| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n -- o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e |
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| This is not to say Ruth's Chris in San Antonio is not a great place to eat -- my husband and I went there on our last anniversary. But that's just it: We paid for our really nice meal ourselves. It never would have occurred to either of us to have someone else pick up the tab. |
| $36.95 for one steak--without vegetables, just a piece of meat Here's how one meal came to total almost a thousand dollars: There were two cowboy ribeyes at $36.95 each, four tournedos at $33.95 each, two filets at $32.95 each and three petite filets for $27.95. Two orders of mashed potatoes cost the same amount as the two orders of asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, $6.95 each. Most of the Cleburne ISD-funded diners appeared to have ordered hors d'oevres such as shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque, shrimp remoulade and crab cakes. And there were expenses for various salads (combo, Caesar, chopped and spinach) plus side dishes ranging from sweet potatoes to onion rings. |
| (Inset) then-Cleburne ISD supe Robert Damron, grand staircase at Ruth's Chris, San Antonio |
| For dessert, the Cleburne ISD group didn't desert the table After the steaks and the salads and the shrimp and the Hollandaise, the group ate creme brulee, chocolate ice cream, key lime pie and banana cream pie. Tip and tax The tax alone was $56.35. While the recommended tip would have been $105.60 for a bill this size (15% x 704.35), Mr. Damron tipped the waitstaff well over 20%, at $147.91--and the State of Texas has rules about paying for tips. |
| How much in school supplies would $908.61 have purchased? |
| Did the board "earn" such a meal? When news of their lavish repast first came to light, then-CISD board member Elaine Wilmore publicly defended the expense during a January 9, 2006 CISD board meeting, saying that the school board had "earned it." Turns out, it would be difficult for any school board in Texas to earn any meal anywhere because the Texas Education Code (below in grey box) expressly forbids such a practice. Cleburne ISD's rules on meals CISD local board policy allows a maximum expenditure of $22.50 per day per person for meals. |
| Former CISD trustee Elaine Wilmore sitting near another staircase, not Ruth's Chris |
| State of Texas Education Code Chapter § 21.037. COMPENSATION. A board member may not receive compensation for serving on the board. A member is entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performing functions as a member of the board, subject to any applicable limitation on reimbursement provided by the General Appropriations Act. |
| This is what the bill for a $908.61 meal at Ruth's Chris looks like. |
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| Conservative Commentary - Cleburne ISD (TX) |
| Can one meal really cost $908.61? (And did Cleburne ISD taxpayers really pay for it?) By Peyton Wolcott Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 10:00 p.m. |
| Which is what's gotten to be a problem with so many of our elected and appointed public school officials: a sense of entitlement to the finer things in this life--at their taxpayers' expense. |
| The bottom line Occasions such as dinners at steakhouses can be a wonderful celebration of life's important events. Rather than going to San Antonio in the summer of 2005, Cleburne ISD's school board members could better have stayed at home, done their required board training online--or had the local ESC representative come for free, as part of CISD's annual contract with them--and either not spent the $908.61at all, or used it to directly benefit their students and teachers. During Robert Damron's time at the helm of Cleburne schools, there were other extravagances, also, questioned by the Cleburne group. |
| The fallout Robert Damron resigned at last night's board meeting--two years ahead of the end of his contract--and the Texas Education Agency auditors have spent several weeks this past year at Cleburne ISD looking into things. |
More here |
| From this receipt below right it appears that Cleburne ISD supe Robert Damon (right) bought at his taxpayers' and schoolchildren's expense a $908.61 meal for himself and school board members at Ruth's Chris Steak House in San Antonio during June 2005, while he and his trustees were in San Antonio to attend the Texas Association of School Boards' Summer Leadership Institute. |
| $36.95 steak paid for by Cleburne taxpayers |
| Ruth's Chris Steak House San Antonio, Texas |
| "Round up the usual suspects" A reel fix or a real fix for Casablanca ISD? By Peyton Wolcott (Published in The Cleburne Eagler-News) May 8, 2008 |
| You remember the end of Casablanca, the teary farewell at the foggy airport between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, then afterwards, when someone must be held accountable, comes the command to "round up the usual suspects." Meaning, "Make a lot of commotion while appearing to be doing something but don't really do anything." Cleburne ISD is at a similar foggy-airport crossroads, having just been hit by a double whammy: First, of the narrow slice of the district's monies TEA closely scrutinized for more than a year, as much as 44% appears to have been mishandled by the district's management. Second, despite a boilerplate non-reassignment clause* in his contract, CISD superintendent Robert Damron agreed to be reassigned. Will Cleburne ISD "round up the usual suspects" or will -- given that this is real life, not reel life, with real schoolchildren and real tax dollars at stake -- CISD take real action? Although the district has already taken several commendable and very real steps towards cleaning house, including voluntarily posting its check register and superintendent contract online, plus eliminating