FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 10, 2012


FCPS Agrees to Repay Grant Funds Under Agreement with U.S. Department of Justice

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will repay funds provided by a U.S. Department of Education grant, along with penalties, as part of an agreement reached over falsified signatures and information on the grant application. The agreement was reached with the U.S. Department of Justice; FCPS will repay $1 million to the federal government.

The grant application, filed in 2000, was to fund the Gear-Up program at Glasgow Middle School, a program to encourage at-risk students to prepare for college. FCPS subsequently discovered that signatures and other information on the application had been falsified. It then terminated the grant, stopped making claims for grant payments, and self reported the falsification to the U.S. Department of Education in 2004. All funds received by the grant were spent on student programs at Glasgow.

Notwithstanding Glasgow’s successful Gear-Up program, the federal government claimed that FCPS was potentially liable for multi-million dollar repayments and penalties under the False Claims Act. After more than eight years of discussion, the Department of Justice and FCPS reached a settlement.

In response to this incident, FCPS strengthened its grant control procedures. The individual who was responsible for the grant application is no longer employed by FCPS.

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Note: For more information, contact the FCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach at 571-423-1200.

Well, that's the FCPS storyline anyway.

Was this scandal covered up for years until the DOJ settlement was announced today? Don't remember reading much about it.

It's time for the School Board to hire their own IG to dig into these things.

Nothing like dropping bad news late on Friday...

Anyone have a copy of the settlement?

Would like to see who falsified the records.

First one who does a FOIA request and posts the results wins!

Funny that Fairfax Underground knew before some of the school board.

Karma at play? Or are we all paying for looking away while kids were harmed by the FCPS. Either way you all should be ashamed of yourselves.

http://www.lakebarcroft.org/docs/newsletter/Newsletter200306/Glasgow%20Middle%20School.htm

Real question is why would FCPS think it was OK to have a program that dumped large amounts of money into one school only, providing little or no benefit to the rest of the students in the county?

On second thought, never mind.

Isn't Glasgow one of the schools that send a higher than average amount of kids to TJ. Wonder if that million dollars went to the needy kids or the kids they had earmarked for TJ. And what the hell would you need a million dollars for? Let me guess an administrator for just that department, a secretary for that administrator, a guidance counselor, let me know when we get to the money for the kids.

http://vienna.patch.com/articles/kilmer-among-top-thomas-jefferson-feeder-schools

Would anybody believe me if I said they give students at this school I/Phones and lap top computers. They also pay the bills so the lower income kids can have acess to the internet at home. I was a little pissed to find out my tax money was going to pay for some 7th graders i/phone.

Please excuse us while we continue to provide the some of the highest levels of education in the history of the world. It was an honest mistake.

But, it's ok to flunk a kid for plagiarism after you've neglected to teach what it is and how not to commit it.

Do as I say...not as I do..
Thanks, FCPS staff, for doing such a fine job with our children

Actually sounds like FCPS found out an employee submitted a bogus grant, terminated the grant, fired the stooge, and reported what they did to the DOE. Now they are paying their fine. Huge screw-up and a dishonest employee, no doubt. But it looks like they did the right thing when they found out. No cover-up, no scandal. It sucks it happened but with 15,000-20,000 employees something like this is bound to happen. Glad they canned the guy, Doubt they can make him pay, though, probably isn;t worth much..

This looks like a premptive press release by FCPS. With a million dollar settlement, DOJ or DOE are likely to make their own announcement. Unknown: how this story stayed under wraps for ten years, the cost of ten years of legal fees, and whether anyone was held accountable.

We'll see what happens when the news people come in on Monday morning. Then again, by Monday it could be considered stale news and they will get away with it.

bahhh just a million, chump change.

FCPS didn't have a choice but to report any fraud einvolving federal money/grants.

My guess is if FCPS is found guilty of fraud on one grant it would jeopardize and federal payments--which could be quite painful.

Did anyone get fired?

bigger fines Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> FCPS didn't have a choice but to report any fraud
> einvolving federal money/grants.

That's like saying Paterno had no choice but to report what they knew to the cops. Looks like he made a choice.

Fairfax County Public Schools will repay the federal government $1 million after an investigation showed a school employee had falsified information and signatures on a U.S. Department of Education grant, which was used at Glasgow Middle School in Alexandria.

Additional details on whose signatures were falsified and what information was provided incorrectly are not being released.

per Fairfax Times......

Here is one person that Fairfax Times might want to chat with:

Wendy Kotler brings a wide-range of talents to the Glasgow Pre-IB Program. She has worked with students from kindergarten through graduate school in art, social studies and the humanities courses. She has worked in public schools in Illinois, New Hampshire, Texas and Virginia and graduate schools at the University of Virginia and George Mason University.

In 1992, Dr. Kotler was named National Elementary Art Educator of the year by the National Art Education Association.

At Glasgow, she taught civics and visual literacy/art. Dr. Kotler developed the framework for and wrote the proposal for the three-year $1.7 million grant for Glasgow's 21st Century Community Learning Center and the five-year $5.5 million grant for the Glasgow/ Stuart Gear Up project. This article is based on information from the Glasgow website: http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/GlasgowMS/people/.

Looks like Dr. Kotler retired from FCPS in 2004. See the reception program below. She is listed under retirees with 29 years of service.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/94565725/Retirement-Ceremony-and-Dessert-Reception

Gee 2004 was when the investigation began....

retired Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks like Dr. Kotler retired from FCPS in 2004.
> See the reception program below. She is listed
> under retirees with 29 years of service.
>
> http://www.docstoc.com/docs/94565725/Retirement-Ce
> remony-and-Dessert-Reception


> Gee 2004 was when the investigation began....


...and 29 years is unusual. I thought 30 years got a teacher to full retirement in Virginia.

Dr. Wendy Kotler's husband died earlier this year.

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Neil-Kotler&lc=4330&pid=155459256&mid=4958200

The Education Department awarded it $2.7 million, to be disbursed over five years.

Glasgow used the money to sponsor career fairs for students. According to an Education Department report, the program brought in airline pilots, police officers, a member of Congress and a Washington Redskins football coach to speak to students about careers.


Wait a sec... $2,700,000.00 for bring a parent to school day????
To help all those children who aspire to be a Redskins coach?
And Dept of Ed wonders why they will be first on the list of agencies to go bye-bye.

No because it is not true. Students have NEVER been given iPhones or had other technology given to them. Where are you getting your information from?

BEM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No because it is not true. Students have NEVER
> been given iPhones or had other technology given
> to them. Where are you getting your information
> from?


Wrong. One of Gerry Connolly's early political acts was using money from the Mantua oil spill settlement to buy take-home technology for students at Mantua Elementary School. Unfortunately, did not include useful software related to the course of studies and the eqipment was obsolete in three years.