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Board attorney finds no misconduct in preliminary review; Lake County Board votes to end further investigation
Summary
The Lake County Board of Education received a preliminary report from board attorney Sam Jackson that identified no misconduct in audits involving First Flight Academy, CTE/reelfoot expo funds and food service expenditures. After discussion and noting the investigation cost of $22,470, the board voted to cease further investigation.
The Lake County Board of Education on an unspecified date reviewed a preliminary written report from board attorney Sam Jackson that found no evidence of misappropriated funds or policy breaches related to First Flight Academy, CTE/expo activities and food service finances, and the board voted to end further investigation.
Jackson's letter, read aloud at the meeting, said in part, “while certain items could have potentially been handled differently, there was no misconduct related to the aforementioned categories.” The attorney also said the records provided by Director of Schools Dr. Burton allowed the firm to reach those preliminary findings and that further interviews or review would be possible but would “involve a substantial expense for legal fees and could possibly require hiring an independent consultant to examine the financials further.”
The report noted confusion over regulatory frameworks for the First Flight Academy program, saying the program’s structure is new to both the Tennessee Department of Human Services and the Tennessee Department of Education and that an appeal of a DHS ruling is expected to be heard in January 2024. Jackson recommended clarifying district procedures for off‑campus activities — for example, specifying who is responsible for accounting funds earned or spent by CTE student groups, time frames for reporting and deposit of funds — and offered to help draft such policies for board consideration.
A board member raised the cost of the legal review, saying, “this is cost us $22,470.” Several board members said transparency remains important, but after discussion the board moved to stop the attorney’s investigation and instead to pursue policy clarifications. John Cochran made the motion to cease the investigation; Vivian seconded. The motion carried by majority vote.
The attorney’s letter also reminded the board that an independent audit is conducted annually by the Office of the Comptroller for the State of Tennessee, and offered continued review if the board desires and is willing to authorize further expense.
The board did not adopt additional investigative steps at the meeting; members instead discussed drafting clearer policies and procedures for CTE and off‑campus accounting and reporting.
Votes at a glance: Motion to cease further investigation — moved by John Cochran, seconded by Vivian; outcome: motion carried (majority vote to cease investigation).
