case the shooter tried to come in.
Librescu, an Israeli, was born in Romania and was known internationally
for his research in aeronautical engineering.
Also killed were:
- Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Mass., according to his
mother, Lynnette Alameddine.
- Christopher James Bishop, 35, according to Darmstadt University of
Technology in Germany, where he helped run an exchange program.
- Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez, Ga., biology and English major,
according to Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins.
- Jocelyn Couture-Nowak, a French instructor, according to her husband,
Jerzy Nowak, the head of the horticulture department at Virginia Tech.
- Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, killed in his French class, according to his
mother, Betty Cueva, of Peru.
- Kevin Granata, age unknown, engineering science and mechanics
professor, according to Ishwar K. Puri, the head of the engineering
science and mechanics department.
- Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., a sophomore majoring in
international studies and French, according to Minisink Valley, N.Y.,
school officials who spoke with Hammaren's family.
- Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, of Bellefonte, Pa., according to Penn State
University, his alma mater and his father's employer.
- Emily Jane Hilscher, a 19-year-old freshman from Woodville, according
to Rappahannock County Administrator John W. McCarthy, a family friend.
- Jarrett L. Lane, 22, of Narrows, Va., according to Riffe's Funeral
Service Inc. in Narrows, Va.
- Matthew J. La Porte, 20, a freshman from Dumont, N.J., according to
Dumont Police Chief Brian Venezio.
- G.V. Loganathan, 51, civil and environmental engineering professor,
according to his brother G.V. Palanivel.
- Daniel O'Neil, 22, according to close friend Steve Craveiro and
according to Eric Cardenas of Connecticut College, where O'Neil's
father, Bill, is director of major gifts.
- Juan Ramon Ortiz, a 26-year-old graduate student in engineering from
Bayamon, Puerto Rico, according to his wife, Liselle Vega Cortes.
- Mary Karen Read, 19, of Annandale, Va. according to her aunt, Karen
Kuppinger, of Rochester, N.Y.
- Reema J. Samaha, 18, a freshman from Centreville, Va., according to
her family.
Tribune staff reporters E.A.
Torriero and Rex W. Huppke, the Tribune's Washington bureau and the
Associated Press contributed.
Va. Tech Gunman
Writings Raised Concerns
Hartford Courant
By ADAM GELLER, AP National Writer
4:41 PM EDT, April 17, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia
Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was described Tuesday as a
sullen loner whose creative writing in English class was so disturbing
that he was referred to the school's counseling service.
News reports also said that he may have been taking medication for
depression, that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic, and
that he left a note in his dorm in which he railed against "rich kids,"
"debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus.
Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior majoring in English, arrived in the
United States as boy from South Korea in 1992 and was raised in
suburban Washington, D.C., officials said. He was living on campus in a
different dorm from the one where Monday's bloodbath began.
Police and university officials offered no clues as to exactly what set
him off on the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.
"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about
him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said.
On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of people gathered in the basketball
arena, and when it filled up, thousands more filed into the football
stadium, for a memorial service for the victims. President Bush and the
first lady attended. Virginia Tech President Charles Steger
received a 30-second standing ovation, despite bitter complaints from
parents and students that the university should have locked down the
campus immediately after the first burst of gunfire. Steger expressed
hope that "we will awaken from this horrible nightmare."
"As you draw closer to your families in the coming days, I ask you to
reach out to those who ache for sons and daughters who are never coming
home," Bush said.
A vast portrait of the victims began to emerge, among them: Christopher
James Bishop, 35, who taught German at Virginia Tech and helped oversee
an exchange program with a German university; Ryan "Stack" Clark, a
22-year-old student from Martinez, Ga., who was in the marching band
and was working toward degrees in biology and English; Emily Jane
Hilscher, a 19-year-old freshman from Woodville, Va., who was majoring
in animal and poultry sciences and, naturally, loved animals; and Liviu
Librescu, an Israeli engineering and math lecturer who was said to have
protected his students' lives by blocking the doorway of his classroom
from the approaching gunman.
Meanwhile, a chilling portrait of the gunman as a misfit began to
emerge.
Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English
department, said she did not know Cho. But she said she spoke with
Lucinda Roy, the department's director of creative writing, who had Cho
in one of her classes and described him as "troubled."
"There was some concern about him," Rude said. "Sometimes, in creative
writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if
they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real
it might be. But we're all alert to not ignore things like this."
She said Cho was referred to the counseling service, but she said she
did not know when, or what the outcome was. Rude refused to release any
of his writings or his grades, citing privacy laws. The Chicago
Tribune reported on its Web site that he left a note in his dorm room
that included a rambling list of grievances. Citing unidentified
sources, the Tribune said he had recently shown troubling signs,
including setting a fire in a dorm room and stalking some women.
ABC, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the note, several
pages long, explains Cho's actions and says, "You caused me to do this."
Investigators believe Cho at some point had been taking medication for
depression, the Tribune reported. Classmates said that on the
first day of an introduction to British literature class last year, the
30 or so English students went around and introduced themselves. When
it was Cho's turn, he didn't speak.
The professor looked at the sign-in sheet and, where everyone else had
written their names, Cho had written a question mark. "Is your name,
`Question mark?'" classmate Julie Poole recalled the professor asking.
The young man offered little response.
Cho spent much of that class sitting in the back of the room, wearing a
hat and seldom participating. In a small department, Cho distinguished
himself for being anonymous. "He didn't reach out to anyone. He never
talked," Poole said.
"We just really knew him as the question mark kid," Poole said.
The rampage consisted of two attacks, more than two hours apart --
first at a dormitory, where two people were killed, then inside a
classroom building, where 31 people, including Cho, died after being
locked inside, Virginia State Police said. Cho committed suicide; two
handguns -- a 9 mm and a .22-caliber -- were found in the classroom
building.
One law enforcement official said Cho's backpack contained a receipt
for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. Cho held a green card,
meaning he was a legal, permanent resident, federal officials said.
That meant he was eligible to buy a handgun unless he had been
convicted of a felony.
Roanoke Firearms owner John Markell said his shop sold the Glock and a
box of practice ammo to Cho 36 days ago for $571.
"He was a nice, clean-cut college kid. We won't sell a gun if we have
any idea at all that a purchase is suspicious," Markell said. Markell
said it is not unusual for college kids to make purchases at his shop
as long as they are old enough.
"To find out the gun came from my shop is just terrible," Markell said.
Investigators stopped short of saying Cho carried out both attacks. But
ballistics tests show one gun was used in both, Virginia State Police
said.
And two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity
because the information had not been announced, said Cho's fingerprints
were found on both guns. The serial numbers on the two weapons had been
filed off, the officials said.
Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said
it was reasonable to assume that Cho was the shooter in both attacks
but that the link was not yet definitive. "There's no evidence of any
accomplice at either event, but we're exploring the possibility," he
said.
Officials said Cho graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly,
Va., in 2003. His family lived in an off-white, two-story townhouse in
Centreville, Va.
Two of those killed in the shooting rampage, Reema Samaha and Erin
Peterson, graduated from Westfield High in 2006, school officials said.
But there was no immediate word from authorities on whether Cho knew
the two young women and singled them out.
"He was very quiet, always by himself," neighbor Abdul Shash said.
Shash said Cho spent a lot of his free time playing basketball and
would not respond if someone greeted him. He described the family as
quiet.
South Korea expressed its condolences, and said it hoped that the
tragedy would not "stir up racial prejudice or confrontation." "We are
in shock beyond description," said Cho Byung-se, a Foreign Ministry
official handling North American affairs.
Classes were canceled for the rest of the week. Norris Hall, the
classroom building, will be closed for the rest of the semester.
Many students were leaving town quickly, lugging pillows, sleeping bags
and backpacks down the sidewalks.
Jessie Ferguson, 19, a freshman from Arlington, left Newman Hall and
headed for her car with tears streaming down her red cheeks.
"I'm still kind of shaky," she said. "I had to pump myself up just to
kind of come out of the building. I was going to come out, but it took
a little bit of 'OK, it's going to be all right. There's lots of cops
around.'"
