SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — The Department of Education said it was alerted earlier this month that a staff member changed a letter the agency sent to the district regarding a workforce education grant the district received.
DOE investigators said the staff member altered the letter to address it to the Villages Charger School and changed the amount of money the letter listed. However, the employee kept the official signature on the letter. They said the staff members had been doing this for four to five years to help the school understand how much of the grant it was receiving because of past disputes between the district and the school.
The district said the staff member apologized and promised not to do it again after being told it was illegal.
Superintendent Logan Brown sent this statement addressing the investigation:
“The Florida Department of Education’s recent memorandum highlighted a long-standing internal practice within our district of altering award letters for informational purposes, which included DOE employee signatures, and was distributed only to internal schools to notify the award amount. While the investigation confirmed no intent to defraud or misuse funds, this practice does not meet the standards that I expect as Superintendent. Effective immediately, this practice has been permanently ended and will not occur under my leadership moving forward. We are fully committed to ensuring that all documentation is accurate, compliant, and reflects the highest ethical standards.”
Despite being on the job for less than a year, this is the second scandal Brown is addressing and taking responsibility for. In June, the state determined that the district had set up shell schools to boost its ratings and funding for six years.
This is what Brown said then: “This is something that happened in the past, and we want to go forward and focus on the great things that we’re doing. The only thing that I can commit to you as the leader of the school district now is that this will never happen again.”
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