After a two-month-long
complaint review, the Texas Education Agency has cleared Harmony Public Schools of any wrongdoing with regard to allegations made by the country of Turkey. This past July, foreign agents of Turkey filed a complaint with the TEA accusing HPS of "preference for affiliated vendors" and "misuse of federal and state funds."
According to the official complaint review, the TEA's Special Investigations Unit requested documentation from HPS and received it Aug. 19. Following its review of a variety of HPS documents, including purchasing procedures, finance committee meeting minutes, vendor contracts and bond agreements, the TEA found both allegations to be "unfounded."
"Harmony Public Schools provided TEA with the requested documentation, which was reviewed by the Special Investigations Unit," the official complaint review said. "With regards to the aforementioned allegations that pertain to TEA's jurisdiction, the complaint review does not warrant a TEA investigation."
Representatives of HPS, which has 48 campuses across the state of Texas, said they are content with the outcome of the complaint review.
"We are pleased the TEA has issued a report clearing Harmony of false charges, and we remain focused on our most critical mission of providing high quality public education to students across Texas," HPS Spokesperson Peggy England said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we expect these unwarranted attacks to continue, but we are heartened by the enormous support we continue to receive from our alumni, parents, and community and state leaders as we defend the integrity of our public school system."