Drawing on ten years of undercover work and research in four major school districts, Lydia Segal reveals how systemic waste and fraud siphon millions of dollars from urban classrooms. Segal shows how money is lost in systems that focus on process rather than on results, and how regulations established to curb waste and fraud provide perverse incentives for new forms of both. Calling for renewed powers for principals and a streamlining of oversight, Segal offers a bold, far-reaching plan to reclaim our schools.
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In the early 1990s, after getting a law degree from Harvard, Segal worked for the Manhattan district attorney. She led dozens of investigations in the aftermath of accusations that school jobs in New York City were being sold for sex and cash...Segal thinks the cause of rampant corruption is not bad people but a lousy system that overcentralizes decision-making. (Forbes 20041001)
Anyone who is interested in school reform--this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school, and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first--must read this book. (Parentadvocates.org 20060101)
Segal proposes a number of sensible reforms: creating an independent Inspector General's office in all big-city school districts, privatizing custodial and repair services, decentralizing various purchasing decisions. (Wall Street Journal )
In this pathbreaking book, Segal shows that at least in the three largest K-12 systems in the U.S., the level of waste and fraud within schools is several orders of magnitude less than what is found in the central office. The author not only describes in detail the various types of corruption that have occurred, but also offers a solution that involves restructuring districts, empowering principals, and encouraging performance-based systems of accountability.
--F. Galloway (Choice )
One of the most engrossing books of the year...[Segal] tells of nepotism, bribes, kickbacks, and sexual favors in school districts across the country...If greed, waste, and sheer slime of it all aren't enough to dismay you, Segal produces evidence that 'the most academically beleaguered districts tend to be the ones with the longest, most severe, and systemic criminal records.' Until now, school reformers have pretty much ignored the connection between corruption and low student achievement...Let's hope some honest reformers read this important book.
--Rebecca Jones (American School Board Journal )
Anyone who is interested in school reform--this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school, and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first--must read this book. (Parentadvocates.org 20060101)
Segal proposes a number of sensible reforms: creating an independent Inspector General's office in all big-city school districts, privatizing custodial and repair services, decentralizing various purchasing decisions. (Wall Street Journal )
In this pathbreaking book, Segal shows that at least in the three largest K-12 systems in the U.S., the level of waste and fraud within schools is several orders of magnitude less than what is found in the central office. The author not only describes in detail the various types of corruption that have occurred, but also offers a solution that involves restructuring districts, empowering principals, and encouraging performance-based systems of accountability.
--F. Galloway (Choice )
One of the most engrossing books of the year...[Segal] tells of nepotism, bribes, kickbacks, and sexual favors in school districts across the country...If greed, waste, and sheer slime of it all aren't enough to dismay you, Segal produces evidence that 'the most academically beleaguered districts tend to be the ones with the longest, most severe, and systemic criminal records.' Until now, school reformers have pretty much ignored the connection between corruption and low student achievement...Let's hope some honest reformers read this important book.
--Rebecca Jones (American School Board Journal )
About the Author
Lydia G. Segal is Professor of Criminal Law and Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dont Even Think About School Reform Until You've Read This,
By Elizabeth Combier (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools (Hardcover)
The news about public school education has been bad for almost 30 years. Statistics published by city, state, and federal information banks show that kids are just not learning what they need to know, schools are overcome with violence, teachers are demoralized, and yet billions of dollars are literally shovelled into the system. Where does this money go, we have all asked,as we walk down our children's school hallways and have seen the paint falling off the walls and ceilings, the broken desks and chairs, and we have heard about the lack of services and resources going to our kids. There has been little documentation of the misappropriation of these funds until now. Lydia Segal has written an excellent and important book on this topic that will become THE textbook on corruption, theft, fraud, and patronage within the Board of Education not only in New York City, but also in Chicago and Los Angeles.Lydia Segal, a former Investigator of the New York City public schools, says that very little of the dollars allocated to students in our public schools actually gets used by them. She details how coding problems, the procurement process, compartmentalization and opacity of information leave administrators with only two options: good corruption (which ultimately helps the kids) and bad corruption (which never helps anyone but the perpetrator and his/her allies and accomplices). Indeed, the system fights those who try the good corruption route. Ms. Segal describes in graphic detail the "godfathers" and "godmothers" (the school board members), who obtain jobs for their "pieces". Furthermore, no one who reads her chapter "Lessons From Local Political School Control", with the sub-headings "How Language Illuminates the Pathology", "No Real Accountability", "The Ease of Building a Patronage Army", "Controlling the Tools For Patronage", and "Exploiting Parents' Poverty" will ever listen to a school Principal, Superintendent, or School Board official in the same way. Our perception of public school education is changed forever by this book. The pathology of this corruption suggests the remedy, Ms. Segal says, which is decentralization of power into the schools and the hands of the Principals. The 52 pages of footnotes, interviews, and reference materials as well as the easy reading style make every word Ms. Segal writes believable, although depressing. There is no question, however, that anyone who is interested in school reform and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first must read this book.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fixing America's Schools for Good,
By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools (Hardcover)
A real eye-opener, this very well-written and powerfully argued book finally helped me understand whyurban public schools never seem to have enough money to educate our children despite repeated national and local efforts to change that. Ms. Segal contends that waste and abuse are the primary culprits and offers thorough and persuavie doumentaion that this is indeed true. Because she concludes that the problem is with pathological systems, not people, she spends a good quarter of the book discussing how to overhaul the systems. The suggestions are overwhelmingly intelligent, inspiring, and above all, realistic. This book is a must-read for anyone looking for concrete and specific ways to improve our educational system.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fixing America's Schools for Good,
By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools (Hardcover)
A real eye-opener, this very well-written and powerfully argued book finally helped me understand whyurban public schools never seem to have enough money to educate our children despite repeated national and local efforts to change that. Ms. Segal contends that waste and abuse are the primary culprits and offers thorough and persuasive documentation that this is indeed true. Because she concludes that the problem is with pathological systems, not people, she spends a good quarter of the book discussing how to overhaul the systems. The suggestions are overwhelmingly intelligent, inspiring, and above all, realistic. This book is a must-read for anyone looking for concrete and specific ways to improve our educational system.
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