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Fulton Science Academy Middle School accused of tax money abuse - WXIA 11 Alive
ALPHARETTA, GA - "There's nothing in this report that actually said that we did anything illegal, (that) we broke any rules, (that) we went around state guidelines; there's nothing in there," Angela Lassetter told 11 Alive News on Wednesday.
Speaking as one of its Governing Board Members, she gave a formal reaction to an audit of the Fulton Science Academy Charter Middle School that showed possible mismanagement of millions of taxpayer dollars.
The audit was released Tuesday by Fulton County School Superintendent Dr. Robert Avossa.
"We're very surprised by some of the things that we found and certainly concerned about many of them," he told 11 Alive News.
The independent audit confirmed many of the concerns that lead the Fulton County School Board not to renew the 10-year-old school's charter status for another 10 years last winter.
The board offered the school a one-year extension with tighter controls, but the school's governing board refused the much shorter agreement.
That means it will become a completely private school on July 1st with an $8,500 tuition.
RELATED | Fulton Science Academy charter extension denied
The independent audit raised several questions about a $19-million construction bond taken out by the school before its extension was approved.
It also raised red flags over how many foreign teachers had been hired, security on field trips, poor bookkeeping and inappropriate vendor relationships.
"There was self dealing and conflicts of interest that were found by our auditor," Superintendent Avossa said.
Avossa said he also wants to check up on two other elementary and high school charter science academies run by some of the same people.
"I'm moving forward with an audit of each of those schools to see if the same wrongdoing is occurring in each of those schools," he added.
Their charter contracts with Fulton County Schools are still good for another three years.
Governing board member Lassetter claims many of the audit's findings are exaggerated or untrue.
"It's disconcerting that so many factual errors were given to the press," she said.
She also suggested that Fulton County Schools may have broken state law by including names of some of the school's students in the audit report.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Avossa said he's waiting for the school's formal reply to the audit before deciding whether to pass it on to local and federal prosecutors.
According to Avossa, the middle school got $3.7-million in tax dollars through the Fulton County School system last year and more than $30-million over the past decade.
Asked whether this situation points up a weakness in the charter school system, Avossa said maybe just in this case.
"Our relationship in this case failed," he admitted, adding, "We do believe; however, that charter schools play an important part in Fulton County and we want to continue in a positive way with our charters."
Celebrating Victory Today, But Big Money Is the Big Winner - DAILY KOS
While celebrating the big victory, I keep in mind the defeats and what they mean, not just for our state, but for our country:
Big Money, Republican leaning Corporate Media, saturated RW hate radio and Faux Newzzzz have kept a lying, corrupt, extremist governor in office against the largest state-wide grassroots movement I've ever seen or read about.If this power combination can save someone as toxic as Scott Walker, every election in this country is vulnerable. Big Money will just roll in, local and statewide corporate media will pander to the Republicans and attack the Democrats, and hate radio with Faux Newzzz will just hammer away at the rest. If I was President Obama, I'd be very, very worried (and perhaps more than a bit regretful that I didn't step in to defend the principle of recalls and campaign for Tom Barrett) because they'll use this same strategy to go after him.
The Republican wins yesterday are very troublesome because they overcame a massive grassroots movement. This was a test of our very concept of democracy - that People Power could overcome Money Power. Money Power won.
It wasn't Money Power alone that won. Money Power was also helped by their previous establishment of a corporatized media with media monopolies once again permitted by the relaxation, lack of enforcement, or elimination of regulations that prevented it in the past. Our leaders either ignored history or failed to remember that history repeats itself unless we prevent it from doing so.
William Randolph Hearst, media mogul and RWNJ (do those 2 always go hand in hand?) controlled a vast media empire in a time when print media was the only game in town and radio was in its infancy. As a result, he had a massive political influence that went well beyond what it should. Rules were established to prevent another media monopoly after his collapsed due to his greed to own it all sent his empire into financial ruin. Had he been less grasping to buy every newspaper in sight, that empire might still exist today weilding enormous influence.
Instead, lack of enforcement and deregulation have allowed modern day RWNJ and media mogul Rupert Murdock to emerge. And Clear Channel with its vast holdings throughout the country continues to expand the reach of RW hate radio with a few progressive stations sprinkled in here and there for "balance".
