On Tuesday, a board member and a former employee attempted to appeal to the Elmore County Board of Education (ECBOE) about a recent report by 1819 News that highlighted financial mismanagement in the ESBOE's Child Nutrition Program (CNP).
In February, 1819 News reported that CNP Director Cacyce Davis used government funds to purchase supplies for a family member's wedding, misused school accounts, and made other questionable purchases, including 12 flat-screen TVs and diet supplements.
In September 2023, the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts (EPA) released an audit report on the ECBOE from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022. The report detailed a deficiency in the ECBOE's handling of public money, specifically in the CNP department.
Files obtained by 1819 News showed that Davis used CNP funds and CNP store credit to purchase food supplies for a family member's wedding.
Additional documents show that the CNP Amazon account was also used to purchase several pieces of furniture, including three love seats and diet supplements. Additionally, Davis Purchased 12 flat-screen TVs with CNP funds between January and September 2022, along with several TV wall mounts. The TVs range from 50-86 inches and cost a combined total of just over $6,500.
On Tuesday, after recognizing several student groups for their achievements, a former CNP worker, Becky Blackmon, stood up and began to address the board about the CNP program and Davis.
A video of the exchange was recorded via a live stream on the ECBOE Facebook page.
"I've retired now, but I get phone calls every week by people still working with child nutrition," Blackmon said. "They're scared to come to the superintendent, they're scared to come to the director [Davis], they're scared to come to y'all. I've spoke with four of y'all, and I got nothing.
Blackmon went on to talk about CNP's alleged difficulty with maintaining staff, quipping that "somebody had to die" for someone to get a job with CNP.
"They're leaving left and right, every day. I just got a phone call today with two more leaving. And this is a direct conflict with the director. She does not get along with people. She makes it very hard."
Blackmon was then cut off by an individual warning her, "For good name and character, we have to be very careful."
Blackmon then went on to detail instances of alleged retaliation against those who had complained about Davis, claiming one such person was "busted down from manager to assistant manager," resulting in a loss of pay after complaining about Davis. She also highlighted perceived hypocrisy in how the school system dealt with Davis.
"I contacted four board members about all of this wrote in the news article, and I was told that basically, it was different for the director to do what she did even though we were told on a weekly basis that if we so much as took a plate of food out the back door, that we wouldn't go to jail, we would go to prison; federal prison because it was federal dollars. And I would just like to know the difference between the so-called boss doing what she did and workers doing what they did."
After concluding her remarks, EBOE Chairman David Jones told Blackmon that the board had released an official statement on the Examiners of Public Accounts' findings, saying, "Hopefully that is adequate." Blackmon quickly responded, "It's not."
Board Member Lesia Finley read a statement, imploring her fellow board members to "do the right thing," and asked Superintendent Richard Dennis to bring the issue before the board so that it can address Davis.
In a brief response to 1819 News, Dennis's assistant said the central office would not comment on the investigation into the CNP program after a "consultation" with the ethics commission. According to Finley, leaning on the ethics commission was a lackluster excuse, offering skepticism of the actual evidence offered by the ethics commission and the commission's history of "corruption."
"If I read the information that was given to the Ethics Commission, I'm not so sure I would proceed with any action either," Finely said. "We all took an oath of office to do what is right for 11,000 students in our care. Again, I don't think this is a situation that should be dismissed without serious consequences."
Finley then inquired about the location of the 12 flat-screen TVs and three loveseats.
Dennis then said he would be happy to show any board members the locations of those items, saying, "You've actually seen them before because we had board meetings in those locations where they're located."
State CNP Director Angelice Lowe with the Alabama Department of Education told 1819 News the furniture was not an allowable CNP expense. She also said the TVs could be used only "if it is being used in the cafeteria to promote/advertise the menus and provide nutrition education."
"I will not go into great detail because I do not want to be involved in any sort of legal actions involved with this situation beyond that point," Dennis said.
Finley asked what legal action Dennis was referring to but continued before she could get an answer. Finley then pointed to a detail in 1819 News's reporting showing that a legal firm representing Davis emailed the entire board, threatening potential legal action against the ECBOE and the board member.
"I will restate that we've submitted it to the DA's office, the Justice Department, the ethics department, the state department. The school board attorney that works for you is the one that submitted all that information that went before them. So, I will leave it at that, that's all I'm going to say is that we've submitted all that information and we did not… it ended. And that's where we are at this point. Whatever actions have taken have concluded."
Finley concluded by pointing out that the board is not allowed to address situations like Davis's,
"By school board law, we can't do anything unless it's brought by the superintendent, and, unfortunately, you've chosen not to bring it to us," Finely concluded. "And, again, I know we have differing opinions, but if we do that right thing, you know, for the citizens of Elmore County and for our students, and not treat people differently, I think people would see this in a different light."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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