Wednesday, April 16, 2008

School Board racks up hefty credit card bills - Gary Post Tribune

GARY -- School Board members utilize their school district-issued recognition card game for everything from trips to Las Vegas to portable difficult drives.


At-large representative Darren American Capital took 19 trips to Capital Of Indiana since October -- each of which be the territory $96 for milage or nearly $1,824 total.


The Post-Tribune recently examined the board's recognition card usage over a four-month period.


Washington also racked up a $275 recognition card measure on New Year's Eve at Office Terminal in Highland for a portable 4 GB external difficult thrust for his laptop, Norton 360 anti-virus software, a data file box, and a bookcase. In another Office Terminal trip to Merrillville in January, he spent $95 for a leather laptop computer bag.


Fourth District legal guardian Andrea Ledbetter charged the territory $2,501 in February for a December trip to Hawaii, for which the territory is still awaiting documentation.


Board President Nellie Moore, the 3rd District representative, received reimbursement in the amount of $1,785 for attending the National School Boards Association conference in Orlando, Fla., last calendar month and the Hoosier State School Boards Association conference in January.


Second District legal guardian Debra Crawford's disbursals totaled $3,148 for attending those same NSBA and ISBA conferences.


Jesse Morris, who stands for the 5th District, charged $1,061 for a National School Safety Conference in Las Vegas in late November.


Sixth District legal guardian Michael George C. George C. Scott attended the same conference, plus an Indianapolis-based school safety conference, and a November National Alliance of Black Educators event in Nashville, Tenn. That, plus four local concern lunches, ran Scott's recent disbursals up to $3,444.


At-large member Alex Sir Mortimer Wheeler Jr.'s disbursals were $1,331 for the Las Vegas safety conference and mailings for a school forum.


Washington defended his purchases saying they signified his difficult work for constituents.


He said some of the information is sensitive territory data, which necessitates the best in security software.


Washington said when he goes or even confabulates with the Gary City Council or Lake County Council, he can easily share and have transcripts of necessary written documents by using the plug-and-go engineering in the portable difficult drive.


"As the public knows, I'm a very well informed school board member. I have got so much paperwork with every meeting over the last three years. There's a batch of information to decipher," American Capital said.


Washington said he utilizes a laptop computer supplied by the territory and so it's suitable for the territory to cover a protective bag for it and other equipment.


Moore turned down her laptop.


"I may be the lone 1 who turned one down when I got on the board," she said. "I didn't desire the duty of having a territory laptop computer because everything on it is public information."


As for the nearly $1,900 in trips to Indianapolis, American Capital said he's chairman of the board's policy and legislative committee. Turnaround trips on Dec. 3, 4, 5, and 9 led to divide milage and disbursals for each of those days.


January was his heaviest traveling month, where he went to Capital Of Indiana eight separate days. He states he's often there for most of January keeping an oculus on school-related bills.


He said he happens those trips more insightful and productive than large conferences. And he observes that he always describes back to the public at board meetings.


Washington was hired in mid-January arsenic a lobbyist for the metropolis of Gary but he said none of the trips to Capital Of Indiana coincided with metropolis business.


"I've been very cognizant, very careful to utilize school trips just for school business," he said.


He's spent $600 traveling six modern times to the Capital Of Indiana country to garner information specifically for a stalled enterprise he back ups to set up a school-district-based police military unit force.


Contact Sharlonda L. Waterhouse at 648-3085 or swaterhouse@post-trib.com

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