Peyton Wolcott - Bremond ISD Public Records Searches

Conservative Commentary - Bremond ISD - 24 State, federal and local agencies, officials, offices

P E Y T O N W O L C O T T

FORMER BREMOND ISD SUPE KENNETH JOHNSON'S
EMPLOYMENT STATUS, SPENDING, MORE
By Peyton Wolcott - June 26, 2006/2:00 a.m.

WHERE ELSE BUT IN
A PUBLIC SCHOOL
DISTRICT WOULD
$800,000 BE
ALLOWED TO
DISAPPEAR?
By Peyton Wolcott - June 23,
2006

Why should Special Prosecutor Jim James offer Kenneth Johnson a
plea deal this morning given that $800,000 is still missing
post-Johnson from Bremond ISD? There are serious questions
regarding Johnson's exact employment status which appear to echo
the case cited at bottom of this page regarding Elizabeth School
District supe Bruce Bartlett who is serving six years in prison for
telling his board he was earning one salary while paying himself
another (more)--and there were no issues with Bartlett regarding
$800,000 missing, or credit card charges in Hawaii and Arizona. And
using the same logic, why should 82nd Judicial District Judge Robert
Stem agree to such a plea?

Along with most casual
bystanders, parents and
taxpayers make an erroneous
assumption regarding public
education at the local level.
They think someone in charge
is looking out. They think
those state and federal
agencies with the
important-sounding names
are actually looking out for their
kids, looking out for things
financial. You know, looking
out.

The correct response to this is,
in a word, hah.

Jim James

Why would Kenny Johnson be using Bremond ISD's
credit cards at WalMarts in Hawaii and Arizona?
PROVISO: I'm a big fan of WalMart. When we moved to the country, our neighbors told
us, "If you can't find it at WalMart you probably don't need it," and they were right.
However, I am very puzzled as to why a Bremond, Texas school superintendent ran up
$22,230.89 worth of charges on his Bremond ISD credit cards, including WalMarts in
Hawaii (Kaille Kona, $109.94) and Arizona (Phoenix, $82.75). Oh, and Iowa (Corydon,
$53.04). Not to mention Texas charges in Austin and San Antonio and College Station.

Johnson's employment status May-Oct. 2003 was--?
To say Johnson's exact status with BISD for the last months of his tenure is unclear is
generous. Further, the January 2004 audit found Johnson had been paid $348,639.44
versus the $307,921 amount stipulated in his employment contract. (More below in
dark pink box.) There is a general ledger entry for Sept. 14, 2003 showing a $5,000
appropriation out of code 701 (the supes' code) for "professional services."

Further muddying the salary waters is the auditors' finding that Johnson retired in
mid-May 2003 from Bremond ISD--earlier than some officials' understanding that his
retirement date was July, and that he continued working at the district as a JR3
employee, as a "retire/rehire." JR3 has not responded to queries regarding his status
at BISD as their employee.

Superintendent Johnson himself responded (on Sept. 25, 2003) to a public records
request for his contracts (dated Sept. 10) by forwarding some "Multiple-Year Term
Contracts" with the last one dated April 16, 2003 and the amount only as "4% salary
increase" in addition to perqs. He furnished no JR3 employment contracts.

Collectively
unconscious
Here's a developing list of
folks at the local, state and
federal level, all of whom
appear to have had--or will
have in the immediate
future--the opportunity to hold
former Bremond ISD supe
Kenneth Johnson
accountable for the district's
missing $800,000, which
amount reflects the
mysterious drop in BISD's
fund balance discovered after
Johnson's departure and
which most parties appear to
agree has not yet been
located because the Texas
district's business records
disappeared the week
Johnson resigned.

Given that Bremond, Texas is
a very small town with only
900 residents, for $800,000 to
go missing with nobody in
charge looking for it leaves
Bremond's schoolchildren,
parents, teachers and
taxpayers in a real
Texas-sized lurch.

Hudson Anderson BIDS audit
Bremond ISD's long-time auditors Hudson Anderson of Corsicana reported in January
2004 that Kenneth Johnson had $137,525.56 in "questionable expenditure" and
$137,344.75 in "reimbursable expenditure" for the period Jan. 1999 through Aug. 31,
2003--only four years of Johnson's ten years at the helm of the district.

This means that Johnson charged $275,000 on Bremond ISD credit cards in just
over four years, charges that were considered by the auditors either questionable
or reimbursable.

It should be remembered that as most BISD business records disappeared from the
district the same week Johnson resigned, the auditors experienced difficulty
conducting this audit.

Auditors report 12 findings;
3 included above right (see dark pink boxes)

SENATORS JOHN CORNYN
& KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON,
REPRESENTATIVE CHET
EDWARDS
The Bremond parents have
requested (letter below) a
Congressional inquiry/
hearing from each of these
three to look into the miss-
ing $800,000 among other
amounts.
STATUS: No response.

