SISD board president: Audit shows SISD superintendent has potential conflict of interest
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A third-party forensic audit showed that Socorro ISD Superintendent Dr. Nate Carman had a possible conflict of interest and that is why he has been placed on administrative leave, said Michael Najera, the president of the SISD Board of Trustees.
Najera addressed the media about the unanimous decision made by the board to place Carman on paid administrative leave following the board’s meeting on Monday night, March 25.
Najera said that when they believe a violation of district policy has happened, appropriate action needs to be taken “whether is is the superintendent or any employee of the district.”
SISD superintendent placed on paid administrative leave
At Monday’s board meeting, board members met in executive session to discuss Carman and then voted to place him on administrative leave after an audit was presented by a third party.
“We were presented a summary of the findings for a forensic audit completed by Weaver and Tidwell. It was during those findings they presented a possible conflict of interest where Dr. Carman was provided as the involved party. The entirety of the report is summarized in that presentation to our understanding,” Najera said.
Najera did not provide any specific details about what this alleged conflict of interest entailed or is about.
Najera was also asked about a lack of trust that people in the community may have toward the district.
He said he is there to restore that trust.
“We made sure that the Weaver audit results were presented again, openly and publicly. And the actions that we’ve taken are also in public,” Najera said. “We’re not hiding from it. Everything has been made public. And the actions that we’re taking as a response to remedy the situation, to eliminate the gaps that have occurred, it’s all been done in the open.”
At the beginning of March, SISD accepted the appointment of the Texas Education Agency conservator to work with the district.
The TEA launched an investigation into the district and found five specific allegations;
The district violated the Texas education and administrative code in regard to graduation requirements while also submitting wrong graduation information.
SISD violated the Texas education code by paying unauthorized stipends.
The district violated Texas local government code when Trustee Paul Guerra failed to submit required conflict of interest forms concerning his connections to a company that was used by the district.
According to a TEA special investigation report obtained by KTSM, the other two allegations did not have enough information or factual evidence to determine if there was a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Back in February, the district announced that Carman was leaving at the end of the school year to become the superintendent for Higley Unified School District in Gilbert, Arizona. During that announcement, the district said Carman would be starting his new job in July. Gilbert, Arizona, is located in the Phoenix metroplex.
Socorro ISD superintendent leaving district at end of school year
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