[nfbmi-talk] will this be accessable to blind?

[joe harcz Comcast]

Aside from conflicts of interests will this be accessable to blind students, teachers, and administrators? Is accessability of any of these things in this state even a part of the bid requirements?

I'll hazard a guess that the answer is, "No"!


Joe Harcz
Firm led by Michigan budget director's brother got $5M project added to state budget By Paul Egan Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau A company headed by

the brother of Budget Director John Nixon got $5 million inserted into the 2014 state budget for a high-tech education pilot project, which is now up for

bids, officials confirmed Wednesday. Nixon says he and his department had no role in adding the money to the budget and he took steps to build a "firewall"

between his department and iSchool Campus LLC of Utah to avoid any conflict of interest. But a Democrat who sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee

on School Aid said today that Nixon only advised "key Republican caucus members" of the potential conflict and he and other House Democrats should have

known about it before the budget insertion was approved. "I was not aware of this at all," said state Rep. Brandon Dillon, D-Grand Rapids. "People would

have asked more questions at the outset. Nixon's brother William, a former senior staffer in the U.S. Senate and speechwriter for the late President Ronald

Reagan, is chairman and CEO of iSchool Campus, according to the company website. The story was first reported late Tuesday by Gongwer News Service. The

"whole school technology" pilot project is intended to test whether a single company could better handle all the technology needs of a school. Five schools

from geographically diverse areas of the state are to be chosen to participate in the pilot project. The contract is expected to be awarded in December.

At Nixon's direction, bidding for the project is being handled by the Department of Education, rather than the Department of Technology, Management and

Budget, which handles bidding for most state contracts but is also headed by Nixon. Nixon said as soon as he learned of his brother's interest he recused

himself, telling his procurement director and other top officials not to involve him in any proposal and sending a memorandum to Gov. Rick Snyder's chief

legal counsel, Mike Gadola, to make sure he was handling it properly. When he learned the proposal was under consideration late in the appropriations,

he advised lawmakers involved in those meetings, including Senate Appropriations Chairman Sen. Roger Kahn and House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Joe Haveman,

he said. "I guess I could have issued a press release," Nixon said today. "I think I made the appropriate disclosures. According to the request for proposals,

the successful bidder would use technology and "professional development in addition to other products and services to establish a one-to-one mobile learning

environment for an entire school in a way that supports the ability of teachers to deliver curriculum materials. The request for proposals says preference

will be given to Michigan-based firms, which iSchool Campus LLC is not, and the goal is to "substantially improve student achievement. The $5 million for

the project wasn't in the 2013-14 executive budget issued by Snyder and Nixon in February. It was added by lawmakers in May, late in the process, said

Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The budget was finalized in early June. iSchool Campus LLC, which proposed

adding the money to the budget, registered for lobbying in Michigan in April and retained the multi-client Lansing firm Governmental Consulting Services

Inc., state records show. The company was launched in January 2011, according to its website. In addition to iSchool Campus, Amplify Education, CDW-G,

Genesee Intermediate School District, Inacomp Tech and MCPc have submitted grant applications to participate in the pilot project, Department of Education

spokesman William Disessa said. When iSchool Campus and its lobbyists made its pitch to lawmakers during an appropriations "target meeting" in May, Nixon

and his officials left the meeting and played no role in the decision, he said. Nixon advised committee members of the potential conflict, he said. Dillon

said only Republicans are involved in budget target meetings. The company has similar contracts in Utah and Idaho. William Nixon did not attend the meeting

and has not been in Michigan since John Nixon joined the Snyder administration in 2011, Weiss said. "I stayed out of it," said John Nixon. "It is a tough

situation. My brother has been very successful. "You don't want them not to be able to compete because of your position but the important thing is you

draw the proper firewall, and that's what I did.