Corporations, no longer happy just to buy favorable coverage (or at least prevent negative coverage) with advertising dollars (do they really expect you to buy one of those wind turbines, jumbo jets, or jet engines they advertise?) have now become media owners themselves. Don't expect to see stories on how many Fortune 500 companies pay ZERO taxes or how their armies of lobbyists keep people paying more so they can pay less. And don't expect to see any positive coverage of politicians who don't serve their interests.
Big Money didn't do it on its own yesterday. Big Money has also patiently created Corporate Media over the decades. The team of Big Money and Corporate Media won. Our corporate media in Wisconsin has ensured that most people in Wisconsin hadn't even heard about the John Doe or Scott Walkers criminal defense fund, that acted like stenographers for Scott Walker "It's Working" talking points, that failed to point out he's the first governor in history to keep a secret schedule, that accepted and printed Scott Walkers Miracle Math jobs numbers while denouncing the actual Bureau of Labor Statistics report, that promoted Scott Walkers We Have More Teachers Miracle Math Report (yes, we have more teachers if you just ignore the numbers of retirements, layoffs, and resignations, but count replacement teachers as new, additional teachers), and so much other phony claptrap they pass off as "news".
Not just print media, but electronic media is equally at fault. Celebrity gossip, sensationalized stories, and propaganda are all you get. Whether on the radio, television, or newspaper it's becoming all Pravda all the time. Climate change is debatable (stop believing your own lying eyes), "clean coal" is good, the oil companies always clean up after a major spill, the uber rich are "job creators", regulations are bad, taxes are bad, and, my favorite, work hard and save and you, too, will be "prosperous".
And then there's the RW hate radio that saturates every inch of this country and Faux Newzzz available on basic cable everywhere to gin up every wingnut within earshot with an endless parade of sensationalized stories and ideological memes.
A healthy, vibrant, truth-reporting media is vital to a democracy. So vital that Freedom of the Press is enshrined in our Constitution. If it no longer exists because it's been bought, can democracy survive?
I'm concerned about what the future will mean if this combination can save someone like Scott Walker.
Finance Minister downplays lower deficit - radionz
Finance Minister downplays lower deficit
Updated at 9:35 pm on 6 June 2012
Finance Minister Bill English downplayed a $1.4 billion improvement in the Government's latest monthly accounts, saying it does not lessen the Government's need to keep control of its spending.
The deficit before gains and losses on the Government's investments was $5.9 billion to the end of April, $1.4 billion dollars less than forecast in the Budget in May.
The deficit was smaller due to a higher than expected tax take and lower than expected spending.
The tax take was $770 million more than forecast. But Mr English says tax is still nearly $1 billion down on the Treasury's pre-election forecasts in October last year.
Mr English says a tight rein on spending is still needed to hit the Government's target of a surplus by 2014-15.
The minister says the Government knows where the money is going, but the revenue is uncertain and this month it has been higher than expected. The big task is to do everything possible to lift economic growth.
Returns from State Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities were $300 million more than forecast, while spending was $320 lower than predicted.
The Green Party says the new figures showing stronger-than-expected returns from SOEs is further proof the Government should retain them in full ownership.
The Treasury says company tax was $450 million more than it forecast in the Budget. Crown expenses were 0.6% lower than expected. The debt balance is slightly better than forecast at 25.9% of gross domestic product.
Infometrics economist Benje Patterson says the better-than-forecast deficit does not signal a dramatic turnaround in the Government's books and more spending cuts will be needed to hit the surplus target.
Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
Europe ready to rescue Spain's banks - Daily Telegraph
Despite the optimism on financial markets, there was no sign of immediate change in policy, nor any relief from the advancing crisis.
The ECB held interest rates for the sixth month in a row.
Pierre Moscovici, French finance minister, said the eurozone is ready to "mobilise very rapidly". Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), admitted the markets were "rightly alarmed" in recent weeks but declared: "We stand ready to act."
Luis de Guindos, Spain's finance minister, said he had "absolutely not discussed any intervention in Spain's banks" and insisted that Madrid would unveil a rescue plan for the banks within two weeks. "In no more than 10 or 15 days we will have the report [on the banking sector] from the independent auditors," said Mr Guindos. "From there the Spanish government will take the decisions it has to take in terms of recapitalising the institutions."