Although she wanted to be with friends, she wanted her family more. "I
just don't want to be on campus," she said.
Until Monday, the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history was in
Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard plowed his pickup truck
into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.
Previously, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history was a rampage
that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where
Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower and opened fire with a rifle
from the 28th-floor observation deck. He killed 16 people before he was
shot to death by police.
Mall shooter's suicide note: Now I'll
be famous
Dec. 6, 2007
OMAHA, Nebraska (CNN) -- A 19-year-old gunman who police said killed
eight people and then himself at a Nebraska mall left a suicide note
predicting the shootings would make him famous, his landlord said.
Five other people were injured, and two of them were in critical
condition, hospital officials said.
The shootings inside the Von Maur department store at the popular
Westroads Mall in Omaha sent panicked holiday shoppers fleeing for
cover.
"It was just so loud, and then it was silence," said witness Jennifer
Kramer, who hid behind a clothing rack. "I was scared to death he'd be
walking around looking for someone else."
Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins of Bellvue, Nebraska.
Chief Thomas Warren of the Omaha Police Department called the shooting
"premeditated," but said it "appears to be very random and without
provocation."
Debora Maruca Kovac, Hawkins' landlord, said she found the suicide note
after getting a phone call from Hawkins about 1 p.m., just minutes
before the shootings. Video Watch landlord describe phone call from
shooter »
"He basically said how sorry he was for everything," Maruca Kovac said
of the note. "He didn't want to be a burden to people and that he was a
piece of s--- all of his life and that now he'd be famous."
She said Hawkins was a friend of her sons and "reminded me of a lost
puppy that nobody wanted." He came to live with her about a year and a
half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of
"some issues with his stepmother."
She described Hawkins as well-behaved, although "he had a lot of
emotional problems, obviously."
Maruca Kovac told the Omaha World-Herald that Hawkins showed her an SKS
semiautomatic Russian military rifle the night before the rampage, but
she wasn't alarmed.
The shootings began about 1:42 p.m. (2:42 p.m. ET).
Seven people were found dead at the scene by officers who arrived six
minutes later; two others, a male and a female, died after being
transported to Creighton University Medical Center, said Fire Chief
Robert Dahlquist.
A Creighton spokeswoman said a second female underwent surgery and was
in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.
Three other people were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical
Center.
One, a 61-year-old man who sustained a chest wound after being shot in
the armpit, had surgery and remained in critical condition in the
intensive care unit Wednesday night, said hospital spokeswoman Maggie
O'Brien.
The other two -- a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm, and a
55-year-old man who fell and struck a clothing rack as he was trying to
escape -- were treated and released, she said.
Warren said Hawkins was armed with an SKS assault rifle. His body, and
the weapon, were found on the store's third floor, he said.
Maruca Kovac told CNN that Hawkins left the house Wednesday about 11
a.m., and called the house about two hours later, sounding upset.
"He just said he wanted to thank me for everything I'd done for him ...
and he was sorry," Maruca Kovac said. He told her he had gotten fired
from his job at a McDonald's restaurant, she said.
"I said, 'Come home and we'll talk about it,' " she recounted. "He
said, 'It's too late.' He said he'd left a note explaining everything."
Kramer told CNN she heard at least 25 shots. Video Watch witnesses
describe the ordeal »
"I looked at my mom and said, 'We need to get out of here. Those are
gunshots,' " Kramer said. "I just grabbed my mom and we ran to the back
of the men's department and hid in some pants racks."
"He just kept firing," she said. She said she called 911 on her cell
phone, whispering into it out of fear of being heard. A dispatcher told
her other calls had been received and help was on the way, but she said
it seemed to take "a long time" for them to arrive.
She said as she was being escorted out by police, she saw a man lying
injured by the escalator where she had been previously.
Mall employee Charissa Tatoon said a man by an escalator near her was
heard saying he was calling 911. See a map of where the shooting took
place »
"Immediately after that, the shooter shot down from the third floor and
shot him on the second floor," she said.
