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07/04/06  Stealing us blind?  Not for long in Citizen Warrior Gwinn's town!

It's July 4th, and I wanted to be writing about patriotism and our soldiers in harm's way, but here we are in Dallas mired in the muck of the Dallas Independent School District.  Anyway you look at it, Kent Fischer is rocking the world of a bunch of morons (if not outright crooks) in the DISD -- and I don't mean rocking their world in a fun way.

As Ron Wilonsky (DallasObserver.com/UnFair Park) points out on the Dallas Observer blog (the best one going), Allen Gwinn had all the information first on www.Dallas.org:

Give Gwinn Extra Credit on DISD Credit Card Scandal UnFair Park, July 3, 2006

When we sat down over yesterday with The Dallas Morning News? mammoth front-page ?exclusive? in which three reporters ?found thousands of suspect purchases on district credit cards?and serious questions about whether anyone is watching how the tax dollars are spent,? well, we thought two things to ourselves: Wow, that sucks. And, wow, that story looks very, very familiar. Fact is, we actually thought of doing this very same story a year ago?not because we?re that smart, but because on May 26 of last year, Dallas Independent School District watchdog Allen Gwinn had much the same information, which he dug up all by his lonesome and put on his invaluable Web site, Dallas.org. And in August 2005, Gwinn even created a searchable database in which he shared his research to anyone who wanted it?say, reporters looking for a story. Wanna know how much James Colbert from L.G. Pinkston spent at Fry?s Electronics and Best Buy on January 25 and 26 last year (close to $4,000)? Gwinn?s got it right here. Stunned to find that Dee Anne Egan at George Peabody Elementary School managed to rack up $115,385.18 in charges on her district procurement card in 2004 and 2005? That?s all Gwinn, baby. And how outraged were you Sunday to read about Gloria Orapello, the secretary who accrued $383,788 worth of charges over a two-year period, with $100,000 of that coming from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. Wait for it?wait for it?yeah, Gwinn had that too.    By no means am I saying Kent Fischer, Tawnell Hobbs and Molly Motley?the three News writers sharing credit on the pieces that ran yesterday and today?used Gwinn?s research and then failed to acknowledge his work; I have no doubt they did their own research, as theirs goes further than Gwinn?s initial study, which covered only 2004 and 2005, while the News goes into spring 2006. But he should be recognized for acknowleding the problem first?and the fact is we passed on this story last year because Gwinn had done all the legwork (and armwork and headwork) a good year ago, and anyone else coming after him would just be following in his estimable footsteps. The guy?s database isn?t complete?you can?t see what people bought, only where they made their charges and how much they spent and even on which day of the week the purchases were made?but he had the same figure as The News ($20 million in charges) more than a year before the local paper of record. For that research, not to mention Gwinn?s efforts concerning the fraudulent claims made by DISD school board member Ron Price and former school board president Lois Parrott, the man deserves more than to have his work appropriated without at least a nod of gratitude.    But the most amazing thing is, Gwinn doesn?t mind. At all. ?More people read The Dallas Morning News or Dallas Observer than read Dallas.org,? he told Unfair Park this afternoon. ?Over time, a whole lot of people may read it on my Web site but in the short run, when you need something done it?s better to have it out in the print publications because your circulation?s better than mine. And they got something to happen in print I never could on the Web: They?re calling an emergency school board meeting to discuss the future or procurement cards. This is the kind of thing that can make a difference. You gotta get a handle on this. I had a board member ask me off the record, ?What can we do to avoid all of this stuff?? and my response was, ?Open everything up. Put everything online. Be proactive.? If I were in charge of this, every single charge would be online with a comment and explanation so people could search it. Rather than finding an employee who spent $383,000 in undocumented charges, you could have someone [at the district] go, ?What was she doing buying couches at Carswell? Let?s ask her.? And then you wouldn?t have all these sensational news stories.?   The guy?s so amazingly unselfish about the story on his Web site yesterday he amended his August 14 introduction to the procurement card database to now read as follows: ?According to a Dallas Morning News Investigative Report there is very little oversight with respect to how these cards are used.? Ironic a story about credit cards has us asking for a guy to be given a little, ya know, credit. ?Robert Wilonsky

Allen would be a great DISD superintendent.  He knows the questions to ask and how to get the answers.  Check out the data for yourself and Allen's comments at Search DISD Credit Card Charges.