But Madrid may not be given that much time. Thursday Spain faces a big test on the bondmarkets as it tries to raise €2bn (£1.62bn) at a debt auction. Economist Nicholas Spiro said: "Even though the size of the auction is modest, it will be the most challenging sale of the year given the mounting speculation that a bail-out is imminent. The lead-up to the auction has been a shambles, with the government itself conceding that it has lost market access."
Barack Obama and David Cameron discussed the advancing debt crisis in telephone talks on Tuesday night. The American president and British prime minister "agreed on the need for an immediate plan to tackle the crisis and to restore market confidence, as well as a longer-term strategy to secure a strong single currency", Downing Street said on Wednesday.
Mr Draghi admitted there was more risk, more uncertainty and little momentum in the eurozone, but still said the decision to hold rates had "very broad consensus". He conceded: "A few members would have preferred to have a rate cut today. I would say not many."
Economic data showed the eurozone was only saved from recession; the EU statistics office confirmed eurozone growth was flat in January to March, quarter-on-quarter.
Spanish industrial output slumped to its lowest level since 2009 in April. German industrial production fell 2.2pc in April, wiping out gains in the previous month. Berlin was dealt another blow as Moody's downgraded six German banks.
Meanwhile, France took a step away from the German-led austerity plan by cutting the retirement age to 60 for some government workers.
More than 800 bankers and policymakers are due to meet at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) annual conference on Thursday to discuss the eurozone's escalating banking crisis.
Charles Dallara, head of the IIF who negotiated on behalf of private bondholders in the Greek debt restructuring, is expected to announce his retirement after 19 years.
Finance directors’ income at average of £1m - WalesOnline
YOUR MONEY-How couples sabotage their finances - Reuters UK
(The author is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own. This is part of a five-story package on marriage and money moving June 4-7)
By Chris Taylor
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - With a wedding coming up, you'd think Jay Buerck would be obsessing about the usual details: Writing vows, choosing appetizers, or figuring out seating charts to accommodate challenging relatives.
But what worries the 29-year-old St. Louis marketing professional isn't any of those things: It's money.
Not that he and his bride-to-be Liz Downey won't have enough; they earn comfortable salaries. What really freaks him out is the inherent challenge of joining two people's finances.
"Money is the reason why many people get divorced," says Buerck. "I have a buddy who got married and didn't tell his wife about the extent of his debt, and they had a rough go of it when he came clean. That's something I want to try and avoid."
The couple has already taken steps to prepare their finances. That's a smart strategy, according to financial experts, especially now that U.S. couples are waiting longer to marry, and many people have thousands of dollars in student loans and credit card debt by the time they take their vows.
Money causes more arguments than other typical flashpoints, according to a recent survey by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Harris Interactive.
A full 27 percent of respondents said their spats started over money, more than problems with kids (16 percent) or chores (13 percent).
Couples who lock horns over finances at least once a week are 30 percent more likely to get divorced, according to a 2009 study by researchers at Utah State University,
"I probably spend 15 percent of my time with couples actually talking about money, and the other 85 percent talking about personal issues," says Chris Kimball, a certified financial planner in Lakewood, Washington, who also has a Masters of Divinity degree.
"It all ties into money. It's a very powerful thing that can do great things in people's lives, or can really mess them up."
Shockingly, nearly one-half of all people have lied to their significant other about money, according to an April poll by Self Magazine and Today.com. (For a graphic representation of our financial State of the Union, click (link.reuters.com/zyw58s)
And a survey conducted this spring by CreditCards.com revealed that 6 million Americans have hidden financial accounts from their spouses or live-in partners.
The deception isn't usually malicious. Often it's prompted by guilt and embarrassment about spending. Compounding the problem is that financial behavior is very deeply set, and can't be altered easily.
So where do couples go wrong, when it comes to money -- and how can they make it right?
HAVE THE MONEY TALK
Only 43 percent of couples talked about money before marriage, according to a May 2010 survey conducted for American Express.
But lack of disclosure about your financial issues -- maybe you're struggling with $100,000 in student debt, or maybe you filed for bankruptcy at some point -- isn't really any different from lying. Be up front about your financial situation, have the "money talk" long before the big day, and tackle any challenges as a couple.
"My significant other didn't tell me about the money problems we were having, and then one day we had no credit left and had lost pretty much everything," says Holli Rovenger, an author and speaker in Greenville, South Carolina. "If we'd worked together, maybe our finances wouldn't have spiraled out of control."