"All of us were slightly confused because we didn't know what it was,"
Tatoon said. "Immediately after that, there was a series of maybe 20 to
25 more shots up on the third floor."
Warren, the police chief, said the victims included five females and
three males, not including Hawkins. The shooting appeared to be
contained in the Von Maur store, he said.
"We believe there was one shooter, and one shooter only," he said.
Video Watch police talk about the shooting »
Maruca Kovac said Hawkins' mental state seemed to be improving but he
had been through a rough patch recently.
"When he first came to live with us, he was in the fetal position and
chewed his fingernails all the time," she said. But she said she
thought he was improving, as he had gotten a job, a haircut and a
girlfriend.
However, she said Hawkins and his girlfriend had broken up in the last
couple of weeks, and he had taken it hard. Then he got fired from
McDonald's on Wednesday.
She said late Wednesday that authorities were searching her house for
evidence.
"My kids are devastated," she said. "We're all in shock."
A school district spokeswoman said he attended Papillion-La Vista High
School until he withdrew in March 2006. The World-Herald said he later
earned his GED.
President Bush had visited Omaha on Wednesday before the shooting.
"The president is deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha," White
House press secretary Dana Perino said. "His thoughts and prayers are
with the victims and their families."
The shooting was at least the fourth at a mall or shopping center so
far this year, following incidents in Salt Lake City, Utah; Kansas
City, Missouri; and Douglasville, Georgia.
Gun
rampage US teen 'wanted fame'
I-BBC
6 Dec 2007
A teenager who shot dead eight people in a US shopping centre
before killing himself wrote in a suicide note that he wanted to be
famous.
Robert Hawkins, 19, from Bellevue, Nebraska, opened fire at the
Westroads Mall in Omaha on Wednesday.
A woman who took him in after he left home said he left a note saying
he was sorry for everything and did not want to be a burden to anybody.
Police have confirmed the existence of the note, but not its contents.
Hawkins struck as the centre was crowded with Christmas shoppers, and
witnesses spoke of people screaming and scrambling to find safe
shelter.
Five people were wounded, two of them critically.
In a statement, President George W Bush - who visited Omaha earlier in
the day for a fundraiser - said he was "deeply saddened" by the
shootings.
Hiding
The shooting took place inside the upmarket Von Maur department store
at the Westroads Mall.
Police were called at about 1400 local time (2000 GMT), after receiving
a call from inside, said Sgt Teresa Negron.
Witnesses said the gunman fired down on shoppers from a balcony
on the third floor of the Von Maur store, using what police said was an
SKS rifle to shoot at random.
By the time police arrived at the scene six minutes later, the shooting
was over, she said.
Jeff Schaffart was shot in the arm as he spent his lunch break shopping
with his wife, Reuters news agency reported. He said he hid in a Von
Maur women's bathroom, using his tie as a tourniquet to slow the
bleeding.
"I was obviously very fortunate. Not a lot of people were so fortunate
today," said Mr Schaffart.
Chuck Wright was working at the mall when he heard a "pop pop" sound.
"A lady that I work with on the same floor, she happened to walk over
to the [central atrium] and she was standing there and a gentleman
walked up, and the shooter reached over the top on the third floor and
shot the guy in the head."
Another woman also described seeing the gunman on the attack.
"I went around and then I saw the guy in the children's department,"
she said.
"Big tall guy, real tall and he just stood there with his arm like
this, his hand straight up in the air, shooting. And then I turned and
ran."
Witnesses spoke of trying to hide as they waited for police
Seven people were found dead at the scene, and another two died after
being taken to a local hospital.
In an e-mail to the BBC, one Omaha resident, called Julie, said that
she had been in a restaurant next door to Von Maur department store
when the shooting began.
"Someone came in to the restaurant and advised that someone was
shooting in the mall and to get out. Everyone started to run out of the
small doors in Panera [the restaurant], so we were able to get out very
quickly.
"I heard screaming and loud shots being fired somewhere close by. I got
out of the mall before the local police department arrived."
'Lost puppy'
Hawkins is said to have suffered from depression in the past, and
recently lost his job at McDonald's and broke up with his girlfriend.
