A school district with an enhanced reputation is held back by foolish actions of adult leaders.

Note from The Watchdog: Read an update to the story below: "Despite 'one very disruptive board member,' groupthink in Grand Prairie ISD still runs the show"

The problem with some troubled school districts is that ongoing adult dramas tend to overwhelm student achievement and district successes.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Grand Prairie ISD, a huge district with more than 40 schools and almost 30,000 students. Of those, 2,400 don't even live in the district. They attend GPISD by choice.

There's a lot to brag about in the district, but adults keep stepping on the message. That's why The Watchdog nominates GPISD as the wackiest school district in North Texas.

The adult dramas are so unusual that they offer a playbook on how district leaders should not behave.

I've followed the shenanigans of the district for two years through excellent reporting by both The Dallas Morning News' reporter Loyd Brumfield and Cristin Severance of KTVT-TV (Channel 11). The Watchdog breaks down the lowlights.

Chief Financial Officer in prison

Carolyn Foster was the district's CFO from 2009 until 2015.

She's now serving a 37-month sentence in federal prison after she was caught stealing $600,000 in cash from the district. She picked up the cash after an armored truck from the district's bank delivered the money to school offices for her.

The money, she told co-workers, was meant for teacher awards, school supplies and bogus lawsuit settlements.

Because there was no requirement for secondary approval — a basic tool to prevent theft in any organization handling money — Foster pulled this feat off for an entire year.

The district has since purchased two safes, bolted to the floor, to keep its cash safe.

The $400,000 superintendent

The star of the district is Superintendent Susan Simpson Hull, whose $402,000 annual salary, plus extensive perks, makes her one of the highest paid school superintendents not only in Texas, but also in the nation.

Now in her 11th year, Hull is the longest-serving school leader in Dallas County.

She also receives a $1,000-a-month car allowance. That's not unusual, but this is: Hull gets deferred compensation at the end of each school year for investment purposes — $30,000 last year, $50,000 this year, and $150,000 next year.

That will put her annual earnings at more than half a million dollars.

Where's that armored truck when you need it?

Grand Prairie ISD Superintendent Susan Simpson Hull is one of the highest paid school leaders in the state. She's praised for improving the district's reputation, but her tenure hasn't been easy.

The house

Hull has received continued, unwanted attention for the house that until recently she lived in.

Several years ago, the district purchased a four-bedroom home with a three-car garage and a swimming pool for $694,000. The superintendent moved in and paid monthly rent of $2,000.

The house received extensive renovations. The original budget was $80,000 but twice as much was spent.

Here is what's noteworthy: None of these expenses were submitted to the school board for approval.

The investigation

The school board asked an outside lawyer to look at expenditures in the district.

Investigators interviewed 28 people, and everyone signed a confidentiality notice that promised no retaliation. This promise was used later to justify keeping the full report a secret. Only 10 of approximately 40 pages were released to the public.

Board member Steven Pryor fought for full release "because I think the community deserves to see the full report." He was unsuccessful.

Pryor has said that the battle over the report's release led to his ouster as board president.

"I was branded as not a team player," he said. "I will tell you this. I'm team taxpayer. I'm team accountability."

Pryor declined comment for this story, as did Board President Burke Hall.

Current school board. (GPISD website)

Split invoices

One revelation in the report: the District needed to create tougher financial policies to avoid the possibility of what's called "split invoices." Invoices could be split to keep the under $50,000.

State law requires school districts to get board approval for purchases above $50,000. However, school districts are allowed to set their own policies.

The report warned that GPISD needs safeguards to prevent potential abuse of split invoices.

The report adds that investigators who examined invoices "did not become aware of any District employee who took any action harmful to the District."

Deputies, assistants and area superintendents

You might think that one of the highest paid superintendents in the nation is a superwoman who can do it all.

Not in GPISD.

Hull's contingent of deputy, assistant and area superintendents totals 13, the district says.

I see 12 listed on the district's website — five deputies, four assistants and three area superintendents.

The deputies make more than $170,000. The assistants make $166,000 or more. Area leaders make $150,000.

When it comes to pay raises, these top leaders do well. Seven of them saw double-digit raises a year ago, according to public records.

In contrast, teachers and support staff received 3 percent raises last year and this year. They're scheduled for a 2 percent bump next year.

District spokesman Sam Buchmeyer tells The Watchdog that the district has a "lean administrative model" and that GPISD was lauded in a state financial report with "the highest rating for a low administrative cost ratio."

A top-heavy district is not unique to GPISD. But it's noteworthy because of Hull's gigantic salary.

Keeping it quiet

One trick elected officials use to keep the public in the dark is to pass controversial items without discussion as part of what's called a consent agenda. Everyone agrees to pass a list of items by consent.

At a public meeting last month, the board tried to sneak two major changes to the superintendent's contract through the consent agenda. But the board was called to account for this by trustee Pryor, who objected and moved it into public discussion.

The requirements that Hull live in the district and in the district-owned house were dropped from her contract so she could move out of Grand Prairie.

Life in the district-owned house apparently made Hull feel as if she were living in a fishbowl.

The El Camino

I end with my favorite. Several years back, the superintendent saved thousands of dollars when auto tech students worked to restore her 1972 El Camino to pristine condition.

The labor was free for the superintendent, but parts were not.

The district spokesman explained at the time that students learning to restore cars is a service available to other residents, too.

With Hull's fiscal leadership under a microscope — along with her huge salary and sweet housing deal — these matters distract attention from all the good going on.

You always want the attention on the kids. But that's not what is happening here.

Correction: This story was updated at 5:12 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, because an earlier version incorrectly stated that district employees didn't follow state law on invoices that need board approval. An investigator's report stated that invoice abuse was possible, but investigators didn't find any wrongdoing. The story was also corrected to show that the superintendent's annual investment bonuses come at the end of the school year, not calendar year.

An example of a 1972 El Camino. A classic. (Creative Commons photo from Flickr)

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