Waste of the Day: Million-Dollar Cheating Ring at Houston Schools

Topline: Five people, including three Houston school employees, were indicted in October for allegedly running a million-dollar cheating ring that allowed over 200 educators to falsify their teaching certifications.

Houston administrators let aspiring teachers cheat on their certification exams

The three Houston employees collectively earned $1.3 million in taxpayer-funded salary between 2017 and 2023, according to data obtained by OpenTheBooks.com.

Two employees from the privately-owned Houston Training and Education Center were charged, but their salaries are not subject to federal disclosure.

Key facts: Vincent Grayson, the boys’ basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School, allegedly organized the scheme. Aspiring teachers would pay Grayson $2,500 to guarantee a passing grade on their certification exam, according to an investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Criminal Investigations Division.

The teachers would show up to the testing center, sign in, and leave immediately. Nicholas Newton, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington, would then show up and take the test for them, prosecutors claim.

The results were reportedly upheld by Tywana Gilford Mason and Darian Nikole Wilhite, two test proctors who allegedly received a 20% cut of the money.

LaShonda Roberts, assistant principal at Yates High School, allegedly helped recruit interested teachers.

Grayson made $400,750 in salary between 2017 and 2023, OpenTheBooks found. Newton earned $448,205 and Roberts made $409,455. All three were arrested and fired, and Houston has promised to take “swift action” against any teachers who used their services.

The group made over $1 million from the cheating scandal, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. She told CNN the full extent will “never be known,” but that at least 200 teachers took at least 400 fake tests.

The largest school district in Texas

Background: Houston Independent School District is the largest in Texas. As in many other nearby districts, a large pay gap exists between teachers and higher-level officials.

Superintendent Millard House earned $350,000 last year. But of the nearly 25,000 employees on the payroll, only 777 made six figures.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Critical quote: “The most important thing to me is the ringleaders have been identified and are being rooted out of our home school district … and the fact that they held positions of power there, where they were held in esteem by the children, is the very worst part of this crime,” Ogg told CNN. “They didn’t deserve those kids’ respect and I think it leaves children feeling betrayed, not knowing who to trust.”

Summary: Aside from paying three potentially corrupt employees, Houston has spent an untold amount on salary for teachers that were never certified.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RCI and made available via RealClearWire.