SPECIAL
PROSECUTOR
JIM JAMES:
James prosecu-
ted Johnson only
on the "over
$100,000 and
under $200,000"
amounts indica-
ted in the State
Auditor's report.
STATUS: When
Kenneth Johnson
was sentenced
June 26, 2006 to
five years in
prison, he left the
Robertson
County Court-
house in hand-
cuffs. Under the
plea deal, his son
Jason, also
indicted, was not
prosecuted.

FEDERAL
BUREAU OF
INVESTIGA-
TION
WACO FIELD
OFFICE -
SPECIAL
AGENT
LESLIE (LES)
LEDGER, JR.
When Robert
Gadbois
contacted the
FBI during
the fall of
2003, Ledger
told him the
FBI didn't get
involved until
the Texas
Rangers
were ready
for them, and
that the
Rangers did
all the
legwork for
the FBI.
STATUS: As
of June 21,
2006 the FBI
does not
show
Bremond ISD
on their case
list.

TEXAS
GOVERNOR
RICK PERRY
Perry was
the first cc
on the State
Auditor's
Office report
on Bremond
ISD dated
Sept. 23,
2005.
STATUS:
No
response
received.

OFFICE OF THE TEXAS ATT'Y
GENERAL
"Attorney General Greg Abbott is
the lawyer for the people of
Texas and is charged by the
Texas Constitution to: defend
the laws and the Constitution of
the State of Texas represent the
State in litigation."
(SOURCE--OAG website)
STATUS: No response, no
follow up.

U.S. DEP'T OF
EDUCATION-
INSPECTOR
GENERAL
DALLAS-
SPECIAL
AGENTS SUSAN
SCHMIDT, NEAL
SANCHEZ
Schmidt and
Sanchez traveled
to Bremond in
Oct. 2005 to
meet with the
Bremond moms.
When contacted
this week for
comments,
Schmidt said,
"We're not
allowed to
comment on
anything." When
asked about
BISD's TIF grant
application the
Bremond moms
had given her
last October, she
said, "We're not
allowed to
release
anything."
Although it's
been eight
months since
she and Sanchez
came to
Bremond neither
has followed up
in any way
including
keeping their
promise to return
the materials the
moms gave
them obtained
through public
records
searches.
Washington-
CATHERINE
GRANT, USDOE
INSPECTOR
GENERAL
LIAISON
This week: "How
we operate is we
don't discuss
any ongoing
work." When I
asked whether it
could be
possible that the
USDOE was no
longer actively
working on this
case and was
preparing its
report, Grant
repeated that
they won't
discuss ongoing
work.
(Apparently even
if it's being paid
for by taxpayers,
and even if
"ongoing work"
can be construed
only in the most
Clintonesque
sense.)
STATUS:
Although Grant
characterized
this as "ongoing
work," an email
from Harold
Burns of the
state auditor's
office tells a
completely
opposite tale (at
right).

BREMOND ISD'S
NEXT SUPE
TIM PETERSON
"We've worked
with the proper
authorities," he
said June 23,
2006, "and we've
done what has
been requested,
and that's where
we're at."
STATUS: This
past fall Peterson
returned to Iowa;
Bremond ISD
now has a
second interim
with a new supe
on the way: 5
supes in 3 years.

Bremond ISD (Robertson County, Texas)

STATE AUDITOR'S OFFICE
JOHN KEEL, STATE AUDITOR
PAMELA MUNN, MANAGER-SPECIAL
INVESTIGATIONS UNIT; HAROLD
BURNS, SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR
The SAO's Special Investigations Unit
report re BISD was issued nine
months ago today, long enough to
produce a baby; this report was
addressed to "Members of the
Legislative Audit Committee" and cc's
were Governor Rick Perry, Texas
edu-missioner Shirley Neeley,
Robertson County DA John Paschall,
special prosecutors Jim James and
Craig Greening, and Texas Ranger
Jim Huggins.
No copies were sent to either the
Bremond ISD board or
superintendent, and no copies were
sent to any of the parents who began
the investigations. The report only
mentions the special prosecutor's
indictments against Johnson,
including ""theft of $100,000 or more,
but less than $200,000, by a public
servant (a first degree felony)" and
"misapplication of fiduciary property of
$100,000 or more, but less than
$200,000 (a second degree felony)"
along with the lesser charges against
former BISD business manager
Sandra Nolan, and Johnson's son
Jason. The SAO report states, "the
investigation revealed that, from 1998
through 2003, Dr. Johnson and Ms.
Nolan allegedly misappropriated and
misapplied BISD funds totaling more
than $158,000."
STATUS: The SAO appears to now be
out of the loop as Burns did not know
about Johnson's June 5, 2006 pre-trial
hearing.

