-Caveat Lector- >From http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/4378776.htm
Posted on Sat, Oct. 26, 2002 Neil Bush touting education venture BY PETER WALLSTEN [EMAIL PROTECTED] TALLAHASSEE - Neil Bush, a younger brother of Gov. Jeb Bush, is promoting a new business venture in Florida with the potential to benefit from his brother's policies. The Texas-based business, called Ignite, is tailoring software to help middle-school students prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, a standardized test that is the backbone of Gov. Bush's ''A+'' plan that grades schools. The software, which Ignite is custom-designing for several states from California to Florida, is being used as a pilot in an Orlando-area middle school that has received millions in state grants to study ways of improving efficiency and lowering costs. The school is using the software for free, but the pilot gives Ignite a firm foothold in one of the nation's biggest education technology markets. A company spokeswoman said Saturday that Ignite is actively marketing to other schools in the state, hoping to sell its ''Early American History'' course for eighth-graders to schools at the cost of $30 a year per student. HOPING TO SELL ''We haven't sold any school in Florida yet, but we're really hoping to soon,'' Ignite spokeswoman Louise Thacker said. Thacker said the company does not have an advantage in Florida just because the brother of its founder and CEO happens to be the self-proclaimed ``education governor.'' A spokeswoman for the state Department of Education could find no indication Friday that Ignite had approached the state about its product. And Katie Muniz, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bush, said the governor has never talked with his brother about the business. But even advocates of the software say Ignite is well positioned to benefit from the education policies of Gov. Bush and the third brother, President George W. Bush. The president's ''Leave No Child Behind'' law forces states to use testing as a measuring stick for schools. BASED ON FCAT Gov. Bush's ''A+'' plan grades schools based on students' FCAT scores. Kate Clark, principal of Ocoee Middle School, which has been using Ignite in its eighth- grade classrooms since last year, said the software is ideal given the new emphasis on standardized tests and given increased class sizes that make individual attention a rarity. ''With the class sizes we have, it's critical that we find ways to help meet the needs of all those students,'' Clark said. ``Technology is one of the ways that I believe can help us meet the needs of a diverse group of learners.'' Ocoee has partnerships with Microsoft and Dell and is testing several other types of software designed to help teachers. Clark called the Ignite program ``really cool.'' Clark said it would be ''a stretch'' to say her school signed a contract with Neil Bush's company because of any special connections. The governor has not visited Ocoee in his many school tours over the past four years, and his name did not come up in conversations about Ignite. RECENT CALL That is, until a recent phone call from Neil Bush, in which he indicated an interest in his brother's checking out the school's technological advancements. 'He said, `I've got to get my brother down there for a visit sometime soon,' '' Clark recalled. The software company marks Neil's return to the headlines since getting caught up in the $1 billion failure of the Silverado Savings & Loan in Colorado. He was a director of the thrift and quickly became a symbol of the S&L crisis that unfolded during his father's years in the White House. Neil Bush and Ignite have worked hard to woo business in Florida. BOARD MEMBER Mike Eason, formerly the top technology official for the state Department of Education and now executive director of the private Florida Educational Technology Conference, is a member of an Ignite advisory board. Neil Bush was a featured speaker at the FETC's annual conference last year and touted the software to state educators at a booth in the exhibit hall. He is expected to return to the conference again in the spring, Eason said. At the same time, Neil Bush visited Ocoee Middle School last year and has remained in frequent contact, speaking with Clark on the phone and exchanging e-mails on a regular basis. The company's website includes a 14-page document outlining exactly how the Ignite social- studies course matches the Sunshine State Standards on which the FCAT is based. FAMILY NAME Neil Bush has not been shy about marketing his family name as part of his pitch. The Ignite website notes that he is on the board of the Points of Light Foundation, founded by his father the former president, and serves as ''the Bush family representative'' on the national advisory board to the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. The New York Times reported earlier this year that Neil Bush had raised capital around the world to start his new company, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt -- drawing criticism that he was banking on his brother's international influence. Neil Bush told The Times that he was especially careful to maintain a separation and avoid conflicts of interest related to either brother, President Bush or Gov. Bush. Gov. Bush's education agenda has come under fire from his Democratic rival, Bill McBride, who has specifically attacked the governor for his reliance on high-stakes tests. A spokesman for the Democratic Party called Ignite's marketing campaign in the state problematic, saying it creates a strange appearance. ''I don't know where the money's going to come from for this,'' said Ryan Banfill, the Democrats' spokesman. ``These districts are hard pressed to pay for chalk, let alone to put money in the pocket of the Bush family.'' © 2001 miami and wire service sources. 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