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Bush Brother Gets No Child Left Behind Contracts
Company led by Bush's brother getting No Child money
Associated Press
HOUSTON - At least 13 school districts are using money from President Bush's signature education law, No Child Left Behind, to buy products from a company run by his brother and partly owned by their parents, a newspaper reported.
Neil Bush's Ignite! Learning has placed its products in 40 U.S. school districts, sometimes through donations or grants from foundations and companies with political ties to the Bushes, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 provides federal funds to help school districts better serve disadvantaged students and improve their performance, especially in reading and math. Ignite does not offer reading instruction, and its math program will not be available until next year.
The company's products are geared toward middle school social studies, history and science.
Neil Bush said in an e-mail to the Times that Ignite's program had demonstrated success in improving the test scores of economically disadvantaged children. He said political influence had not played a role in Ignite's rapid growth.
"As our business matures in the USA, we have plans to expand overseas and to work with many distinguished individuals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa," he wrote. "Not one of these associates by the way has ever asked for any access to either of my political brothers, not one White House tour, not one autographed photo, and not one Lincoln bedroom overnight stay."
Neil Bush and his parents, who live in Houston, did not immediately return calls to The Associated Press seeking comment Monday.
The use of No Child law funding to buy Ignite products was reported previously in Business Week.
The U.S. Department of Education does not monitor individual school district expenditures under the No Child law, but sets guidelines that states are expected to enforce, spokesman Chad Colby said.
Ignite's portable learning centers cost $3,800 each and are known as COWS, or Curriculum on Wheels. The large, purple devices can be wheeled between classrooms and plugged in, offering lessons for a roomful of students. The centers entice students with catchy jingles and videos featuring cartoon characters like Mr. Bighead and Norman Einstein.
Earlier this year, former first lady Barbara Bush gave an undisclosed amount to a Hurricane Katrina relief foundation for victims who had relocated to Houston. But she stipulated that the donation be used for local schools to buy Ignite's COWs.
The company has sold 1,700 COWs, and Texas accounts for 75 percent of Ignite's business, said Ignite executive Tom Deliganis. The company also has sold the learning centers in North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada, California, the District of Columbia, Georgia and Florida, he said.
In addition to federal and state money, foundations and corporations have helped districts acquire Ignite products. The Washington Times Foundation, backed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the South Korea-based Unification Church, has put COWs in Virginia classrooms under a $1 million grant.
The Times reported that Aramco Services Co., an arm of the Saudi-owned oil company, also has donated COWs to schools, as have Apache Corp., BP and Shell Oil Co.
Neil Bush said he is a businessman who does not attempt to exert political influence, and he called the Times' inquiries "entirely political."
Bush's parents joined him as Ignite investors in 1999, the Times reported, based on Securities and Exchange Commission documents. The newspaper said other investors in Ignite include Boris A. Berezovsky, the Russian fugitive business tycoon; Mohammed Al Saddah, the head of a Kuwaiti company; and Winston Wong, the head of a Chinese computer firm.
Associated Press
HOUSTON - At least 13 school districts are using money from President Bush's signature education law, No Child Left Behind, to buy products from a company run by his brother and partly owned by their parents, a newspaper reported.
Neil Bush's Ignite! Learning has placed its products in 40 U.S. school districts, sometimes through donations or grants from foundations and companies with political ties to the Bushes, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 provides federal funds to help school districts better serve disadvantaged students and improve their performance, especially in reading and math. Ignite does not offer reading instruction, and its math program will not be available until next year.
The company's products are geared toward middle school social studies, history and science.
Neil Bush said in an e-mail to the Times that Ignite's program had demonstrated success in improving the test scores of economically disadvantaged children. He said political influence had not played a role in Ignite's rapid growth.
"As our business matures in the USA, we have plans to expand overseas and to work with many distinguished individuals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa," he wrote. "Not one of these associates by the way has ever asked for any access to either of my political brothers, not one White House tour, not one autographed photo, and not one Lincoln bedroom overnight stay."
Neil Bush and his parents, who live in Houston, did not immediately return calls to The Associated Press seeking comment Monday.
The use of No Child law funding to buy Ignite products was reported previously in Business Week.
The U.S. Department of Education does not monitor individual school district expenditures under the No Child law, but sets guidelines that states are expected to enforce, spokesman Chad Colby said.
Ignite's portable learning centers cost $3,800 each and are known as COWS, or Curriculum on Wheels. The large, purple devices can be wheeled between classrooms and plugged in, offering lessons for a roomful of students. The centers entice students with catchy jingles and videos featuring cartoon characters like Mr. Bighead and Norman Einstein.
Earlier this year, former first lady Barbara Bush gave an undisclosed amount to a Hurricane Katrina relief foundation for victims who had relocated to Houston. But she stipulated that the donation be used for local schools to buy Ignite's COWs.
The company has sold 1,700 COWs, and Texas accounts for 75 percent of Ignite's business, said Ignite executive Tom Deliganis. The company also has sold the learning centers in North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada, California, the District of Columbia, Georgia and Florida, he said.
In addition to federal and state money, foundations and corporations have helped districts acquire Ignite products. The Washington Times Foundation, backed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the South Korea-based Unification Church, has put COWs in Virginia classrooms under a $1 million grant.
The Times reported that Aramco Services Co., an arm of the Saudi-owned oil company, also has donated COWs to schools, as have Apache Corp., BP and Shell Oil Co.
Neil Bush said he is a businessman who does not attempt to exert political influence, and he called the Times' inquiries "entirely political."
Bush's parents joined him as Ignite investors in 1999, the Times reported, based on Securities and Exchange Commission documents. The newspaper said other investors in Ignite include Boris A. Berezovsky, the Russian fugitive business tycoon; Mohammed Al Saddah, the head of a Kuwaiti company; and Winston Wong, the head of a Chinese computer firm.
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