This would be funny if it were happening anywhere else.  It's not amusing; it's downright alarming!  Worse, it's way too commonplace to read or hear about another DISD scandal.  At least this time, it's not the School Board. 

The sooner Ron Price is a private citizen, the better for all concerned:  DISD students, non-credit-card-abusing teachers, DISD taxpayers and DISD's reputation.

Monday, a couple of neighbors walked by while I was digging in my yard.  It took about 2 minutes for the DISD stories to come up.  They said pretty much what Mike Perry says:

We really need this school bond to pass, but I don't think Dallas voters are going to forget this mess by November.

It makes me crazy that some people teaching our children are so void of ethics and common sense.  If some teachers are so stupid as to do what the DMN reports and Allen Gwinn itemizes on www.Dallas.org, how can they possibly know their subject matter?  I don't expect teachers to be parents, but they certainly need to set a standard of behavior for the students.  In the DMN  stories cited below, one male teacher bought an IPOD at Sharper Image with a DISD credit card that he claims was to be given to the best behaved student in his class that year.  He still has the IPOD because he says the whole class was bad.  How much worse could they have been than his thievery?  He did not report the IPOD to DISD so it can be included in inventory.

Few companies with the resources to spend over $20 million a year would allow a secretary or anybody else to charge over $383,788 on a company credit card without receipts.  This is bad management at the top level.  If Superintendent Hinojosa did not know this kind of spending is happening under his watch, he's not well served by his assistant superintendents or management staff.

Ms. Brokow needs to be immediately demoted and/or fired from her position over Financial Control and Card Service.  It's not the DISD way to fire an incompetent.  No, Ms. Brokow will hire more people to not do the job her staff is not doing now.  Please don't think she or her staff will change.  If the new hires try to do their jobs and scrutinize the credit card purchases, she and her incompetents will "educate" the new hires on how things are done at DISD.

Kent Fischer could have been a lot more harsh in his reporting because he and Hobbs and Motley have exposed ludicrous spending and lack of oversight that borders on criminal.  Allen Gwinn told Dallas Observer's Wilonsky: 

That's typical Allen Gwinn.  His work is not about him, but about doing the right thing and making elected officials and public employees do the right thing with our tax money.

DISD credit card oversight lax Sunday, July 2, 2006 by KENT FISCHER, TAWNELL D. HOBBS and MOLLY MOTLEY / The Dallas Morning News

