Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 13, 2007 PICKY, PICKY, PICKY

Maybe the losers should sioux the Iowa Department of Education!

Actually, being one of those picky schoolteachers, I agree with the rejections. As I constantly tell my students: FOLLOW DIRECTIONS...if they didn't care, they wouldn't put them there!

Now, the District that used Apple Works instead of Microsoft Word? Did the directions specify which word processing program that you had to use? Might have to cut them some slack!

Double-space rule costs school districts money

By Todd Dorman, Journal Des Moines Bureau

DES MOINES -- Schoolteachers are sticklers for following directions, and that apparently goes double for the Iowa Department of Education.

Roughly 30 school districts hoping to share $14.6 million in new preschool grants saw their applications tossed. The reason? Failure to double-space.

The problem cropped up in parts of the application where districts were asked for double-spaced narratives describing how they would use state dollars. Tighter spacing was not accepted.

The rule, officials said, was clearly spelled out to applicants, as were other requirements for font use and type size. In the competitive grant-writing game, officials insist, such hard and fast rules are common.

The state received 177 applications and awarded dollars to 63 districts. It's the first year of a four-year program intended to expand access to quality preschool.

"We told them up front," said Carol Greta, legal counsel for the department who testified before a legislative panel looking into the spacing issue. "If you want the public's money, follow the rules."

Stephen McAllister, superintendent at Danville in southeast Iowa, insists his district did follow the rules. Danville's grant was tossed before it was read by state officials because they ruled it ran afoul of the double-space edict.

McAllister contends it was written double-spaced using Apple Works software. But the spacing looked smaller when it was evaluated using Microsoft Word. The software glitch did not soften the department's resolve and it rejected Danville's appeal.

"We're still trying to sort through all this," said McAllister, who is making another overture to education officials. The district hoped for dollars to expand its existing preschool program and spent three weeks preparing its application.

Officials argued that it would be unfair to allow some districts to offer longer, single-spaced sales pitches. But Greta said a few applicants that used one-and-a-half spaces may have gotten away with it. "It was a little harder to catch those, frankly," Greta said.

Education officials won't disclose which districts broke the rule. In general, grant applications that don't make the cut are not made public, Greta said.

Lawmakers appeared to accept the department's explanation -- even Rep. Phil Wise, D-Keokuk, who asked for a special review of the issue. Danville is near Wise's district.

"It seems picky, but guidelines are guidelines," said Sen. Mike Connolly, D-Dubuque, a former schoolteacher. "You just come back next time and take another run."