This morning’s Sac Bee editorial criticizes the community service sentence for former Natomas Unified School District employee Frank Harding, who plead no contest to felony conflict-of-interest charges. Harding awarded eight no-bid contracts worth $433,500 to a company he signed over to friend Michael Cannon, who incidentally now holds Harding’s old post at the school district.
The Bee compares the sentence to the jail time three 20-somethings caught spraying graffiti will be serving. When THE BUZZ asked our readers what they thought of the sentence, this is what they had to say:
Anonymous said…
The students are the ones that lose on this one. And all of the programs that get cut when the district admits that they don’t have time to hold their administrators accountable for mismanagement. SO sad.
July 8, 2008 5:40 PM
Anonymous said…
I’m shocked a public official has actually been convicted of wrongdoing in this city. That is r-a-r-e. Others get away with much worse.
July 8, 2008 9:38 PM
Blogger Hahn at Home said…
I don’t know Mr. Harding. He might have been a fine, upstanding citizen his whole life. Temptations, when in positions of power, are great.
That doesn’t make it right and the fact that NUSD is not seeking restitution, when they are in such severe budget crisis, indicates to me that it is acknowledged all the way around that Harding’s was a normal and accepted way to do business. He was just the unfortunate one who got caught.
July 9, 2008 7:50 AM
Anonymous said…
Agreed Lori. Can you imagine what DOESN’T get caught???? -Joe
July 9, 2008 6:08 PM
Anonymous said…
Let’s see. After living here in Natomas Park for SIX years, I’m pretty sure I have surpassed 536 hours of community service. And I did it out the desire to make my community the best it can be (or at least better). Maybe if I commit a crime, I will be sentenced to time served? Trixie
July 9, 2008 7:53 PM
Hahaha. Good one Trixie.
Good follow up Buzz.
I think the sentence was a complete joke.
I don’t know if I am more offended by his fake degrees or the embezzlement. You can talk all the smack you want about his crime, but don’t forget the NUSD’s hiring practices allowed him to slip through the cracks.
Where is the criticism of the NUSD for hiring him? Do they even do background checks?
Thanks for this story buzz! Read the comments after the Bee story. The most interesting one is about the superintendent hiring the partner of this conflict of interest story. Does anyone else see this as a current problem with NUSD?