With little oversight, Dallas Independent School District employees swipe their district-issued credit cards hundreds of times a day, spending about $20 million a year on everything from office supplies and textbooks to meals and giveaway trinkets. ... They're spending on items like this: a $200 blanket and pillow set from The Land of Nod, $1,700 in electric scooters, $200 in moisturizer from Bath and Body Works, and a $24.95 charge to an online dating service, Americansingles.com. The Dallas Morning News examined school district credit card transactions over 27 months, from January 2004 through March 2006 ? a $41.5 million snapshot of district spending. Those and other district records showed that only a fraction of purchase receipts are scrutinized, and thousands of purchases run afoul of DISD policy and state purchasing laws. Among the findings: ?Card users were not required to submit their purchase receipts unless asked, and district administrators requested only a small percentage of them. ... ?Card users routinely buy at businesses that do not have price agreements with the district. ... ?Card users often can't document what they've bought.... ?District auditors highlighted these weaknesses, and more, in two reports, but district officials failed to act on most of their recommendations.    Many transactions, while intended to encourage and reward good work, show a lack of frugality in a district that struggles to make ends meet. ... Card users are responsible for keeping their original receipts on file, but they were not required to get purchases pre-approved or to show anyone their receipts, a policy that finance expert Michael Granof found disturbing.    "That's insane," said Dr. Granof, a distinguished professor of government accounting at the University of Texas at Austin. "Clearly, they don't have any kind of internal control. Not only do they need to collect receipts, but they also need [records] showing that the goods and services were received. How do they know that they got what they paid for?" ... the auditors found no evidence that using the cards reduced the workload of the purchasing department, a primary reason for implementing the program.    Over the years, auditors have recommended changes that would strengthen the district's control over the program, such as giving oversight to the district's purchasing department and requiring that receipts be examined using the same methodology used by auditors.    Few of those suggestions were implemented. ...Prompted by The News' investigation, officials are overhauling the program. The district will now require all credit card purchases to be pre-approved by the cardholder's supervisor. Additionally, card users will be required to submit all original purchase receipts to their supervisors. The changes took effect Saturday. ... The district launched its procurement card program seven years ago to eliminate the cost of processing purchase orders for low-cost, everyday items.    Since then, the MasterCards have become the district's preferred method of purchasing. During fiscal 2004-05, procurement card purchases totaled 66,379 ? nearly five times the number of purchases made by the district's purchasing department.    Card users are not responsible for paying their bills. Instead, the district gets one giant bill a month that includes the spending on all cards. DISD then pays that bill in one lump payment, usually around $1.5 million a month.    There are several types of cards. Most are funded with taxpayer money, but a small number are linked to federal grant money and "activity funds," money raised by students and parents....    Auditors noted, in 2003, ... "The implementation of the Procurement Card Program eliminated many necessary steps which protected the district from fraud, waste and abuse," the report stated. ... Ms. Brokaw's department, Financial Control and Card Services, has two employees who are responsible for keeping tabs on 5,000 transactions a month totaling $1.5 million. ...    Ms. Brokaw said she has yanked cards from users and hauled in many more for "retraining." However, she did not have any reports or documentation showing how often she takes those steps.    Ms. Brokaw could only estimate how often her department spots problem transactions; about 100 per month, she said. But her department doesn't chart the violations it finds or keep track of the employees who are making them. The News' analysis found, on average, 175 violations per month. ... DISD has a few controls to prevent misuse of the cards. Some merchants, like massage parlors, are blocked. Generally, however, district cards can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted.    District rules require employees to reimburse DISD for personal purchases made with the cards. Two district administrators said such reimbursements happen several times a year. ... the district's official response said that DISD does not compile that information and that it is not obligated to produce it for the newspaper. ... District officials acknowledge they rely heavily on the discretion of each cardholder to decide whether a purchase is affordable and appropriate.    Spruce High School teacher Roddrick Warner ... Over a 14-week stretch beginning Sept. 19, 2004, Mr. Warner spent $2,260.44 on movies, T-shirts, CDs, stereo equipment, ... Among his purchases were an iPod bought on Christmas Eve, a vibrating leather seat cushion and a $250 digital photo frame from The Sharper Image. He said all of it was for his classroom and student use.    He said he bought the $399 iPod, as well as $650 in iPod accessories, while shopping on Christmas Eve. He said he planned to give the music player to the best-behaved student in his class that year. But, he said, his class was so bad that he never gave the iPod away, and he returned the accessories. ... the iPod is not affixed with a DISD property tag, meaning the district doesn't know that it owns the trendy music player. ... he bought the vibrating seat cushion to alleviate back pain that flares up ... other teachers were buying themselves new, comfortable chairs, so he didn't see a reason why he could not buy a comfortable cushion.    When asked if he thought the purchases were appropriate, given the district's finances, he replied: "Yes I do. We're an inner-city school, and it's real hard to reach the kids. You have to give them some kind of motivation, dangle the keys in front of them."    Mr. Warner said he was told to treat his credit card like a "magic wand." ... The News discovered Mr. Warner's purchases, and others like them, by using the district's own database of procurement card transactions. ...    The News searched the database for questionable purchases. There were thousands: ?$5.2 million in purchases that exceeded the district's $1,000-per-transaction limit at merchants that do have price agreements with DISD. ?$1.09 million in "split" transactions, in which card users make two smaller purchases to avoid violating the district's $1,000 limit. ?210 purchases for cellphones and personal digital assistants. ... ?142 purchases that probably were retail gift cards, which were banned in August 2005. ... One top administrator spent $246 on flag-themed pillows at the gift shop at George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Va. ... The principal at George Peabody decked out her school's reading room with goodies from the children's furniture store The Land of Nod. There was a $139 "buckaroo cowboy" throw blanket, a $59 throw pillow, a $75 teddy bear and an $88 chalkboard. ... the district has price agreements with at least four computer vendors. Those agreements have, by law, been competitively bid. But card users buy computers, hardware and electronic parts from unapproved retailers, such as Fry's Electronics, ...    Under the new card rules, the district's purchasing department ? which handles price agreements and bids ? will screen procurement card purchases for violations of district contracts.    DISD auditors made that same recommendation three years ago, but the district never implemented it. ...

