Schools scandal shadows Weld
Critics say alleged fraud at college during his tenure as its CEO could end his NY run to become governor
BY ERROL A. COCKFIELD JR
ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF; Albany researcher Melissa Mansfield contributed to this report.
December 27, 2005

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ALBANY - Since he became engrossed in a scandal at the Kentucky trade school he ran for much of this year, William Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, has been crafting a defense that other chief executives have used before.

Weld, a Republican who is now running for governor in New York, said he did not know anything about what federal investigators believe was widespread student loan fraud at Louisville's Decker College.

"I'm not aware of any improper activity," Weld said in a recent interview. He denied any responsibility for the school's woes, and said, "There was nothing I would have done differently."

By the time Weld resigned as CEO in September, after eight months at the helm, Decker faced fraud investigations by the FBI, the U.S. Education Department and the Kentucky attorney general's office. A month later, it went bankrupt and left an estimated 3,700 students in limbo.

Political analysts say Weld's claim that he was ignorant of possible fraud may not pass muster with the public, especially as the Smithtown native's opponents inside and outside of his party plan to use the scandal against him.

Ammunition for opponents

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant, said that if used effectively, the investigations at Decker - where many of the students were low-income and minority - could be used to paint Weld as a deep-pocketed candidate who was insensitive to the needs of the disadvantaged.

"Television advertising can make him out to be the patrician who was careless with the lives and futures of poorer people," Sheinkopf said.

Todd Leatherman, head of the consumer protection office of the Kentucky attorney general's office, said his office is conducting a consumer protection investigation of Decker. "We're concerned about possible misrepresentations made to students and issues of quality of instruction," he said.

The federal government says Decker owes it $7.2 million because the school did not return loan money for students who had stopped attending. The department also claims Decker offered classes for which it did not have accreditation.

Decker is challenging both claims. And Weld, who was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, has criticized federal education officials for discontinuing Decker's participation in a federal loan program, which he cited as the chief cause of its demise.

That position has not silenced his critics.

"It's a gaping sore," said one influential Republican who has been urging one of Weld's competitors, upstate billionaire Thomas Golisano - who lost gubernatorial bids in 1994, 1998 and 2002 - to enter the race on the GOP line.

And the state Democratic Committee has been issuing strong attacks of Weld for his leadership at Decker, an investment of the Manhattan private equity firm - Leeds Weld & Co., now renamed Leeds Equity Partners - where Weld was a principal until September.

"If Weld wants to tell voters that it's not his responsibility to ensure the fiscal and ethical well-being of the institutions he runs, we wish him the best of luck in his campaign," said state Democratic Committee Chairman Herman "Denny" Farrell, an assemblyman from Harlem.

The school is facing multiple lawsuits from students who claim Decker misrepresented itself with exaggerated claims about its curriculum and promises of employment referrals.

Most of Decker's students took part in online distance learning programs after visiting one of the schools campuses for a four-week boot camp.

A disturbing picture

Interviews with students and former instructors at the school yield a disturbing picture. Students said they were actively pursued by telemarketers who promised an academic environment far different than what they encountered.

Darnell McAdams, a student from Vancouver, Wash., who had been studying to become an electrician since December 2004, said his main complaint is lost money and lost time. Like other students, he said he did not know the school had closed until he tried to log in to its Web site and noticed it was shut down. He called the school's main numbers and they were disconnected.

"Basically, it was all for nothing," McAdams, 25, said. "I can't even go to another college and transfer credits from an institution that lost its accreditation."

Leslie Sorrels, a student from Fort Wayne, Ind., said instructors wrote answers on the blackboard during certification exams for her electrical course. She said she was charged for a full course even though she withdrew early. After leaving the school, Sorrells said her loan paperwork was doctored.

"I left the school," she said. "They took the loans out anyway."

Steve Johnson, a former director of admissions at the school, said he witnessed Decker staff manipulating federal loan documents. He said he brought that information to one of Weld's subordinates, but officials never took action. Johnson later recorded meetings with Decker's top management for the FBI.

"It was a total sham," said Johnson, who has left Louisville for Minnesota. "I'm embarrassed to say that I worked there."

For his part, Weld said he worked to overhaul Decker's management and poured his own money into the college.

One of Weld's defenders is Stephen Coppock, acting chairman of the Kentucky Board for Proprietary Education, an agency that received student complaints prompting the federal and state investigations.

"He came in to try to be the savior," Coppock said. "He brought in some of the best people he could from across the country, but he came in too late as far as I'm concerned."

