“The former Cobb County Schools superintendent who resigned last year after an audit found he manipulated a laptop contract in favor of Apple computers has to appear before a grand jury empaneled to investigate the failed program,” The Associated Press reports.
“Joe Redden had been subpoenaed by the special grand jury to testify yesterday and two other days this month,” AP reports. “The grand jury has met every Friday since November 2005 to investigate the failed 100.8 million-dollar student laptop program that led to Redden’s resignation in August 2005.”
“Redden’s attorney, Brian Steel of Atlanta, filed a motion Wednesday [that] argues that although Redden is not specifically named as the investigation’s target, he is under suspicion because a school board-commissioned investigation by private firm Kessler International said he was responsible for selecting Apple Computer to carry out the laptop program without supplying adequate documentation to make the decision,” AP reports.
“Redden’s proposal to provide laptops to teachers and eventually to all students in grades six through 12 led to a lawsuit filed by a former county commissioner, who challenged the method of using proceeds from a special sales tax approved in 2003,” AP reports. “The contention was that voters were not aware that they would be paying for laptops with the money.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Special grand jury to look into Cobb County Schools iBook program – October 07, 2005
Cobb County Schools Superintendent Redden resigns over Apple iBook imbroglio – August 23, 2005
Cobb County Schools Superintendent blasts Apple iBook audit findings – August 16, 2005
Investigation finds Cobb School Board ‘deceived’ the public, Apple iBook deal terminated – August 15, 2005
Cobb County school board pulls plug on 63,000 Apple iBooks plan – August 02, 2005
Judge shuts down 63,000 Apple iBooks for Cobb County students – July 29, 2005
One Cobb County Apple iBook audit expected to finish soon – July 27, 2005
Inquiry into Cobb County Apple iBook bids requested – July 14, 2005
Cobb County iBook saga: allegations that school leaders pressured employees to pick Apple – July 11, 2005
Lawsuit to halt Cobb County’s 63,000 Apple iBooks for education plan goes to court today – July 08, 2005
Cobb County’s Apple iBooks in schools saga continues with lawsuit – June 04, 2005
Lawsuit filed to stop Cobb County’s Apple iBook program – June 01, 2005
Cobb County school board approves Apple Mac plan; could eventually distribute 63,000 iBooks – April 29, 2005
Cobb County school officials intend to move forward with Apple iBook program – April 21, 2005
Cobb Commission chief urges delay in Apple iBook program, says issue has become too emotional – April 20, 2005
No conflict of interest in ongoing Cobb County Apple iBook saga – April 19, 2005
More controversy in Atlanta-area school district’s plan to buy Apple iBooks – April 16, 2005
Cobb County Georgia approves first phase of plan that could equip schools with 63,000 Apple iBooks – April 15, 2005
Atlanta-area school district on verge of deal for 31,000 Apple iBooks – April 12, 2005
Cobb teachers voice concerns over using Macs for proposed laptop program – March 29, 2005
Cobb County Georgia meeting discusses plan to equip schools with 63,000 Apple iBooks – February 24, 2005
Report: 90 percent of emails opposed to Georgia’s Apple iBook program – February 10, 2005
65,000 Apple iBooks for Georgia schools one of the largest school laptop programs in the country – February 10, 2005
Georgia school district to propose 63,000 Macs for students and teachers – February 07, 2005
I say we linch the SOB for daring to help those students! GRRRRRRRR!
talk about a clusterf*ck
Insanity.
I used to live in Cobb – now I live in a nearby county. I think it’s ludicrous that much of the uproar is because the “voters were not aware that they would be paying for laptops with the money”. Since when does the government come ask any of us if we approve of everything they spending money on?
I don’t approve of the majority of the spending initiatives that Congress comes up with. Can I sue them for it?
That’s the whole idea of taxes: the money is taken from you without the ability to say “no” and it is spent on things without your approval.
Will Steve get blamed for this too?
And they saved money by meeting every friday???
Why are the taxpayers buying laptops for kids. Buy desktops they are less expensive and they can control the environment. I don’t want my child hooking up with some pervert because no one is watching to see where he goes. When I feel he can handle the lap to I will purchase it.
Redden is accused of not “supplying adequate documentation to make the decision” to authorize purchase over 1 million dollars of Apple computers. Since he works for the school system maybe the excuse, “My dog ate it.” will suffice.
I still don’t think that Redden managed to conspire to defraud the citizen’s of Cobb County by himself. Redden probably is guilty of being a Mac user himself and this is enough to tarnish his objectivity in the eyes of his accusers. I doubt that a PC user would face such criticism.
No doubt there is always some subjectivity in making a decision to purchase anything using taxpayer’s money. However, the laws and regulations of the county may favor the lowest bidder and everyone seems to believe that PC’s are cheaper to purchase if not maintain.
I think that there is more to the story than what MDN has presented.
Then read the full article that MDN provided the link to.
hey, maybe he should hire the lawyer guy from the previous article…?
Is it just me or is the Microsoft FUD machine gearing up again. Lots of negative Apple press happening leading up to the Z-brick launch. Redmond let their PR thingies off their leashes again.
Maybe it’s purpose is to downplay what’s going to happen next week…
Oops, said too much.
“without supplying adequate documentation to make the decision”
Yeah, what moron need cocumentation for something as obvious as this, idiots!
It’s just a witch hunt
Same thing happened in Henrico. Special interest groups got to the board and forced Dr. Edwards out and Dell in. After a year of PC problems with the high schools and Dell not stepping up Apple received the middle school contract again.
