The Chicago School District has filed a lawsuit against its former chief, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, after she has pleaded guilty to the role she played in a kickback scheme that has resulted to a financial turmoil to the district. The other defendants named in the lawsuit are the owners of two education training firms.
According to Reuters, the Chicago School District is seeking more than $65 million in damages. The lawsuit has been filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The issue about money in the school district has started since June 2015.
Yahoo News reported that Byrd-Bennett was involved in the case wherein she was charged with one count of wire fraud. The case involved $2 million in kickbacks and bribes, which she agreed to accept, so as to train Chicago school principals.
The other two defendants have been identified as Gary Solomon and Thomas Vranas. They own the SUPES and Synesi education training firms. These training firms won the contract to train the Chicago school principals. The owners have been charged with crimes in the kickback case but their cases are still pending.
The lawsuit accuses the three of deceiving the school district, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraudulently obtaining funds for the public. They are demanding that these funds be returned, Education Week reported. Byrd-Bennett could be jailed for seven and a half years if proven guilty but she is said to be coordinating with law enforcement officials against Solomon and Vranas.
Forrest Claypool, the new Chicago School District CEO who took the place of Byrd-Bennett last July, said they are now keeping a "close watch on every dollar" due to the scarce resources, staff absences, and budget cuts as a result of the kickback scheme. He pointed out in the lawsuit that Byrd-Bennett and her co-conspirators knew that the district is having problems with the budge but they still pushed through with the scheme to divert the needed resources "away from classrooms" and managed to put it in their own pockets.
Claypool also shared that they are due to pay $700 million into the teachers' pension fund this coming summer making the budget all the more tight.
