The Escambia Children’s Trust workshop revealed publicly for the first time the many issues and possible contract violations and maybe even fraud committed during the first nine months of the special taxing district’s over $5 million budgeted for Out-of-School Time (OST) awards.
We only heard from two providers – Children’s Theater Company (CTC) and Urban Development Center (UDC) – and their problems are only the tip of the iceberg.
State Attorney Ginger Madden needs to convene a grand jury to review all expenditures and make recommendations for improvement. An independent, nonpartisan investigation is necessary to rebuild public trust.
Here’s my case for the grand jury:
1) The supporters of creating ECT promised that organizations receiving funds, which are taxpayers’ dollars, would be held accountable, and outcomes would be measured. That isn’t happening. Few measurable outcomes have been presented; ECT staff cited several of the 19 providers have failed to meet reporting deadlines; and millions have been spent on vans, computers, salaries, and start-up costs on programs that have fallen far below their contracts’ participation commitments.
2) Many OST contracts have metrics for improvements in school attendance, English Language Arts, and mathematics. However, none of the providers have provided last year’s grades and compared them with the kids’ first report cards. ECT staff still doesn’t have a signed agreement with the school district to collect attendance and grades on all students in the 19 programs.
a) CTC had no objective measurements its contract for its Kids with a Cause. Per the contract, the academic outcomes were 23 unnamed literary skills, improved homework completion, and engagement in learning – measured by parent and faculty surveys, not any school records.
b) Central Gulf Coast CDF Freedom Schools agreed to use $215,045 for a “six hours high-quality summer enrichment program” for 150 at-risk elementary and middle school students. The program only served 104 children, charged ECT $104,413, and didn’t submit its results or the demographics of attendees.
3) This first public accounting of the OST awards focused on attendance, but how accurate are they? The programs were contracted to service new children – how many were already in their systems?
a) According to the attendance records I acquired from ECT, UDC shows 40 participants for 36 consecutive weekdays and 35 for another 17 straight days. Really?
4) Providers weren’t supposed to be solely funded by ECT dollars. Many listed partnerships and dollars from several sources to prove their sustainability. We have no reports on whether those other dollars were ever collected and used for the programs.
Last January, the Century Town Council unanimously passed a motion to loan UDC $61,925 for computers while the nonprofit waited to receive its ECT grant. According to council meetings, UDC was to reimburse the town when ECT provided funding. That didn’t happen.
According to ECT records, UDC paid Hixardt Technologies, Inc. $34,723 for 20 desktop computers and two laptops in March. Century’s town clerk told Inweekly that UDC had made one payment on the loan, and the balance is due this month. While NorthEscambia.com reported the payment was “at least $20,000,” the town clerk provided no public records to document the reimbursement or balance due.
4) Board members and ECT staff have been heavily lobbied for programs. The behind-the-scenes pressure has been intense and is the root of many issues. A grand jury takes politics out of the equation.
Former State Attorney Curtis Golden, in the late 1990s, used grand juries to investigate pollution and other environmental issues. Russ Edgar headed them, and their reports became blueprints for local government.
I’ve called the Escambia Children’s Trust OST grant program a dumpster fire. After attending last week’s workshop, I realized it’s more what political pundit Rick Wilson called Hillary Clinton’s campaign “a clown car crashing into a dumpster fire.”
