A proposal that would have required criminal activity in Granbury Independent School District (GISD) to be reported to local law enforcement was axed by the district’s Board of Trustees on Monday.
GISD has found itself at the center of media reports lately following the alleged misuse of a private plane owned by the district by one of its top officials, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
The Board subsequently sold off the plane and let the official — Assistant Superintendent Jimmy Dawson — off the hook, despite community members decrying a lack of clear policies and accountability at GISD.
“Without good policies, where is the legal responsibility for the pilot should he have an incident in that plane that injures either a student or a member of the public?” asked Marietta Harrell at the previous board meeting, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
Still, it remains unclear whether Dawson actually broke any laws by using the plane on personal trips.
This latest move by the Board put the spotlight back on its willingness to manage potential criminal abuses of taxpayer resources.
“We were told we could do nothing about it because we had no policy,” said Trustee Melanie Graft at the Monday meeting, according to WFAA. “There was no investigation by local law enforcement.”
“I disagree that there was a violation. That’s your opinion,” retorted Trustee Billy Wimberly, per WFAA. “If you believe that’s the case, you should’ve called law enforcement, called them in and have them check that out.”
At play is the fact that GISD does not have its own independent police force dedicated to enforcing the law and investigating crimes that occur on district property, like at the Dallas Independent School District (DISD).
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, DISD has had its own history of alleged misuse of taxpayer money, especially in its procurement operations, where alleged waste and outright corruption resulted in a whistleblower lawsuit some years ago.
I remember July 4th, 1971 as High School aged kids were shooting fireworks off in Granbury at the town square around the Courthouse. Then went upstairs of the Nutt House to visit with a friend.
Pretty wild days then.
I guess the saga continues.