Did Teacher Warner credit the accessories back to the DISD account?  How do we know?  Did he keep a receipt?  Oh, yeah, DISD card users don't keep receipts, even though DISD regulations and state law requires they do so.

Secretary charges $383,788, has no receipts; Ex-boss says she was trustworthy, shopped for eight departments   Sunday, July 2, 2006 By KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News

When it comes to the Dallas school district's most prolific credit card users, only three top Gloria Orapello. But none of them spent $100,000 at an Air Force base.   The base spending was unusual and substantial, and the central office secretary now has no receipts to show what she bought there. Nor does she have receipts to show what she bought at other merchants.    Her credit card use over a two-year period totaled $383,788. It appears that she spent much of the money without her supervisor's direct oversight. ... her former supervisor called her a trustworthy employee who bought supplies for several departments. But her spending spotlights weaknesses in DISD's credit card program: very little oversight on purchases and spotty record-keeping by card users. ... But her favorite places were the grocery store and Base Exchange on Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, where she spent $101,500 over an 18-month period. She made 170 purchases between January 2004 and July 2005, almost all of them on weekends.   The base stores are, basically, supercenters selling almost everything, from office supplies and furniture to televisions and appliances. They offer tax-free shopping to military personnel and their families. Court records show that Ms. Orapello is divorced from a retired Army sergeant. ... Military regulations prohibit personnel from shopping on base for the benefit of others.    "Using a government-issued ID to buy quantities of supplies or clothing for another agency, that's improper," said base spokesman Dan Ray. ... It wasn't uncommon for Ms. Orapello to spend $2,500 or more in a single weekend.    On May 14, 2005, she shopped in North Richland Hills, spending $975 at Home Depot; $55.23 at the Postal Connection; $1,580.23 at Office Depot; and $980 at Wal-Mart. Then she went to the Carswell Base Exchange and made three purchases, for $975, $984.70 and $19.99. The next day she made three stops in Hurst: $190 at Walgreens, $925 at Target and $985 at Wal-Mart.    Total bill: $7,670.15. ... On May 10, The News filed a request under the state's public records law to review receipts for almost all of the purchases Ms. Orapello made over the last two years. On May 12, she sent a memo to district police stating that her receipts were missing.    "Several documents were found missing and noticeably several other files had been searched through," Ms. Orapello wrote. "Included in these missing documents were several procurement card files, they have not been located." ... The News  also asked to see Ms. Orapello's monthly credit card statements showing that each charge was accurate. District policy mandates that all credit card users check such records and keep them on file. ... Ms. Orapello told district officials that she did not keep her statements. Credit card statements and purchase receipts are public records and must, by state law, be kept five years. It is a crime to throw away or destroy public records. ... The News  also asked for a copy of Ms. Orapello's computer file that she used to track and tabulate her purchases. Again, Ms. Orapello could not produce the records. She told her bosses that the file was lost when she received a new computer.    The district did produce Ms. Orapello's "budget transfer requests" ? the process by which employees gain purchasing power with their cards. The documents show that Ms. Orapello initiated the transfers and signed them as "program manager."    Supervisors are supposed to approve each transfer requested by their subordinates. Of the 12 transfer requests provided to The News , only one bore the signature of Ms. Orapello's supervisor. Nevertheless, the district approved the requests, which totaled $258,477. ...

