Analysis Of Fraud And Misconduct Cost Chicago Schools

1478 Words3 Pages

Secondly, the survival of the schools from the budget shortage depends on how principals utilize their schools’ human resources. One of the solutions proposed by CPS principals is a plan to encourage and rely on teachers and volunteers to participate in after school activities. Despite the fact that the budget cuts pushed a lot of teachers to leave their jobs, there are teachers and volunteers who are willing to work extra hours to help children with their after school activities. Principal Pavichevich explains that Amundsen High School is one of the schools that prepared in advance for long-threatening cuts by “keep relying on teachers willing to volunteer for after-school activities” so that “no teacher will be laid off” (Perez 3). Similarly, …show more content…

According to the article “Fraud and Misconduct Cost Chicago Schools” dated January 11, 2012 from the Education Week, one of the reasons that lead to a great loss to the budget to schools and cause damage to CPS leadership is the troubling fraud and employee misconduct. The damage include $1.3 million in “improper benefits paid to retired teachers, systemic abuse of the federal free lunch program at West Side high school, and a scheme by a central-office employee to use school fund to buy items he later exchanges for cash”. Most recently, Beatrice Staff, in her article “Corruption in Chicago Public Schools: Former Chief Admits To Fraud” on 13 Oct. 2015 reported that the former head of the CPS Barbara Byrd-Bennett had accepted bribes from multiple companies with amount worth $2.3 million. Accordingly, Barbara Byrd-Bennett was accused of accepting the brides from Gary Soloman and Thomas Vranas, the company owners, to arrange $127,000 into the two accounts set up under her relatives’ names. Additional benefits she received included tickets to multiple sporting events. The investigation proved the evidence found in the email discussions between Solomon and Vranas about the payments arranged for Byrd-Bennett. In particular, Vranas wrote “Everyone sucks and is greedy”. Worst, in the email sent to Solomon on September 10, 2012, Byrd-Bennett wrote “I have tuition to pay and casinos to visit”. One of the executives wrote another email to Byrd-Bennett about the bonus “If you only join for the day, you will be the highest paid person on the planet for that day” (Beatrice 2). As a result, the evidence found during the investigation of twenty mails and wire fraud counts cost Byrd-Bennett twenty years’ jail for each count and up to 400 years in total. Mayor Rahm Emanuel expresses his feeling in the statement saying that he was “saddened and disappointed to learn about

Open Document