I'm anxious to get going. Our first big training contract is this week. I am not an educator. Jim Barksdale is the former CEO of Netscape. The Barksdales are Mississippi natives.
Grant money is targeted to the elementary schools with the worst reading test scores in the state.
About 136 schools at the very bottom of grade 4 reading test scores qualify to vie for those grants. The Barksdales made a five-year commitment, but say they want to see results for their investment. I believe it's more important to have an executive over the program that's already designed. But Reutzel turned down the job, saying he couldn't move his family right now. That spurred Jim Barksdale to look at going in a different direction to the run of the institute.