Published: November 1, 2005

Overheard

“I don’t care if they have to sell a kidney, they need to pay this money back. We know they don’t have a heart or a brain, but a kidney might be usable.”

—Joan Bonner, a former Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District board member, referring, in part, to the $270,000 in federal funds meant for poor and disabled students misspent by school officials. According to a state audit, the money instead paid for, among other things, bronze sculptures, pizza cutters, and a Queen Anne loveseat for a principal’s office. The audit also says administrators pulled in an extra $185,000 in state money by inflating the number of kids the district was actually educating.

“Hey, it’s cheaper than gas.”