He was living with a friend's family in Bellevue, an Omaha suburb.
His friend's mother, Debora Maruca Kovac, told the Associated Press
news agency that when he first came to live with them, "he was
introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that
nobody wanted".
She said he phoned her about 1300 on Wednesday, telling her that he had
left a note for her in his bedroom. She tried to get him to explain.
"He said, 'It's too late'," and then hung up, she told CNN.
In the note, she said, Hawkins had written that "he was sorry for
everything, that he didn't want to be a burden to anybody, he loved his
family, he loved all of his friends".
The note went on to say he wanted to be famous, she said.
Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren said the shooting appeared to be "very
random and without provocation".
"We do have a [suicide] note. I can't describe the contents of that
note, but it does appear this incident was premeditated," he added.
The incident is the latest in a series of mass shootings in the US,
which have reignited the debate in the US about gun ownership.
The Supreme Court will consider Americans' right to bear arms early
next year for the first time in nearly 70 years.
--------------------------
US MASS SHOOTINGS IN 2007
Oct: Asa H Coon, 14, shoots four people, injuring them, at his school
in Cleveland, Ohio, before killing himself.
April: Cho Seung-hui , 23, shoots 32 people dead on campus of Virginia
Tech university, Virginia, then kills himself.
Feb: Sulejman Talovic, 18, shoots dead five people and injures four at
a mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, before being killed by police.
Full story with pictures here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7130504.stm
The Red and the Black
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2-15-08)
Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black) is a novel by
Stendhal, published in 1830. The title has been translated into English
variously as Scarlet and Black, Red and Black, and The Red and the
Black. It is set in 1830, and relates a young man's attempts to rise
above his plebeian birth through a combination of talent, hard work,
deception and hypocrisy, only to find himself betrayed by his own
passions.
Like Stendhal's later novel The Charterhouse of Parma (La Chartreuse de
Parme), Le Rouge et le Noir is a Bildungsroman. The protagonist, Julien
Sorel, is a driven and intelligent man, but equally fails to understand
much about the ways of the world he sets out to conquer. He harbours
many romantic illusions, and becomes little more than a pawn in the
political machinations of the influential and ruthless people who
surround him. Stendhal uses his flawed hero to satirize French society
of the time, particularly the hypocrisy and materialism of its
aristocracy and the Roman Catholic Church, and to foretell a radical
change in French society that will remove both of those forces from
their positions of power.
The most common and most likely explanation of the title is that red
and black are the contrasting colors of the army uniform of the times
and of the robes of priests, respectively. Julien Sorel observes early
on in the novel that, under the Bourbon restoration it is impossible
for a man of his class to distinguish himself in the army (as he might
have done under Napoleon); now, only a career in the Church offers
social advancement and glory. Alternative explanations are possible,
however: for example, red might stand for love and black for death and
mourning; or the colours might refer to those of a roulette wheel, and
may indicate the unexpected changes in the hero's career.
The novel ends with Stendhal's standard closing quote, "To the Happy
Few." This is often interpreted as a dedication to the few who could
understand his writing, or a sardonic reference to the happy few who
are born into prosperity (the latter interpretation is supported by the
likely source of the quotation, Canto 11 of Byron's Don Juan, a
frequent reference in the novel, which refers to 'the thousand happy
few' who enjoy high society)...
Prof. charged in 3 fatal shootings on
Ala. campus
YAHOO
By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer
Feb. 13, 2010
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A biology professor at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville who authorities say opened fire at a faculty meeting is
facing a murder charge after the shooting spree that left three dead
and three wounded.
Amy Bishop, 42, was charged Friday night with one count of capital
murder, which means she could face the death penalty if convicted.
Three of Bishop's fellow biology professors were killed and three other
university employees were wounded. No students were harmed in the
shooting, which happened in a community known for its space and
technology industries.
The husband of one of the victims said he was told those at the meeting
were discussing tenure for Bishop, who had been an assistant professor
since 2003. Authorities have not discussed a motive.
UAH student Andrew Cole was in Bishop's anatomy class Friday morning
and said she seemed perfectly normal.
