A $3,000 “mistake” has dragged D.C. School Board Vice President Carolyn Graham into the widening probe of alleged misappropriation of funds at the D.C. public school’s charter office.
Graham, who is running for school board president, told the school board shortly after a series of FBI raids in June that staff from her private ministry attended a leadership seminar paid for by the charter schools’ embattled executive, Brenda Belton.
Graham, a Baptist minister, told the board in June — and The Examiner on Monday — that she repaid the funds “within a day or two” of the five-day seminar, which was held at the Sumner School. She also said that Belton’s payment covering the ministry’s staff was “a mistake.”
“No one was trying to bilk the government out of any money and I certainly would not,” Graham said. “I take my responsibility as a public servant and as a minister very seriously.”
Nonetheless, a source said that the seminar is one of many angles being examined by a grand jury investigation into the charter schools office. The FBI has raided Belton’s home and office, as well as the offices of a contractor she had hired as a consultant. The D.C. Inspector General’s and Auditor’s offices have also opened investigations.
Sources say the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office want to know about hundreds of thousands of dollars of local and federal money that Belton handed out — including a series of checks sent to a home that she used to own.
In an interview with The Examiner, Graham said that she had arranged to pay for the last two days of the five-day leadership seminar with Clarksville, Tenn.-based motivational speaker Rebera Foston, who focuses on “holistic mentoring.”
But when she presented a check to Foston on the last day of the seminar, Graham said she was told that Belton had already paid for it with public funds.
In a phone interview, Foston confirmed that Graham tried to pay her directly for two days of the seminar, but she had already received payment from the schools. Foston typically charges $1,500 per day, plus expenses, for her seminars.
Graham said she hasn’t had a chance to discuss the error with Belton because the last day of the seminar was also the day of the FBI raids. Belton has been on administrative leave with pay since the raid. Sources say the criminal investigation began after Steve Kapani, a financial analyst who worked for Belton, approached school board member JoAnne Ginsberg to say that he was worried that he couldn’t account for thousands of dollars in the budget.
He also told Ginsberg that Belton was demanding access to his computers and files and he was afraid she would erase records. Ginsberg passed the information on to the rest of the board, who in turn notified the Inspector General’s Office. The inspector general notified the FBI.
But even before the raids, the school board had been warned that something was wrong in Belton’s office. Weeks before the raid, in fact, Ginsberg moved to have Belton fired, sources said. She was overruled by her colleagues, including Graham.
In May, District Council Member Kathy Patterson sent a letter to the school board. It raised questions about contracts that Belton was paying out as well as the thousands she was spending on meals for herself. Many of those questions are now key to the criminal investigation.
Kapani couldn’t be reached for comment. Belton didn’t return calls seeking comment. Her lawyer, Danny Onorato, refused comment.
