School board member confesses to misuse of credit card
This unusual confession from Courtney English, an at-large member of the Atlanta Board of Education, arrived late last night:
Dear Atlanta Community Member,
As an elected member of the Atlanta Board of Education, I’ve made a mistake and I hope you will accept my apology.
I did not fully understand the terms of use of a credit card issued to me by the Atlanta Public Schools. I misinterpreted a document that accompanied the credit card when it was issued to me. I mistakenly thought I could use the credit card for personal use as long as I immediately reimbursed the district for any charges incurred.
This is not the policy. I never should have made any personal purchases, period.
I am responsible for $855.83 of disallowed charges made to the credit card between May 29 and June 30, 2010. These charges included an airline ticket, food, gratuities, hotel charges, and other sundries. On July 14, 2010, I reimbursed the district in full for all disallowed charges.
I apologize for this mistake. I take seriously my responsibilities as an elected school board member. I will never make this mistake again.
Sincerely,
Courtney English
Board of Education Seat 7
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87 comments Add your comment
patriot
July 31st, 2010
3:11 pm
I believe she could have misunderstood . . after all we’re not talking about charges that occurred over a long period of time (we’re talking about one month) . . . had personal charges been made over several months or even years, it would have been clear that not only did she continue to charge (and not reimburse timely) but those who review the board members’ credit card charges did not do their job in scrutinizing charges. Obviously this was not the case and this was brought to her attention and she has reimbursed the BOE so this should not happen again.
BloodBike
July 31st, 2010
3:13 pm
Reading these responses to a letter that a young man wrote after realizing that he made a mistake which didn’t cost tax payers anything at all is truly sad. I have thought about public service for sometime, but after reading over these responses I think I will let you unforgiving vultures stew in the stink of your own self-righteousness!! The responses above are the exact type of thing which keeps good people from running for public office. The guy made a mistake, admitted it and then cleaned it up. No harm no foul. Are we this heartless in America?
the ever gullible people
July 31st, 2010
3:17 pm
And it doesn’t concern you in the least BloodBike that this guy is part of a school board that named, as part of a committee to “investigate” the CRCT cheating scandal, at least half a dozen people with business ties to APS?
Brooke
July 31st, 2010
3:19 pm
Just read this on public broadcasting Atlanta’s news website. How timely?
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1682785
jesse james
July 31st, 2010
3:19 pm
I agree, why in the heck does a board member have a credit card? I have been in education for 35 years and have never heard such. More and more that comes out I see why we are in the shape we are in. All board members may not be as honest and repay bills that occur. But look at all the schools being built. Go to Statesboro High School and see the Taj Mahal they built there. We have all these nice schools and nobody to teach in them. I wonder how much kick back is going to all the different people involved.
Bob Atlanta taxpayer
July 31st, 2010
3:28 pm
Oh please! someone dropped a dime on ya
Morehouse College
July 31st, 2010
3:30 pm
Courtney, can you mail your diploma back? An alumnus claiming he doesn’t know how to use a credit card is really embarrassing.
the ever gullible people
July 31st, 2010
3:33 pm
What’s the real crime here, someone misuses a credit card, or someone who is part of a school board that names a “blue ribbon committee” to investigate CRCT fraud, but fills the committee with members who have business dealings with APS?
And the gullible people who read this blog let galloway throw you a red herring to distract you from the real story, and you fall for it.
Not educated beyond my intelligence
July 31st, 2010
3:37 pm
Made a mistake..corrected it. Now I am sure all the 3itchers on here never made one. D..JD
Diehard
July 31st, 2010
3:38 pm
Does she not have her own credit card? Why would she ever use a BoE card when the schools are so strapped for cash?
the ever gullible people
July 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
The big picture ignorance displayed in these comments is beyond all belief.
YeahRight
July 31st, 2010
3:54 pm
Only dummies would use the credit card to get some of the taxpayer’s money. To really do fraud the right way, you’ve got to arrange no bid contracts for your friends, and enjoy the kickbacks…. Ya gotta learn the right approach from the other school board members; there’s an art to it!!!
tim
July 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
A whole bunch of BS!!!!! Hey Courtney…don’t you have your own credit card or cash to pay for things?? Or are you such a low life you can’t get credit?? Your pants on the ground are on fire! Liar!
the ever gullible people
July 31st, 2010
3:58 pm
yes, and when it really starts to hit the fan, you make sure an “investigation committee” that could implicate people at the top is filled with people who do business with people at the top.
