Grand Jury Investigates Colorado Administators

Everyone thought the 2002-2003 school year for the Elizabeth C-1 School District in Colorado was going to be a good one. Yeah, right.

At the high school, the second year principal started well. The high school was her reward for founding the district's successful alternative high school, but it was too much of a jump for her that first year. It was a disaster with teachers leaving in droves. Most said it was the administration that convinced them to leave. The public interpreted that to mean the superintendent. Those at the school knew it meant the principal.

The first semester went well. But during the second semester, once again she returned to her need to control everything. At the start of the fall semester, the cheerleaders saw their activity elevated to a sport - and they paid the extra fees for that privilege. Behind their backs, the principal demoted them to club status and even obtained schoolboard approval. The cheerleading sponsors were never advised of this meeting nor demotion until after it had been done. Parents, students and sponsors met with the principal to try and overturn the decision. Parents were upset she went behind their backs. When a parent asked if she had anything to say for herself, she replied, "Nope."

Then it came time for registration. The principal, on her own, removed classes from the 2003-2004 school year without telling any department heads. Rumor has it she was reprimanded by the schoolboard, and registration had to be reopened to include the additional classes.

Most recently, she got up in front of the staff and told everyone how she was ordered by the acting superintendent to add more teachers to her non-renewal list. The acting superintendent called an emergency leadership meeting to clarify that - the additional teachers had information in their personnel files that mandated non-renewal.

This principal is leaving - amazingly, she was hired by another school district. Our new hire principal was completely investigated with visits by the schoolboard and acting superintendent to his school to make sure he was the "real thing." It appears he may be good.

The district that hired our current principal never did such an investigation. It will be interesting to hear what happens to this woman next spring.

The school year also included losing our superintendent.

Last fall, after the district lost another mill levy election, he came to a staff meeting to let us know a local TV news reporter was investigating him about his lunch expenses. He told us to trust him and added that he knew of no reason why a TV station would investigate him for buying pizzas for volunteers who helped at registration.

Yeah, right.

The investigation discovered he was using the district's credit card to buy a lot of lunches - allegedly business lunches. It also shared his taking at least six people to an expensive restaurant for a $600 meal on the district. He claimed it was to reward a long time district volunteer and the employee who brought the new high school in under budget. (Gym floors are all buckling. Heating system is out of control. So much for "under budget.")

Of course, the schoolboard supported the superintendent.

Then a member of the community asked for a copy of the superintendent's, CFO's and asst. superintendent's contract.

The superintendent always told everyone he earned $123,000/year. Imagine everyone's surprise to find that all three contracts showed salaries far higher. The superintendent was earning around $190,000/year. The CFO was earning $25,000 more than what she told people and the asst. superintendent was also earning more - but he has since repaid the district.,

What happened is that these administrators' contracts were always presented to the board with the signature page open. No one on the board bothered to read the contracts. They simply signed it.

A grand jury was called. Although the superintendent was promptly fired, the CFO was put on administrative leave until the grand jury discovered that someone in administration had taken $100,000 from the bond account and put it in with the general fund. This is a criminal act in Colorado. She was then fired, although the grand jury is still investigating the whole situation.

The most disturbing part of all this is that the community long suspected the superintendent and others were taking advantage of their situations. They complained to the schoolboard. But the schoolboard always stood up for these administrators.