Audit flags school co-op’s contractor accord
Posted on Tuesday, October 10, 2006
A daughter of the director of the Plumerville-based Arch Ford Education Service Cooperative was hired last year for a $ 65, 000-a-year job by a Houston-based cooperative that started contracting with the Arch Ford cooperative at the time, a state audit revealed Monday.
The Arch Ford cooperative provided a cellular phone and credit card to Allison Young Pitts, a daughter of Arch Ford director Phillip Young, last year, though Pitts was working for Region IV Education Service Center of Houston, the audit said.
The audit said Pitts and Region IV paid back cell-phone and credit card expenses of $ 9, 601 to Arch Ford and American Express, leaving no money due to Arch Ford.
Kim Williams, an investigative manager for the Legislative Audit Division, said the arrangements appear to violate ethics laws found in Arkansas Code Annotated 6-24-104 and 6-24-106.
After testifying before the Legislature’s Joint Performance Review Committee, Young declined to comment about whether he violated the ethics laws.
He told lawmakers that he is paid $ 95, 000 a year as director of the cooperative, where he has worked several years.
Young said he thought it would be appropriate for Arch Ford to issue the cell phone and credit card to his daughter because the expenses would be reimbursed to Arch Ford, but Arch Ford’s board of directors wasn’t aware of the arrangement.
He said he recommended that his daughter take the job and recommended that the Texas cooperative hire her.
Williams said the audit has been referred to Tom Tatum, prosecuting attorney in the 15 th Judicial District. Tatum said later that he recently received a copy of the audit but hasn’t taken any action yet.
Rep. Robbie Wills, D-Conway, said he requested the audit after receiving complaints from current and former Arch Ford employees about Young’s daughter working with Arch Ford through a third party and being provided a credit card and cell phone by Arch Ford.
“I was a little troubled to learn that Mr. Young’s daughter had been hired by [Region IV ] to basically be the sales representative for that service area at an annual salary of $ 65, 000,” Wills said. “There is the appearance of nepotism.” Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett, said an employee for Arch Ford, who brought this matter to Wills’ attention, was fired after Wills informed Young about the legislative committee’s review. But Young said he received a letter from Wills about the legislative review after the employee was suspended.
The audit said the Arch Ford cooperative serves 26 school districts in Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Perry, Pope, Van Buren and Yell counties. The cooperative is governed by a 26-member board whose membership consists of one superintendent from each school district.
The Arch Ford cooperative’s board voted to enter into a cooperative purchasing agreement, effective March 1, 2005, with Region IV, the audit said. Region IV provides cooperative purchasing services through a program known as The Cooperative Purchasing Network to participating public agencies in Texas and other states, the audit said.
Pitts worked for Region IV in a probationary status from March 1 to June 16, 2005, and signed an employment agreement on June 16, 2005, to serve as the network’s technical specialist for Arkansas, the audit said.
Arch Ford provided Pitts with a credit card in September 2005, and Pitts’ employment with Region IV ends Oct. 15, 2006, the report said.
Young said in a letter to the Legislative Audit Division that Bill McKinney, executive director of Region IV, notified him in the first week of September that Pitts’ marketing representative position would be discontinued as of Sunday, “due to less than expected sales volume.” “Any contract that involves employment of relatives of administrators or board members will not be recommended to the Arch Ford... Board of Directors,” Young wrote.
He said Pitts was allowed the business use of an Arch Ford credit card and each expense was reimbursed to Arch Ford on a monthly basis.
The credit card has been discontinued and only selected employees of Arch Ford will be allowed the business use of credit cards in the future, he said.
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