Judge finds Rick Hess paid $30,000 for paper on school system .@mcpssuper

Remember Rick Hess? Superintendent Joshua Starr's MCPS book talk and MCPS podcast buddy?

...Administrative Law Judge Hollyce Farrell also found that the American Enterprise Institute, the contractor hired to complete the report, was paid a total of $30,000. Half of the payment came from the district and the other half was paid by the Douglas County School District Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
Frederick M. Hess is the director of the American Enterprise Institute and the white paper is cited as "the Hess Report" because of his involvement.

In a March 22, 2013 email cited by the judge, the contractor wrote to the district's communications director to request guidance for the report.
The email said, in part, "We would prefer it if you would tell us what you want us to focus on, what is most worthy of attention, what you'd like to see written about and what your general angle on it (and the paper) is."

The finalized version of the report was released on Sept. 18 and cited by the district in a weekly newsletter sent to 85,000 subscribers. The final report uses superlatives like, "unusually ambitious," "remarkable," "bold," "illuminating" and "cage-busting leaders," to describe the reform agenda.
"The [administrative law judge] finds that the District spent public funds to influence the outcome of the Board election when it commissioned and paid $15,000 for the Hess Report," wrote Farrell in the decision signed on Dec. 24...

Full article and Opinion at this link:
 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/politics/administrative-law-judge-rules-douglas-county-school-district-broke-fair-campaign-practice-laws