I posted this earlier, but I had not watched the entire video, just a snippet. I just watched the full video, and I couldn’t stop watching. This is the video of the Congressional grilling of the U.S. Department of Education’s Chief Information Officer Danny Harris and Acting Secretary of Education John King.
The entire discussion is startling. I won’t say anything more. Just watch it. If you stay for ten minutes, you won’t want to stop.
Rep. Chaffetz’s (R-Utah) grilling of John King is relentless. Despite his ethical “lapses,” Danny Harris received $230,000 in bonuses over time for his work, in addition to his $183,000 in salary, and $15,000 from Howard University. Plus, he ran two businesses on the side. And at one point, he consulted with the Detroit public schools. The point was made by Congresspersons again and again, that the Department of Education had one of the lowest ratings for its management of any federal department.
Rep. Maloney (D-NY) wanted to know why the contracts involved were not competitively bid. She did not get an answer. She wanted to know why Mr. Harris’s actions were not violations of law or policy. She did not get an answer other than the claim that DOE lawyers said there was no violation in not reporting income to either the Department or to the IRS. Astonishing.
One thing you learn: Acting Secretary of Education John King sees no violation of law, regulation, or policy in the behavior of the CIO, who ran two businesses on the side, did not report his income to the IRS, and oversaw a single-source contract to a friend. Mr. Harris was not sanctioned in any way; he received counseling; he received excellent evaluations. King makes endless excuses. King insists there was no violation of department policy or regulation to earn outside income and not report it. Really?
Where is the accountability?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Accountability is for the little people.
Just wondering if there’s any chance this is a witch hunt? That Dr. Harris is being set up? That there’s much more to this than what we’re hearing in the testimony? Is he possibly a scape goat for Arne Duncan who seems coated with teflon in this procedure?
I’m completely willing to believe the DoE suffers from the alleged behaviors, mis-conduct, and mis-management. But I want to be sure there aren’t other issues we don’t know about.
If this hearing does speak the truth about impropriety, bad judgement, mis-management, heads-turned-the-other-way, etc. in the DoE, then what can we do about it? We must act in the face of this information. So much of what’s being foisted on American public school students and teachers is integrally connected to increasing the use of technology, data-based assessments, and on-line everything. We can’t let this get buried.
Diane, anyone else? Is there other background or related information available?
Alice, if you watched the full hearing, you know as much as I do. All I can say is that I am baffled that this admitted behavior or “lapses of judgment” was not sanctioned in any way. The fist ethics investigation was referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution but they declined. Mr. Harris received counseling. I assure you he has had annual ethics briefings since he started in 2008. But there was no accountability for his flagrant actions. Maybe the Feds will offer counseling to teachers instead of firing them.
It’s been hours since I watched the hearings this afternoon. My head is still spinning. I may be naive. I may not realize how often hearings of this kind occur. But I am absolutely stunned that this can be made public, and then nothing happens as a consequence.
I’ve witnessed first hand the robotic, script-reading responses of John King when he worked in NYS. Seeing it on film in front of a Congressional committee was truly amazing.
Is there anything we can do as a united voice? Can this contribute to the wider discussion of how far afield the DoE has strayed from the true interests of America’s school children and their families? Does it help to seek further response? (And what about Arne Duncan??)
Alice,
Why don’t you write these questions to your senators and members of the House. Write to Carolyn Maloney and Congressman from Utah who chairs the committee
Yes. Great idea. I started with my local congressman. Will continue with the rest.
I’ve been wanting to start a once-a-week “Action Day” to do mass emailings and maybe phone calls to representatives on various Ed-related topics. I know I should find my own venue to make this appeal, but hope you don’t mind if I put this out here amongst the devoted readers of this blog.
Any one else interested in an organized, concerted effort?
Good for you, Alice. Put up an email where people can reach you
Okay. I’m taking the leap. If anyone else is interested in speaking out as a unified voice regarding the contents of the Congressional hearing, and other relevant, pertinent education issues, please visit: http://fromwhereiteach.blogspot.com (It’s a blog-in-progress)
Leave me a comment.
Let’s take our collective intelligence and articulate, passionate words, direct them with laser precision and timing, and create some real change!
Reblogged this on On Education and commented:
What is up with politicians that they can’t admit when they are blatantly wrong? Parents should see this video of John King, Secretary of Education, and watch how he protects one of his top, money sucking, unethical education officials.
After you posted the segment, I also watched the whole hearing. Riveting! I started watching at midnight and couldn’t stop even though I should have been sleeping. Even if they are advised by lawyers on what to say or not say, they showed little ability to assume responsibility for acting as a careful steward of public funds at any time during the hearing. Saying that it was poor judgment, blaming it on others, accepting your scolding, and saying you won’t do it again is something we would hear when disciplining a child. It does not provide confidence in their ability to make decisions on their own that are responsible and ethical. In essence, Harris and King admitted that Harris committed tax fraud, so he paid those taxes and he hasn’t done it again. Harris was the CIO in charge of a contract that included a close friend, but instead of indicating responsibility for making sure that contracts are not supervised by close friends, he indicates that he is not friends with the guy anymore (not friends, but does his friend still benefits financially?).
I watched until I wanted to cry.
If you have been following my posts, then you know I have been talking forever about accountability. Evening today’s NY Times business section today, there is an editorial that points out how THE CULTURE creates the results.
The heads of the banks and hedge funds profited at a time when the nation was devastated by the financial disaster. The CEOs were rewarded for failure.
The culture at the top filters down,,
NYS legislature is one of the most corrupt in the nation. Look how long it took to put Sheldon Silver on trial!
The Governor does what he wishes with impunity and is a consummate liar.
That ‘ anything goes’ culture filters down to the bureaucracy that is the Department of Education.
Everyday, I read about how people perpetrate scams and frauds, and then there is the Trump phenomenon, outrageous mistruths, and when caught, he doubles down… and people admire and support him!
Maher is right, Lies are the New Truth!
But everyone who has heard my experience, realizes that long ago, the lack of accountability at the school level allowed the administration to fabricate an entire scenario to remove me from my professional practice. I mean, it is against the law,is it not, to empty and employment folder of decades of evaluations and awards, and fill it with lies?
In fact that video proves that the people at the top are clueless about integrity, honest and the LAW!
But then,
I have met lawless principals who could do anything they want short of murder, and as Lorna Stremcha’s book describes, that was possible in her case… she was lucky, she lived through it.
,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl8e6OKjj3U&feature=youtu.be
I find myself home for a second snow day in a row (despite no snow in my hometown…) and took the time to watch this video. WOW! I am stunned. Where is the media coverage? (ok, that was a rhetorical question…)
My initial thoughts are: John King is nothing if not consistent. Having testified before him during his tenure as NYS Commissioner of Education, I have personally seen his uncanny ability to stay calm and focused and maddeningly on-point (his point) in his responses. Irregardless, of course, of the disconnect between the questions and issues presented to him, and the words that actually come out of his mouth. If you were to just look at his composure and demeanor and cadence of voice, you may assume he is speaking truth in the face of unfair criticism. Or you may have to conclude that something else entirely is at play.
Does he hear the actual questions being asked of him? Does he purposefully deflect the questions and stay on his own talking points as a politician masterfully controls the flow of information.
Or is he wholly unqualified for the position he’s in, despite his enormous self-control and calm voice in the face of heated questioning?
Does he have the skills to be leading the Department of Education of the United States of America, especially in the current Crisis Era??????
And yes, where the hell is Arne Duncan???
He is becoming a entertainment star
How can I get a bonus that is more than my annual salary as a teacher? Why is a govt. employee getting a bonus?
Also, King has ZERO integrity!
I watched the whole thing as well, paying attention to Harris’s defense for his “hobbies”, then made the following transcript (just BELOW):
King repeatedly palmed off any responsibility on the department’s legal counsel… “in the opinion of …”
On of the Congressman — an Asian with a military background, including time as a JAG lawyer prosecutor — ripped into King at one point, saying that this passing of the buck was bogus. The legal team is not King’s boss, whose opinions and orders King must follow absolutely. They’re not forcing King to let Harris get away with this scot-free. King has a totally free hand to serve much more severe consequences on Harris, up to and including termination. “Stop using them as a shield.”
Nevertheless, King ignores this, saying, “I’m following the opinion and advice of … Based on their … ” and on and on… Chaffetz asks him if what Harris did was “wrong”.
King replied, “It was a lapse of judgment.”
“But was it wrong?”
“It was a lapse of judgment.”
“But was it a violation of law, or of DOE regulations, or of policy?”
“Again, I’m going to refer back to legal counsel, who believed that the lesser administrative remedy of counseling would suffice to address this.”
This circular back-and-forth went on continuously, and maddeningly.
