Baltimore Co. State Lawmakers Question Schools Chief Verletta White
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)-- On the heels of criminal charges filed against former Baltimore County School Superintendent Dallas Dance, comes testimony Friday from the district's new superintendent.
Verletta White met with a panel of state senators in Annapolis, where she began by saying "I think we should address the elephant in the room, and because I know what's on your mind."
Namely, the scandal surrounding Dance, who was charged earlier this week with four counts of perjury, for not disclosing the $147,000 he made as an education consultant. Prosecutors say that money should have been listed on disclosure forms, but wasn't. and money made by white was also originally missing from her forms.
According to State Senator Jim Brochin, "they paid the superintendent and the previous superintendent $3,000 to attend these conferences."
In her defense, White told the panel the disclosure forms were initially confusing, and when alerted to her not listing consulting funds, she quickly disclosed the money.
"I admitted the mistake. Again, when I learned there was a problem, I admitted it and amended the form," she said.
Unlike dance, White is not facing any criminal charges, and has opened audits into the Dance years detailing contracts awarded to vendors by the district.
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