RALEIGH -- Wake County school board Vice Chairwoman Debra Goldman did not violate board policy when she got a paperwork-free transfer for her daughter, Superintendent Tony Tata said Friday.
But Tata said the district needs to change how it handles those kinds of requests.
Tata said he didn't think Goldman had abused her position to get a midyear transfer for her daughter, complete with transportation, under a rarely used procedure. But Tata says the school system should have required Goldman to file paperwork and not just make a verbal request.
Going forward, Tata said he will require that all similar requests for administrative transfers, which bypass the normal transfer process, come with complete documentation. Tata said the onus is on the school system and not the parent, even when it's a school board member, to make sure that paperwork is filed.
"We need to make sure that we adhere to standards that call for formal paper applications and a final decision documented in writing," Tata said. "But no policies were violated. There was no abuse of power."
Efforts to reach Goldman Friday were unsuccessful.
Goldman had requested the investigation March 13 after news reports about her daughter's January transfer to Davis Drive Middle School, a highly regarded school that's not assigned to her Cary address.
In an email message requesting the investigation, Goldman wrote that she thought the transfer was appropriately given but that she wanted to make sure no policies were violated.
Tata had expanded Goldman's request to conduct a review of all students who are currently attending schools based on administrative transfers.
Families who request normal transfers file a request that's heard by administrators and, if necessary, by the school board. If successful, they're typically not granted bus service.
Tata said the review, conducted by Terri Cobb, a former Wake principal and his chief of staff, determined that only 15 of Wake's 143,289 students have administrative transfers.
He said seven of the students, like Goldman's daughter, had their requests approved by the superintendent. The transfers were granted under a section of board policy that says the superintendent can assign a student to any school in the system if the transfer is in the best interest of the student and school, and if the move would not work against the overall intent of board assignment policies.
Tata said the other eight transfers were recommended by Wake's Discipline Review Committee or under a section of the federal No Child Left Behind law involving students who are victims of physical violence.
Goldman's transfer request was not approved because her daughter was a victim of bullying or violence, Tata said.
Of the 15 students, Tata said Goldman's case was one of only two that had no paperwork submitted with their requests. Both had been approved between March 2010 and January 2011 by interim Superintendent Donna Hargens, who is now Wake's chief academic officer.
"There should be a formal request and a formal reason and a formal response," Tata said. "It's the school system's responsibility to make sure we adhere to policies and practices. It's not the parent's responsibility."
Since he became superintendent on Jan. 31, Tata said he has received three administrative transfer requests. He said he approved two of them and is reviewing the third. But in all cases, he said he required paperwork.
Tata said the investigation is still active, including a look at whether transportation should have been provided and whether it should be offered automatically in the future for administrative transfers.
The school board's transfer policy warns parents that they lose the right to school transportation if their transfer is approved. But Wake extended a bus route five miles to stop in front of Goldman's house on the way to pick up students who live close to Davis Drive.
The results of the investigation didn't satisfy Allison Backhouse, a former political ally of Goldman who now opposes her and who had sought information about the transfer in a public records request.
"Regardless of what the superintendent's investigation has determined, it's obvious Ms. Goldman has used her position to better serve herself," Backhouse said. "She worked the system to have other people cover for her."
