State fires voucher whistle-blower (FL)

[teach1st]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/news_0494e5374388612800ba.html

Palm Beach Post, 3/6

TALLAHASSEE -- Department of Education officials Friday fired a whistle-blower whose complaint and subsequent cooperation with investigators has helped spawn one criminal charge and numerous probes of Gov. Jeb Bush's school voucher programs.

Robert Metty, a 35-year-old Marine Corps veteran who pushed for accountability standards a year before the department reluctantly accepted them, was fired Friday morning by Jim Warford, the chancellor for K-12 schools. No written reason was given, and a review of his personnel file shows only positive evaluations.

Metty said it was obvious to him why he was dismissed: "This is political payback because of the public relations damage I have caused them."

The state's whistle-blower law protects employees who file written complaints or are requested to participate in investigations, but Warford said Friday that the provisions do not apply to Metty. Both Bush's and the department's inspector generals had previously determined the same thing.

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[JCMach1]

1. I smell LAWSUIT!

:)

[Florida_Geek]

2. And "a 35-year-old Marine Corps "

Sounds like he has friends.

[soup]

3. Florida, Florida, Florida

*sigh*

Part of the problem is rather than applauding and encouraging people like Mr. Metty, punishment is doled out instead.

Another is the huge sums of money floating around without any oversight.

Guess this shows you just don't mess with jeb's agenda to kill public education in FL.

Kudos to the Palm Beach Post for it's ongoing investigation and for the archives of articles relating to the Florida voucher mess.

Anyone interested in how this has been playing out should check out the archives:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/vouchers/index.html

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How the hell did jeb get elected, let alone re-elected? Doesn't anyone pay one iota of attention to what's going on in our state?

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on edit: Thanks for sharing the article, Teach1st. I might have missed it otherwise.

[teach1st]

5. Not enough people are paying attention

And so the bush goes on...

What's got me scared is Florida Bush seems smarter, more devious, and less transparent than Texas Bush. Where does Florida Bush go afer Florida?

[soup]

7. after Florida

I shudder to think of the possibilities.

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Sometimes I think their teflon has to crack, we just have to keep after them. Other times I wonder why I even bother caring.

[Judi Lynn]

4. What a story. Robert Metty is a great citizen.

From the article:

The state's whistle-blower law protects employees who file written complaints or are requested to participate in investigations, but Warford said Friday that the provisions do not apply to Metty. Both Bush's and the department's inspector generals had previously determined the same thing.
(snip)

Metty was director of scholarship programs in the Office of School Choice before filing a complaint in April alleging that a co-worker had altered official documents. Metty said he saw Choice Office employee Bill Greiner cutting off the bottoms of faxed letters he had just received regarding the financial condition of new schools that wanted to participate in the corporate voucher program.

The letters had been requested by The Palm Beach Post, and the alleged alterations had the effect of disguising when the faxes had been received. Metty said in his whistle-blower letter that the action violated the public records law and that a supervisor, by requesting his silence on the matter, was conspiring to cover it up.
(snip)

The Post learned of Metty's complaint through a public records request, and followed up with phone interviews at his home. Metty agreed to pose for a photograph that appeared with the article -- and it was that photo, more than the article, that upset Bush, according to one official who spoke on the condition that his name not be used. The official said he assumed at that point Metty's days were numbered.
(snip)

I hope we'll find out a way we can congratulate this man on his conscientious actions, knowing he'd probably lose his job, considering who the governor is, and how attached he is to these vouchers!

[soup]

6. Good luck and best wishes to Mr. Metty and his family.

"Metty, who is married and has three children, said he plans to sue to get his original job back, but in the meantime he doesn't know how he will support his family. His wife is nearly seven months pregnant, and he said they now have no health insurance."

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Hey, the good news is - I heard there's no longer going to be a waiting list for KidCare. *poof* They can apply during the next enrollment period.

(Sorry. I just get so disgusted.)

[teryang]

8. JebFRAUD is at it again!

Here is the admission-

<Warford said he wouldn't specifically discuss Metty or the others, who were scattered through various areas of the department. But he did say that complainers in any organization can bring it down.>

Typical totalitarian crap.

[Jazzgirl]

9. First thing I said when I saw this was lawsuit!

They might as well just write him a check now. I guess they "selectively" apply department policy which is why they decided it didn't apply to Metty!

Jazzgirl :wtf: