G’TOWN SCHOOLS:

Attorney’s letter alleges superintendent hid funds

Fired chief financial officer alleges superintendent lied, hid funds.

The recently fired chief financial officer of Germantown Municipal School District claims she was terminated for failing to keep quiet about a series of illegal practices she alleges were directed by Superintendent Jason Manuel.

In an Aug. 5 letter to the school board, the attorney for former CFO Autumn Enochs says Manuel “drastically” changed figures in budget spreadsheets to influence how board members voted on sharing services with other municipal districts. She also says Manuel directed her to omit $1 million in revenue for the current year, making it appear the board could not afford extra buses for later start times — a major issue last spring.

The letter, from attorney Donald Donati, says Enochs’ account of events shows “Mr. Manuel is unfit to serve as Superintendent, and that his actions are untenable and injurious to the District,” including lying to the school board, the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen and state officials “to further his own agenda.”

Manuel fired Enochs on July 31. The district introduced Kevin Jones as the new CFO at its meeting Monday night.

The letter from Donati seeks Manuel’s dismissal as superintendent of the Germantown district, saying, “Mrs. Enochs is willing to resolve this dispute without pursuing litigation, and thus avoiding the scrutiny such litigation would inevitably bring upon Mr. Manuel and the Board.”

Donati did not return a call Monday seeking further comment.

In an email Monday afternoon, Manuel said the

“allegations of a terminated GMSD employee have been investigated and to date no evidence substantiates any allegations and they are considered without merit.”

On Friday, The Commercial Appeal requested a copy of Enochs’ termination letter, emails with Manuel and a copy of her personnel file. The district has seven days to respond to the open records request.

Donati’s letter — sent to all five of the GMSD school board members and Debra Owen, the board’s legal counsel — states Manuel’s official line is Enochs was terminated for communicating directly with Houston High principal Kyle Cherry, violating a Manuel directive for her not to talk with school principals.

Enochs, a CPA and former auditor with Watkins Uiberall, took the CFO post with the district in March 2014. She’s the only person to serve in the role since the district’s inception.

Among the allegations outlined in Donati’s letter are that Manuel inflated the cost of keeping certain services in-house by approximately $300,000 to encourage the board to share those services with other municipal districts.

Enochs also contends Manuel consistently allowed the district’s head of operations to make purchases in violation of state law and board policy. She says the superintendent then told her to approve the purchases and post the expenses to unrelated accounts to avoid amendments to the budget.

She also says that in July, Manuel and Cherry directed the school’s financial secretary to misappropriate funds by paying a $70,000 bill to a vendor on the Houston High turf project. The money was supposed to be paid by the Houston High Athletics and Arts Foundation, which had not yet received its 501(c)(3) status. Enochs, through her attorney, says the payment “would practically deplete the school’s bank account.”

Enochs said officials from the state Department of Education confirmed that the money for services — which were not bid — could not be paid with school funds.

Enochs said she apprised Cherry, the school’s financial secretary and Manuel of the state’s ruling. Later in July, while she was on vacation, she says Manuel misrepresented the facts regarding the $70,000 to state authorities. Based on what Manuel told state officials, she says, they approved payment of the invoice.

Lisa Parker, board chairwoman, saids he could not comment “because it is in legal hands.”

Enochs is seeking to have her job reinstated and stay through the current fiscal year’s audit. If Manuel is not fired, she requests she not be required to report to him on matters regarding the district finances.