And look how easy it is for the “insider” to manipulate most people reading this blog into thinking the outrage needs to be over a credit card.
Resign
July 31st, 2010
4:00 pm
He should resign immediately. Educators not knowing basic laws is embarrassing. He’s probably spent a lot more taxpayer money than he’s admitting on personal stuff.
the ever gullible people
July 31st, 2010
4:04 pm
He should resign immediately, but people say nothing about the rest of the board, who stacked the blue ribbon commission charged with “investigating” the CRCT cheating scandal with people who do business with APS? All while “the insider” ignores it?
Are people who read this blog really this easily manipulated by the likes of jim galloway?
GreatATLGuy
July 31st, 2010
4:26 pm
BFD, most private companies allow personal purchases on company credit cards as long as they are paid back. But if I were Courney I think I would have clarified what the policy was before using the card for personal purchases. In general, it’s not a good idea to co-mingle but this is not grounds for termination. In fact, I don’t believe a public apology was necessary, just a simple apology to his superiors that he wouldn’t do it again. Get over it everyone! Cut him some slack and chalk it up to a minor lapse in judgment. It will cost way more than $800 to recruit and replace him with someone else. This is much ado about not much.
the ever gullible people
July 31st, 2010
4:33 pm
What is the real issue people should be concerned about? An $800 charge that has been paid back, or the fact that English is one of the board members who willingly named people who have a business relationship with APS to a committee that is supposed to “investigate” APS?
Are readers of galloway really this easily manipulated by this red herring, while he has been silent on the business relationships members of the “blue ribbon committee” have with APS?
Hugh17
July 31st, 2010
5:15 pm
1) Right On stated, “Wow a southerner taking responsibility and holding himself accountable, I think this is a first!” First, “S”outherner is spelled with an upper case S. If you were a Southerner you’d know this. Based on the slangerous regional comment it is obvious that you sir, are no Southern.
2) As far as Courtney English’s apology for misue of a BOE credit card, he committed another ethical mistake by stating the mistruth, “I mistakenly thought I could use the credit card for personal use as long as I immediately reimbursed the district for any charges incurred.” All BOE members are trained on ethics and legitate expenses. It is clear that he tried to get away with paying for personal expenses with a BOE credit card, and now he’s lied about this actions hoping this will pass.
More than likely the State Auditors caught this illegal expenditure and brought it to the attention of the school district’s financial officer, who should have caught it a year ago.
Andrew
July 31st, 2010
5:16 pm
I know Courtney personally. I think a great deal of him and his willingness to be involved in public service while still in his 20s. When I was in my 20s, I was immature and incapable of such responsibilities. Some on this blog have questioned Courtney’s age as an example of such immaturity.
While I do think Courtney’s actions make these questions and assertions legitimate, I have taken a different view of the concerns at hand.
The very fact that Courtney has sought out public service at such an early stage in his life provides me with additional insight into his makeup. He has a desire to serve and represent others. In my 20s, the only type of service I was looking for was quick service at a local bar. Only time, maturity, and learning from my own mistakes provided me with a more worldly view and an understanding of my capacity to do more with my life.
While I do not condone the inappropriate actions, I am not willing to go as far as to say Courtney should resign or be asked to resign from his board position. If the inappropriate actions are as Courtney has explained, a lack of understanding of board policies, this is an opportunity to learn and grow as a man and a public servant.
If Courtney is sincere in his request for forgiveness, then consider how this mistake can assist him in the future.
“Without forgiveness, there’s no future” Desmond Tutu
ron jackson
July 31st, 2010
5:34 pm
Let’s not forget that Courtney was a teacher and Benjamin Carson Middle School when the alleged CRCT cheating occurred. This is why there is a need for the blue ribbon commission to be completely independent from the Board of Education. There are too many potential conflicts of interest
Ed Johnson
July 31st, 2010
5:41 pm
Dear Courtney English:
Hopefully, others will follow your example of forthrightness. APS would not be caught up in the CRCT cheating mess today had Superintendent Hall and associated others been as open and honest and not engaged in great denial and self-aggrandizement. The damage she and they have caused so many children is a far, far more important matter than your “mistake.”