Chaffetz then points out how, even after the “counseling”, Harris’ corrupt behavior persisted. Chaffetz said, “This counseling didn’t do crap. … You have thousands of DOE employees who are looking at you to set the bar for what’s acceptable conduct, and based on this, they think that what Harris did was not wrong, or not all THAT wrong. You’re setting a horrible precedent, when you have this great opportunity to send a message about what is improper conduct or proper conduct within the DOE.”
Anyway, here’s my free paraphrasing of Harris’s defense of the “hobbies” he was engaged in.
This is not a word-for-word transcript, but a summary or paraphrasing of some of this hearing dealing with the “hobbies”:
———
— You ran twp businesses — auto detailing, and home theater installation?
— No, those were just hobbies.
— Hobbies? You charged, then received payment of money from your customers?
— No, it wasn’t “payment”, and they weren’t “customers.” They were just people who freely gave me monetary gifts when they benefited from my hobbies, as I allowed those recipients — not “customers” — to keep the products of these hobbies. Freely and of their own accord, they chose to give me these gifts.
— But you set the exact amount of money of these “gifts,” and the recipient was required by you—before any work was done— to pay you exact amounts of these monetary “gifts” in exchange for later receiving the finished products of your hobbies? All of this was decided upon before any “hobby” activities commenced? Isn’t that “payment”, and doesn’t that makes these “businesses”?
— I see how someone unfamiliar with the way I engage in my hobby activity might misinterpret these hobby activities of mind as something else.
— You enlisted DOE subordinates also working under you in these two on-the-side businesses?
— Hobbies, not businesses.
— Yeah, yeah… hobbies … right. These DOE employees were paid while doing work related to your “hobbies,” per a before-the-fact agreement that was made before any “hobby” work was done. Isn’t that exactly how a business, and how a employer-employee business relationship works?
— Again, I can see how someone might come to the wrong conclusions here. Those DOE employees were just joining with me in my hobby activity during off-hours, and … well … I’m a teacher. I have been all my professional life. Those employees were like students, and I was allowing them to participate in the fun of my hobbies, while teaching them certain skills at the same time related to these fun hobbies. I find that very fulfilling.
— Auto-detailing and home theater installation? Those don’t sound like typical “hobbies.”
— Well, you know, to each his own. To me, they are hobbies, fun ones. You see, we were all just engaging in some innocent and fun off-hours hobby enthusiasms, with me as a sort of unofficial teacher. That’s all, but I understand how you and others might wrongly conclude otherwise.
— Ohhhh-kay, fine. But you paid these men every single time that they did this work, based upon an pre-arranged agreement to pay them an exact amount for a specific amount of work done?
— No, again, just like with my receiving money, the money exchanging hands was not payment, but me freely giving them gifts.
— Exactly, in exchange for work… which makes it a salary. Doesn’t it?
— No, I gave them some money as gifts, not salary, because teaching them, and improving their skills in these areas was so beneficial to me, and well so moving and fulfilling for me as teacher, just to see them learn and grow in these hobbying skills, that I just wanted to thank them with more than just words. So I gave them money to thank them, but now I see now that you and others have totally misinterpreted this act of kindness on my part.
————
NO WONDER THIS GUY COLLAPSED. His brain must have been overheating and then exploded.
He also had a business card with name of his “company”… not a word on that card about it being a hobby.
Harris’ “they-were-just-hobbies” defense is reminiscent of a SIMPSONS episode where Fat Tony the mobster explains to Bart how hijacking a cigarette truck, then selling its contents on the black market was not actually “a crime”:
— ( 01:34 – 2:09 )
— ( 01:34 – 2:09 )
BART: “Say… are you guys crooks?”
FAT TONY: “Bart, uhmmm…. is … is it wrong to steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving family ?”
BART: “Noooo.”
FAT TONY: “Well, suppose you got a LARGE starving family. Is it wrong to steal a TRUCKLOAD of bread to feed them?”
BART: “Uh-uh.” (shaking his head “No.”)
FAT TONY: “AND … what if your family don’t like BREAD. They like… CIGARETTES?”
BART: “I guess that’s okay.”
FAT TONY: “Now, what instead of giving them away, you SOLD THEM at a price that was PRACTICALLY giving them away? Would THAT be a CRIME, Bart?”
BART: “Hell, no!”
FAT TONY: “Enjoy your gift.”
—————————————–
It’s pretty sad that the standard that King is now setting at the U.S. DOE is such a joke.