BREMOND
ISD
AUDITORS
HUDSON
ANDERSON
CORSICANA, TX

For for 8-10 years
BISD's auditors cited
"uncollateralized
deposits at local
bank" (First State
Bank of Bremond);
during some of this
period BISD trustee
Kenneth Swick was
both president of the
BISD school board
and president of First
State Bank of
Bremond.
FINDINGS: According
to an audit approved
on Nov. 6, 2003 by
Kenneth Swick as
BISD board
president, the dozen
specific areas the
auditors were to
examine included:
3. Depository
Contract
6. Superinten- dent
Compensation
12. Cafeteria Deficit

UNITED STATES
DEP'T OF
AGRICULTURE
INSPECTOR
GENERAL
How the USDA
could have
become involved:
the district's
cafeteria fund
accepted free
lunch money
(from the USDA);
according to
district officials,
monies in this
account were
commingled with
funds for
purchasing food
for the district's
sports
concession
stands; once the
concession stand
food was sold,
the money did not
make its way
back into the
cafeteria fund,
hence the
commingling
STATUS: The
USDA's
communications
liaison is looking
into Bremond
ISD's standing
with them, if any.

STATE
AUDITOR'S
OFFICE-SENIOR
INVESTIGATOR
HAROLD BURNS
EMAIL, JUNE 5,
2006 TO
BREMOND
CITIZEN
"You know way
more about what
is happening with
the case than I
do. The first I
heard from
anyone was last
Thurs. when I got
a call from U.S.
Dept. of Ed OIG
Special Agent
Susan Schmidt.
She said she
understood that
Johnson and his
lawyer were
meeting with the
special
prosecutors - no
mention of a
pre-trial hearing.
Susan said the
Feds are not
moving forward
with their case
because
Johnson is going
to enter a plea
on the State
charges. No
idea what has
been worked out
as far as
restitution,
sentence, etc.
Ranger Huggins
had not heard
anything about it
until I called him.
We were not
asked to be at the
hearing. Thanks
for the
information. At
least now I have
some dates to be
aware of. I guess
I'll have to get a
subscription to
the Bremond
paper, so I can
find out what
happened. "
FOLLOW UP:
This is an
interesting
comment in light
of the USDOE's
description of the
case's status as
"ongoing."
Which is it?

ENVIRONMEN-
TAL PROTEC-
TION AGENCY--
USDOE special
agent Susan
Schmidt told the
Bremond moms
during their Oct.
2005 meeting
that she'd
contact the EPA
re the status of
the location of
some of the
district's
allegedly
missing
computers.
STATUS: No
further contact
from Schmidt or
EPA.

TEXAS DEP'T OF
BANKING
No response.

/82nd JUDICIAL
DISTRICT
COUNTY &
DISTRICT ATT'Y
JOHN PASCHALL
The Bremond
parents filed a
complaint with
Paschall's office
on Oct. 22, 2003
"for apparent
violations relative
to the timely and
complete release
of public
information,"
saying they had
"made numerous
requests" to BISD
for public
information, and
that "the District
has consistently
failed or refused to
provide the
information
requested and
has provided no
ruling from the
Attorney Generla
stipulating why the
information was
withheld." Six
weeks later (Dec.
9, 2003), Paschall
responded that he
believed "a conflict
of interest exists
that would
preclude the
Robertson County
District Attorney's
Office from
bringing civil
enforcement
litigation against
the B.I.S.D.
because such
litigation would
hinder the ongoing
criminal
investigation"
which is "being
conducted by
Texas Ranger, Jim
Huggins and the
State Auditor's
Office concerning
employees" of
BISD.
STATUS: Paschall
states in the letter
that the Gadbois
may file a
complaint with the
Office of the
Attorney General,
and cc's Brandy
Byrd of the OAG.
FOLLOW-UP:
Because of the
conflict of interest,
special prosecutor
Jim James was
brought in from
Bryan-College
Station to
prosecute
Kenneth Johnson
and his son.

Pastoral scene five minutes from Bremond ISD

TEXAS RANGERS
CAPT. DANBY on
investigation by
Ranger Sgt. Jim
Huggins: "Our job is
to determine if a
criminal offense
occurred, and find and
present that evidence.
To try to determine
the entire amount,
that's the job for the
auditors. I don't know
whether the recovery
of every penny is a
civil matter or a matter
for restitution if the
auditors have the
ability to reconstruct
the bills and the flow
of money. Don't take it
that we're not caring;
the plea is the
discretion of the
prosecutor; this is the
way our justice
system is set up. The
prosecutor did not try
for a change of
venue." Of Huggins,
Danby said, "I am
confident in his ability."
SERGEANT HUGGINS
to Bremond moms
regarding the
disappeared paper
records:
"There's not anything
that's ever been done
on paper that I can't
get a copy of. Don't
you worry, I've got it
now. Basically I want
you to stop
[investigating]. I can't
tell you to stop, I can't
ask you to stop, but
we've got it. You could
hinder my case."