Minor money differences can be overcome as long as you have the basics covered: You have your daily needs met, you're bringing in more than you're paying out, and you're able to build a nest egg for the future. But once overspending and debt enter the picture, all bets are off.
"I was always a black-belt shopper, and hated to miss a sale," says Jenny Triplett, an entrepreneur in Powder Springs, Georgia, who's been married to husband Rufus Triplett for 22 years. "I'd have bags full of new clothes in the closet, and only bring them out one piece at a time. But eventually we came to a compromise, and I got my spending under control."
That's exactly the right template for resolving money disputes, planners advise. Even with differing money styles, if both partners take strides toward the middle and agree on broad outlines of a budget, it could prevent countless disputes.
HIDING FROM HELP
Money is such an emotional issue that it could be difficult for couples to untangle all the knots on their own. A trained third party can help you figure out the core issues, and mutually agree on a financial plan.
"I've had clients yelling at each other in the parking lot, who came into the conference room and then wouldn't say a word to each other for the first hour," says Kimball. "But eventually we were able to work through it. Talking to someone can help air these financial issues in a safe environment."
Check out the website of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (www.afcpe.org), which has a searchable database of trained financial counselors.
BEING ON SAME PAGE
It's helpful to have basic guidelines in place that will keep you on the same page. For instance, purchases under a certain dollar amount can be left to each spouse's discretion, while larger ones should to be cleared with your partner.
Some couples might be comfortable pooling all of their money, and others may not; neither is the "right" choice, but that should be decided explicitly.
"Understanding your partner's values on money is so very important," says Andi Wrenn, a financial counselor in Boston with a master's in marriage and family therapy. "Talk about how they learned money management, and what they plan to do in the future with the money they have and earn. Not often do people marry that are from exactly the same background."
That certainly applies to Jay Buerck and his bride-to-be. She's traditionally been more of a budgeter, and he's more laissez faire when it comes to counting pennies. But since they set up a joint account and moved in together, finances have "actually become less stressful," he says. "It's all about being open and honest." (Follow us @ReutersMoney or here; editing by Jilian Mincer, Linda Stern and Jeffrey Benkoe)
Till debt do us part? How money issues cause more arguments than children or chores - and often end in divorce - Daily Mail
|
No matter how in love a couple are, when it comes to managing money together, relations can all too easily become hostile.
American couples who wait longer to walk down the aisle are inevitably bringing more debt to the table which is why experts say preparing your finances may be more worthwhile than planning the wedding itself.
According to statistics married couples who quarrel about bank balances and debt are more likely to wind up in the divorce courts.
Stress: Financial woes send many couples to the divorce courts so talking about finances before the wedding is recommended by experts (Stock Image)
A recent survey by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Harris Interactive found that money causes more arguments among men and women than other typical domestic disputes.
A full 27per cent of respondents said their spats started over money, more than problems with kids (16per cent) or chores (13per cent).
A 2009 study by researchers at Utah State University revealed that couples who locked horns over finances at least once a week are 30per cent more likely to get divorced.
Chris Kimball, a certified financial planner in Lakewood, Washington, told Reuters: 'I probably spend 15per cent of my time with couples actually talking about money, and the other 85per cent talking about personal issues.'
'It all ties into money. It's a very powerful thing that can do great things in people's lives, or can really mess them up.'
Shockingly, nearly one-half of all people have lied to their significant other about money, according to an April poll by Self Magazine and Today.com.
And a survey conducted this spring by CreditCards.com revealed that six million Americans have hidden financial accounts from their spouses or live-in partners.
The deception isn't usually malicious. Often it's prompted by guilt and embarrassment about spending. Compounding the problem is that financial behavior is very deeply set, and can't be altered easily.
So where do couples go wrong, when it comes to money - and how can they make it right?
Only 43per cent of couples talked about money before marriage, according to a May 2010 survey conducted for American Express.
But lack of disclosure about your financial issues - maybe you're struggling with $100,000 in student debt, or maybe you filed for bankruptcy at some point - isn't really any different from lying. Be up front about your financial situation, have the "money talk" long before the big day, and tackle any challenges as a couple.