Ed Johnson
Advocate for Quality in Public Education
Real GA
July 31st, 2010
5:51 pm
The man made a “mistake”, he has made restitution. End of story. Move on to some real issues.
Puppet strings
July 31st, 2010
8:12 pm
Why won’t the Insider tell the inside story? Who is controlling the Insider’s puppet strings?
IOwe
July 31st, 2010
10:37 pm
Enter your comments here
IOwe
July 31st, 2010
10:47 pm
An entire audit of the system used by Courtney would probably reveal rampant abuse of the credit cards. There are probably employees who have started with a few hundred dollars charged for personal items which later turned into several hundred thousand. This is not an IOU card.
Edu-PAC on line 2 jim
July 31st, 2010
11:03 pm
jim we count on you to project the image that the APS school board always acts in the most ethical of ways. Allowing posters like IOwe to punch holes in that fantasy is not what we expect from you. You’re a shill jim, not a journalist, please try to act like one.
BABY SAY
August 1st, 2010
11:13 am
BEVERLY HALL MSUT WNAT KEEP COURNTY ON SKOOL BORED.
victory
August 1st, 2010
7:51 pm
Its “funny” how this guy could draft a professional response letter at moments notice, But didnt seem to “UNDERSTAND” the terms of a SCHOOL BOARD issued Credit Card.
“They say you can always tell a Morehouse Man, but you cant’t tell him much”.
If this is a sign of what we could expect when he is just 7 months into his 1st term then maybe a he isnt fit to lead our future after all. Young or not your school system is in the midst of controversy and poor judgement like this shows why…
I wonder what kind of teacher was he?
I'm the idiot
August 1st, 2010
9:53 pm
If you have never, knowingly or unknowingly, done something wrong then stand on your soap box and harp away! People are on here wasting space about a reimbursed $800!!! Now you could go down the path of “well it starts with a little then”… blah blah. If that’s the case do some digging on officials in GA with real clout, access to privileges and federal credit cards. Nope, it’s easier for b.s. Americans to go for the lowest rung on the pole. Courtney has been on the board for about a year. I’m pretty sure as a newbie he realizes it’s going to take a little more effort to get away with ripping the tax payer off. On a more serious note: There are children’s academic lives at stake because of cheating. Georgia is one of the worst states to live in because the economy there is horrible! The education is pitiful! The people are divisive! The governor is stubborn (and not in a good way)! I was a long GA resident, tax paying, voting, writing to my congressmen, educator, volunteer, community advocate etc. Then I realized I’m an idiot, so I left all the intelligent folks in Georgia to be amongst other idiots.
1. Do your due diligence as a citizen to learn about the officials up for election…
2. Don’t trust the media.
3. All you smart people should start by judging individuals not groups. Republicans, Democrats, School Boards, etc. all have corruption in it, the question is can you ween it out?
4. Hold your officials accountable, and start from the top down!
Puppet strings
August 2nd, 2010
1:17 am
Notice that jim will have nothing to say about the cheating report when it comes out. Apparently he’s been giving his marching orders.
RoxGuscubsbum
August 2nd, 2010
3:41 am
After reading your post, I realized that Maria Mitchell was right while saying “Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow.”
RoxGuscubsbum
August 2nd, 2010
6:44 am
I have discovered a lot of new things in your posts. I’m glas there are still people who write interesting things.
PHD
August 2nd, 2010
1:15 pm
Lots of people use State Credit cards the same way Courtney used his. They will charge all personal purchases, pay the balance every month, submit vouchers for State business. However, they reap the benefits of sky miles or rewards for themselves. Shouldn’t those perks be given back to the State of Georgia also??
Crooked
August 2nd, 2010
5:30 pm
Special rules for government employees, ripping off taxpayers with credit cards they don’t need. Millions are wasted on frivolous expenses with these credit cards. Take all credit cards away from these crooks–the state is being ripped clean by fraud.
Goose
August 2nd, 2010
5:55 pm
Complete BS about not knowing how the charge card works. I work for the state and we HAVE to go through actual training classes (albeit online) about these and other do’s and dont’s. One of the first things on the training modules was the use of state credit cards.
ron jackson
August 2nd, 2010
9:48 pm
In 2005 Jean Dodd was removed from the Atlanta School Board for violating ethics policies. She INQUIRED about someone who applied for a job at a school. If she can be removed for that surely Courtney should go for using taxpayers funds for personal gain.