More employees implicated in investigation into Atlanta school purchasing ethics

Two more Atlanta Public Schools employees are facing discipline in connection with the hiring of a company owned by the district’s then-purchasing director to provide parking and staffing services, and an internal investigation into the school district’s purchasing practices has grown.

More than $60,000 in revenue from those parking services may be missing.

• Read more: Investigation into Atlanta school purchasing grows

The former purchasing director, who was fired, had been accused of fraud at his previous job.

And district officials are looking into the possibility that other employees may have been paid as vendors, in violation of a policy that bars employees from doing business with the district.

Several employees questioned whether it was ethical for the district to do business with former purchasing director Randall Sellers’ company, according to a new report from external auditors. In some cases, Sellers and athletics director Jasper Jewell assured them the arrangement was fine. No one reported suspicions of wrongdoing.

At one point, Jewell asked Sellers if it was okay to hire Sellers’ company to staff athletic events. Sellers said it was because “thousands of other people in the District do this,” Jewell told the auditors.

Read more about the ongoing investigation on MyAJC.com

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