The state is moving quickly to shut down the gravy train that Mid-Central Educational Cooperative appears to have created with its contract to run the GEAR UP program. KOTA reports that Education Secretary Melody Schopp yesterday fired everyone working for the program:
On Tuesday Secretary of Education Melody Schopp by email terminated all 6 to 10 GEAR UP employees, including state board of education member Stacy Phelps of Rapid City.
And Thursday the GEAR UP website and Facebook page were both down amid concerns that some GEAR UP programs might be compromised [“GEAR UP Program Shut Down After Platte Tragedy,” KOTA-TV, 2015.09.24].
The only thing more remarkable about a Secretary of Education firing someone she works with on the state Board of Education is that she would have allowed someone she works with on the state Board of Education to profit from a state education contract in the first place.
If Dr. Schopp chopped all GEAR UP staff, that should include consultant Brinda Kuhn, GEAR UP evaluator, whose BC Kuhn Evaluation, LLC, has received $5,625 per month from MCEC for GEAR UP salaries alone for the last two years, in addition to thousands of dollars more each month for work on the College Access and Teacher Quality programs.
Why Schopp didn’t take this action and cancel MCEC’s $4.3-million contract to run the federally funded college prep program for economically disadvantaged youth back in May, when a state audit found material weaknesses in MCEC’s financial oversight, is an open question.
But hey, at least six-figure senior advisor Rick Melmer knew enough to resign from MCEC before the state had to swing its axe.
The large sums involved may mean that the political payoffs to those in charge would have been unnoticed. Once again, the political machine in Pierre continues to bury bodies and hide their ill gotten gains from the Federal government.
As a Sisseton Wahpeton neighbor points out this is an old story of federal money sent to Indian agents who see that it never gets to the Indians. Corruption is a tradition for South Dakota.
Why does it take murders, a suicide and an arson case to get action on institutional corruption in yet another Mike Rounds/Dennis Daugaard fleecing operation? The gravy train would still be operating as if nothing had happened if Westerhuis took the news of his contract loss and moved along to something else. His promised silence would most likely have opened doors to another government teat provided by his pals in Pierre, as demonstrated in the Rounds Racketeering Scam.
Food for thought: I strongly suspect there are many other examples of fleecing operations like this and like EB-5 under the cover of the Board of Regents.
This scam had been the subject of a slow moving audit that peeled away the layers of corrupted behavior that revealed actionable information last spring and sooner. Yet here we are in September and the public is only now aware because of a murder-suicide-arson. How many sweetheart contracts are out there siphoning federal and state funds to line the pockets of Rounds/Daugaard annointed ones?
What really irritates me about this is that all the Federal funds siphoned off to line the pockets of political cronies mean that less funds are available for the targeted purpose, in this case insure Native youth are successful in college. Well intended programs that attempt to address the cycle of poverty on the reservations, the poorest counties in America, are seen as gravy trains by greedy apparatchiks in Pierre.
Maybe I over reached when I suggested Governor should resign. Let’s start with Schopp. Unfortunately corruption is not limited to just South Dakota. But it makes the average person paranoid when two state programs ( ran mostly with federal dollars) when put under public scrutiny have resulted in suicides/murder (Well stated 96tears). I believe the one party system in this state government is just not very healthy and has become discouraging to many people. Corey I once again will whine about SD democratic kingdom not backing Joe Lowe . Oh I forgot, he was not born here, he just chooses to live here n make a difference.
But, next elections the anointed this and the next republican governor n all the minions will continue to cry wolf on the national policies established by democratic federal administrations n get re-elected by landslides. Meanwhile gladly taking all federal funds possible. AND let’s not forget keeping the reservations the poorest counties in America for voting democrat.
I know Harney for governor and Melmer for Indian Agent.
Peace
The feds need to drop down on Rounds/Daugaard like a ton of bricks. There is no law enforcement from state agencies because they are also on the gravy train. As Nick says, the feds have a stake in where these monies are going and if program objectives are being circumvented because graft is a higher priority in Pierre.
Democrats in South Dakota need to hold a major meeting to put together tough and smart reforms and new oversight and public disclosure proposals and take their ideas directly to the people in all 35 legislative districts. There is no justice and no integrity in Pierre. Don’t waste your time there with the nitwits and leeches on the first, second and third floors of the State Capitol. It’s time to go to war against Pierre.
That US Attorney Randy Seiler, his office and twitter feed have been silent on anything but busts or convictions of reservation offenders is a tell.
The hypocrisy of Mike Rounds calling for the US Department of Education is stunning and the cover-up must be elephantine.