FORMER BISD BOARD
PRESIDENT KENNETH SWICK,
OTHER TRUSTEES
Voted out of office in May 2004
along with two other veteran
Bremond ISD trustees in favor of
two of the investigating Bremond
parents (Pat Yezak and Robert
Gadbois), Swick and fellow
trustees did not follow through
during their tenure to investigate
any of the information being
uncovered by the Bremond
parents, saying he was guilty of
trusting Johnson too much, and
says now he wishes TEA and
other agencies had been more
helpful, particularly with the
findings of the district's annual
audits.
"Either Dr. Johnson paid off the
auditors and they didn't do their
job, or TEA didn't do their job, and
the state board of accountancy
said, 'Let's sweep this under the
rug.' "
Swick asks "why didn't the audit
firm find 6,000 transactions that
Johnson made that were
inappropriate-- and the auditors
failed to find any of them and
report them to the board." Swick
also takes issue with TASB's
"Team of Eight" board trainings,
pointing out that "one of the
primary things told to us was that
the superintendent is a
professional, he's involved, and
he's in control, and that you're
there to help him out. I agree
there should be a separation of
power."
STATUS: For 8-10 years during
Johnson's tenure, audit finding
stated that Bremond ISD funds
were deposited unsecured in the
First State Bank of Bremond--of
which Swick was also president.
FOLLOW-UP:
In BISD's Aug. 2003 board
minutes, rather than recusing
himself, Swick voted for his
bank's own contract. A revote
was taken in October at which
time he abstained.

U.S. ATTORNEY
Although because
federal money is a
factor this office
could have been
involved, it has not
been as the Texas
Rangers did not
ask the U.S.
Attorney to
participate, per a
spokesman.

STATE BOARD
FOR EDUCATOR
CERTIFICATION
Until July 12,
2006--three weeks
after he was sen-
tenced to five years
in prison--James
Kenneth John-
son's online SBEC
certification page
only stated, "Click
here to go to
EDUCATOR SANC-
TION HISTORY
section" which
lead to "Note:
This individual is
currently under
review by the
SBEC Profes-
sional Discipline
Unit," with no
statement regard-
ing when the
review began, or
progress of the
review, or cause of
the review.
Johnson's SBEC
page now states
that all of his
SBEC certificates--
including superin-
tendent--have
been revoked:
"Revocation:
A sanction
imposed by the
board permanently
invalidating an
educator’s
certificate."

TEACHER
RETIREMENT
SYSTEM
On which salary
will Johnson's
retirement be
based? The
$86,000 the board
approved--or the
almost $108,000
that he actually
paid himself for
his last 3 years of
employment at
BISD?
STATUS:
Unknown--or,
more correctly,
known only to TRS.

INTERNAL
REVENUE
SERVICE
Did Kenneth
Johnson report
the extra
$22,000 or
whatever
amount he
received as
income to the
IRS for each of
his last three
years? What
about the
questionable
credit card
expenses?
STATUS:
Unknown, no
response.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT
INSURANCE
CORPORATION
STATUS:
No response.

TEXAS
EDUCATION
AGENCY
LINDA
FREDLUND,
AUDITOR-SCHOO
LFINANCIAL
AUDITS DIVISION
Fredlund wrote
the Bremond
parents on Oct. 2,
2003 that she
was forwarding
their concerns
"involving misuse
of public funds
and violations of
the Public
Information Act" to
the Robertson
District Attorney's
Office and to
BISD's external
auditors, Hudson
Anderson &
Associates, PC
"for follow-up
during the
2003-2003
annual financial
audit." Fredlund
continues, "I
spoke with Mr.
Frank Marx, III,
today regarding
the allegations,
and he assured
me that the audit
firm would review
and consider this
information while
conducting the
fiscal year 2003
annual financial
audit." She
concludes, "In
order to avoid
duplication of
effort, and due to
limited staff, we
are considering
this file closed;
however, we will
assist law
enforcement if
requested.
Thank you for
being concerned
citizens."

Old Bremond School, now abandoned

ROBERTSON
COUNTY SHERIFF
GERALD YEZAK
When all four
Bremond parents
went to the sheriff,
he responded that
he did not have the
funds to become
involved, and the
parents should
give the situation to
the Texas Rangers
who had recently
cleaned up Texas
A&M's accounting
problem (Oct.
2003).
STATUS: Sheriff
Yezak called in the
Texas Rangers,
who called in
Harold Burns of the
State Auditor's
Office, who traveled
to Bremond to
investigate, then
produced the Sept.
23, 2005 report
(above) which was
not disclosed to
the school district
or its trustees.

