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Marietta Daily Journal
August 17, 2005
REDDEN DEFIED BOARD ON LAPTOP CHIEF'S DEAL
MARIETTA, GA - Superintendent Joe Redden defied the school board in signing Chief Information Officer Kim Quinn to an illegal and unauthorized contract Jan. 13 for three years and four months, school board Vice Chairwoman Dr. Teresa Plenge said Tuesday.
The questionable contract was exposed during an investigation by the New York forensic auditing firm of Kessler International, which declared the contract in violation of state school employment laws that do not allow contracts to exceed three years.
"We would never have approved a three-and-a-half-year contract - we know that's against the law," said Dr. Plenge, who noted that the board only allows one-year contracts with the exception of the superintendent. However, a defiant Redden went against the board by signing Ms. Quinn to a three-year, four-month contract, anyway.
"There were just lots and lots of lies surrounding that position," said Dr. Plenge.
Board member Lindsey Tippins echoed Dr. Plenge's feelings.
"We settled that back in January when the superintendent wanted to give Kim Quinn a three-year contract," said Tippins, who added that he told the board that if Ms. Quinn was to receive a three-year contract he would have voted against it in public session and not have allowed it to go through on the personnel report the board routinely approves.
In addition to signing Ms. Quinn to a multi-year contract, effective Feb. 1, the Marietta Daily Journal has learned that Redden recommended to the board in executive session June 8 - just over a week after former Cobb Commissioner Butch Thompson brought a lawsuit against Redden and five board members who voted for his controversial $100.8 million laptop program - that his five executive cabinet members be given three-year contracts. Instead, the board voted to give the five one-year contracts.
On July 28, following a hearing on the lawsuit, Cobb Superior Judge S. Lark Ingram halted the laptop program.
Tippins said he reminded the board in the June 8 meeting that, in late November, he had publically voted against Redden's three-year contract extension because he didn't believe multi-year contracts were necessary unless the board was trying to lure a new superintendent.
"I sure wouldn't have voted (in January) to give a Redden staffer (Ms. Quinn) a three-year contract when I had just voted against a three-year contract for the superintendent," Tippins said.
When rebuffed by the board on multi-year contracts for his executive cabinet in June, Tippins said Redden never mentioned having signed Ms. Quinn to a three-year, four-month contract in January.
Tuesday afternoon, Redden, who did not respond to e-mails asking if he defied the board, told the MDJ that Ms. Quinn's unauthorized and illegal contract had been "reviewed by our lawyers" as he left an Austell Business Association meeting after giving a speech.
However, sources within and outside the school board have told the MDJ that Redden did not submit Ms. Quinn's questionable contract to the school board's law firm, Brock Clay, for review.
Although Ms. Quinn apparently believed she had an enforceable contract for three years and four months through Dec. 31, 2008, the Kessler report pointed out that the contract contained a clause saying either party could cancel the contract for any reason with 30-days notice, meaning Ms. Quinn, for all practical purposes, was an employee at will.
Redden claimed lawyers had reviewed what the Kessler report says is an unenforceable contract with Ms. Quinn, but did not say if he thought the contract was valid.
Although his recommendation to give Ms. Quinn a multi-year contract was rejected in January, Redden again recommended in a June 8 executive session meeting with the board to give three-year contracts to five of his executive cabinet members. The board, however, denied him, granting only one-year contract extensions to Beers, Chief Human Resource Officer Frank Cyr, Chief Financial Officer Robert Morales, Chief Academic Officer Jill Kalina and Chief Operations Officer Dr. Diane Bradford.
Had the board approved the three-year contracts, it would have been obligated for salaries totaling about $2 million. By allowing only one-year contracts, it now is obligated to a third of that amount.
Redden's recommendation for multiyear contracts did not seem coincidental to the board's longest-serving member, Ms. Gray.
Ms. Gray said she raised an eyebrow when Redden asked for three-year contracts for his key staffers just before Judge Ingram would hear the Thompson's case against Redden and five board members to stop Redden's $100.8 million laptop program.
Ms. Gray said his recommendation brought to mind the term "golden parachute."
The same sources who told the MDJ that Brock Clay never saw Ms. Quinn's contract also speculated that Redden used an old employment contract and changed it for Ms. Quinn without showing it to the board or lawyers. School employment contracts, as pointed out in the Kessler report, for more than three years, aren't valid or enforceable under Georgia law.
The contract for Ms. Quinn, who formerly headed the laptop program for the Maine Department of Education prior to working nine months for the Georgia Department of Education, also contains generous terms that were unknown to the school board until the Kessler report.
