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Report Details Misconduct By Former DPS Official

DENVER (CBS4) - A top Denver Public Schools administrator wiped his computers clean to try and prevent investigators from finding out he was violating district policies by receiving lavish gifts from vendors.

CBS4 first started looking into former IT director Bud Bullard in February, a month before he was fired for violating district policy.

Bullard received rounds of golf, trips, lavish dinners and tickets to sporting events, according to a report that was released on Friday. Bullard was being wined and dined by companies doing business with the school district.

Superintendent Tom Boasberg is disappointed.

"This kind of unethical conduct is wrong, it's immoral, it's a violation of the trust we have with the public, it's a violation of the trust with each other," Boasberg said.

A vendor named "Avant" told investigators they even hired Bullard's father, a former DPS employee, so they could get work at the school district. Avant said they paid for Bullard to go to the Bahamas. But the wining and dining doesn't stop there. Bullard had dinners bought for him at high-end restaurants that include Del Frisco's, Elway's, Capital Grille and Sushi Den.

Investigators found a text message from Bullard after a vendor couldn't make dinner last minute that says, "Ok, I guess I'll order off the dollar menu then."

Bullard also got a sweetheart deal on a Ford F-150 Rapture from a contractor, paying far less its value.

The report claims despite the freebies, there's no evidence that DPS funds were misspent, or that the district paid more for their contracts.

"The answer to that is conclusively 'no,' " Boasberg said.

The district has suspended its contracts with vendors Avant and ISC.

"We don't want to do business with them and in the long run that's the right thing for the district, that's the right thing for taxpayers," Boasberg said.

LINKS: Read The Report | Letter From Boasberg

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