Prince George’s board members charge thousands.

…in local restaurant meals.

By Ovetta Wiggins October 9 at 8:01 PM

Prince George’s County school board members have used district-issued credit cards to pay for thousands of dollars in meals at local restaurants, spending that some are calling a misuse of school system funds even though it does not appear to violate the rules.Vice Chairman Carolyn M. Boston (District 6) used her district-issued card to pay for a $29 room-service tab for breakfast at a National Harbor hotel, where the board held a retreat, and for several meals at an Upper Marlboro restaurant about two miles from school district headquarters, according toWRC-TV (Channel 4), which first reported on the charges. The school system did not deny that the charges were put on the cards but would not immediately release documents that detailed them.Demetria T. Tobias, associate general counsel for the school system, said in a statement Thursday that Segun C. Eubanks, the board’s chairman, has asked the Office of Internal Audits to review its credit card policy and guidelines to “clarify any ambiguous language.“This in no way implies that Board members have used their credit cards inappropriately, but it does indicate that the Board of Education wants to maintain the highest level of integrity and accountability within its fiscal system.”School district policy allows board members to charge up to $7,000 a year on their credit cards to pay for “travel and other expenses related to board duties.” There are no limits on daily spending in Prince George’s, according to its policy.

 NBC4 reported that it found numerous instances in which Boston charged meals at local restaurants and wrote “lunch between school visits” on her receipts. She often dined alone. In a single day in March, she charged $120 for a lunch and $70 for a dinner, according to the report. It was unclear whether she dined alone for those meals. >>>Read more Washington Post, Read more >>> NBC4 News >>> Read more >>>Prince George’s County Sentinel.

OPINION

If the individuals who misused credit cards had any integrity in their soul, they would resign immediately (and if their terms were up this year, not run again).

All PGCPS purchases, no matter the size, should be promptly posted to a public website. To begin this exercise, we have started this on our blogs see the attached below next to each Board member listed. There is no reason the public should have to file requests or wait for annual summary reports for the credit cards. The cost to do this on a public website would be less than $50 for disk space. The effort would be trivial as almost all purchase records are electronic already; Even cash purchases get converted to electronic as expense reports are filed. The Internal Audit department can do better in monitoring this problem rather than making these guys slide with corruption. It’s time to make a change!

Above all, here in Prince George’s County, We also need someone or people who can stop the board members and CEO /Superintendent in their tracks. They have private meetings that should not be private. They authorize purchases that make no sense. They take trips and sleep in motels that are unnecessary. They make decisions that are not sound. The community simply needs a responsible board in the first place.

We suspect a big problem is the way we elect board members and how the County Executive is selecting the new ones. Yes, it’s our fault. But bear in mind – most voters don’t have a clue on candidate intent. Candidate position statements are almost always vague statements. Once in office, candidates generally stay in office on the basis of name recognition. We don’t know the right way to get board members but it definitely isn’t what we’re doing now. We need to take a closer look and interview all the candidates before making a selection. Some candidates mentioned in this report are definitely not a good fit to serve in the Board of Education in Prince George’s County. As we have said in the past, “It’s a poisoned chalice for sure!

poisoned chalice

credit card statements riddled with mismanagement per Board member including expensive dinners and other expenses

Segun C. Eubanks, Ed.D BOE Chair

• eubanks-07-01-12-06-30-13-1 <~Credit Card details

Carolyn Boston Vice-Chair District 6

• boston-01-01-13-06-01-13 <~Credit Card details
• boston-07-01-13-06-01-14<~<~Credit Card details

Zebrina Epps M.P.M District 1

• epps-07-01-2014-05-31-2014 <~Credit Card details
• epps-07-12-12-06-30-2013 <~Credit Card details

Peggy HigginsLCSW-C District 2
• higgins-07-01-14-05-31-14<~Credit Card details

Amber Waller District 3

• waller-07-01-12-06-30-13-1 <~Credit Card details
• waller-07-01-14-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details

PatriciaEubanks District 4

• p-eubanks-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details

Verjeana Jacobs, Esq.District 5

• jacobs-07-01-12-06-30-13-2 <~Credit Card details
• jacobs-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details

LynMundey, MBA District 7
• mundey-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details

Edwards Burroughs III District 8

• bourroughs-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details.
• burroughs-07-01-12-06-30-13 <~Credit Card details.

Sonya Williams District 9

• s-williams-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details.

Daniel Kaufman, Ph.D Board Member

• kaufman-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details.

Beverly Anderson Ph.D Board Member

• anderson-07-01-13-05-31-14-1 <~Credit Card details.

Curtis Valentine, M.P.P Board Member

• valentine-07-01-13-05-31-14 <~Credit Card details.
• fy-2013-da fy-2014-da

Rushern Baker – Political corruption under Rushern Baker regime appears to be gaining momentum at the Expense of the Prince George’s County citizenry.

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It takes the silence of good men for evil to triumph.