why does something about putting lipstick on a pig come to mind???
Posted on 02/25/2007 4:03:15 PM PST by george76
Spending at least $1.6 million in taxpayer funds on professional artwork instead of building or repairing city schools is raising questions about the school district's spending decisions.
Spending bond money on art is not illegal but unusual. School officials in Chicago, Philadelphia and other large cities say they don't spend large sums on art for their schools...
Most of the Detroit art was purchased under former schools chief Kenneth Burnley, but the payments continued after William Coleman was named superintendent in July 2005. It's unclear how many art pieces were bought. The money was a sliver of the $1.5 billion in bond money approved by taxpayers.
"We are in the process of gathering the data," district spokesman Lekan Oguntoyinbo said Friday. "We just don't have it yet."
(Excerpt) Read more at detnow.com ...
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Really, is anybody surprised by this? Waste is a normal attribute of public school funding.
Was it African art?
Truly idiotic spending!
All the artwork in my public school is created and displayed by the students. Some of it is pretty darn good, too!
I bet there is a brother in law involved in this somewhere...?
'our tax dollars at work...'
Circa 1868 the reconstruction legislature of Louisiana spent about $250,000 for Christmas hams.
"School board President Jimmy Womack agreed.
Art is inspiring, Womack said, "but do we have that luxury as a district? Currently we don't. Did they then? Apparently they thought they did, but look at where we are today."
An administrator with common sense. Bet they enourage him to take early retirement. /sarc
Word.
Were they used to feed people or did they hang them on the wall and admire them?
District records obtained by the Free Press show the money was paid to the Sherry Washington Gallery. Washington defended the district's art spending, saying, "I think kids need to see these symbols. ... You have to sometimes bring the museum to them."
School board President Jimmy Womack agreed.
Ms. Washington for several years served the City of Detroit as an administrator in the Office of Contract Compliance.
http://www.sherrywashingtongallery.com/exhibitions.htm
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DPS investigates $1M art purchase
Cash-strapped district looks into apparent no-bid acquisition for schools
Paul Egan and jennifer mrozowski / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Cash-strapped Detroit Public Schools is investigating the purchase of more than $1 million in artwork under the previous district administration, school board officials said Friday.
The purchase was made from Sherry Washington Gallery of Detroit, the same gallery where the city's Cobo Center made a controversial purchase of more than $500,000 in art in 2004. It's not clear if the contract was put up for bid.
http://tinyurl.com/27k2ds
The district has been under fire over its contracting and spending practices and is under a state-mandated plan to eliminate a $200 million deficit. As part of the plan to cut costs, the district proposes shuttering 52 schools. The proposal has angered parents and teachers, who say the closure plan is too broad.
I used to work for these people. They'll never "get it."
Well, you can eat hams.
why does something about putting lipstick on a pig come to mind???
these kids need to learn how to read, write, and do some math...
instead they ...
sad
Chun Hui Pak elaborates, “My paintings possess highly physical surfaces that interplay strong gestures with small gestures as in music or dance. I seek a tension between this process that implies spontaneity and the layering process I use to create overall atmosphere in my paintings.
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