D.C. Public Schools officials are considering disciplinary action against an investigator who they say lied during his probe into McKinley Technology High School’s grade changing and financial scandals.
Eastern Stewart, a DCPS investigator, admitted to The Washington Examiner that he misled interviewees during his probe by telling them that Chief of Staff Lisa Ruda asked him to shove the investigation under the rug.
Stewart said he planted that idea in an effort to flush out someone he thought was leaking information about his probe. “I had to know who I could and couldn’t trust,” he said.
Both Stewart and Ruda said they had never met, and the claims she pushed for a cover-up were fabrications.
“DCPS will be reviewing whether or not disciplinary action is appropriate,” said Safiya Simmons, a schools spokeswoman. “[Stewart] never let his supervisor know that that was going to be his tactic.”
Stewart is investigating allegations that McKinley Principal David Pinder doctored grades and assigned phony grades to seniors so they could graduate on time. The Examiner, which first reported the charges, obtained 13 transcripts that show Pinder listed as the teacher of courses such as Interactive Media and Principles of U.S. Government.
Pinder, who does not teach any classes, was put on paid administrative leave Wednesday.
Stewart’s mistruth “could possibly jeopardize the investigation,” Simmons said.
Ruda said she was disappointed that her time was diverted by Stewart’s claims. “We have referred all matters arising from today’s revelations to the Office of the General Counsel to direct our next steps,” she said.
Stewart, a longtime veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, was hired by DCPS in August and assigned to investigate a $100,000 award that McKinley received in 2008 from AARP. But Senior2Senior, a program that would prop up students’ volunteer hours and help the elderly, never got off the ground. When Stewart wrapped up the investigation earlier this month, acting D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan handed the case over to federal investigators, saying, “these funds may have been mishandled.”
The Washington Examiner obtained a tape of Stewart telling a former McKinley teacher that Ruda sought to sink the probe. “[Ruda] wants to cut loose, push it under the rug. She’s trying … not to get this exposed,” Stewart said on the tape.
