Elizabeth Officials Indicted
School District's Ex-superintendent, CFO Accused of Padding their Pay
from article written by J. Sebastian Sinisi and Trent Seibert
Denver Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 20, 2003The former superintendent of Elizabeth School District and his former chief financial officer were indicted Thursday on numerous counts of embezzlement, theft and forgery. The counts against Bruce Bartlett and Nancie Munsey revolve around allegations that they inflated their salaries by thousands of dollars.
The Arapahoe County district attorney's office began a criminal investigation in December after residents complained of Bartlett's questionable expenditures, such as credit-card purchases and cellphone calls. A school board audit uncovered contract discrepancies. At the same time, the district revealed a $2.25 million budget deficit that required a state bailout loan.
The alleged paycheck padding might have been found several years ago, but board members said they did not read the contracts of either official. Bartlett and Munsey were apparently able, therefore, to take home a higher salary than the board thought they were earning. "The board was obviously caught off guard ...," said Bart Christiansen, school board vice president. "We were seriously compromised and, although we had no desire for revenge or retaliation, we took the steps we thought necessary to protect the school district and to restore public confidence.
"We cooperated with authorities and let the consequences fall where they might." In an April interview Christiansen was more blunt: "We feel like the biggest fools in the world," he said. When Bartlett was hired in 1996, it was a school board policy to have the district's school attorney examine the superintendent's contract. But the board eventually dropped that review process, according to District Attorney Jim Peters.
Longtime school board critic and area resident Al Griggs said he long believed there were financial shenanigans in the school district. "I think the board shares some of the blame," he said. "They supported Bartlett and Munsey to a fault. ... So the board is not without a degree of guilt." In the 2001-02 school year, for example, the school board thought Bartlett was making $123,000. However, he was actually being paid $166,632, according to the indictment. It is unclear, though, whether the board intended to include Bartlett's $9,840 retirement payment to his base salary. Even with that factored in, Bartlett was making thousands extra, investigators contend.
Bartlett resigned his post in December 2002, about the time the criminal investigation began. Munsey was put on unpaid leave in January and retired in February. Bartlett could not be reached for comment, but Munsey said her attorney advised her not to comment. "I've never been through something like this before and would love to tell my side of the story," she said. "My story will come out in court, and that's all I can say now." In all, Bartlett faces 16 criminal counts. Munsey faces 12, including one charge that alleges she ordered one of her employees to use the istrict's insurance money to help cover a bond payment.
"While it can be argued that (the Elizabeth school board) should have taken a more aggressive role, I thought the superintendent and chief financial officer at the time had conspired to conceal information from the board; not only on the district's financial health, but what compensation they were getting," state Treasurer Mike Coffman said.
Elizabeth school officials have been criticized much of this year as evidence of unchecked spending and financial mismanagement emerged. For example, even as the district was facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, officials charged thousands of dollars a month last year on noneducational items such as self-help books, cellphones and catered parties. Some said the credit-card purchases show a pattern of unchecked spending in a district that had no formal purchasing policies. Although officials said the charges were "reasonable," administrators spent as they saw fit, even though the district was losing money, cutting jobs and increasing student fees.
A review of credit card receipts from April through June 2002 showed almost $30,000 in charges. That kind of spending was the norm throughout the year. Between July 2001 and December 2002, records show, the district charged almost $143,000, averaging about $8,000 a month. After the crisis was discovered in December, credit card spending dropped dramatically. In January, the district charged $849.15.
More than a year before the deficit came to light, an employee raised questions about Bartlett's credit card spending. But after a review, school board officials said they saw no problems. While neither the credit card spending nor the alleged padded salaries caused the district's $2.25 million deficit, some critics believe it was symptomatic of a larger problem of lax internal controls.
Board vice president Christiansen said he believed new financial controls the board has implemented will prevent future abuses. "Now that everything is in the open, this gives us a new starting point and a clean slate to work with," he said.
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