On Wednesday, Federal Officials unsealed a 47-count indictment against former employees of the Davis School District, Susan G Ross, 62, and her husband, John Ross, 64, of Layton. It is alleged in the indictment that the couple defrauded the school district of at least $4.3 million. Federal officials say that they believe that this has been going on since the year 2000, but fear that it may go back to 1985. For details, please see: deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650209565,00.html and deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650209574,00.html
The big question is how did all of this go on for so long right under School District Officials' noses? And is this just the tip of the iceburg?
How did this husband-wife team work so closely with one another with such blatent conflicts of interest? How is it possible that these two worked at the same place of employment? In the corporate world, this would not happen in most situations.
How did the husband write the grant proposals for the monies that were used to purchase these books from himself? How does the wife, as Director of the program, buy books from herself? Without making a dime, there is a very big problem here....
Then there is the issue of copyright infringement and inflated prices. How was this allowed to happen and for so long? These are educators to boot. They should know better. Their lawyer's excuse is also deplorable that "[if] I could buy something for 18 and sell it to you for 200 dollars, don't blame me because you're a moron." Please see: www.ksl.com/ Are we not teaching our educators ethics, oversight, and responsibility?
Superintendent Brian Bowles stated that the material that was sold to them by this couple was "crummy." That crummy material was also sold to them at seriously inflated pricing. Please see: www.sltrib.com/ci_4709850 Nobody noticed for years that large amounts of money was spent on crummy materials. They did not notice the fact that for a whole lot less, they could provide so much better. What does this say about how our schools are held accountable for what they teach and at what it costs?
In addition, how did the wife become the Director over so many programs at the District? Please search for the word "Ross" at the following website: www.davis.k12.ut.us/communityrelations/Districtoffice.pdf Where was the division of responsibility?
Also of interest to us, is whether the John and Sue Ross, formerly of 3877 Bountiful Blvd (listed as campaign contributors to Representative Sheryl Allen in 2000), are the same people as the above, or are they just unfortunate enough to have the same names? Please see globe.utah.gov/allcont/allcont.aspx Is there a link between this couple and Sheryl Allen?
Futhermore, could there be a link between this couple and the Davis Education Foundation? Please see: www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/diane/index.html It would be nice to open the records of the foundation and see what is going on there as well. The manner in which these educational foundations are able to operate in secrecy and impunity needs to change.
Please note that Sue Ross' Secretary, Stella Smith, was also indicted for allegedly running her own fraud skeem. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and this has been smoking for a long time. However, instead of putting out the fire, some people have been asking where the barbeque was so they could stuff their faces too. How many others are running such a skeem?
These are all questions that need some answering....
For those of you who believe the public trust has been betrayed by a public officeholder or someone in a position of public trust, you can call 1-866-50-BRIBE (1-866-502-7423). The time to call is now. Let's stop corruption in South Davis County.