A whistle-blower who was put on administrative leave in the wake of the District of Columbia charter school scandal either should be brought back or fired, Board of Education President Robert Bobb told The Examiner.
Financial analyst Steve Kapani has drawn his government paycheck since June. He was put on leave after he accused his then-boss, Brenda Belton, of using contracts with companies to line her pockets and those of her family and friends.
Kapani has threatened to sue the board for violating D.C.’s whistle-blower laws.
Bobb ended two months of official school board silence on Sunday, when he told The Examiner that he wants to make a decision on Kapani’s future quickly.
“I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t come back to work,” Bobb said in a phone interview. “But I need to talk to the members of the old board.”
The “old board” members still serving on the board are Carolyn Graham, William Lockridge and Jeff Smith. Lockridge and Graham defended Belton after Kapani’s accusations.
Graham would go on to call Kapani “disgruntled” and try to discredit his allegations.
Bobb said nothing should be read into his decision to talk with Graham and Lockridge.
“I can be objective,” Bobb said. “They’re the ones who have history with him.”
The board voted to fire Belton in October. She is now the target of a federal grand jury investigation.
Bobb said he also wants to make a decision regarding charter school aide Mary Bunn, who was put on leave with pay in October.
Bunn admitted to pasting Graham’s signature on a memo directing the schools’ finance office to pay several contractors, including some Kapani raised questions about.
“Either we fire them or they should be back at work,” Bobb said of Kapani and Bunn.
Kapani’s lawyer, Mona Lyons, refused comment for this story.