Entrance to old BISD
athletic field

LEGEND
"Bremond moms"
refers to Pat
Yezak and Nancy
Gadbois, and "the
Bremond parents"
refers to Robert
and Nancy
Gadbois and
Maurice and Pat
Yezak.

THE MYSTERIOUS
DROP IN
BREMOND ISD'S
FUND BALANCE
AFTER SUPE
KENNY JOHNSON
LEFT
How did Bremond
ISD come to have
misplaced
$800,000?
BISD's former supe
James Kenneth
Johnson apparently
used a variety of
means including
district-issued credit
cards to treat himself
and his family and
some employees and
other district officials to
lavish trips and other
entertainment over
several years. For
example, "in 2001, one
credit card collected
more than 30 charges
in Hawaii and once
was used to collect
more than $1,000 of
'game cash' in Las
Vegas." (SOURCE--AP)
Many other details are
missing because the
district's business
records disappeared
the same week
Johnson resigned in
2003; he was indicted
last fall and is expected
to be in court this
Monday for his plea
bargain. The missing
$800,000 reflects the
mysterious drop in
BISD's fund balance
discovered after
Johnson's departure.
Perspective: Bremond
ISD is a small district in
a town with only 876
people and a county
with only 15,000
people; it's only thanks
to the local power plant
that the district has any
real money.

A CLOSER
LOOK AT
AUDIT
FINDINGS

3. BISD
Depository
contract [First
State Bank-
Bremond]
Bremond ISD's
District Policy BBFA
"provides as follows:
"BANK RELATIONS:
A trustee who is a
stockholder, officer,
director, or
employee of a bank
that has bid to
become a
depository for the
District shall not vote
on the awarding of a
depository contract
to said bank."

Education Code
45.204: "If a Trustee
has a substantial
interest in a bank
with which the
District is
considering entering
into a loan or other
transaction besides
a depository
contract, then the
Trustee must
comply with the
affidavit and
abstention
requirements. Atty.
Gen. Opn. JN-1082
(1989)."

With the two cites in
mind, the auditors
report: "We
inspected the board
minutes from the
August 20, 2003
meeting and noted
that Mr. Swick [then
BISD board
president and also
president of First
State Bank of
Bremond] voted for
the extension of the
depository contract
[with First State
Bank of Bremond].
We also reviewed
the minutes from the
October 22, 2003
meeting, noting the
board again
approved the
extension, and Mr.
Swick abstained
from voting."

NOTE: This bank
"converted to a state
savings bank under
title of First State
Bank-Bremond,
S.S.B., on
8-01-2004."
(SOURCE--Texas
Dep't of Banking)

WILL FORMER BREMOND ISD
SUPE JOHNSON BE ABLE TO
WALK AWAY FROM THE
MISSING $800,000?
Kenneth Johnson leaving
Franklin courthouse on June 5,
2006 after attorney no-showed
at pre-trial hearing.

Nancy Gadbois recollects on
her website
www.Nancysblog.com
When we tried to contact the
authorities put in place by the
state of Texas, such as the
Texas Education Agency, to
report the possible
wrongdoings in our school
district we were met with
opposition and no support. Our
school district has been cited
in their audits for the past eight
to ten years for unsecured
funds in the bank yet to my
knowledge not one agency has
ever followed up to see if
anything had ever been
corrected.

LETTERS FROM MAURICE & PAT YEZAK AND ROBERT & NANCY
GADBOIS TO THEIR U.S. SENATORS, KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON AND
JOHN CORNYN, AND CONGRESSMAN CHET EDWARDS REQUESTING A
CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY/HEARING [EX. CORNYN]

After almost three years of waiting, it appears that Dr. Kenneth Johnson,
former superintendent of Bremond ISD, is going to agree to a plea
bargain for his part in the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from
our school district on Monday, June 26, 2006 in Robertson County 82nd
District Court with Honorable Judge Stem presiding. The “unofficial
word” is that the plea includes a 5- year prison term and restitution of an
additional $70,000. (He has paid back $130,000 to date)

Please allow me to share a bit of history. We, Robert and Nancy
Gadbois, and friends, Patricia and Maurice Yezak, began making open
records requests to our school district administration in the summer of
2003. Bremond is a small district of about 450 students. The Board of
Trustees had just approved a $7.9M budget on revenue projections of
$4.3M. The State’s AEIS reports indicated spending of more than
$14,000 per student. Rumors of exotic vacations by our superintendent
were floating around along with a number of other interesting
allegations.

