Original story updated May 10 at 7:43 a.m.
Dr. George "Eric" Thomas, a finalist for the Columbus City Schools superintendent search, was accused of mismanagement while in a former role he held in Georgia, which led to him being investigated by the state.
WCMH-TV first reported these allegations with PDF files of a letter from former Georgia Inspector General Deborah Wallace and a lawsuit Thomas filed against the Georgia Department of Education after he resigned.
Thomas was Georgia's Chief Turnaround Officer and spent two decades at Cincinnati Public Schools prior to that.
Thomas, Interim CCS Superintendent Angela Chapman and Brian McDonald are the three finalists for the position.
The three finalists are participating in a “Day in the District” forum on Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Columbus City Schools Southland Center.
As the Chief Turnaround Officer, or CTO, Thomas was tasked with helping struggling schools across Georgia.
The letter from Wallace to former Georgia State Board of Education Chairman Scott Sweeney in January 2020 detailed accusations against Thomas made through a Georgia Department of Education Auditor's report. Thomas resigned from the position that month.
Wallace said in the letter that the audit found Thomas inappropriately interfered with a request for proposal, or RFP, process by instructing staff to choose specific vendors. An RFP is a process in which entities ask agencies, non-profits and businesses to apply to be hired for a job or project.
Wallace said Thomas also incorrectly applied the statewide travel policy, and did not approve qualifying reimbursable travel expenses by multiple employees.
"Overall, it appears that the Chief Turnaround Office was mismanaged and that policies and procedures in place were routinely ignored by Dr. Thomas," Wallace said.
Thomas sued and later settled with the Georgia Department of Education to block its release, calling it a “sham internal investigation” motivated by the state superintendent’s displeasure that the office was not under his purview.
The offices of the inspector general and attorney general opened an investigation to determine whether Thomas violated state laws, but the attorney general closed the investigation in 2021, finding no evidence of “prosecutable criminal conduct,” according to a letter Thomas provided to the TV station.
While no criminal charges were recommended, the letter also said the inspector general's office “recommends that the State Board of Education immediately implement the recommendations noted in the CTO Audit, reimburse employee for unpaid travel, and take swing, prompt employment action regarding Dr. Thomas.”
In a statement emailed to WOSU on Tuesday, Williams wrote, in part, "As a state agency, the Attorney General’s Office did a review and also closed the matter. As a means to fully resolve the matter, I was awarded a sizeable financial settlement."
Columbus City Schools declined to comment on the matter. The Georgia State Board of Education and Georgia Inspector General did not respond to requests for comment.
