The last thing the state of Michigan needs is another crisis on their hands. However, that is exactly what they are now faced with given news this week that focused on corruption at Detroit Public Schools (DPS).
Tuesday, the federal government charged 12 current and former principals, one administrator and a vendor with participating in a $1 million bribery and kickback scheme.
The debacle involved school supplies officials say, were rarely delivered.
Prosecutors allege that businessman Norman Shy, 74 would submit fraudulent invoices to the 13 DPS workers for supplies the employees “ordered” from Shy’s company Allstate Sales. The DPS employees who used Shy as a vendor received money, gift cards, and other forms of payments in amounts as little as $4,000 and as high as $324,000.
Current charges stem from an audit of Education Achievement Authority (EAA), a state-funded agency tasked with helping Detroit’s troubled schools. Ironically, the EAA, the very entity responsible with helping the district actually stole from it as well. Last fall Kenyetta Wilbourn Snapp, a former EAA employee who was touted as a rising education star with a specialty in turn-around schools admitted to receiving $58,050 in bribes from Shy.
It is important to note those involved in the DPS scheme were administrators – not teachers and nearly all of them are in their 50s and 60s – which speaks to their years of service in the education arena. Many of those administrators took home hefty salaries for their work – a stark contrast from the often meager earnings DPS teachers make. The reason I bring this up is because it provides even more insight into the world of greed and how even people with above-average salaries fall victim to corruption.
This latest revelation of corruption hurts Michigan – a state that is still in shambles after years of economic decline, high-profile government corruption, and tainted water. Add to Michigan’s pile of woes the fact that Detroit Public Schools has an operating deficit of $515 million.
This latest development out of Michigan is especially troubling for a multitude of reasons.
The obvious: those charged were wrong for being involved in such exploitation of a school district.
The dishonest administrators were impactful and doing good work relative to the education of their students. Josette Buendia is one of the individuals charged. Cathy Brackett, a teacher who works under Buendia said the principal is “in touch with what’s actually happening in the classrooms, she supports her teachers and students, she’s hands-on and (is) always putting students’ interests first.”
Ronald Alexander, another principal charged in the corruption case was fortunate to have his school selected to receive a $500,000 donation from the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” in February to help with technology updates, campus renovations and additional staff.
The high-level academic effectiveness most of these administrators possessed makes this situation all the more unfortunate because if proven guilty, the district losses good educators. Unethical people, but good educators.
The aforementioned sentence leads me to my final point: the real victims and those most adversely affected are Detroit Public School students. That’s what makes all of this really sad – the fact that children who are largely impoverished African-Americans are subjected to even more adversities – this time at the hands of individuals tasked with leading them academically.
All defendants are expected to turn themselves in to court authorities. Each of the 14 involved face five years in prison and up to $250,000 on charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.