Here is a small sample of what our open records requests appeared to
reveal:

Dr. Johnson paid himself an additional $20,000 in salary.
Dr. Johnson also wrote himself checks each month that averaged
$1,000.
Dr. Johnson used district credit cards for hundreds of thousands of
dollars in personal expenses, including trips to Las Vegas, New York,
Hawaii, Jamaica, Cancun and elsewhere. Charges included tens of
thousands of dollars in jewelry, sports memorabilia and clothing. A
review of all of the charges is sickening.
Dr. Johnson placed two of his sons on the district’s payroll and enrolled
them in the district benefit plans, though neither of them worked or even
lived in the district.
Dr. Johnson used district checks to pay for personal expenses,
including groceries, insurance, utilities, medical care, travel, building
supplies, vehicle repairs, and the list goes on.

After our discovery, we turned over our documents to the TEA. The
TEA informed us that they did not have the manpower to pursue it and
in turn forwarded the information to the State Auditor and the local
District Attorney. The local District Attorney would not pursue it as he
had a conflict of interest. The local sheriff also said he did not have
the manpower and put us in contact with Texas Ranger, Mr. Jim
Huggins. We contacted the FBI, and were told that we really needed
to just stick with the Rangers.

A “special audit” commissioned by the Board of Trustees confirmed our
findings. This was not a forensic audit. Unfortunately, the audit
consisted of reviewing the documents we had already discovered.
The auditor simply interviewed Dr. Johnson and with our list of
charges in hand let him choose what he felt he was responsible for.
Of almost $500,000 in American Express and US Bank credit card
charges over 4 years, Dr. Johnson claimed responsibility for
$190,000. However, over $200,000 fell into the “unknown” category. The
audit did not include a review of checks written over the same 4 years or
credit cards such as Texaco, Wal-Mart and Lowes. All files and receipts
that could have been used to prove the misuse of funds were
shredded or removed prior to and after Dr. Johnson’s resignation.

Now let me explain the reason for our letter. Mr. Cornyn, we are being
told by the special prosecutor “all he needs is $100,000” and he’s got a
1st degree felony. He has also stated that the county doesn’t have the
resources to investigate all of the allegations. Therefore, we should be
happy with the plea bargain.

Mr. Cornyn, since Dr. Johnson’s resignation, the district’s
expenditures have dropped from an average of $500,000 per month to
an average of $350,000, well over $1M per year. Virtually all of the
district’s financial records, prior to Dr. Johnson’s departure, have been
destroyed. Accordingly, we have little evidence of what the money was
spent on. We have some idea, based on the credit card statements we’
ve seen. The district has had to rebuild its budget based on bank
statements and personnel files.

We were led to believe that law enforcement would use their subpoena
power to find the extent of the misuse of funds. Now we know that they
simply took what we found, took what Dr. Johnson claimed responsibility
for and ran with it.

We do know that our cafeteria was showing a loss of well over $100,000
per year prior to Dr. Johnson’s resignation. We know that food for our
concession stand was paid for with cafeteria funds. We know that we
receive about $10,000 per month in federal aid for our free and reduced
lunch program. Our federal funds were not kept separate from our local,
state and county funds. These funds were deposited together in the
Local, State and County account. We were told at one point by the
Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General, that if Dr.
Johnson commingled the funds that it was a federal offense. Now we
find that, from a federal perspective, the case is not “sexy enough.”

Mr. Cornyn, the district is out hundreds of thousands, if not millions of
dollars. Each and every governmental agency we’ve turned to have
either passed the buck or claimed that due to limited resources won’t
pursue the investigation to the full extent. So we’re left with an individual
that raped this small community, facing only possible probation, and
forced to pay back a small portion of what he appeared to steal.

We are asking for your assistance in engaging federal and perhaps
even local law enforcement to reassess our situation. Unless
individuals like Dr. Johnson are investigated and punished to the fullest
extent, this type of misuse of public funds will continue to destroy our
education system. We would even be willing to participate in a
Congressional Hearing to discuss the challenges and barriers we’ve
had to overcome in our search for information and in our effort to expose
the wrongdoing in Bremond. I know
we’re not alone.

Your assistance in helping us to seek justice would be sincerely
appreciated. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Robert and Nancy Gadbois Maurice and Patricia Yezak

STATUS: No response received save a form letter from Senator
Hutchison's office addressed to Nancy Gadbois; no further follow up.