Looking up one dead horse’s rectum Bob Mercer writes:
http://my605.com/pierrereview/?p=12495
Mr. Kurtz, I was just going to recommend everyone to read Bob Mercer’s excellent analysis of this scam/tragedy up to today. I will repeat the link you’ve already provided:
http://my605.com/pierrereview/?p=12495
These actions make Rod Blagojevich look like an amateur.
Larrry,
As an old Illinoisan and member of the press, I can’t come up with examples in which the corruption was so entrenched in the government. I once was a part of an investigative project regarding the late Secretary of State Paul Powell who we suspected was skimming money from trucking fees. When he died, a shoe box full of checks was found in his closet. The embezzlements were individual acts, not routine procedures set up in the structure of state government. Compared to South Dakota, Illinois politics is like a breath of fresh air.
It’s endemic:
http://www.capjournal.com/news/natives-benefit-little-by-ed-initiative/article_7cfa4069-48ef-5878-a94f-e8eebb989501.html
Prediction:
The State will announce an effort to claw back funds involved.
And that is the last we’ll hear of it.
Guess what? It hasn’t worked,” Schopp said about the 2010E goal of improving outcomes for Native American students. “Just writing goals doesn’t make something happen.”
A wingnut finally figured out paying lip service doesn’t solve problems. Halle freakin’ lujah!
SD being ranked so high for corruption every year? Just happenchance.. Nothing to see here people, just the establishment political machine gravy train.
The reason why we have so much of this corruption? We do NOT have any serious, motivated, modest, political reporters in SD other than Cory.
@Jeff Barth, there supposed to do that through criminal prosecution. If, like the EB5 scandal, these people have $$$ there not suppose to have? Its because they have it illegally.
Do you suppose Melmer was enough of an insider that he got the tip earlier than the rest of the crooks?
This thing is starting to smell like a big rancid pile of beef guts…
What hasn’t the Machine publicly disclosed? What doesn’t the Regime want voters to know? Smell any rotten to the core crony odors?
Short suspense notice question: Why did SD DOE notify MCEC only 9-days prior to expiration of DOE & MCEC agreement that a decision had been made to terminate the agreement?
Candor and courage question: What factors or incidents during the Aug 25, 2015 to Sept 16, 2015 time period caused a “SD Decision Maker” to terminate SD DOE & MCEC agreement on Sept 25, 2015?
Command and control question: Who really made the decision to terminate DOE & MCEC agreement?
Integrity and honor question: What was the real reason for terminating the DOE and MCEC agreement?
Crony ear tag question: What is the name of the Cartel Crony chosen to administer the $4.3 million GEAR UP federal grant under the SD DOE & SD Board of Regents Sept 26, 2015 agreement?
CY&MA questions: Who really made the decision to fire everyone handling SD GEAR UP grant funds? Why wasn’t SD Sec of Ed Melody Schopp fired? Owe that’s right, “The Buck Does Not Stop Here” when Regime Crony backsides are exposed or the Machine’s public image with corresponding voter trust and confidence are at risk.
the wrongful termination suits are gonna be hilarious for those uninvolved in this mass execution. daugaard, rounds have been little more than little bushs
Cory, you really should call up Daugaard’s office and ask him for a statement on the MCEC. Daugaard doesn’t even have the balls to address to the SD people these firings himself.
96-i agree-time for war, perhaps, but let sddp AND feds AND national democrats put their resources together. we already got outsmarted when brendan johnson and pat duffy took their runs at it. MORE HORSE POWER, investigation and prosecution is expensive and SD does NOT likely have the expertise.
yes, cory, before he has time to cover all his asses
spike-please email your positive comment supporting the fed name change of harney to BLACK ELK PEAK, today, bgnexec@usgs.gov
US Atty Randy Seiler can make his career right now, find the facts, and crush the republican party inadverently in SD.
why Brendan Johnson, with his dad’s brillance, could have, and why they didn’t is a mystery. likely rounds/daugaard et al have covered up the frauds quite well. Jackley has a hundred some lawyers in his state republican law firm. Plus NSU’s, plus Regent’s, plus private republican lawyers state-wide on the teat.
without knowing the facts and hoping beyond hope it is a non-indian provable fraud, a 7,000 sq. foot brand new home perched above the missouri river, with a driveway down to the lake, for what, boats of many kinds, hunting gear (innocent pheasant shotguns-hopefully not the tactical kind the kids like the aurora shooter and sara palin types sexualize), helicopters(?)…as kids of people Harney killed at the Blue Water are STILL STRUGGLING with generational trauma from government genocide, while many, many racist South Dakotans refuse to understand and acknowledge these wrongs and give the token gift of changing the name of Harney Peak.
