TPS officials ask judge to send strong message with sentencing of Stephanie Spring

Source: Tulsa World, Okla.儲存Nov. 16--Top officials at Tulsa Public Schools have asked a federal judge to deliver a sentence for former Athletic Director Stephanie Spring that would send a strong message to other would-be thieves, and their written statements include new revelations about the case.In March, Spring admitted to taking $92,200 for the rental of school facilities that should have been deposited into the school district's general fund between January 2006 and last December. Her sentencing has been delayed twice amid indications that she has been cooperating with federal authorities in the still-open investigation, but she has a court date Wednesday, when she is expected to learn her fate.Through a records request to Tulsa Public Schools, the Tulsa World obtained victim impact statements that were sent to U.S. District Judge John Dowdell by Superintendent Keith Ballard; Spring's successor, Gil Cloud; and campus Police Chief Gary Rudick.Rudick wrote that the illegal rentals of TPS athletic facilities was only one of several ways Spring was found to have pocketed the school district's money.He alleges in his statement that Spring also cashed checks and kept the money from private donors to an annual golf tournament the district holds to raise money for student athletics and also converted funds to her own use from payments received from businesses for advertising at TPS athletic events."In summary, the breadth of the conversion of funds was not limited to only leasing of district facilities but included the fleecing of our financial supporters," Rudick said.He also claimed that Spring was "untruthful" and attempted to influence people in authority to cease the campus police investigation that was eventually handed over to federal authorities and led to the charges against her.Additional costs to the district beyond the $92,200 she admitted taking included a $25,000, four-month financial audit by an outside firm, an unspecified amount in attorneys fees, plus the loss of income for student athletics from the golf tournament that had to be canceled in 2012 because of fallout from the scandal."It would help tremendously if the message could be sent loud and clear from the justice system that those entrusted to educate children may not violate that trust without suffering a righteous and proper punishment," Rudick said. "Every educational professional within the jurisdiction of the Northern District of Oklahoma should be made well aware that to steal from children is the most grave of offenses and will be dealt with in the harshest of manners."Ballard called the situation "one of the most disheartening and difficult issues" he has ever dealt with in his long career in public education.He wrote that amid the initial rumors and allegations of wrongdoing in the Athletic Department, he seriously doubted that Spring could be involved, but she repeatedly tried to talk him out of proceeding with an investigation."I specifically remember her telling me that if I did not call off the investigation, it would be the worst decision I would ever make in my career," Ballard wrote.He told the judge that Tulsa Public Schools' reputation has been "greatly tarnished" as a result of Spring's actions, and he asked the court to render a "just" sentence that would send a message to the community. He also asked that the district receive full restitution.Cloud, who succeeded Spring as athletic director, wrote that the school district had to cancel its primary athletic fundraiser -- the annual golf tournament -- in 2012 because, "quite simply our donors no longer trusted us, all because of Ms. Spring. The egregious violation of the public trust in this case will affect this department for a long time."He has had to oversee intensive ethical training for all employees involved with athletics and implement safeguards to ensure that the situation isn't repeated, but he hinted at the possibility of additional fallout."The culture of corruption which was promoted by Ms. Spring created a lack of integrity while encouraging unethical behavior on the part of her immediate staff and those who worked at school sites in the athletics department. District coaching staff members and in some cases booster groups were allowed to provide school-owned facilities to the public as a way to enhance th迷你倉ir personal earnings and were told by Ms. Spring that it was an acceptable procedure," Cloud said."Time will only tell as to the damage done to countless numbers of current and former professional TPS athletics department employees."Cloud also emphasized the absurdity of Spring's top-level involvement with the statewide association that sets and enforces the rules and guiding ethics for all sports and activities at junior high and high schools, all while she was stealing money that should have benefited local children.Spring served for a year as president of the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association, and Cloud said that in that capacity she even testified on behalf of the OSSAA in court cases involving compliance issues."This moral and ethical conduct, or lack thereof, is truly unbelievable!" he said.By law, Spring -- who is free on bond -- could face up to 10 years in prison. However, her attorney filed a pleading this week asking the judge to spare her a prison sentence in spite of the 12 to 18 months recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.The attorney, Allen Smallwood, said Spring's conduct had a minimal impact on Tulsa Public Schools given the district's multimillion-dollar budget, and he said she made "overwhelmingly positive contributions to the community and the Tulsa Public Schools system during the course of her career."Andrea Eger 918-581-8470andrea.eger@tulsaworld.comRevelations from emailsThe Tulsa World previously reported that a review of hundreds of Tulsa Public Schools employee emails obtained through an open records request revealed that Spring solicited rental fees from individuals who contacted her, directed the amounts of fees collected by an employee at East Central High School and a team booster club official at Memorial High School, and dictated the division of fees between an account called "TPS Athletics," booster club accounts and off-the-books payments to school groundskeepers.A broader request for employee emails in the case only recently returned by TPS shows that Spring was personally soliciting businesses for entries and sponsorships for the district's annual golf tournament fundraiser and basketball tournament and directing that money be sent directly to her department, rather than through the proper accounting channels.A flier for the 2011 tournament, the final one Spring handled, illustrates how thousands of dollars came in for teams of four players at $600 a pop and from companies that also sponsored tee boxes along with their teams at $750 each.Other emails indicate that a lot of cash and favors changed hands, too.One of the participants from an energy engineering and professional services firm wrote to Spring a couple of days after the 2011 tournament to inquire about the winner.She responded: "You guys got 2nd place, Vargas got first. I don't remember his score, but he bought $500 in mulligans. Walked up and laid out five $100 bills!"In March 2011, Spring emailed someone at an architecture firm to ask for a couple of tickets to an NCAA tournament and in exchange promised him the "best dressed" award plus "body shots available for you to enjoy" at the TPS golf tournament later that year.That same month, emails show that Spring solicited a marketing representative from a local franchise group of McDonald's for a $20,000 sponsorship for a big high school basketball tournament in December 2011.She explained that Cherokee Nation Enterprises "dropped me after 6 years as the Presenting Sponsor" and that she needed the $20,000 to cover about half the costs of the event and "ensure that I am able to keep my head above water and not lose any money."She mentioned that the tournament would guarantee a captive audience of participants and spectators plus lots of media coverage. She also said she would give him "every perk in the book for the tourney, plus other stuff for TPS not related to the tournament -- like banners in the TPS stadiums year round, banners in the high school gyms, air time on my TPS Coaches Show year round, McDonalds logo and a link on our website -- just to name a few things."The emails don't indicate whether Spring's solicitations were accepted.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage