Thursday, April 19, 2001
by Jacquelyn Horkan, Editor

GRADING SCHOOL DISTRICTS

     The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), an arm of the Florida Legislature, recently released its justification review of the state’s K-12 public-education program.

     The review focused on the adequacy of agency performance measures instituted under the Department of Education’s performance-based budget and evaluated that performance, while also cataloging policy changes that could improve services and cut costs.

     In general the public education system scored well; the weak link appeared at the school district level. OPPAGA (http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/) discovered that the branch offices of the public education system do a poor job at developing strategic plans and using resources efficiently. The report also found that the means to hold district offices accountable are lacking.

     Independent OPPAGA studies of 11 school districts over the last four years uncovered potential savings of $312.9 million over a five-year period in operational and educational services. School districts lack either the will or the wherewithal to identify methods to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve services.

     According to OPPAGA Gov. Jeb Bush’s A+ Plan, enacted two years ago, is performing well when it comes to evaluating the performance of individual schools. Now the program needs to be expanded to include a system for grading the school districts that operate those schools.

FORECAST: PARTLY CLOUDY

     According to Internet analyst Webmergers.com, the month of March gave the Internet industry slightly better treatment than what it’s become accustomed to. The number of company shutdowns dropped slightly to 41, from 53 in February. That’s still 20 times as much as the number of last year’s March closures, back in the halcyon days of early 2000.

     Last month also saw 143 Internet mergers and acquisitions with buyers spending almost $5 billion on the transactions.

PUTTING YOUR POCKET BOOK THROUGH THE WRINGER

     The federal Department of Energy wants to require a 35-percent reduction in the electricity usage of your washing machine by 2007.

     You may not remember when Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act but this relic of the Ford Administration mandates energy-efficiency standards for major appliances, including clothes washers. The Energy Department’s new rule would revise the standards that have been in effect since 1994 by applying more stringent expectations.

     Energy-efficient washers of the type favored by the department are already available, but they have captured, at the most, six percent of the market. Department bureaucrats believe that the remaining 84 to 85 percent of consumers who buy the less-efficient, less-expensive top loading units are making irrational choices. After all, the higher costs of an energy-efficient machine will eventually be recouped in the form of lower utility bills. Those bureaucrats, however, ignore the other benefits, besides cost, that attract consumers to the cheaper models. Putting the door on top of the washing machine makes loading and unloading easier while putting the door out of the reach of children. There’s also more of a risk of water leaking from the energy-efficient machines that have the door on the front of the washer.

     According to the Energy Department, a consumer who is forced to buy a new, more expensive machine under these rules would pay $260 over the 14.5-year average lifetime of the washer. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University found that by factoring in inflation and annual savings more in line with the department’s other research, the total gain over 14.5 years would be more like $70.

A QUOTE WORTH NOTING

     The realistic way to reduce the amount of money in politics is to reduce the amount of politics in money — the importance of government in allocating wealth and opportunity." George Will, April 12, 2001, column

PARDON ME, YOUR LANDFILL IS RINGING

     Expect to find a new wireless product on store shelves late this summer: disposable cell phones. While seniors, tourists, emergency users, and parents with teenage children are expected to make up part of the customer base, the real target audience is comprised of those who buy per-minute phone cards.

     The disposable phones will be sold with a specific number of usable minutes and will weigh about the same as three credit cards; the typical unit will probably cost $10 and allow 60 minutes of airtime anywhere in the United States. While most will be call-out units only, one manufacturer, New Jersey-based Diceland Technologies, expects to produce 25 million phones— 25 percent of its original run — with temporary telephone numbers that will allow their owners to receive calls.

     Diceland is in negotiations to develop co-branding arrangements with consumer-product companies such as fast-food chains and rental-car agencies. Another pending Diceland innovation: free minutes every time you use your credit card.