A campaign ad take-off of daugaard’s rechageable holstered drill fixing honey-dews on a step ladder (no offense to Hillary and the rest of the capable female leaders that will make a difference in a peaceful world): he is dressed in black camos, hood, and fire starting tools:)
How much of all this money meant for Indian student education has been funneled back into republican political campaigns?
Just in from Bob Mercer, http://my605.com/pierrereview/?p=12502
Mr. C, that is a great question. I suspect that some people will even be shocked that some of the Indians involved in this were funnelling money from school kids to political and personal interests. And some of these people weren’t even Republicans!!
I’m with you on that question, Roger.
So a quick check on the URL registration shows that the http://www.sdgearup.org is registered through GoDaddy and is owned by the state of South Dakota. Mundane stuff.
But a little more reading reveals that the site is hosted by web developer Tanya Linn of Linn Productions out of Rapid City.
A quick visit to Ms. Linn’s site shows this interesting tidbit:
“At Linn Productions, we create dynamic, high-quality content with a cinematic flair.”
Note: Apparently, they can hide a site – perhaps even take a site down – in the blink of an eye.
It appears that Ms. Linn has done a lot of work for other state entities and some heavy hitters.
I wonder if any of these state email accounts are hosted on her private server.
http://www.whois.com/whois/sdgearup.org
I predict this mess will scare the legislatures from giving more funding for Indian education. And that’s exactly the opposite of what should happen.
grudz-u just libeled an entire race without facts to back it up. what is your name and address?
Correction – the Linn Productions site is registered to Tanya Aby, according to the registrant information.
http://www.emailsherlock.com/emailsearch/tanya@linnproductions.com/
Ms. leslie, I think Mr. Moore and Mr. Drapeaux and the fellow who advertises his PerGroup business as owned by a certain ethnicity are quite open with their race. Me just pointing it out is for you who may have missed that part.
GEAR UP Website Offline; Mid-Central to Conduct Own Audit
September 25, 2015, 12:15 PM; KELOLAND; by Angela Kennecke
SIOUX FALLS – Amid reports that GEAR UP employees are being fired, the non-profit educational group’s website is offline and the Facebook page has been removed.
… But Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s office tells KELOLAND News that media reports which claim that Secretary of Education Melody Schopp sent out emails firing GEAR UP employees are false. Chief of staff Tony Venhuizen said he doesn’t know whether any GEAR UP employees have lost their jobs, but that Schopp did not fire any herself. KELOLAND News has unsuccessfully attempted to reach GEAR UP administrators to find out why the website is down and if anyone has been fired.
Meanwhile, KELOLAND News has learned that Mid-Central Educational Cooperative, which is in the middle of an ongoing legislative audit, will conduct its own audit, as well. Mid-Central’s Board has voted to hire the accounting firm Eide Bally to review its financial books. The move follows the tragedy in Platte, where Scott Westerhuis is believed to have shot and killed his entire family before setting fire to his home and turning the gun on himself. Westerhuis was chief financial officer of Mid-Central Educational Cooperative … A troubled legislative audit had just prompted the South Dakota Department of Education to cancel its contract with Mid-Central to disperse the $4.3 million in GEAR UP funds. Hours after Mid-Central learned of that decision, the Westerhuis family was found dead.
Badger Remarks: GEAR UP program website offline and Facebook page removed because SD Dept of Education & Mid-Central Educational Cooperative Agreement terminated Sept 25, 2015 12:01 am because SD DOE only gave MCEC 9-days advance notice that a “SD Decision Maker” decided to have the SD Board of Regents oversee the GEAR UP program. Is the ink still drying on the replacement GEAR UP agreement between SD DOE & SDBR with SDBR sponsored GEAR UP website and Facebook page not having been launched?
Did the truck at Regime Print Shop loading dock unload a couple more barrels of oil and ink for the propaganda machine?
Badger, Out!
Wow,
We ALL knew the various fees being charged by entities as this federal/state trough would start floating to the top. Melmer n Moores per capita checks/ consulting fees (wink, wink) from Mid-central were just the tip of the iceberg.
We don’t know who fired who, who did what, who’s on first, who struck out n who’s going hunting this weekend.
I am concerned that the ‘feds’ are not necessarily the Knights in shiny armour that will clean this up. They gave Moore n Drapeau a pass in DC
Behavior which is rewarded is repeated.
My heart aches for the Suicide crisis on the reservations. N the Westerhuis family n those kids friends.
I’m nauseous.
Well, Marty Jackley and Bryan Gortmaker will get right to the bottom of this corruption! You just watch and see!
Lightening fast they were in calling this a murder suicide before any type of lab examinations could have reasonably been conducted.
Seems like there is an epidemic of shotgun deaths of persons involved in questionable dealings that are linked to Rounds and Daugaard?
Say? Wasn’t Dennis Daugaard a Chicago lawyer?
