A state watchdog group has asked for a legislative investigation into emails sent by Rep. Mike Glanton that appear to show him using the power of his office to try to save a $1 million contract between his employer and Atlanta Public Schools.
Common Cause Georgia filed the complaint Wednesday seeking an investigation from the House Ethics Committee after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Glanton contacted the school district about the contract. The complaint says Glanton, D-Jonesboro, may have violated House Rules forbidding members from using their office for personal gain and perhaps even broke the law.
“It’s a fine line. He may not have crossed it, but he toed it awful hard,” said William Perry, executive director of Common Cause Georgia. “Most people would consider this an abuse of power.”
According to House rules, the complaint will go before a panel of Republican and Democratic House leaders who will determine whether a full hearing of the House Ethics Committee is required. If he is found guilty of ethics violations, the committee can recommend punishment ranging from a fine to expulsion from office. It could also refer the matter to the Attorney General for further investigation.
A four-term representative, Glanton also is chief operating officer of Global Teachers Research and Resources, a Clayton County firm that recruits teachers from foreign countries to teach in American schools. Over the past five years, Georgia school districts have paid Global more than $52 million for teachers, primarily in the critical fields of math, science and special education.
APS has been one of Global’s largest customers. But after the AJC reported allegations of questionable labor practices by the firm, APS announced plans to directly hire all its teachers rather than rely on recruiting firms. Another Global customer, DeKalb County Schools, put its teacher recruiting contracts out for public bid following the AJC’s investigation.
The AJC first reported on Glanton's contact with districts last month after discovering an April 15 email Glanton sent to APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen. The email came a few weeks after APS had informed Glanton that it would not renew the company's $1 million annual contract and Glanton was trying to arrange a meeting with the superintendent.
“My purpose for meeting with you is three-fold,” Glanton wrote. “First, to make an introduction, second, to discuss our (APS/Global) partnership, and thirdly to assess what potential legislative goals you might have now or in the future as it relates to education in Georgia.”
Glanton went on to list his committee appointments, which include serving on the House Education Committee and the education subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. For the latter, Glanton inserted that it was the “K-12 Funding” committee.
Carstarphen forwarded the email to Pamela Hall, her human resources director. “Do you know this contract?” she asked. “Is this true?”
Hall’s take almost perfectly fits the definition of abuse of power. “He is trying to use his influence as a legislator to convince us to keep the contract,” she wrote. The meeting with Carstarphen never happened, although Glanton did meet with Hall. Through an APS spokeswoman, Hall said Glanton never mentioned his legislation position in those meetings.
When asked about the email, Glanton told the AJC he saw no conflict with using a meeting to discuss both private and public business.
“Generally, when I meet with anyone pertaining to any subject, whether personal, private or professional, laws and policy are discussed for various reasons,” he said. “I give legislative updates routinely and solicit input from individuals around the state on matters coming before the General Assembly.”
It is not the only time Glanton referenced his position in state government when discussing business with school districts. In a March 2014 email seeking a meeting with the Henry County superintendent, Glanton began his message, “My name is Mike Glanton. I currently serve in the Georgia House of Representatives and as Chief Operating Office (COO) for Global Teachers Research and Resources, Inc.”
When reached Wednesday, Glanton said he stands by his interpretation of the APS email, but declined say anything more.
“I’m going to allow the process to play itself out,” he said.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Joe Wilkinson, R-Sandy Springs, said formal complaints are uncommon.
“I’ve chaired the committee for 11 years,” he said. “This is the first formal complaint the committee will have received in those 11 years.”
For much of that time, House members were the only people who could file complaints, and Wilkinson said disagreements between members usually are handled without a formal complaint being filed. Ethics reform legislation passed in 2010 allowed anyone to file a complaint, although apparently this is a first.
While Wilkinson would not comment on the merits of the complaint, he did say he was “prepared for a full committee hearing.”
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