Wonky Muse

November 7, 2007

Don't Have A COW, Man

The company of Dubya's brother Neil, he of the $1 billion collapsed Silverado Savings and Loan and paid sexual jaunts to Thailand and Hong Kong, is being investigated by the DOE:

The inspector general of the Department of Education has said he will examine whether federal money was inappropriately used by three states to buy educational products from a company owned by Neil Bush, the president’s brother...

Members of the [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] and other critics in Texas contend that school districts are buying Ignite’s signature product, the Curriculum on Wheels, because of political considerations...

Ignite, founded by Neil Bush in 1999, includes as investors his parents, former President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. Company officials say that about 100 school districts use the Curriculum on Wheels, known as the Cow, which is a portable classroom with software to teach middle-school social studies, science and math. The units cost about $3,800 each and require about $1,000 a year in maintenance...

Jay Spuck, a former curriculum director for the [Katy Independent School District west of Houston], has criticized spending on the Ignite product, saying: "It’s not helping kids at all. It’s not helping teachers. The only way Neil has gotten in is by his name."

Melanie Sloan, executive director of the group, referring to No Child Left Behind, said: "A constant principle of N.C.L.B. is that children must be taught using scientifically proven methods. Ignite’s Cows simply don’t meet N.C.L.B. standards. This suggests that the real reason N.C.L.B. funds are expended on Ignite is because the founder and C.E.O. is the president’s brother."

posted at 3:59 PM by Wonky Muse

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