Momma Bears
  • Blog
  • CHOOSE to REFUSE TESTING (OPT OUT)
    • #ChooseToRefuse
    • How to Refuse
    • Resources
    • For Students
    • Advocate!
    • Memes & Graphics
    • FAQ

Not Good, not good at all, ASD

8/24/2016

 
Picture
The school year has not gotten off to a good start for the Tennessee Achievement School District (ASD). Just days after the first day of school, Green Dot principal of Fairley High School, Zachary Samson, was arrested at his school on two charges of tampering with and fabricating evidence. Based on the arrest affidavit, it would appear the principal advised two students to delete pictures from their phone after another student reported nude pictures of her were posted on social media. We would love to show you a copy of the arrest record but like the student's pictures, it has been deleted and no longer appears on the court's website. Apparently, the case has been expunged in a rather expeditious manner ie. removed lickety split. 

Then, things went from bad to worse for the ASD. Several days after the ASD principal's arrest, the Tennessee Comptroller's office released an audit noting some financial peculiarities:
  • The ASD did not establish adequate controls over several key human resources and payroll processes
  • The ASD failed to implement adequate internal controls over its expenditures, travel claims, and purchasing card purchases
  • The ASD did not perform sufficient fiscal monitoring of its direct-run schools and charter management organizations
That's boring accounting talk for the ASD didn't "TCB." But we already knew that. Remember when we told you about how the Barbic's loved mixing education reform with cocktails? Might want to read our Rat blog as a refresher. 

PARTAY with the ASD

Momma Bears has been telling you for quite a while about the ASD's Happy Hours. It is common knowledge in Memphis that the ASD recruits its new teachers by getting them liquored up at local bars with free drinks. We have even heard parents confront ASD officials about sponsoring Happy Hours for teachers. After shrugging their shoulders,
the ASD's response was that they also recruited at daytime events where they offered spa treatments like free mini massages. A veteran teacher was heard to grumble under her breath that she didn't become a teacher for free liquor and back rubs.
Picture
The ASD has been offering free appetizers and two free drink coupons at area bars since 2013. One of the ASD's favorite watering holes is the Bar Dog Tavern. It's a gathering place for hipsters but there was some trouble there last week when one of Bar Dog Tavern employees was carjacked and shot in the parking lot. ​
Picture
Picture
It comes as no surprise to us that the state audit revealed dirty details of the money spent on liquor and food at ASD parties. A list of the salacious expenditures appeared in The Memphis Daily News: 
  • $2,500 on a holiday event at the Sheraton in Memphis, in part to recognize outgoing superintendent Chris Barbic, including expensive finger food, alcohol and a bartender.​
  • $1,630 worth of alcohol for a staff recognition event and charged it to its Charter School Grant Funding, a private grant in which funding was restricted to operating expenses for five schools.
  • An employee took himself and a friend out to dinner on ASD’s dime and bought $22 worth of drinks, plus dessert, and failed to exclude them from his reimbursement. He wound up getting $13 too much, though he reported he didn’t consume the beverages or eat the dessert.

​So, the ASD fat cats were partying in hotels and feasting on "expensive finger food [and] alcohol." Meanwhile they served their students moldy food out of a rat infested kitchen. Click the rat below to read that blog again.  
Picture
Momma Bears aren't the only ones questioning how the ASD spends its money. Both state and federal auditors have found financial irregularities with the ASD since the get-go. The ASD took over its first school in 2012. By 2013, the auditors were already reporting deficiencies in controls. Take a look below at what was reported in the most recent state audit:
We first identified issues involving ASD’s financial and federal program operations during the 2013 Single Audit, and in each of the Single Audit reports since 2013, we have reported deficiencies in ASD’s internal controls and noncompliance with federal program requirements, resulting in approximately $721,000 of federal questioned costs. ​​
The most recent federal audit from July of this year, noted the following:
We found that Tennessee and the Achievement School District spent $101,903 on unallowable items and activities and did not adequately document another $141,968. ​​
Since its inception, that ASD has racked up— 
  • Almost three quarters of a million dollars in questionable costs
  • Over a $100,000 in items not allowed 
  • Nearly $150,000 in undocumented expenses 

We think the Fairley High School principal isn't the only one who needs to be in handcuffs. 

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    January 2021
    March 2020
    January 2020
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Momma Bears

    Just some moms who realize their children's public school systems in TN, as well as public schools across the country, have major threats to their survival.  We research, we write, we share, and we advocate.

    Categories

    All
    ASD
    Barber
    BATs
    Broad
    Candice McQueen
    Chamber Of Commerce
    Charter Corruption Series
    Charter Schools
    Common Core
    Consultants
    Cosmos
    Data
    Data Collection
    Documentary
    Duncan
    Education
    Event
    Faux Parents
    Finland
    Fordham Institute
    Gates
    Governor Haslam
    Governor Haslam
    Grassroots
    Gulen
    Huffman
    Inappropriate-book
    Inappropriate-common-core
    Inc.
    Knox County
    Knoxville
    Legislators
    Legislature
    Liar Liar Pants On Fire Series
    Lobbyists
    Mckinsey
    Nashville
    New Momma Bears
    Opting Out
    Parcc
    Pearson
    Petition
    Poppa Bear
    PR Firm
    Ravitch
    Refusing Tests
    Renaissance Learning
    Rocketship
    RTI2
    School Board
    Score
    SPED
    Student Privacy
    Students
    Studentsfirst
    Survey
    Tcap
    Tea
    Teacher Evaluations
    Teachers
    Teacher Survey
    Tennesseeans For Student Success
    Testing
    Textbooks
    Tndoe
    TNREADY
    TREE
    Treeroots
    Tripod
    TVAAS
    Virus
    Vouchers
    Walton

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from mrsdkrebs