[Southsider2k12]

This is from a couple of years ago, but interesting none the less.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/200...ws/8699271.html

Candidate for county schools finance chief raises questions

By ANTONIO PLANAS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Clark County School District nearly hired a chief financial officer who resigned from an Indiana school system that became mired in financial turmoil while he oversaw the budget.

Theophilus Boone was expected to become the district's next CFO, in charge of a nearly $2 billion budget, before the agenda item seeking a School Board confirmation vote was pulled from the July 13 agenda.
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Boone resigned as assistant superintendent in charge of finance from the Gary Community School Corp. in September in Gary, Ind., because of what critics described as his inability to monitor fines against a bus company with which the district had a contract, according to the Post Tribune, a Gary newspaper. The critics said Boone did a poor job overseeing change orders for construction of new schools.

But at least one School Board member from Gary said Boone was merely a scapegoat in a struggling district, the newspaper reported.

Boone could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes said Boone's references are being checked again and he is still one of four people in contention for the CFO vacancy.

"In reviewing the information regarding Mr. Boone, we felt that additional reference checking should occur," Rulffes said. "That reference check is under way right now."

Rulffes would not name the other three candidates vying for the post, saying it was a personnel matter. He also said no time line is in place for when a CFO must be hired.

Rulffes is handling CFO responsibilities with another top administrator in the district.

In addition to managing a $1.9 billion budget, the new CFO could be involved in the current and upcoming bond measures.

The bond passed in 1998 now has reached $3.7 billion and will build 105 schools through the 2010-11 school year. It also will finance the construction of 11 replacement schools. The district is expected to put another bond measure before voters in 2008.

Andrea Ledbetter, a School Board member in Gary, said Boone was one of a long line of administrators who were forced to resign because of mismanagement of finances.

Ledbetter said Boone is at least partly at fault for the district now having two elementary schools that are not opening on time and are millions of dollars over budget.

"He couldn't handle some of the job responsibilities we asked him to," Ledbetter said. "We may never know where millions of dollars went. ... We were lenient in allowing people to resign. We should have terminated them and put something in their files."

According to the Indiana Department of Education Web site, Gary Community School Corp. has about 16,000 students in 29 schools.

The Clark County School District is the nation's fifth largest, with more than 300,000 students expected in the fall.

But Darren Washington, also a School Board member in Gary, painted a different picture of Boone. He said Boone is a "good finance guy" who was following advice from poor leadership.

Washington was more critical of Superintendent Mary Steele and the person who had directed transportation.

"Folks were trying to make him a scapegoat," Washington said. "When you're under leadership that is not proven, that causes problems for everyone. He is not the reason why the school district is in the position it is in."

George Ann Rice, Clark County School District associate superintendent of human resources, would not specifically discuss Boone but said all candidates for cabinet-level positions in the district go through a rigorous screening process.

The process includes getting written input from the candidate's three latest supervisors, and checking the candidate's education and work history. Criminal background checks are also done with the Nevada Highway Patrol and the FBI. And an outside firm then confirms the results of those checks.

Clark County School Board member Terri Janison said she's happy that the allegations against Boone surfaced before he was hired. She said the district's hiring practices might have to be examined.

School Board members were not provided the names of the finalists, but their confirmation is required before the superintendent's choice can be hired.

"It all goes back to the fact that the superintendent reports back to the board of trustees," Janison said. "Obviously, I want to make sure the best person is hired. So I think it might be time for a discussion of the process."

[Roger Kaputnik]

GET RID OF THIS SCHOOL BOARD!