Webb of deceit: Albany school district administration tries to hide $8,600 payment to former consultant from the public

When it was revealed in late October that the Albany City School District had overpaid a Minnesota educational consultant more than $210,000 based on invoices she'd submitted without proper documentation, Superintendent Dr. Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard and Board President Dr. Rose Brandon assured the public they were negotiating with Dr. Betty Webb to reach a resolution to recover the $41,000 the district had lost.

But two weeks later, the Board approved a settlement agreement with Webb that had the district paying Webb & Associates an additional $8,600. It took an additional two weeks, despite almost daily requests, for the administration to release the terms of the agreement to the public.

What are they hiding about the district's association with Webb? Another hint to the vast amount of alleged wrongdoing the district is attempting to keep quiet is the complaint letter the Board received in July from an employee which alerted them to Webb's inappropriate invoices. The district redacted more than half of the letter before releasing it in response to a FOIL request, but you can infer from what's left that the alleged wrongdoing began even before the initial contract with Webb & Associates was signed in 2012. It's also clear that this employee believes the district's inappropriate actions extend far beyond simple sloppy processing of invoices, despite what the Board and administration would have you believe.

Image courtesy of Brand at freedigitalphotos.com