'My significant other didn't tell me about the money problems we were having, and then one day we had no credit left and had lost pretty much everything,' says Holli Rovenger, an author and speaker in Greenville, South Carolina. 'If we'd worked together, maybe our finances wouldn't have spiraled out of control.'
Minor money differences can be overcome as long as you have the basics covered: You have your daily needs met, you're bringing in more than you're paying out, and you're able to build a nest egg for the future. But once overspending and debt enter the picture, all bets are off.
'I was always a black-belt shopper, and hated to miss a sale,' says Jenny Triplett, an entrepreneur in Powder Springs, Georgia, who's been married to husband Rufus Triplett for 22 years. 'I'd have bags full of new clothes in the closet, and only bring them out one piece at a time. But eventually we came to a compromise, and I got my spending under control.'
That's exactly the right template for resolving money disputes, planners advise. Even with differing money styles, if both partners take strides toward the middle and agree on broad outlines of a budget, it could prevent countless disputes.
Take My Money, HBO! New Website Begs HBO For A Standalone Internet Subscription - Huffington Post
We love single-purpose websites, and TakeMyMoneyHbo.com is no exception: The site exists simply to beg HBO to flee the cable and satellite companies and offer a standalone Internet subscription for its shows, with visitors encouraged to enter in the precise amount of money they would pay each month to subscribe.
HBO currently offers an Internet service, HBO GO, that features streams of all of its shows, both current and cancelled. In order to access it, however, you need an existing HBO subscription through your cable provider. That's great news for those who already have HBO, but not for those trying to cut the cord.
"We pirate Game of Thrones, we use our friend's HBOGO login to watch True Blood...," the site's intro reads. "Please HBO, offer a standalone HBOGO streaming service and Take My Money!"
What follows that introduction is a submission form where you specify how much you'd pay, along with a handy button that launches Twitter so that you can tweet out that price to the attention of the HBO Twitter account.
The site has already received almost 65,000 visits in its first 12 hours, according to tweets from TakeMyMoneyHBO.com creator Jake Caputo. Developer Dominic Balasuriya wanted to know just how much visitors to the website were willing to pay for a standalone HBO GO subscription: After writing a quick script, he found that the average price was $12.30 per month.
Does that sound about right? With a recent study showing "Game of Thrones" to be the most pirated show in the world, wouldn't HBO be crazy not to at least consider all this free money that the Internet is ready to hurl upon it?
Well, not really. Here comes the bad news.
HBO is already very, very comfortable with the deal it has with the cable and satellite companies. In May Dustin Curtis flagged an interview with HBO President Eric Kessler, in which Kessler described why, in Curtis' words, "moving to internet distribution would deal a fatal blow to HBO's business."
Yes -- a fatal blow. As in, no more "Game of Thrones" fatal. Because of the subsidies and fees and the incredible amount of customer service and sales and advertising support that HBO receives from the cable companies, moving to a model where HBO skirts those companies -- and the 30 million subscribers they provide -- would be suicidal. Here's the (sad for cord-cutters!) money quote, as transcribed by Curtis:
What you don't want to do is to pursue a distribution channel over here [ed: the internet], where you think, well, let's go around the affiliate and we'll get a couple hundred thousand subs. But the promotional, and packaging support we get over here [ed: the affiliate networks], which, by the way, is the foundation of our 30 million subs and enables us to get 10 million transactions, if that dissipates, and that shrinks, then we will lose a lot of subs over here. Because with 10 million transactions, you have to generate a lot of subs every single day. You can't afford to have that machinery slow down. So we'll gain a little over here, and we'll lose a lot over here, and we think there will not be a net gain, there would be a net loss. So it's really about economics and a business issue.
Ryan Lawler at AOL Tech sister site Techcrunch draws a similar conclusion, that it's just not good business for HBO to abandon the cable behemoths. Writes Tate:
What would happen if HBO no longer had the pay TV industry's marketing team propping it up all the time? The results would be disastrous, and there's no way that HBO could make up in online volume the number of subscribers it would lose from cable. Which is why, even though some users would actually pay more for access to HBO Go without all the other cable channels, you won't see it show up as a standalone service anytime soon.
So, how much money would you pay for a standalone HBO subscription? Unless it's in the tens of millions of dollars, it might not be enough. HBO GO might not be coming to non-HBO subscribers any time soon, but at least we'll always have The Wire: The Musical.
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