An ethics panel declined Thursday to sanction Atlanta school board member Courtney English for making personal purchases on his board-issued credit card -- after penalizing him last fall for a similar action.
The case involved $68.32 in purchases on an Atlanta Public Schools-issued card, which English is no longer allowed to use. Arguments were made during a five-hour meeting that started Wednesday evening and didn't end until after midnight. The panel voted 4-3 in English's favor. Chairwoman Susan Pease Langford declined to comment on the decision after the meeting.
The purchases came to light during a review last winter by the city school system's accrediting agency. They preceded another $855 worth of personal purchases that English was sanctioned for last October, receiving a $2,500 fine, a public reprimand and loss of use of the card.
Attorney Glenn Delk, who represented English at the meeting, argued contentiously at times that this second set of sanctions represented a kind of double jeopardy.
English took office in January 2010. He acknowledged last year he spent $855.83 on an airline ticket, food, gratuities, hotel and taxi charges. He reimbursed the system on July 14. Nearly two weeks later, he sent out an open letter publicly admitting and apologizing for the purchases, claiming he did not fully understand the terms of the card's use and "mistakenly thought I could use the credit card for personal use as long as I immediately reimbursed the district for any charges incurred."
However, two months ago, a report issued by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said English had already been privately chastised for making $68.32 worth of personal charges on the card, an amount he repaid prior to using the card improperly again.
Atlanta resident Kim Kawach filed an ethics complaint related to the SACS report. Her attorney said Wednesday that English, in essence, was not telling the truth in his open letter related to the later charges and violated board policy about communicating openly and honestly with stakeholders.
In his testimony, English said he signed for the card in January 2010 but did not fully read the provisions related to it. He said he received an e-mail in April telling him to repay the $68.32, but was not directly told not to use the card for personal reasons. He said he received that counsel only in July, in response to the other purchases.
The school board publicly censured English in February because he failed to pay his previous ethics fine on time. The fine was due Jan. 29, and English paid it 16 days later.
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