by Harold Gentry

Feb 14 2007 - The ongoing Texas Education Agency audit of Cleburne ISD is a direct result of Access Cleburne, a group of citizens who began using open records requests more than a year ago to uncover questionable spending.

Access Cleburne is a local group of citizens committed to a more open and transparent local government with responsible, trustworthy and ethical leaders who are accountable for their actions. It's our money, it's our kids and our city and we all have a right to know. The misuse of local funds or taxpayer dollars is up to the voters. It doesn't have to continue and you have the power to stop it. So don't complain about why your taxes are too high and how bad your elected officials are misbehaving and then sit at home on Election Day saying you are too busy or your one vote won't make a difference. Voter apathy is what has gotten us into all this mess and it is every citizen's responsibility to vote.

Taxpayers let's stop the apparent run-a-way waste of school and city tax dollars and the “It's good to be the King” mentality of some of our local elected officials.

The state agency responsible for overseeing the proper spending of state and federal funds by all 1034 Texas school districts is the Texas Education Agency in Austin. The TEA auditors arrived in Cleburne on Monday February 12 th to begin conducting an onsite investigation/audit concerning allegations of misuse and mismanagement of those funds and grant programs. Some of the district's federal grant spending has caught the eye of state auditors. This is an investigation that began in late September 2006 and is ongoing.

Two hours into the onsite audit, Ramon Medina TEA's grants auditor told a WFAA-TV news reporter that no evidence of any wrongdoing had been found so far. That statement shouldn't be taken to mean that there has not been wrongdoing. According to his office, because this is an ongoing investigation, Mr. Medina would not have said so if there was evidence. That will all be revealed in a final report yet to be issued by the TEA.

Federal education aid is regulated by pages of rules that stipulate how it can be used. Primarily, the money can be spent only on items that are "essential to accomplish the objectives of the project." The federal government has required districts to return grant money spent on prohibited items. That's because when districts accept grants, they sign contracts promising to use the money in specific, predetermined ways. If grant money is misspent, the government can demand it back.

When the TEA investigated the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) Ms. Martin of the TEA said the agency would investigate a district's grant spending only "if there was reason to believe that spending is not in line with [the program's] approved budget." (Source : Dallas Morning News 2006)

After the TEA receives a complaint they first try to resolve the issue through correspondence by common or electronic mail. It is only when there is reason to believe that there is in fact a problem with the way local, state and federal funds are being used will the TEA go to the expense of conducting an onsite investigation. The investigation can take a day or several weeks depending on their findings and once their investigation/audit is finished a final report will be given to the school district and the complainants.

It was brought to the attention of Congressman Chet Edwards that the $9,800 spent by CISD superintendent Robert Damron and central office administrators for a 21 hour meeting at Rough Creek Executive Resort and Retreat may be under review by the FBI. The FBI reviewed the complaint brought forth by Access Cleburne members and determined the matter would be most appropriately addressed by the Inspector General's Office of the Department of Education. John P. Higgins, Jr. of The Department of Education wrote a letter to Congressman Edwards indicating that they had received a letter from James Burrus Jr., Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Unit. The DOE said if the TEA finds evidence of fraud involving federal funds the TEA will make a formal referral to the DOE. At present they are awaiting the findings of the TEA audit and will be in a position to determine what action is necessary once that work is final.

The investigation/audit will continue according to TEA until at least the end of March and at that time another investigation of CISD could begin by either the FBI or the DOE based on the TEA's findings.

To date over $18,000 in federal Title 1 funds have been spent by CISD on such retreats at Rough Creek Executive Resort and Retreat in Glen Rose and Garrett Creek Ranch in Paradise , Texas . CISD has indicated that they also held retreats at White Bluff in Whitney , Texas but due to a three year plus one records retention policy by the district those records are, according to CISD sources, not available. However the TEA says that records for state funds must be kept for five years and for federal funds, seven years.

Access Cleburne members are currently considering filing a complaint with Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott for a violation of the Public Information Act regarding the release of records concerning the White Bluff Retreat expenses.

Title 1 funds are meant to be spent on the districts neediest children. Taxpayers would you consider $9,800 spent at an executive resort and retreat and shooting skeet as money well spent on the district neediest children? How about $18,000?

In 2004-2005 CISD received $5,095,240 in federal aid, $17,314,761 in state aid, $25,415,565 in local taxes and $1,745,133 from Other Local and Intermediate sources. Public information gained by education reformer Peyton Wolcott on TEA's Actual Financial Data report shows all receipts for CISD school year 2004-2005 to be $82,230,173. Parents and taxpayers why doesn't your child have books at these prices?

The TEA's 2005 -2006 Superintendents Salaries report shows out of nine ISD's in Johnson county Robert Damron is the highest paid superintendent with a base of $140,920 with 6,543 students. The report shows Burleson ISD has 1448 more students than Cleburne and their superintendent makes $13,920 less. Yet some school board members have suggested that Mr. Damron's salary is not out of line with other districts.

At the present time over 1500 pages of public records have been sent to the TEA's Financial Audits Division, state auditor Linda Fredlund and federal auditors Ramon Medina and Mary Gonzales of the Grants Audits Division. The expenses that are being questioned are not limited to Title 1 funds only, and also cover local and state funds that could also have been used improperly. The CISD school board members are responsible for approving all of these expenditures.

Just how long will Access Cleburne ISD continue to monitor CISD expenses? Some members estimate it will take just about the length of time it would take to pay off a 62 million dollar undemocratic, unethical, illegal and irresponsible school bond….the next TWENTY-FIVE years at 5-1/4% interest.

Access Cleburne will meet Tuesday, February 20 at 7 p.m. to discuss the TEA audit and plan future actions. The location is Room 100 of the Cleburne Civic Center , 1501 W. Henderson . All are invited.