Like I said in an earlier post. this culture of unethical, immoral and utterly lawless people is consistent with the administrations that I met in NYC form 1988 to 2008. There ere 7 principals and one superintendent, and the things that they did, from lying and conniving to outright stealing and criminal behavior went unpunished, and in fact were rewarded.
To ensure the the schools failed,” they’ (you know who) removed the real professionals, made it impossible for the teacher-practioner to be heard, and put the pigs in charge of the farm. The result was, as planned, utter chaos and failure… but the kids, and the dedicated professionals deserved better… and no one is ever going to know the story of how our public schools, in 2 decades were decimated by an entire battery of Kings’ and Harrises.
Great memory on the Simpsons!
Chaffetz’s final words struck Phony Tony & Sling King down so hard that they got fried in no time. “If you think we the American people are not taking this seriously, you are making a fundamental, total mistake,” as he says.
Thanks, Diana for bringing this to our attention. Well worth the time to watch how dishonest they are. Unfortunately, when King leaves he will return to a high paying job ensuring the current administration’s agenda of privatization is continued. As you say, no one is accountable. Hopefully, the Oversight Committee will keep up the pressure. The sad part is that this just distracts from the great damage that the administration is doing to public education.
I watched this video the other day and then watched the GOP debates, the similarities in the canned responses from King and Rubio (and Chaffetz and Christie calling it out) is pretty amazing.
I’m 47 minutes into this video. Here is my FIRST QUESTION… Where is Arne Duncan in all this? Now we know why he made his exit – leave while the “going is good”. This strategy of running something into the ground then “retiring” to evade the consequences needs to stop. John King is Duncan’s puppet /stooge… “yes man” …etc… What an absolute disgrace! Not surprising. But Duncan needs to “face the music” too! Harris calls his outside work a hobby??? Is he kidding? I have no doubt he made more money than what the IRS feels is more than a “hobby”. Unbelievable bold-faced lying. And making a comment about his teacher”ness” made him want to instruct others in his outside businesses? Really? AUDACITY is too kind a way to describe this.
Agreed. When is it Arne’s turn to be hauled in front of congress? Will he be accountable for the culture of rot he oversaw in DoEd for 8 years? Given the way this administration has protected it’s cronies from real investigations I’m not holding my breath (e.g., Kevin Johnson, Rahm, Corinthian College investors, OH & FL charter chain fraud, student loans, insider trading, etc).
As Glen nGreenwald wrote in his book “Liberty & Justice for Some” the US justice system has two tiers–one for the elite, who can often escape prosecution for serious crimes and another for the rest of us.
The real tragedy is that under Duncan DoEd lost all credibility as the source for evidence based policy. Millions of school systems, researchers, universities, families and children no longer know what to believe when the Dept of Education sets policies or starts a new wave of initiatives. Both Democrats and Republicans in congress & national union leadership are culpable.
The next POTUS needs to answer hard questions about rebuilding trust & competence in DoEd.
Elizabeth Warren wrote an important editorial that every educator should consider when voting for POTUS. All candidates in both parties should be asked: Who will you appoint as Sec of Education? How will you restore trust in the DoEd, the institution that’s sole purpose is to protect children in public education?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/opinion/elizabeth-warren-one-way-to-rebuild-our-institutions.html?_r=0
“WHILE presidential candidates from both parties feverishly pitch their legislative agendas, voters should also consider what presidents can do without Congress. Agency rules, executive actions and decisions about how vigorously to enforce certain laws will have an impact on every American, without a single new bill introduced in Congress.”
We teachers must, Must, MUST take back our profession. These greedy vultures must be removed from anything to do with public education. They can do what they want to any private school they dream to create, but not on my dime. Teachers must elect union leaders who are not afraid to finally draw a line in the sand and speak truth to power.
AMENT TO THAT!
1 hr 16 minutes.. Eleanor Holmes Norton asks Harris if given everything, if today he continues to have an outstanding recommendation and he answers, “Yes”,,, King agrees to this!!! For real??? And Mr. Walberg asks a direct question to King…”Do you have confidence at this time that Harris can lead effectively? And King responds, “Yes”! Ughh
Thanks for linking this in your blog Diane. THIS IS INSANE!
will any reporter ever demand some sort of reaction or comment from anyone, democrat or republican, who is running for president? It is not a cabinet department? somebody ask Trump….he will talk for at least thirty minutes, whether he knows anything or not.
I think it’s great Congress finally provided some oversight, but why did they wait until John King came in and replaced Arne Duncan?
King had nothing to do with running the US Department of Education until a year ago.
