Having a lawyer say it does not make it true.

[Duncan Fobes]
Pat Shields is not currently, and has not been since September 3, 2002, a Director of Powerful Partners. Further, Pat Shields was not a member of the ESD School Board at the time the District executed its initial agreement with Powerful Partners. The School Board approved an "operating use agreement" with Powerful Partners at their July 9, 2002 meeting. Mr. Shields resigned from Powerful Partners two months later, and was not appointed to the School Board until November of 2002. He took the Oath of Office at the November 19, 2002 School Board meeting.

[Mark Zandberg]
The close affiliation with Powerful Partners is abundantly clear and certainly explains the preferential treatment. However, your manner of dismissal prompted a more comprehensive evaluation of their financial records and I see they have placed a value on their "rented" space and characterize it as a "donation". [Year 2002, Page 17] Can a public agency donate items of material value? I am also rather disappointed by all of the District employees that are up to their eyes in running this program - is this on their dime or the District's. See the last several I990s by clicking here.

[Duncan Fobes]
In the following years, Powerful Partners executed a Facility Use agreement which allowed it to use office space in the District's administration building. As you are aware from your previous position at ESD, and from your management of those Facility Use agreements, the agreements charged Powerful Partners for operating costs, such as utilities, telephones and network use, but did not charge for rent.

[Mark Zandberg]
Notice the crafty use of language; "the agreements charged Powerful Partners" does not mean they ever paid. Powerful Partners was not billed for network use, because there was never a reasonably accurate way of quantifying such a charge. Operating Costs are commonly referred to as "Additional Rent" as characterized in the District's use of Exhibit Y. What was not charged to Powerful Partners was "Base Rent".

The District is still looking for evidence that Powerful Partners paid rent. I will be interested to see if they will go as far as manufacturing evidence to save Mr. Shields from a clear violation of Board Policy. Stay tuned for a legal rendering of plain English.

Fun Factoid: In 2001, the District installed a brand new fence around a private residence near Alderwood Elementary. That resident, Gordon McPherson, did not pay for the construction of the fence and should not be confused with Glenn McPherson, member of Powerful Partners. The investigative team will check this one.