DALLAS (AP) — An apartment building in New Orleans links two central characters in the financial demise of Dallas County Schools, raising ethical questions over rules governing conduct between school district officials and their vendors.
An investigation by KXAS-TV and the Dallas Morning News shows former Dallas County Schools Superintendent Rick Sorrells used a luxury vacation apartment in the New Orleans French Quarter since 2014. The neighboring apartment was used by Robert Leonard, the CEO of the company DCS partnered with on a risky business venture.
The educational agency partnered with Force Multiplier Solutions on a school bus camera venture that used millions of dollars and put DCS on the brink of financial collapse earlier this year.
Sorrells lost his superintendent position this year amid the agency’s financial troubles. He alleges Leonard wasn’t involved in his family getting the apartment.