6. Superinten-
dent Com-
pensation.
"We analyzed all
contracts for the
superintendent to
determine the basis
of his District
approved
compensation.
Contracts for fiscal
year 1995 and fiscal
year 1999 were
originally unable to
be located. Fiscal
year 1999 was
subsequently found
by the business
manager. The
contracts contained
typed-in information,
and the fiscal year
1999 contract
reported an 8.5%
increase. Normal
increases during his
tenure wee 3% to
5% annually. Payroll
records reflect that
beginning in
February 2000, Dr.
Johnson began
receiving immediate
increases for the
upcoming contract
year dated to be
effective in July. In
February 2001, Dr.
Johnson received a
7% increase;
however, the
upcoming contract
had authorized a 4%
increase effective in
July. As a District
employee during the
period analyzed
[years ended
2000-2003], Dr.
Johnson's contracts
totaled $307,921.
Per payroll records,
the actual amount
paid during this
period was
$348,639.44. The
total overpayment
based on these
records is
$40,718.44.

"During the period
May 16, 2003
through August 31,
2003, Dr. Johnson
was paid through
JR3 Education
Associates, LP, with
reimbursements to
JR3 from the
District. During that
period his
compensation
agreement was not
agreed to in written
form. Per inquiry of
[then-BISD board
president] Mr. Swick,
the District's
understanding of his
compensation was
that no benefits
would be paid, with
gross
compensation
totaling the same as
his last contract
amount before
termination. Based
on these amounts,
Dr. Johnson's
compensation
package for the
three and one half
month period
should have been
$24,236.63. During
this period, his
actual
compensation
totaled $34,117.92.
The total
overpayment based
on these records is
$9,881.29.

"The superintendent
and business
manager did not
adhere to proper
internal control
procedures during
the processing of
these transactions."

12. Cafeteria
Deficit.
We analyzed
expenditures for the
cafeteria and
inquired of cafeteria
personnal, and
noted no apparent
personal use of
District food
products by the
superintendent's
wife.
PW COMMENT:
Kenneth Johnson's
wife was still
cafeteria manager at
the time of the
questioning.

NANCY GADBOIS
STATEMENT:

As far as we know, Jim
James got his
information from the
State Auditor and the
Ranger. We
compared the special
audit numbers with the
numbers we had from
our open records
requests. In
comparison, it appears
Dr. Johnson’s
indictment charge totals
are close the
information we had
already provided and
not more. Since I don’t
have access to the
same information the
State Auditor and the
Texas Ranger have, I
can only speculate.
The special audit notes
$137,525.56 in
questionable
expenditures and
$137,344.75 in
reimbursable
expenditures. Were
these “questionable
expenditures” ever
investigated? I don’t
know but added
together it totals more
than $200,000. The
special audit did not
include information
obtained later such as
Wal-Mart statements
which show charges in
other states such as
Hawaii. The audit also
failed to investigate an
endless string of
checks signed by Dr.
Johnson and Sandra
Nolan.

Personal
comment
I would like
to express
my personal
and
heartfelt
gratitude to
the Bremond
parents
(Maurice and
Pat Yezak,
and Robert
and Nancy
Gadbois) for
sharing the
public
records they
obtained
through their
Texas Public
Information
Act
requests,
available to
all, and for
their
generosity of
spirit
in sharing
this
information
for the
common good.
-- Peyton
Wolcott

HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING? IS PROSECUTOR JIM
JAMES REALLY OFFERING THIS SUPE A PLEA DEAL? WILL
DISTRICT JUDGE ROBERT STEM AGREE?
By Peyton Wolcott - June 18, 2006/1:00 a.m.

When Bremond ISD supe Kenny Johnson abruptly resigned in October 2003, many of the
district's business records mysteriously disappeared with him with the result that while
school officials know that their district's fund balance dropped from $2.4 million to $1.6
million during his tenure, they are hard pressed to say where the missing money is. With
$800,000 outstanding, how can prosecutor Jim James be extending a plea deal to
Johnson?

NOW, TEAM OF
ONE: Former
Bremond ISD supe
Kenneth Johnson
leaving courtroom
after June 5
pre-trial hearing in
Franklin, Texas

Bremond ISD is a small (450 students) district in central Texas considered property rich
thanks to a power plant within its boundaries; during Johnson's leadership the district's
expenses were in the $500,000-550,000 range per month and according to district officials
dropped to $350,000 the day he left.

Johnson was indicted last fall for theft and misapplication of fiduciary funds charges
including use of district credit cards to pay for jewelry, alcohol and vacations to Hawaii,
Cancun and California. James told the Waco Tribune-Herald's Tommy Witherspoon last
year that "Johnson has paid back a portion of what he supposedly stole, but that doesn't
erase the crime. 'If you catch a burglar in your house and he says, 'I'm sorry, here's your TV
back,' that doesn't undo what's been done.' "

Question
of the Day:
WHERE
ARE THE
FEDS?

QUESTION: Was James misquoted? Did James actually mean to tell the reporter that if the burglar says
"Here's one-fifth of your TV back" then he gets off on an easy plea deal? Getting to keep four-fifths of the TV
doesn't sound like Bremond taxpayers are being well served by the judicial system, small-town, small-potatoes
or not. Like I always say, not many of us write that many $800,000.00 checks out of our personal accounts each
day of the week.

