Published: October 07, 2007 02:35 pm         

TEA closes part of investigation

Agency asked district to change one policy

The Texas Education Agency closed its investigation of whether Cleburne ISD violated state spending rules and asked the district to amend one policy as a result of its findings. It asked the school district to write an order before purchasing any goods or services for the district, a change the district made in July.

“It’s what we expected,” Superintendent Robert Damron said. “They asked us a lot of questions about the complaints that had been sent in, and we feel like we answered those satisfactorily.”

Earlier this week the district received a letter from TEA auditor Robert Sanchez thanking the district for its cooperation and saying that part of the investigation, prompted by complaints from a watchdog group, is closed. The group, Acce$$ Cleburne, complained that CISD might have violated state and federal spending policies.

The group questioned the use of federal Title I funds, traveling and meal expenses for school board members and furniture purchases at CISD, among other financial uses. TEA is still investigating Cleburne ISD on the district’s federal Title I spending.

However, Superintendent Robert Damron said the case-closed status of the state investigation indicates that the district was not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Acce$$ Cleburne member Harold Gentry, who sent the initial complaints, could not be reached for comment.

A public preliminary report outlining the investigation is not available yet, TEA spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman said, but the agency hopes to have one out soon. A date for its release has not been set.

“This didn’t deal with any of the federal programs, but there were an extensive number of questions included in this portion of [the investigation] as well, that we had to answer,” Damron said. “This dealt with the board’s travels, some of the items that were purchased for the high school and this building and so forth. Most of it was very easy to answer.”

The investigation began Feb. 12, when TEA auditors first visited CISD offices, gathering records on district spending. During the investigation, the agency had the district change the purchase commitments section of its purchasing and acquisition policy. The board approved the change in July.

“They’d asked us to pass one policy, and we did that,” Damron said.

A principal or director must approve purchases less than $1,000, and the superintendent must approve those more than $1,000.

“The approval process shall ensure that budgeted funds are available for the purchase and that the request is necessary for the education process,” the policy states.

Assistant Superintendent Mike Bailey, who worked closely with the TEA during the investigation, echoed Damron’s feelings about the letter.

“We’re obviously very pleased with it,” Bailey said. “We have cooperated fully, providing the information they needed. This provides some closure to it, and that’s the main thing.”

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.