Law & Courts

Consultants Question Business Practices, Contracts in Md. District

By Jeff Archer — June 14, 2005 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
BRIC ARCHIVE

Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Andre J. Hornsby, the Prince George’s County, Md., school district manipulated procurement processes to steer a contract to a woman who was a longtime Hornsby associate, an investigative report released last week concludes.

The probe, by a private firm hired by the school board, found evidence that a software vendor also may have paid a commission to another woman, Mr. Hornsby’s live-in girlfriend, who was a sales representative for the company. It also said the schools chief’s consulting business sought outside work after he came to the Maryland system, despite claims that the company was “dormant.”

The report by Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group came 10 days after Mr. Hornsby announced his resignation from the 136,000-student district, and amid an FBI investigation of the district’s business dealings. In a statement, the school board said last week the report “raises serious legal and ethical concerns.”

Lawyers for Mr. Hornsby shot back with their own lengthy statement criticizing Huron’s claims as speculative and based on hearsay. Denying any wrongdoing by the district CEO, they wrote that the deals in question have helped the system financially and academically.

The school board asked Huron to do a “forensic audit” after news reports examined Mr. Hornsby’s ties to companies that did business with the district. Huron interviewed some 20 district officials, including Mr. Hornsby, and reviewed district e-mails.

Much of the resulting report focuses on Cynthia Joffrion, who worked for Mr. Hornsby as an information-technology official in his previous jobs as an administrator in Yonkers, N.Y., and Houston. Mr. Hornsby hired her as a consultant after coming to Prince George’s County. (“Ethics Issues Snare School Leaders,” January 12, 2005.)

E-Rate Help

According to Huron’s report, Ms. Joffrion helped the Maryland district seek vendors to assist it in getting money under the federal E-rate technology program. After five companies submitted bids, the report says, she offered a proposal for the job under a new company registered in her husband’s name, E-Rate Managers.

District staff members told Huron that then they revised their rankings of the proposals so that E-Rate Managers won the contract. While those staff members said they were not directed to do so, “they knew upon the receipt of the proposal from EM, that EM would get this contract,” the report states.

Huron found that Ms. Joffrion was involved with another vendor, Quality Schools Consulting Inc., that Mr. Hornsby formed in 2000 to offer E-rate assistance to districts. The report says that she referred potential client districts to the company after Mr. Hornsby assumed the job in Prince George’s County.

Ms. Joffrion did not return calls for comment last week.

On another matter, the report says that under Mr. Hornsby’s leadership, the district greatly expanded a deal involving federal money with LeapFrog SchoolHouse, a technology company that employed a woman that the district leader lived with. Huron cites statements attributed to LeapFrog officials saying that she got part of a commission on the $1 million contract.

In their response, Mr. Hornsby’s lawyers said the contracts examined were made on the recommendation of other district officials. They said the deals have netted the district more federal money and gains in achievement.

“[N]o fair-minded person can reasonably dispute that Dr. Hornsby sought to do what he thought was right and best for the students of the Prince George’s County Public Schools,” states the response.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts When Blocking Social Media Critics, School Officials Have Protections, Supreme Court Says
The court said public officials' own pages may be "state action," but only when they are exercising government authority.
6 min read
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts Oklahoma Nonbinary Student's Death Shines a Light on Families' Legal Recourse for Bullying
Students facing bullying and harassment from their peers face legal roadblocks in suing districts, but settlements appear to be on the rise
11 min read
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school restroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines Case on Selective High School Aiming to Boost Racial Diversity
Some advocates saw the K-12 case as the logical next step after last year's decision against affirmative action in college admissions
7 min read
Rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., Aug. 10, 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. A federal appeals court’s ruling in May 2023 about the admissions policy at the elite public high school in Virginia may provide a vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to flesh out the intended scope of its ruling Thursday, June 29, 2023, banning affirmative action in college admissions.
A group of rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., in August 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 declined to hear a challenge to an admissions plan for the selective high school that was facially race neutral but designed to boost the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts School District Lawsuits Against Social Media Companies Are Piling Up
More than 200 school districts are now suing the major social media companies over the youth mental health crisis.
7 min read
A close up of a statue of the blindfolded lady justice against a light blue background with a ghosted image of a hands holding a cellphone with Facebook "Like" and "Love" icons hovering above it.
iStock/Getty