Baltimore Schools Release Statement On 'Healthy Holly' Book Shipments

The Baltimore City Public Schools released a statement Tuesday on its accounting of the Healthy Holly books.

While a member of the University of Maryland Medical System board, Mayor Catherine Pugh was paid $500,000 since 2011 to publish children's books for Baltimore City schoolchildren.

During a press conference Thursday, Pugh showed shipping documents from a Canadian company that state 58,100 "Healthy Holly" children's books she wrote were sent three times to city school headquarters between 2011 and 2015.

On Thursday evening, the vice president of that company told 11 News the books were produced, printed and delivered as the documents show at about $14,000 a batch.

Pugh said she was paid $100,000 in November 2016 to produce a fourth book. She said those books have not been shipped. She said there is no deadline and no contract.

Pugh recently returned $100,000 to the medical system and canceled her book deal, all at the same time she stepped off the board.

It was announced on Monday that Mayor Pugh would be taking a leave of absence, City Solicitor Andre Davis confirmed. Rather than acknowledge the questions about her business dealings, her office cited her battle with pneumonia.

In her absence, City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young would assume her duties as ex officio mayor, with Sharon Green Middleton, the council's vice president, serving as acting council president.

READ: Baltimore City Schools Statement on Healthy Holly Book Shipments

As we have said, the documents Mayor Pugh shared at the press conference on March 28 were the first we had seen related to shipments of Healthy Holly books. Like other school districts and public agencies, City Schools has a records-retention policy that guides how long we keep different kinds of documents. Email is retained for three years; correspondence and reports are typically retained for four years. This means that many records dated prior to 2015-16 have been destroyed.

After seeing the bills of lading on March 28, we contacted the printer and both freight companies. We have also spoken with additional current and former staff members to attempt to piece together what happened with the three documented shipments. With respect to many details, we have been unable to make conclusive determinations, due to incomplete or conflicting recollections among the few staff members who have any awareness of the books.

However, we can state the following.

With respect to the first shipment, the printer confirmed that it contained only the title Exercising Is Fun, shipped via Con-Way Freight in June 2011. We contacted Con-Way to determine whether it had a delivery receipt, but the company indicated it no longer has paperwork from that many years ago.

Nevertheless, staff members have a high degree of confidence that this shipment was received as indicated on the bill of lading. Exercising Is Fun is the title mentioned in the January 2011 letter Mayor Pugh shared at her March 28 press conference, in which the University of Maryland Medical System offers 20,000 copies as a donation to the school district and which shows a confirming signature from a former City Schools staff member. Several current and former staff members recall this title, and a small number confirm that it was reviewed and determined to be suitable for distribution to students in the lower elementary grades (but not for use as an instructional resource). A few staff members also recall distribution of the books between late 2011 (following the mayoral election, in which then State Senator Pugh had been a candidate in the Democratic primary) and some time in 2012, within the 2011-13 timeframe we previously indicated for receipt and distribution of Healthy Holly books. We have found no documentation regarding the means of distribution or the quantities distributed, and we have found no copies of this book in our warehouse or elsewhere.

With respect to the subsequent two shipments, we can now confirm that we did receive A Healthy Start for Herbie in March 2013 and Fruits Come in Colors Like the Rainbow in August 2015. This confirmation is based on the printer’s bills of lading and signed delivery receipts we were able to obtain from FedEx Freight. Current and former staff members have no recollection of soliciting these titles or reviewing them prior to or following their receipt, nor of any correspondence with the University of Maryland Medical System with respect to a donation of these books.

Our previous inaccurate recollection of a single shipment of books appears to be the result of confusion among the different book titles, with some staff members recalling review of Exercising Is Fun and others being aware that copies of Fruits Come in Colors Like the Rainbow were in our warehouse.

According to recollections of staff in the Operations Office, the entire shipment of Fruits Come in Colors Like the Rainbow was moved to the off-site warehouse shortly after its receipt in August 2015. The bill of lading indicates the shipment included 19,500 copies. We currently have approximately 8,700 copies in our warehouse. We have found no additional copies in any other location. Between August 2015 and today, staff members from Catherine Pugh’s office have retrieved books from the warehouse on several occasions, but we have no documentation regarding dates or quantities taken.

With respect to A Healthy Start for Herbie, we can only confirm receipt of the books based on the signed delivery receipt from FedEx. We are continuing to investigate and to speak with current and former staff members about the circumstances of this shipment. As of today, we have not been able to locate any copies of this title in the warehouse or elsewhere, and we have no record or staff recollection of this book being distributed to schools.

We also have no record or recollection of any additional titles in the Healthy Holly series or of any contact from the University of Maryland Medical System or Mayor Pugh regarding a potential fourth shipment.

Some staff members have reported having a few copies of Healthy Holly books in schools or have said they recall books being distributed at school events. In some cases, these were donated directly by Mayor Pugh herself—for example, at ribbon-cutting events for new school buildings. In total, these reports appear to account for no more than 500 books.

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