It’s frustrating because the Melmer led Leadership South Dakota only selected one Native person for their program as well, I hope Funders are paying attention as well and don’t punish the few Native led non profits doing good work in Native communities and invest more in Native led organizations. http://www.leadershipsouthdakota.com/participants-2016/
Republicans, listen up. This is an example of what privatization and block grants gets you: fiscal shenanigans, people at the top making out very well indeed, and the folks the money is meant for (ie., kids) get shafted. You’ve been warned. If that’s what you want, just keep shafting local districts and teachers, and setting up ways to privatize things.
A lot of the problem is that these grants aren’t run through local school districts, which have far, far better accountability measures than the state. That’s right. While Legislators have been dumping on districts and teachers for being unaccountable, THEY really are the problem. Listen up Blue Ribbon Panel. Change the formula, provide more money to the districts. Don’t privatize anything.
The state and these cooperatives just funnel money out to people with very little accountability. School districts have bureaucracies precisely because they have to account for taxpayer money.
Disgusted, I beg to differ. Bob Mercer is rocking out on this story as well. See his effort to connect lots of dots that may not fit into the dead-tree press yet:
http://my605.com/pierrereview/?p=12495
There are some very knowledgeable comments here. A question I’m sure the tribes will ask is how the money to fund these various programs went to the state instead of the tribes? Federal Dept of Education money that the tribes couldn’t or didn’t want to administer, either as individual tribes or as a group.
Tribes administer programs like this and much larger all the time. We all know that. The Oglala Tribe administering Department Of Transportation programs directly from the Federal DOT is one example that comes to mind. In Rapid City they also administer several different programs. AND, they administer the Mni Wiconi waterline directly with the Bureau of Reclamation. United Sioux Tribes administers job placement and training programs in Pierre, Rapid city and Sioux Falls.
Rural Initiatives in Rapid City administers all kinds of programs and have supported Gear Up.
This reflects one of the complex issues between the tribes and state. There are some funds that flow thru the state to the tribes but the relationship obviously needs work. As part of the goal of SD Dept of Education and the federal Ed funds, the opportunity to improve state/tribes educational activities hopefully will be seized and addressed. It makes me curious of what other situations like this exist.
People will have all kinds of justifications for doing this, I doubt any charges will result, but in the end we all know the foxes broke into the chicken house.
Poorest counties in America.
“funneled”means illicit behavior u attempt to lay on a race, rather than republican buddy melmer. give it a rest, grudz
We don’t know Mr. Melmer’s ethnicity. I am not one to assume.
double speak expert-you are a banker, grudz, right?
Can anyone tell me why the GEAR UP employees had to be fired? I don’t understand since the grant was going to be moved from MCEC to SDBOR. It’s not like the SD DOE lost the federal grant. It merely was removed from MCEC (rightfully so) and placed with another organization. Or am I missing something?
I’m not sure what they meant by firing all employees, does that mean the individual school districts employees who work under the Gear Up grant?
As for the situation, here are problems I see, 1st, why is there so many steps for this federal grant involving consultants, and non-profits? And 2nd, why these educational centrals and non-profits don’t have to be subject to the accounting as public schools
Consulting in Education is a problem, its a problem on two fronts, 1 how the state/fed/grants are allowing so much to be charged for so little, and 2nd is how school boards are allowing their employees to make so much on outside consulting.
When I tried to run for senate against Thune, the nonexistent SD Democratic Party would not support me. We have zone party state and some Dems self declare “Big Shot” like Ex Sen Abourezk are the reason. A one party state is why SD State Government is so corrupt. And where is the FBI in all of this? Probably been bought off too. Rounds is now in Washington! AMAZING! Math Question…How much money can SD make off of never addressing thus prolonging Native People’s hardships and get away with it? Next to Tourism using Native People for State Profit including “selling” Native Kids to the state child welfare system and without a hearing, is the secret real # 2 business here! Thanks to Jeff Viken, stealing Native children at least is on hold. And Daugard while Lt. Gov. created the whole scam! Stealing, whether its a beef plant or Native Education Dollars is the major Republican and thus State industry here. Sadly ignorant and mostly poor members of the Republican Party prop it up year because of family voting traditions so are to blames as well.
Maybe it’s time to take a look at voting patterns in South Dakota instead of writing it off to Republican Party strength. Corruption is corruption and voting machines certainly wouldn’t be considered hands off.
“Hmm. Statistics professor sees a curious voting pattern in which an unpopular governor who has cratered his state sailed to re-election. State officials who benefitted from said election – including one of the architects of our new national voter-suppression tactics – decline to provide the data she needs to do her research. Coincidence?”
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a37090/voting-irregularities-still-problem-in-kansas/