January 12, 2009

Cleburne ISD Named One of Worst 10 for Federal Waste

Cleburne ISD was named one of the top 10 for “Worst Waste of 2008” by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn for the $367,000 in federal funds misspent by the school district. Coburn’s list appears on his website at http://coburn.senate.gov.

In highlighting the top ten wastes of federal money, Coburn’s report says on page 10:

“Inflatable Alligator and Under‐the‐Sea Waterslide – Texas ($367,000)

A preliminary report by the Texas Education Agency, released this past April, found that $367,000 in federal funds were misspent by the Cleburne school district. Audit officials became suspicious when, “The district did not provide lesson plans or other documentation to show how rental of an inflatable alligator and an under‐the‐sea water slide supported reading instruction.”

What, precisely, an inflatable alligator has to do with reading instruction is left unanswered.

The story was picked up by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and published on their website at http://www.EmpowerTexans.com.

Cleburne ISD was audited by the Texas Education Agency in an investigation lasting more than 16 months. TEA found that Cleburne ISD had misspent 43% of federal funds audited. Only a small portion of federal funds were audited. TEA required CISD to repay $362,000 and assigned a Monitor for the district, Dr. Monte Geren. Other actions are still pending.

Harold Gentry, who filed the initial complaint against CISD, talked with TEA recently and was told the Monitor will be in place at least until August.

Supporting documentation can be found on this website.