Mac7– what is this cocumentation you speak of?
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Poor kids in Cobb County. Obviously having laptops won’t be any help to them in training for 21st-century careers, or anything.
At least from outside, the South just seems so deeply screwed up it almost hurts.
“Will Steve get blamed for this too?”
No, but the two guys might end up sharing the same jail cell. he could be Steve’s bitch.
“what moron need cocumentation for something as obvious as this, idiots!”
Freudien slip maybe? Actually cocumentation is short for documentation of a massive cockup. Hopefully those kids will now get Windows PCs to prepare them for life in the real world, rather than incompatible Macs brought through bribes and badckhanders.
Feeding the troll time: Seeds, How is it that a machine that runs the three major OSes on the planet is “incompatible”?
The kids in these schools are still a fair bit away from actually having a job in the “real world” where they have to know, well, exactly what?
How to find out how many keyloggers are running on their PC? How to download at least one worm per day? How to open a virus infected attachment and then send it to all their friends? Maybe the joys of rebooting several times a day. Possibly learning the importance of reinstalling Windows every couple of months so that it will come back up to the slow as molasses speed it ran when they first opened the box (well, not right after they opened the box – they would have had to first spend 4 hours setting the machine before they found out that it was slow as molasses).
Are those all the things you were talking about that these students needed to learn?
Anyone else have any idea of what kinds of things people can learn by using PCs in high school?
“The kids in these schools are still a fair bit away from actually having a job in the “real world” where they have to know, well, exactly what? “
Many of these kids will be lucky to have the intellectual horsepower to learn and understand one operating system and the common software that runs under it. They don’t want or need to understand the subtleties and differences of three different operating systems when in all likelihood, in the real world they will encounter only one.
Common sense dictates that it be the one they will most likely encounter in their homes and jobs. For most learning to use a computer is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
All of the “Problems” you mention are not really big problems today. I can’t think of anyone I know who needs to restart thier PC four times a day or takes more than say 10-15 minutes to get pre-installed Windows on a PC up and running, or has any virus problems when running good antivirus.
But for the point of discussion, lets take your false assertions to be true. Are those all the things you were talking about that these students needed to learn? Yes, if that’s what it takes to run a PC in the real world.
Seeds,
Just give it up. You know you are just desperately trying to justify Windows and all its problems with little chance of being believed.
With Vista against Leopard in 2007, the whole world is going to see right through the “Microsoft Propaganda Machine”.
MS and Windows is where it once happened. Apple and Mac OSX is where it IS happening today, and will even more in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010….
So if you want to get ahead of the curve, rather than defending from behind the curve…switch to a Mac today!
Why the obvious so often is not understood nor noticed? Seed, if that’s what it takes to run a PC in the real world, then PCs running Windows are NOT UP TO THE TASK OF BEING IN THE REAL WORLD.
And since the above is true, just look at the BILLION of $ spent in protecting Windows, so blatantly unfit to be used in the real world, the point is: computers are to be used to achieve tasks and fulfill computational needs, not to spend money and time to do all it takes to run a Windows PC in the real world.
Luckily the real world is noticing. It is just a little movement now but more and more companies are ditching Windows from their corporate networks favoring solutions with Linux, Unix and Mac OS X. The examples go from financial enterprises, banks, Army and Navy. Once a department, or a solution is switched and the savings is no more a theory but a reality, it will expand within the same corporation and to others. It is just a matter of time.
The fact is that it is still not widely public and people are still wary of idiotic pundits reactions. In many cases I have clients running OS X and Apple solutions costing a fraction of what was required before and doing more than previous solution. In all cases it is a news that is not communicated with shareholders. But it happens, and more with time. This is also coming as unsuspected help from Microsoft last performance, no business is waiting for Vista to become their saviour, there is an unprecedented will and policy in place to look for alternatives to Windows.
PS
I do not care a bit if you believe this or not. Today it is evident Macs are gathering momentum and more and more visible in every sector. Also this was not believed one bit at all. It will become more and more visible in business as well when IT departments will be allowed to ask and check whether solutions based on Apple technology are in place and people will start exchange information. Then companies having switched to alternatives will be regarded as wise and the word will be out. When it will happen it will be too late for Microsoft to catch or repair the damage. Windows presence in only going down. There is no way up.
The converted can be down right boring
niggardly Semite:
“ The contention was that voters were not aware that they would be paying for laptops with money…from a special sales tax approved in 2003.”
Obviously, not all citizens knew where the cash for purchasing Apple computers would come from. Are individuals in Cobb Country suing because they are ignorant how their government functions?
“(Redden) was responsible for selecting Apple Computer to carry out the laptop program without supplying adequate documentation to make the decision..”
What exactly is “adequate documentation”? The article does not provide specifics and leads me to conclude that no one who posted the link knows exactly what “adequate documentation” means.
Then I have to wonder, “Was the grand jury convened to investigate inappropriate use of public funds; was the grand jury convened to investigate how well paperwork was collected, collated, and filed; was the grand jury convened to investigate both offenses; or was their yet another reason or reasons?”
So, niggardly Semite, what do you think? Are you completely satisfied with all the facts provided by the link? Do you consider yourself an authority on this grand jury invertigation based only on the information provided by the link?
PC users remind me of the wonderfully illustrative poem “The Calf Path” written by Sam Walter Foss.
Brinatt:
Am I boring you?
1. Mission accomplished.
2. You may go now.
3. And you have no need to return.