-Caveat Lector- Jeb Bush And The Amazing $8.2 million Web Site: http://64.176.94.191/article1592.htm Or How To Ensure Your Daughter Gets A Job When She Leaves Rehab!
State weaves tangled Web over FCAT site contract Palm Beach Post Editorial Thursday, February 20, 2003 It went from the Department of Education to the University of West Florida to Infinity SoftwareDevelopment Inc., but it was not a double-play combination. The state auditor general scores it as errors with $8.2 million in tax money. The auditor's report and Education Commissioner James Horne's response reveal the kind of business Gov. Bush has made state government. As the auditors tried to follow the money, they found that the university, in Pensacola, "was awarded the project approximately two weeks before it submitted its proposal and approximately three months before it submitted its application packet." The cart was moving long before the horse was hitched up. What happened is this: In 1999, Infinity called on the education department, pitching a Web site to help parents and students cope with the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Three months later, the department gave the university $8.2 million to get it done, and West Florida paid Infinity $7.5 million to do it. The only paperwork the auditor found was in the packet the university provided after the deal was done. "DOE also advised us that, to the best of its knowledge, 'no documentation exists,' " the auditor noted. The money, the auditor also found, came from an appropriation for contracts, but DOE handled it as a grant. The state didn't seek other bids. It's not as though Infinity bought special equipment for the job; 80 percent of the grant money is for salaries. Tallahassee-based Infinity is holding open a job for Gov. Bush's daughter, Noelle, when she becomes available. What does Mr. Horne say? He says he does "not concur" that a no-bid contract is a grant, but he has "initiated implementation" of the auditor's recommendations. Two weeks after he wrote that, he gave a $50,000 no- bid contract to develop the department's "communications strategy." It went to Todd Harris, who was communications director for Gov. Bush's reelection campaign. "I just need some help, and I thought Todd was uniquely qualified," Mr. Horne told The St. Petersburg Times. Similarly, Katie Muniz is uniquely qualified to be the St. Joe Co.'s public affairs manager since she left the governor's press office. St. Joe, the state's largest landholder, wants help to develop new communities and is a major donor to the state Republican Party. It's no surprise that, the auditor says, "payments were made to Infinity without appropriate review of Infinity's work and related billings having been performed." Taxpayers can see what they got for $8.2 million at www.fcatexplorer.com. Upkeep will cost taxpayers $1.5 million a year into Infinity. Copyright © 2003, The Palm Beach Post Forwarded for your information. 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