An audit released by Lancaster ISD recently uncovered potential foul play regarding Superintendent Elijah Granger’s massive $2 million severance payout.
Lancaster ISD covers a small portion of the outskirts of Dallas County and is home to around 7,500 students.
Granger first raised red flags when he departed from the district in 2020 with a generous severance package that local investigators could not ignore. According to a recently publicly released audit, Granger received the largest severance amount authorized to a school district superintendent in the history of the United States.
Along with this package, Granger also would have received salary and benefits for five more years, costing the district an additional $1.8 million. The investigation was forwarded to the Texas Education Agency and the FBI.
The audit revealed that Granger had pushed contracts on existing board members, requiring them to resign. Then Granger allegedly appointed more “favorable” trustees to the board.
Auditors said that in 2019, Granger offered trustee Ty G. Jones over $4,000 a month for one year to leave his place on the board. Jones refused, saying he was too vital for the district to depart. Granger allegedly repeatedly used these tactics to have the trustees grant his $2 million payout and 5-year-long contract.
Out of the seven trustees, three voted against Granger’s buyout. They later filed a complaint against Granger’s conduct, which led the Texas Education Agency to void the payout. The three dissenters filed a complaint alongside forensic investigators from Weaver and Tidwell, LLP, who compiled the audit.
The investigation document states, “We identified a pattern of maneuverings to influence and control the decision-making of the Board by taking measures to ensure control over a four-vote majority of the Board’s seven voting members.”
Granger’s Attorney Walt Taylor called the ordeal a “complete sham.” Taylor claims that no agency had ever contacted Granger to hear his side of the story or ask any questions.
