Contracting Scandal Fallout: Seattle Fires Schools Superintendent

The Seattle School Board voted unanimously on Wednesday night, March 2, 2011, to fire the superintendent,  Maria Goodloe-Johnson.

Lack of Management Oversight:  The school board's action of dismissing Goodloe-Johnson, came as the board attempted to restore the public's confidence in a district shaken badly by allegations of contracting fraud and mismanagement of public money.  Goodloe-Johnson was fired for lack of management oversight relating to a scandal involving award of millions of dollars of questionable contracts awarded by a mid-level manager as part of the school district's small business development program.  The program, which has since been phased out, was designed to help ensure small and minority businesses were competitive on the district's construction projects.  The school board noted there were enough warning signs of inappropriate activity by district employees that Goodloe-Johnson should have paid attention to and taken corrective action on.

Fraudulent Activity:  At the center of the scandal is Silas Potter, who ran the small business program, until he resigned in June 2010 amid fraudulent activity of depositing a check made out to the school district into the bank account of a separate company he set up bearing the same name as the school district's program.

Potter Denies Wrongdoing:  When the Seattle Times caught up with Potter in Florida on Wednesday, Potter stated that he had done nothing wrong.  "I've been thrown under the bus," he stated, alleging that he was simply following orders of his supervisor, Fred Stephens, now an official with the federal government.  But he went on the state that he was prepared for whatever might happen, even "if I have to serve time" in jail.

CFO Also Fired:  The Seattle School Board also voted on Wednesday to fire the district's chief financial and operations officer, Don Kennedy.

Audit Report:  The scandal became public when the Washington State Auditor's Office published its audit findings recently.

More Information:  Click here to read my earlier blog posting on this scandal, which includes links to the state audit report, a report of an independent attorney hired by the school board, and articles from the Seattle Times.

Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog 

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