They had a high-profile Secretary who could have been held accountable yet they did no oversight during Duncan’s entire tenure, even though student loan servicing profiteering was so out of control the consumer financial protection bureau had to step in because Duncan did nothing to stop it.
I didn’t get a chance to watch any of this video until this morning. Maybe it’s denial, just avoiding a very unpleasant experience.
People in New York State suffered under John B. King. And, now here he is inflicting his ineptness on an entire nation.
President Obama, why did you tarnish your legacy putting this guy in charge?
I was reading about the invitation-only event in DC where plans to “transform” US public schools were discussed (insiders only):
Anyway, Cami Anderson said this:
“Anderson said that the reform movement of which TFA is a part has for too long turned a blind eye to complaints about schools “quietly pushing out the most difficult kids,”
Isn’t this exactly what Hillary Clinton said? Why was Clinton shut down for saying this? Cami Anderson ran Newark. Is Anderson wrong too?
Is the problem that Hillary Clinton said it to a much broader audience?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teach-for-america-celebrates-25th-anniversary-at-washington-event/2016/02/06/695d4094-cd0a-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html?tid=a_inl
This is nice too. The (acting) US Secretary of Education is identified as in the same group with Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee.
“The D.C. conference featured hundreds of speakers, including some of the most prominent names in education reform such as acting U.S. education secretary John King, former New York City schools chief Joel Klein, D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and her predecessor Michelle Rhee.”
Can anyone who disagrees with this agenda even get a hearing in DC? Isn’t Secretary King supposed to representing the interests of tens of millions of people with all kinds of opinions instead of that of fellow “movement” members Michelle Rhee and Joel Klein?
Existing public schools haven’t done so well under ed reform, and you start to see why when you realize they never hear from anyone outside the small circle of “rock stars”
What was Randi Weingarten doing at TFA’s celebration????? Celebrating the dumbing down of teacher professionalism? I’m speechless.
Weingarten was drinking wine and rubbing elbows at the TFA shindig, of course.
“The Weingarten”
The wine is very nice —
In garden, with some ice.
And rubbing elbows too
Is what I like to do
“jcgrim
February 8, 2016 at 8:41 am
What was Randi Weingarten doing at TFA’s celebration????? Celebrating the dumbing down of teacher professionalism? I’m speechless.”
I’m not a teacher nor am I a union member but it’s amusing to me how every ed reform event includes the obligatory appearance of a union leader.
It doesn’t matter if it’s 5000 ed reformers and one union leader. Once DC checks that “union” box they’re immune from any charges of playing favorites on charter/public.
It also gives Democratic politicians cover, so that’s nice for them.
There is just no end to the depravity of this big business/US Department of Education collusion. Do these people have no souls?
“The Maestro”
Chetty picked his VAMdolin
At Nobel-chasing speed
Duncan played the basket rim
And Rhee, she played the rheed
Coleman played his Core-o-net
Moskowitz, the lyre
Billy Gates played tête-à-tête
With Duncan and with higher
Hanushek beat his cattle drum
Devalue Added Model
Pseudo-science weighted sum
Mathturbated twaddle
John King played the slide VAMbone
But Maestro was Obama
Who hired the band and set the tone
For corporatic drama
(Eric Hanushek, an economist, applied his “cattle growth model” to students to create teacher VAM. Pure genius, no?)
SomeDam Poet. I love your poetry- this one may be my fave. Allow me one correction. Hanushek didn’t invent VAM- although he praised it’s glory & power. It was a formula designed by William Sanders, a Prof in Agriculture at the University of TN. He wanted to find factors that correlated between the characteristics of cows & their milk production.
Thanks
I had forgotten that i had once written this about Sanders
“If I have seen fodder, it is by standing on the horns of cattle” — William Sanders, who applied VAM for cattle to teachers and just won a prize for it
I will change that to “Sanders beat his cattle drum”
Works better with the rhyming scheme anyway.
I also wrote this at th esame time
“The Cowbull Prize”
William Sanders did surmise
(for which he got the “Cowbull Prize”)
That students are like cows and sheep
A finding that’s both strong and deep
My mind must be failing me if I can’t remember such deep poetry
The video seems to indicate that the whole DOE is corrupt, and there is hope that the whole thing will be restaffed including the people Gates installed.
It’s really lovely to see how the chairman doesn’t allow King defer responsibility to somebody else “Hey, I want to hear your opinion, not somebody else’s. You are the acting secretary, you are supposed to make judgment, not rely on other people’s opinion!”