Dallas-area district puts ex-APS official on leave in wake of cheating probe

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By Matthew Haag and Mark Norris

The Dallas Morning News

DESOTO, Texas -- DeSoto school trustees placed embattled Superintendent Kathy Augustine on paid leave Monday following a Georgia probe released last week that found widespread cheating in Atlanta schools while she served as second-in-command.

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Kathy Augustine (left) and Desoto, Texas, ISD board President Warren C. Seay Jr. head to a closed session regarding Augustine's involvement in an Atlanta schools cheating investigation. The trustees placed newly hired Augustine on paid leave Monday.

John F. Rhodes, Staff Photographer Kathy Augustine (left) and Desoto, Texas, ISD board President Warren C. Seay Jr. head to a closed session regarding Augustine's involvement in an Atlanta schools cheating investigation. The trustees placed newly hired Augustine on paid leave Monday.

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The announcement came after DeSoto Independent School District board members and Augustine discussed the brand-new superintendent's future behind closed doors for nearly six hours. She was placed on indefinite paid leave effective immediately.

Board members and Augustine, who started her first day Monday, refused to answer questions after the meeting and quickly left the room after she read a lengthy prepared statement.

"It was a mutual decision for the best interest of DeSoto ISD children," said board president Warren Seay, who added that Augustine would stay on paid leave "until the process worked itself out."

In an emailed statement after the meeting, Seay wrote, ""We are working to resolve the issues related to Dr. Augustine in a prudent manner that represents the best interests of DeSoto ISD school children. To that end, we anticipate a swift resolution."

Augustine declined to answer questions after the meeting about why she agreed to go on paid leave. She said, "The answer to your questions are in the statement."

After the meeting, trustee Sandra Wheeler, who voted against hiring Augustine in May, said, "I want us to move forward and do what's best for the kids."

When asked how she felt about the decision, she said, "It's hard to say."

Augustine entered DeSoto on her first day amid growing opposition over what she might have known about cheating on state tests in Georgia. She was greeted Monday night by protesters outside district headquarters calling for her to resign. Nearly 75 people filled a cramped DeSoto school board meeting to hear whether Augustine would remain in charge.

After trustees and Augustine emerged from meeting behind closed doors, she discussed Georgia's investigation for the first time publicly. She again maintained that she played no role in the cheating and denied any wrongdoing.

"I want to be clear that I was neither involved in or aware of the kind of behavior that has been uncovered," Augustine said. "I'd like you to know how shocked and saddened I was about what I've learned. It literally broke my heart."

But Georgia's investigation suggested otherwise.

The investigation, ordered by former Gov. Sonny Perdue last year, found that “Augustine either knew or should have known cheating and other misconduct was occurring."

Investigators said that Augustine, who oversaw daily classroom instruction, authorized a letter to state officials falsely claiming no evidence of cheating existed at one school and that she illegally kept a report from Atlanta media that suggested cheating took place at some schools.

Georgia's investigation found that 178 educators were involved in the cheating and that some changed students' answers on state tests to improve their scores. More than 80 confessed to the cheating.

As Georgia officials neared completion of their investigation earlier this year and as other top Atlanta school administrators departed that district, Augustine applied for the DeSoto ISD superintendent position. By then, the state's ongoing investigation had been public more than a year.

Augustine has said she disclosed the investigation to DeSoto trustees before they hired her and agreed to pay her $188,000 annually. In interviews with trustees before she was hired, Augustine touted the urban district's academic strides.

But Georgia's investigation described many of Atlanta Public Schools' academic successes during her tenure as "ill-gotten." DeSoto board members voted 4-2 to hire her in May to head the 9,000-student district.

Augustine said Monday night she was dismayed that the state's investigation, in her view, overshadowed genuine academic progress made in Atlanta. She also criticized the media for not reporting the good news in the district.

"One act of violating the public's trust is one too many" she said. "But it's a shame that 100 percent of the school district stands accused."

Augustine said she planned to learn from the "difficult lessons learned in Atlanta." She said she wants to make sure DeSoto has "air-tight" testing protocols and ensure school employees go through ethics training.