Ex-New Caney ISDleader facing two charges
The former New Caney Independent School District superintendent was arrested on charges of tampering with a governmental record and aggregate theft by a public servant after he allegedly submitted falsified travel records last year.
Kenn Franklin resigned from the Montgomery County school district Nov. 16 after 11 years as superintendent.
“New Caney ISD has been notified of the investigation by lawenforcement. The district will provide requested information and assist lawenforcement in anyway that it can,” the district said in a statement. “The district cannot comment further as this is an ongoing investigation.”
Tampering with a governmental record is a state jail felony, while aggregate theft by a public servant is a third-degree felony, meaning the value of the service stolen is $30,000 or more but less than $150,000, according to the arrest warrant and the Montgomery CountyDistrict Attorney’s Office.
Using phone records, a license plate reader search and toll road records, investigators found that only two of the 24 expense reports Franklin filed were corroborated through records to actually have taken place. While claiming to have traveled to Waco, Austin and San Antonio, among other places, Franklin was actually in the New Caney, Kingwood and Humble areas, the affidavit of warrant for arrest shows.
“The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office takes crimes committed by public servants very seriously, and particularly sowhen the defendant is the beneficiary of the public’s trust,” the DA’s office said in an email. “We look forward to presenting the facts supporting these charges to a Montgomery County jury in due time.”
Before he was superintendent of New Caney ISD, Franklin served as superintendent in Marshall ISD and Marfa ISD. He has over 25 years of experience in education.
After his resignation, the New Caney ISD board appointed Deputy Superintendent Matt Calvert as interim superintendent.
“We feel that this is the best decision for our district,” board president Chad Turner said at a meeting.