Monday, November 20, 2017

Porter leaving MDE

A longtime crony of the State Superintendent of Education is leaving the Mississippi Department of Education. Chief Information Officer Dr. John Q. Porter will resign his position at MDE on November 30. Contracts awarded to him and his associates have been the subject of withering criticism from the State Auditor and the PEER Committee.  The Associated Press reported:


Chief of Technology and District Transformation John Porter is leaving the department at the end of November for “personal reasons,” spokeswoman Jean Cook told The Associated Press on Friday. Cook said Porter’s departure had nothing to do with the contracting criticism.

State Superintendent Carey Wright has said she hired Blue Sky Innovative Solutions, a company owned by Porter, because she found the state department’s computing functions in disarray. Blue Sky was paid $99,000 in 2014 and $243,000 in 2015. State agencies at the time were supposed to take bids for service contracts worth more than $100,000, and take quotes from multiple vendors for contracts worth more than $50,000.

Porter once worked with Wright in a Maryland school system, as did another man who got computer work from the state Department of Education, Elton Stokes. Stokes and Data One IT, a company run by his wife, were paid $263,000 for data management work.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering and a legislative watchdog agency have questioned the multiple contracts signed with Porter, saying they may have been structured to avoid the bid threshold. Department officials have said the contracts were allowable because they were for different kinds of work. Pickering has said he believed the contracts were for “very much the same work.” Rest of article

Splitting contracts to evade bid laws is a crime under Mississippi state law.
JJ first broke the story about Dr. Porter's sweetheart deals in a May 2016 post.  JJ reported:

It appears Deputy State Superintendent Dr. John Q. Porter has fed quite well at the public trough over the last few years.  The State Board of Education hired Dr. Porter at a salary of $195,000 in May, 2015.  State Auditor Stacey Pickering told Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright the salary was illegal since it exceeded 150% of the Governor's salary.  However, Dr. Porter made a nice sum of money through no-bid contracts awarded behind closed doors before he was hired.

The State Board of Education hired Dr. Carey Wright in September, 2013. Dr. Porter followed her to Mississippi six months later.  However, he was not hired as a Deputy Superintendent until May 21, 2015.  Dr. Porter made his money the Mississippi way.   The Board  awarded several consulting contracts worth $293,404 to Dr. Porter and his company, Blue Sky Innovative Solutions, LLC.  The Board approved every contract in executive session.  The Board finally voted in executive session to hire Dr. Porter as the Deputy Superintendent at a salary of $195,000 - after Dr. Porter wrote the job notice and screened all applicants himself.
State Auditor Stacey Pickering is investigating how MDE contracts were awarded to Dr. Porter and other companies. 

Kingfish note: Hmmm..... sudden resignations during ongoing investigations.  Interesting. 

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wright plugged in her own man to carry her dirty water (i.e. watch the data streams) and now that someone supposedly cares about good government, the pressure is brought to bear on the guy managing the data streams....next stop to discovery: the flow of knowingly false data that leads to funding that puts them way out of compliance with the feds, and the state as well. One does have to ask along the way: If Pickering warned her....why wasn't there a correction? Is there any law enforcement happening at all? We effectively have a social worker in the AG's office.....So WHO exactly is in charge of accountability in the State of Mississippi?

Anonymous said...

I'll say this for Porter-- He made hay while the sun shined!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Making hay?

Someone should have warned him there was some old bob wire in the hay before he done hit it with the Mo-Co! Dun got that chit all wrapped up in the crimpers!

Anonymous said...

Same old, same old at MDE. Those of us who are long-time employees have seen this same game with different players for years. No integrity, no principles other than self advancement and self preservation. Our children suffer while fat cat PhDs with little common sense and no desire to hear the opinions of the educators they supervise continue to promote their progressive education ideas. We don't need more new and improved programs. We need to go back to basic curriculum and politically incorrect firm discipline. Our children deserve much better.

I know Dr. Porter. He and Crooked Carey Wright are cut from the same cloth. She needs the boot as well for 'personal' or whatever reasons. Let's see if the powers that be have the manhood to do what is best for our students.

Burke said...

Amen, 2:19. Trump is loathsome, and you won't find me carrying water for Betsy DeVos, but I would be heartened if the Department of Education were abolished, and state education department administrations cut back to the bone. Take the money and find or make good teachers. And firm discipline need not be politically incorrect. It mainly needs to be immediate.

Anonymous said...

He will not resign November 30. He has already resigned, EFFECTIVE November 30. But, he's damned lucky to not be in jail. He's got one helluva retirement ratholed though.

Anonymous said...

Here is how it went...... (Thank you KingFish and Mr. Pickering.).

If you want your house to look good (When foundations are giving away, walls are falling and roof is leaking..) you resort to "Paint the Walls". In software world, if you fail to deliver anything , then you can resort to revamp the Website. You will look good temporarily with a rotten foundation inside.

On November 9th, 2017, Porter rehearsed before his obedient IT department, a whole year plan to revamp the MDE Website. The jazzy presentation was another sleek attempt to the failing foundations such as Students Data processing, Enterprise student data management, Data quality and Security, Business Intelligence and data warehousing. Every foundation component is at a inferior stage than when he took over IT at MDE. So his last attempt to save his job is to resorting to Web Site revamping AKA "Paint the Walls". The presentation was in preparation for his last ditch attempt to present the board and stick around.

With his tricks and techniques, deeming the lights and modulating his voice Watch this board meeting presentation (Start at 2:39:26 and continue for a few minutes to see the magic of wall painting when everything else has failed!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5wLv9o99Ac

It was a good try but thanks to the relentless hammering of Our State Auditor Mr. Pickering, and Kingfish's acumanship in documenting this green team's misdeeds, Porter was unable to save his job this time. After the presentation, our Mississippi famous close door executive meeting took place. Next thing we know is that Porter has resigned from MDE for personal reason.

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/17/education-executive-questioned-contracts-resign/876286001/

Anonymous said...

Yes, they are stealing/embezzeling probably a few million but the real crime comes from the Hundreds of Millions of dollars in lost opportunity and the monetary impact of not doing their jobs effectively.

No different that hiring for any reason other than ability to do the job and bring benefit to an organization. A business hires someone who can't be fired but doesn't preform, they have to hire an underling to do that person's job. Repeat over and over and we wind up with people who don't even know they don't know what they don't know. Inefficient process repeated all across government and large business cost the public billions.

Chester Goode said...

Don't crooks typically leave town after they loot the saloon cash box, the bank vault and whatever the marshal had in the reward box? I bet he ain't paid the livery stable for boarding his mule either.

Follow Up said...

I wonder if anybody ever follows these types into retirement to see the cash flow. Condominiums, travel, luxury automobiles, new digs, jewelry,gold bathroom fixtures.

Anonymous said...

November 29, 2017

I just saw the story about JPS hiring the Bailey Group. I don't do Facebook and therefore can't comment on the Clarion Liar. Here goes...

Many employees at Bailey Education Group are just retired/fired/former bureaucrats from MDE. No new ideas; just educational bureaucratic retreads. The educational consulting business is a RACKET. When I worked at MDE years ago, a man retired and went into the MAEP consulting business. When he came back to visit, I told him I can and do give the school districts the same information he charges them to receive. He just put his finger to his lips and said, "Shhh!"

JPS needs real leadership. Someone with gonads. Big ones. Not politically correct. Not afraid of being called any name with an 'ist' behind it. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Anonymous said...

Just wondering, has anything happened since the state auditor's office started looking into any of this?



Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.