How many things are wrong with this picture?  A secretary spending $383,788 with no supervision?  A DISD secretary spending over $101,000 on a DISD credit card at an Air Force commissary when the exchange is not an approved DISD vendor?  A DISD secretary spending over $101,000 on a DISD credit card at an Air Force commissary when military rules prohibit shopping at the exchange for the benefit of others?  Or, a DISD secretary spending over $101,000 on a DISD credit card at an Air Force commissary when she's divorced from a retired military sergeant, and thereby not eligible to shop at the exchange in the first place?

I have never heard of any successful  business operating in such a lax manner as the DISD.   When everyone from teachers to secretaries to administrators and Trustless Ron Price walk around with DISD credit cards to use and misuse at their discretion, it's no wonder there's no money for raises and maintenance and capital improvements without another bond election.

Superintendent Hinojosa has made the right decision, but way too late to save the upcoming bond election.

DISD's Hinojosa suspending card use Monday, July 3, 2006 By KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas school superintendent Michael Hinojosa said Monday he is suspending the use of district credit cards in the wake of a Dallas Morning News investigation that found millions of dollars in wasteful spending, lax oversight and violations of state procurement laws.   Dr. Hinojosa said new spending rules put into place last week by his staff were a good start, but not tough enough. He said nobody in DISD will be authorized to use a district-issued credit card ?until we get a handle on this thing.? ... The News  found about $6 million in spending that either violated state procurement laws or broke district purchasing contracts. ... ?I don?t know if I can get rid of all of them, but I can tell you there will be a lot fewer of them around,? he said Monday.    Dr. Hinojosa said that he eliminated credit cards in two previous school districts he ran because the cards were an ?invitation for trouble.? ... Dr. Hinojosa said his goal of making DISD into the nation?s top urban district will never happen until basic controls, like monitoring credit cards, are in place.

It's ironic that the DISD is suddenly much larger with the absorption of Wilmer-Hutchins.  We had to take in WHISD because it was in such financial difficulties, most of which was caused by poor management and supervision. 

One of those poor WHISD administrators is Dr. Lew Blackburn who continues to serve on the DISD School Board.  Does anyone know his current status?  He serves on the DISD Board of Trustees, but he is or was a top level administrator with WHISD.  Has he lost his job so he can stay on the DISD School Board, or is he illegally serving as a DISD Trustee and drawing a DISD salary?

With Ron Price out there annually abusing his cell phone and travel privileges, it's understandable how DISD secretaries and teachers feel entitled to abuse their DISD credit cards.  A corrupt environment at the top breeds more corruption in the ranks.

The DISD staffers who made questionable charges on their DISD card do not respect DISD taxpayers.  When you are playing with other people's money, it's easy to forget someone did real work and earned real money, which they had to pay out in DISD taxes.  Makes you wonder how many of those credit-card-abusing DISD staffers and teachers actually live in the DISD.  They might be more careful with our money if they were paying DISD taxes, too.

In a way, this is a very good July 4th story.  In an open society, with an unbiased media (which we don't have), public corruption will eventually be exposed and the public will demand it be corrected and stopped. 

Former Democrat Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neil, said "All politics is local."  When our school system is mismanaged, it takes a citizen warrior like Allen Gwinn and an honest reporter like Kent Fischer to expose the corruption.  It will take the rest of us taxpaying citizens to get off our rears and hold the School Board and Superintendent accountable.

I am pleasantly astonished that the School Board is holding an emergency meeting to deal with this crisis.  I would be even more hopeful if I did not know that Ron Price still has a vote.  The cloud over Lew Blackburn holding office needs to be cleared.  He needs to tell us he is no longer an employee of the WHISD, which would make him a DISD employee.  Allen, you need to get on this!

We are so lucky to live in the USA, and double lucky to be Texans living in Dallas.

sb