many credit cards, the district's current stated plan, well-intentioned as it might be, of having in-house employees go through file folders is simply not enough to restore community trust. The dividing line between yesterday and tomorrow is still too foggy as most of the school board and administrators who allowed Cleburne ISD to arrive in its present predicament are still in place. It’s not at all clear to the community who was responsible. Who knew and did what, when and how? The most clear line of demarcation available to CISD between yesterday and tomorrow is for board president Stu Madison to call for a forensic audit. Why a forensic audit rather than a regular audit? Dallas ISD residents have recently been learning the difference between the two; as Kent Fischer of the Dallas Morning News reported last Saturday, "When Dallas school officials recently reassured the public that a long-overdue audit of district finances has not turned up any fraud, they failed to mention that their auditors [Deloitte & Touche] are not specifically looking for fraud." The proposed search of CISD file folders by in-house employees too closely resembles a regular audit, which, like the one underway in Dallas ISD, is narrow in scope and rarely turns up any improprieties, whereas a forensic or fraud audit by teams of outsider specialists specifically looks for illegal activities. Here are five simple suggestions for CISD board president Stu Madison and fellow trustees: 1. Order a forensic audit of the district. Reassign all top financial personnel until after the forensic audit is completed, then invite them to reapply for their jobs. 2. Require that any legal counsel paid for by Cleburne ISD have specific experience in public school fraud audits. 3. Post all receipts for Cleburne ISD's superintendent and board (codes 701/702) on Cleburne's website. 4. All trustees sign the same voluntary ethics pledges as has board candidate Wendell Dempsey. (More here: www. peytonwolcott.com) 5. Eliminate** all district travel and meals for at least two years, and eliminate the community relations department. These eliminations would easily cover the likely cost for a forensic audit. By calling for such a fraud audit for Cleburne ISD, Stu Madison and his board, and CISD staffers, will have the only real line of clear demarcation available to them between the district’s foggy past and what I believe can be its vibrant and sunshine-filled future. Indeed, because it can clear up e-v-e-r-y-t- h-i-n-g, a forensic audit can be Cleburne ISD’s best friend. ________________________________ * In the world of the American superintendency, this was a huge concession. Here's how Robert Damron's contract reads: "Clause 2.5 Reassignment - The Superintendent cannot be reassigned from the position of Superintendent to another position without the Superintendent's consent." Usually, superintendents with any leverage available to them use this clause to negotiate a costly contract buy-out. ** Let the administration and board concentrate for the next two years on cleaning up Cleburne ISD, including bringing their own burgers if they absolutely must work through dinner. Then, when they have good news to report, other folks elsewhere will pay them to come share it. The approximate $100,000 savings in the next two years, factoring in prior years' retreats, etc., could be applied towards the cost of a forensic audit. The ESC will come to the district for any board trainings necessary. Also, as regards PR, the new superintendent can handle his own telephone calls with the press as James Warlick -- to his great credit -- has with me. Eliminating a formal paid community relations function could save CISD $200,000 within the next two years. Salary for the PR administrator is $56,000+ per year, not including clerical support, which could realistically be at least another $10,000 per year. The budget for this department is $21,000+ per year. Factor in also overhead including such expenditures as cell phone, furniture, fixtures, equipment and office space which could easily bring this to $100,000 per year, or $200,000 for two years. |
| Casablanca - Airport finale |
| TEA audit timeline including 4 key personnel exits as of June 8, 2008 |
| 2006 Cleburne ISD resident Harold Gentry starts asking questions at Cleburne ISD, file public records request, pays fee, receives records; Attorney General Greg Abbott tells CISD they've overcharged Gentry and must refund overcharges. CISD resident Alden Nellis also files requests, asks questions. November 2006 The Texas Education Agency begins its 16-month audit of Cleburne ISD's handling of $827,000 of $10.7 million in No Child Left Behind grants for 2003-2006. January 2008 Cleburne ISD voluntarily posts check register online; ACCESS Cleburne ISD chair Teresa Blackwell began asking in 2006. February 2008 Cleburne ISD execs spin ongoing audit March 10, 2008 TEA releases 156-page preliminary findings to CISD supe Robert Damron and school board. Early March 2008 Cleburne ISD asks for and receives refund of monies paid to Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools (TAS/MUS) for Spring Conference at Horseshoe Bay Resort, April 18-20, 2008. March 31, 2008 Cleburne ISD superintendent Robert Damron resigns his superintendency; despite non- reassignment clause in contract asks to be reassigned, board asks for all keys and surrender all access to all Cleburne ISD technology; exit and retirement official as of July 1, 2008. Assistant CISD supe Carolyn Cody assumes control of Cleburne ISD. April 9, 2008 Cleburne ISD board announces hiring of former Aledo ISD superintendent James Warlick. April 11, 2008 Long-time Cleburne High School basketball coach Jeff Cody announces retirement. A few days later his wife, Carolyn Cody, announces her retirement. June 6, 2008 Cleburne ISD executive director of special projects Sharron Miles announces retirement effective July 1, 2008. |