A negative light

In New York, the scandal has thrown a negative spotlight on Weld, whom the state GOP leadership, Republican Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, are backing in the governor's race.

Weld, who drew $430,000 in salary during his time as CEO, has sought to distance himself from the scandal. In September, he resigned from the school, saying he would instead focus on his gubernatorial campaign, further infuriating his critics.

Weld concedes the pending investigations could hurt his statewide ambitions. If elected, he would be the second person in American history to lead two states, after Sam Houston. "It's not exactly an advertisement," Weld said. "But every day isn't Christmas in this business."

Michael Long, chairman of the state Conservative Party, which has deep influence on the decisions the state GOP makes, said the Decker scandal could injure Weld, especially if the investigation yields fruit closer to Election Day.

"If he became the Republican candidate and the situation blew up and got bad, it could pose a problem," Long said.

Decker College: an i-Team Investigation
Albany researcher Melissa Mansfield contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
This story was first telecast on July 5, 2005 and July 6, 2005 and has not been updated.

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They come to Georgia from across the country, students interested in starting a career in electrical contracting, carpentry or heating and air conditioning. They come to Georgia because of Decker College. And some leave here with little to show for the loans and tax money they spent.

The Attraction:

Decker College is a for-profit technical school with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2003, the school opened a metro Atlanta campus off I-85 in Chamblee. Students agree to pay at least $10,000 for the nine-month course because they say the school promised to help them get a work-study job and eventually a real job in their field. Students complain to the I-Team that they got nothing of the sort. Often, students use taxpayer-funded grants to cover part of their tuition. Yet the school's own records show only 25 percent of the students at Decker's Atlanta campus actually graduated. If you add in drop-outs who got a job in the field, the school says that number rises to a 53 percent job placement rate.

The Jobs:

Andre Copeland and Edward Meadows say Decker better not count them as success stories. The two HVAC graduates sued Decker College claiming the schools work-study assistance was ridiculous. They say the job placement worker went through the phone book and gave them six listings to call. The students say Decker never called to set up interviews for them. They say they could have found those jobs without the school's help. When they graduated, they say Decker never found them a job in the heating and air conditioning field. They wound up finding their own work, jobs they say they could have landed without spending $10,000. In its response to the lawsuit, Decker denies the allegations.

The Teacher:

Ralph Anderson taught at Decker's Atlanta campus for nearly a year. He finally quit because he says his conscience bothered him too much. He disagreed with the way Decker recruited students, promising them they could learn as much in a year that other schools take four or five years to cover. Anderson says Decker rushed students through the coursework, leaving them ill-equipped to get a job in the construction field. He also says Decker administrators encouraged teachers to help students in another way: help them to cheat.

The Cheating Allegation:

If a student fails a test at Decker, the rules say they can't retake the test for 48 hours. According to former instructor Anderson, the school urged teachers to let students retake a failed test immediately, and tell them the correct answers. Copeland and Meadows say it happened in their classes, too. Meadows told the I-Team some teachers would read off the correct answers during the test itself. Anderson said this left students even less prepared for what they should know when they got into the workforce.

The Turnover:

When students tried to complain to administrators, they say their concerns went nowhere. One reason for that, they believe, is a constant turnover of faculty. In fact, nearly a dozen directors or interim directors have headed up the Atlanta Decker campus in the last two years.

The Other Side:

We called Decker's Atlanta campus for answers. The director we spoke with had just arrived from Louisville and told us he wasn't planning to be here long. He referred us to the main office in Louisville, Kentucky. We left a message for the person he suggested. Two days later, after no one called us back, we showed up at the Atlanta campus in person. We met an administrator, at least the back of him. When he saw our camera, he wouldn't turn around. He repeatedly told us we needed to call Louisville with our questions. The next day, Decker counsel Rusty Hensley finally called us back from Louisville, took down all of our questions and promised to get back with the answers. He never did.

The Other Options:

Electrical students do have other options besides Decker. The local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers offers its own training program. It starts by getting the student a helper's job at a real construction site at $11.25 an hour, rising to $19 an hour in the fifth year. Call the training director at 404-523-5400 for more information.

The non-union Independent Electrical Contractors also offers training at a much cheaper price than Decker. You can reach the IEC at 770-242-9277.

Decker College was reported by Randy Travis, produced and photographed by Tony D'Astoli and edited by Chris Dixon.

You can e-mail Randy at randytravis@foxtv.com.

I-TEAM TIP LINE: 404-898-0242