And just how does Bernard James manage taxpayer dollars? On January 6 of this year, James, the Wickersham Principal who lives in Philadelphia, put in a request for a one-day conference on February 27, 2004 in Towson, Maryland. Drue Miles, Jame's supervisor approved the request for the Educators Training Network for "Manipulative Magic" conference that started at 8:30 AM and ended at 3:15 PM the same day.
So just when did James arrive at the location that according to Mapquest.com is only 1 hour and 22 minutes from Lancaster? He arrived the day before the conference and left a day after the conference concluded. James managed to charge taxpayers for two over night stays at the $100+ per night Sheraton, rather than arriving on the morning of the conference and leaving immediately after the conference., James checked into a hotel at 1:02 PM the afternoon before and didn't check out until the day after the conference!
James took this Friday course, which was eligible for a certificate for FIVE hours of professional growth, and managed to extend it from Thursday, the afternoon before, until Saturday the day after! Drue Miles, James' supervisor approved paying for the two overnight accommodations even though one overnight was not included in the original request.
Can you hear me now?
We documented that when you account for lunch, James is only at work 6 to 6 1/2 hours a day. So what is James doing with his time? We got cell phone records from the school district and found a cell phone bill that raised a red flag for Eleanor Bosserman, the head of finance:
"Attached is a copy of the most recent invoice for your cell phone. Due to the high volume of calls on your cellular phone this month, please review the invoice and verify that all calls were related to School District of Lancaster business."
And indeed the bill was high. The bill, dated February 23 - March 22, 2004 was for $197.98! We did not examine records for James’ phone on his Wickersham desk.
In response to Bosserman's note, James wrote a personal check out for $73.80 for what he acknowledged were for personal calls. The 359 peak-time calls included those to Philadelphia, Lansdale, Norristown, and Ambler, Pennsylvania.
And what about the day after the extended conference? James spent almost 40 minutes, in several calls, talking to someone at what appeared to be cell phone number in Baltimore. The voice mail identified the mail box as someone named "Tad".
And what about other days? On March 29, 2004 James spent 1 hour and 21 minutes in 22 calls to Philly, Norristown and Haddonfield, NJ. This is during the time that James would be expected to be working for the School District of Lancaster.
Cell-Phone Etiquette
And talk about cell-phone etiquette? During an award presentation in front of all the children, James’ focus at "Red Ribbon Week" was on his cell phone! James was receiving an award for Wickersham and the children watched as James played around with his cell phone!
Stay tuned to 5thEstate.com's continuing investigation into SdoL.