QUESTION: Under former supe Kenneth Johnson, Bremond ISD's cafeteria operation was losing
$70,000-80,000 per year because apparently they were buying all concession stand supplies (for football
games and other sports) through the cafeteria but never reimbursing the cafeteria once the food was sold.
Because the cafeteria received federal so-called free lunch funds, wouldn't this be a clear case for the feds
thanks to the commingling?

Relevant recent examples of school personnel facing and serving time,
other penalties for embezzling far lesser amounts than the
$800,000 missing under former Bremond ISD supe Johnson's watch

Mickey
Heath,
former
business
manager at
Boone
School
District
(Iowa),
pleaded guilty
on Monday to
a felony
charge of theft.
The charge
comes in
connection
with the
disappearance
of $15,000 in
school district
funds. A state
audit connects
Mickey Heath
to over
$200,000 in
missing
money from
the time of his
hiring in 1997
until
November of
2005. Heath
faces up to 10
years in
prison and a
$10,000 fine.
(SOURCE--KWB
G.com)

Former Hulbert
Public School
District
treasurer
Deborah Harvey
has confessed
to embezzling
nearly $37,000
from her
Oklahoma
district by
altering payee
names on
checks.
Charges are
expected to be
filed next
week.
(SOURCE--
D.E.Smooth/Musk
ogee Phoenix)

Former Elizabeth School District
supe Bruce Bartlett (above) is serving
six years in prison for telling his board he
was receiving $123,000 per year salary but
actually paying himself $166,632.
(PHOTO/KCNC)

How the story broke
"Jack Dixon, a local mortgage broker,
became curious and did some rooting
around in the district’s financial records. He
asked to see the employment contracts for
Bartlett and Munsey, but was initially told to
get lost. When it became apparent to the
board members that they were going to be
on the losing end of an embarrassing Public
Records lawsuit, Dixon was finally shown a
copy of each contract. At a subsequent
board meeting, Dixon revealed that Bartlett
and Munsey had actually been paying
themselves $190,000 and $120,000
respectively. The shocking revelation about
salaries sparked a complete examination of
the district’s financial records, uncovering a
$2.25 million shortfall." (SOURCE/Cheyenne
Herald)

Former San Jose school
secretary Barbara Jo Price
(above) (PHOTO--Mike Janes/Almaden
Weekly) was sentenced last
December to three years in state
prison "for embezzling more than
$480,000 from the school's student
activity fund from 1998 until January
of this year. Barbara Jo Price, 44,
worked at Bret Harte Middle School
in San Jose's tony Almaden Valley
neighborhood for 12 years until
district auditors discovered her
embezzlement in January.
In addition to her prison sentence,
Price was ordered to pay more than
$700,000 in restitution although
Santa Clara County Deputy District
Attorney John Chase does not
know how much of the embezzled
funds will actually be recovered.
'This was stolen over a long period
of time, beginning in 1998, so most
likely it's been spent,' Chase said.
Price has been in custody since
June. (SOURCE--KGO TV)
NOTE: Price is currently serving
her time in Elmwood Correctional
Center for Women in Milpitas,
California. (SOURCE/KSCO)

Bartlett's too-trusting and/or
complicit school board
"An investigation by the school district prompted by a News 4
investigation revealed inflated salaries, reckless money
management and questionable credit card and cell-phone
charges all undetected by a trusting school board."
(SOURCE--KCNC TV) "At the sentencing, the Judge directed
some particularly harsh words toward the members of the
school board for their failure to detect the ongoing fraud and
their obvious practice of blindly rubberstamping everything
which came before them." (SOURCE--Cheyenne Herald)

How we take back our children's education:
one person, one question, one school at a time.

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Former Bremond ISD supe James Kenneth Johnson

Two moms
persist
despite the
system
By Peyton Wolcott
Dec. 8, 2006

A town so small it
doesn't even occupy a
square mile, Bremond,
Texas (pop. 876) in
northeast central Texas
has something going for
it that others don't: Pat
Yezak and Nancy
Gadbois, two moms
with smarts and tenacity
who overcame
tremendous obstacles in
bringing their local
public school
superintendent (prison
mug shot at far right) to
justice.
Among their obstacles:
accountability sectors of
the governmental
bureaucratic system
which should have
helped but didn't. Here's
their journey:

Bremond moms Nancy Gadbois
(left) and Pat Yezak

(Left)
Kenneth
Johnson
leaving pre-
trial hearing
June 5, 2006

QUESTION:
How well do
you know
YOUR
superin-
tendent?
How well do
you know
your school
board
members?

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