The principal of McKinley Technology High School accused of tampering with students’ transcripts and abusing a $100,000 award will keep his job and return to McKinley next year, according to school officials.
“The investigations completed by DCPS regarding McKinley High School do not substantiate a finding that Principal [David] Pinder should be removed from his position,” said Fred Lewis, a spokesman for Acting Chancellor Kaya Henderson, in an email. “As such, we anticipate he will return to lead McKinley next school year.”
Lewis said the investigation into grade-doctoring has wrapped. Charges that Pinder misspent a $100,000 award from AARP are still being investigated by federal prosecutors.
In March, acting D.C. Attorney General Irv Nathan said in a letter to Ronald Machen, U.S. attorney for the District, “Information developed during this investigation suggests that these funds may have been mishandled.”
The grade-doctoring charges against Pinder, first reported by The Washington Examiner, included assigning phony grades and credits to seniors in 2008-2009 for classes they never took.
Transcripts obtained by The Examiner show Pinder listed as the instructor of courses such as Programming for Multimedia, and Principles of U.S. Government, for 13 seniors.
In some cases, students received grades for the classes — never below a “C.” Most were given a “P” for passing.
Current and former McKinley employees told The Examiner that Pinder instructed the school’s data clerks to change students’ transcripts.
D.C. Public Schools placed Pinder on paid administrative leave after The Examiner’s report, but reinstated him at McKinley after the schools’ investigator confessed to the Examiner that he used unauthorized investigative tactics. Eastern Stewart told interviewees that DCPS Chief of Staff Lisa Ruda was trying to push the investigation under the rug; he said he believed there was a mole and he wanted to root him out.
After firing Stewart, DCPS referred the investigation to the Office of the General Counsel.
