Subject: Attachments:

FW: SES fraud image001.gif

Beginforwardedmessage: From:"Acuna,Gene"<Gene.Acuna@tea.state.tx.us> Date:February7,2013,8:44:55AMCST To:"Ratcliffe,Debbie"<Debbie.Ratcliffe@tea.state.tx.us>,"Partridge,Sally" <Sally.Partridge@tea.state.tx.us>,"Reynolds,Lizzette"<Lizzette.GonzalezReynolds@tea.state.tx.us>, "Johnson,Emi"<Emi.Johnson@tea.state.tx.us> Cc:"Culbertson,DeEtta"<DeEtta.Culbertson@tea.state.tx.us> Subject:RE:SESfraud FYIStoryfromtodaysSanAntonioExpressNews http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/SAISDisprobingpotentialbilking 4256836.php

SAISD is probing potential bilking

Maria Luisa Cesa, Express-News Copyright 2013 Express-News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Maria Luisa Cesar

The San Antonio Independent School District is investigating five after-school tutoring companies suspected of defrauding it. Because federal funds are involved, the names of the five companies which the school district did not release will be reported to both the Texas Education Agency and the U.S. Education Department's Office of the Inspector General, a news release stated Wednesday. The district has sent cease and desist letters to the companies. School officials were alerted to possible fraud when a parent requested tutoring services for her child but documents submitted by a tutoring agency indicated the student already was receiving those services, district spokeswoman Leslie Price said. SAISD officials began reviewing invoices and found the district was billed in cases where parents and students alleged no tutoring had occurred, she said. After additional complaints surfaced regarding other after-school tutoring companies, it became clear that this was a broader issue, Price added. Price said it's too early to tell how much money SAISD may have paid in fraudulent claims. The five companies being investigated have sought reimbursements totaling $240,500 but the district has not determined how much of that is in dispute, Price said.

The tutoring services are required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act for schools that fail to meet adequate yearly progress standards for three years in a row. Sam Houston High School and seven middle schools Davis, Wheatley, Page, Rhodes, Rogers, Twain and Tafolla offer the services, paid for with part of the federal money SAISD receives for students considered socio-economically disadvantaged. About 3,600 students in the district participate. Students can continue to receive services by choosing another company from a list of approved tutoring businesses, which is kept by the Texas Education Agency, Price said. Sixty companies are providing services to SAISD this year, according to the release. The Dallas Independent School District last year alleged five tutoring companies defrauded the district for about $500,000, the Dallas Morning News has reported. TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said the agency will cooperate with the investigation but will take no immediate action against the firms named in the SAISD complaint. I think we proceed with the innocent until proven guilty approach, she said.
From: Ratcliffe, Debbie Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2013 5:28 PM To: Partridge, Sally; Reynolds, Lizzette; Johnson, Emi Cc: Culbertson, DeEtta; Acuna, Gene Subject: SES fraud

SanAntonioISDsaidtodaythatitisinvestigating5supplementaleducationserviceprovidersforfraud.I dontknowthenamesoftheproviders.Thedistrictwasbilledforservicebuttheservicewasnever provided.SAISDplanstofileacomplaintwithusandtheUSDEInspectorGeneral.Therewillbeastoryin theExpressNewstomorrow.