The contract pays Ms. Quinn an annual salary of $118,500, and paid moving expenses of up to $5,000 and travel expenses of $800 per month until Ms. Quinn's family relocated to the "local area," or Jan. 1 2006, when it will drop to $700 a month, Kessler reports.
Kessler also notes: "It is interesting to note that a press release" - written by Jay Dillon, district spokesman - "issued by the district dated Jan. 13, 2005 about Quinn's employment with the district indicates that Quinn currently resides in Decatur, Ga., with her husband and two teenage daughters."
The release apparently is inaccurate. A source told the MDJ that Ms. Quinn's family still was living in Maine and did not move to Cobb until this spring or summer although Ms. Quinn started work for the Cobb school district Feb. 1.
"We did not approve the moving expenses," Dr. Plenge said. "We did not approve the travel expenses. We simply approved her hiring at the pay level that they designated by moving that position into an executive cabinet position."
The Kessler report also points out other discrepancies.
Kessler revealed that Redden told the board that no qualified applicant had come forward for the position, which was posted at an $80,000 annual salary. Kessler found that there were 150 applications listed as "qualified" for the position.
"We were told there were no qualified applicants and it turned out there were about 150!" Dr. Plenge said. "The board had asked over and over again that we get that position filled during the planning of the Power to Learn program and administration simply did not recommend anyone for hiring."
Kessler also reported Ms. Quinn's husband, Michael Quinn, was hired by the district as a technology integration specialist effective July 25, 2005, based on a May 10, 2005, posting.
Whereas Dr. Plenge once strongly supported Redden, she has done an about-face and supports suspending Redden without pay, along with Ms. Gray and Tippins, until the board has formed its final conclusion on the Kessler report.
"People come into the superintendent position and they think this is their little kingdom," Dr. Plenge angrily said.
"Joe was able to win my trust because I thought his intentions were noble and he had the good of our children at heart. I didn't think they would lie to the board. I found out differently."
Dr. Plenge vigorously denied a statement published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Monday, which quoted her as saying Redden had the chance to win back her good will. She said that would not happen.
Dr. Plenge said the board paid for the Kessler audit, and now that the report points to Redden and his top staffers as having "deceived" the school board and public in the laptop procurement process, she cannot comprehend board members not suspending him, particularly at Sunday night's retreat when the board learned of the results.
Dr. Plenge said she wanted to immediately suspend Redden but couldn't convince others, especially board members Johnny Johnson, Laura Searcy and Chairwoman Kathie Johnstone, but couldn't get a fourth vote. Several members said at the time that they preferred giving Redden time to review the Kessler report and a chance to defend himself.
Those three board members did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday about Ms. Quinn's contract for three years and four months.
Ms. Johnstone, who has been Redden's biggest backer, called the Kessler report a "witch hunt" in executive session Sunday.
"Kathie's in La La Land," Dr. Plenge said.
In addition to blaming Brock Clay on Tuesday for not reviewing Ms. Quinn's contract, Redden also blasted the board's attorneys on Monday when he said at a press conference that he would challenge the findings in the Kessler report, which claims he deceived the school board and the public by manipulating a contract in favor of Apple Computer to supply more than 63,000 iBook laptops for his now defunct Power to Learn initiative.
Redden noted that: "The Kessler report fails to make any mention of the fact the District took the unprecedented step of having an attorney from Brock & Clay in every step of the procurement process, and in attendance at every single meeting of the final evaluation, to ensure compliance with policies, procedures and the law."
"That's not fair," Ms. Gray said of Redden's reference to Brock Clay.
Asked why Redden would try to shift blame to Brock Clay, Ms. Gray said, "He's got to blame it on somebody. Who better to blame than our legal counsel?"
The Kessler report devotes almost a full page in its summary of the school district's procurement process to the fact that Susie Doty, then a Brock Clay attorney, strongly questioned the procedures by the third evaluation committee that ultimately chose Apple over Dell and IBM, which had been ranked one-two, respectively, and recommended as the only candidates for the bid through the first two committees.
Redden appointed the third committee, which included Deputy Superintendent Don Beers, three of Redden's key central officer staffers and Ms. Doty.
Ms. Doty, now an inhouse attorney for WellStar Kennestone, was skeptical about the third committee's steps in selecting a vendor, Apple, before submitting written evaluations, according to the Kessler report.
The board meets at 8:30 a.m. today in the central office at 514 Glover St. to hear what Redden has to say about the audit.
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