Group Urges Investigation of Spending on Neil Bush Education Project

WASHINGTON — A nonpartisan ethics watchdog group has urged the Education Department's inspector general to investigate why federal money has been spent on educational products sold by a company founded and headed by Neil Bush, President Bush's younger brother.

The company, Ignite! Learning, based in Austin, has sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of curriculum-loaded projectors to school districts around the country, partially funded through the federal No Child Left Behind Act promoted by the president, according to a letter sent Wednesday from the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

Over the past five years, Austin has spent $70,940 for the units, of which nearly $42,400 was federal money, according to documents filed with the letter to the inspector general.

Over the past five years, Longview spent $126,400 for the units, of which $94,060 was federal money, according to documents filed with the letter to the inspector general.

In its letter, the watchdog group claimed there is no evidence the units — known as COWs for Curriculum on Wheels — meet standards and requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act for educational products.

"It is astonishing that taxpayer dollars are being spent on unproven educational products to the financial benefit of the president's brother," said Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director. "The IG should investigate whether children's educations are being sacrificed so that Neil Bush can rake in federal funds."

Devon Price, director of marketing for Ignite! Learning, confirmed that Neil Bush is the company's founder and chief executive. Bush could not be reached for comment.

The company issued a statement maintaining that it "has no control over how school districts choose to spend federal funds."

The company also claimed that CREW's letter contains inaccurate statements about the Ignite! curriculum, which it said is used in 22 states.

"What we can say is that Title I and other federal monies have been used to purchase Ignite! products, just as they have been used to purchase products from every other educational publisher and provider," the statement said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education's inspector general confirmed that the office had received the letter but declined further comment.