"She's understanding, and was concerned about students," he said. "I
would have never thought it was her."
Bishop, a neurobiologist who studied at Harvard University, was taken
Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and
could be heard saying, "It didn't happen. There's no way. ... They are
still alive."
Police said they were also interviewing a man as "a person of interest."
University spokesman Ray Garner said the three killed were Gopi K.
Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and two
other faculty members, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson.
Three others were wounded, two critically, in the gunfire, which Davis'
husband, Sammie Lee Davis, said occurred at a meeting over a tenure
issue. The wounded were identified as department members Luis
Cruz-Vera, who was listed in fair condition, and Joseph Leahy, in
critical condition in intensive care, and staffer Stephanie Monticello,
also in critical condition in intensive care.
Sammie Lee Davis said his wife was a researcher who had tenure at the
university.
In a brief phone interview, he said he was told his wife was at a
meeting to discuss the tenure status of another faculty member who got
angry and started shooting. He said his wife had mentioned the suspect
before, describing the woman as "not being able to deal with reality"
and "not as good as she thought she was."
Bishop and her husband placed third in a statewide university business
plan competition in July 2007, presenting a portable cell incubator
they had invented. They won $25,000 to help start a company to market
the device.
Biology major Julia Hollis was among the students who gathered to
support each other and try to make sense of the news.
"When someone told me it was a staff person and it was faculty I was in
complete denial," said Hollis, 23, who had taken classes with two of
the instructors who were killed. "It took me a bit for it to sink in."
Students offered varying assessments of Bishop.
Andrea Bennett, a sophomore majoring in nursing, described Bishop as
being "very weird" and "a really big nerd."
"She's well-known on campus, but I wouldn't say she's a good teacher.
I've heard a lot of complaints," Bennett said. "She's a genius, but she
really just can't explain things."
Bennett, an athlete at UAH, said her coach told her team Bishop had
been denied tenure and that may have led to the shooting.
Amanda Tucker, a junior nursing major from Alabaster, Ala., had Bishop
for anatomy class about a year ago. Tucker said a group of students
complained to a dean about Bishop's performance in the classroom.
"When it came down to tests, and people asked her what was the best way
to study, she'd just tell you, `Read the book.' When the test came,
there were just ridiculous questions. No one even knew what she was
asking," said Tucker.
But Nick Lawton, 25, described Bishop as funny and accommodating with
students.
"She lectured from the textbook, mostly stuck to the subject matter at
hand," Nick Lawton said. "She seemed like a nice enough professor."
Sophomore Erin Johnson told The Huntsville Times a biology faculty
meeting was under way when she heard screams coming from a conference
room.
University police secured the building and students were cleared from
it. There was still a heavy police presence on campus Friday night,
with police tape cordoning off the main entrance to the university.
The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not
far from the Tennessee line. The university is known for its scientific
and engineering programs and often works closely with NASA.
The space agency has a research center on the school's campus, where
many scientists and engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
perform Earth and space science research and development.
The university will remain closed next week and all athletic events
were canceled to give students and staff time to grieve. Counselors
were available to speak with students.
It's the second shooting in a week on an area campus. On Feb. 5, a
14-year-old student was killed in a middle school hallway in nearby
Madison, allegedly by a fellow student.
Mass shootings are rarely carried out by women, said Dr. Park Dietz,
who is president of Threat Assessment Group Inc., a Newport Beach,
Calif.-based violence prevention firm.
A notable exception was a 1985 rampage at a Springfield, Pa., mall in
which three people were killed. In June 1986, Sylvia Seegrist was
deemed guilty but mentally ill on three counts of murder and seven
counts of attempted murder in the shooting spree.
Dietz, who interviewed Seegrist after her arrest, said it was possible
the suspect in Friday's shooting had a long-standing grudge against
colleagues or superiors and felt complaints had not been dealt with
fairly.
Gregg McCrary, a retired FBI agent and private criminal profiler based
in Fredericksburg, Va., said there is no typical outline of a mass
shooter but noted they often share a sense of paranoia, depression or a
feeling that they are not appreciated.
