Suburban school workers violated ethics rules by taking all-expense-paid trip to Kentucky, district rules
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) -- Two suburban school workers who enjoyed an all-expense-paid trip to Kentucky violated their school district's ethics policy, the district's ethics committee ruled Tuesday.
The two employees include a maintenance worker and a former operations director at Township High School District 214 – which includes schools in Arlington Heights, Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village, and Buffalo Grove.
The two staffers were treated to dinners and drinks, as well as visits to a racetrack and a distillery last April. It was all paid for by an air conditioning contractor.
A curious parent, Amy Osterman, flagged the discovery of the trip to CBS 2's Lauren Victory. She went through nearly 3,700 emails to and from Jerry Cook – the now former director of operations at District 214.
One email said: "11:00 is going to be a charter for the opening of the race track. "No cost to come." "Guaranteed to have a good time!" reads an email from the person who invited Cook and a school maintenance employee named Linas Paul.
"There is no cost for anyone to come on this trip," they were told.
"It's completely inappropriate," Osterman told Victory in September. "It's a conflict of interest."
The trip coordinator weas a salesperson for the air conditioning manufacturer Trane.
About a month after that Kentucky invite, Trane sealed a nearly $3 million deal with the district related to the air conditioning units on the roof of John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
Pictures of Bulleit bourbon popped up on what appears to be Paul's Facebook page on April 6, the same date on the "Kentucky agenda."
In September, CBS 2 asked corruption expert and political science professor Dick Simpson to analyze the trip itinerary. To be clear, the agenda also included a tour of a Trane air conditioning plant.
"It wasn't just a simple trip down to the factory to look at things or to get special instruction on how to maintain the air conditioning," Simpson said.
A visit to a distillery and racetrack aren't educational activities, Simpson said.
Then there's the issue that everything, flight, hotel, and more, for these public school employees, appears to be covered by the vendor.
"It's normally the government's job to pay for those trips to make sure that they aren't influenced improperly," Simpson said.
Osterman reported her findings to the school board in person in September.
Following the finding of a violation, the district has agreed to provide better ethics training for both employees and vendors.
