Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight Jones will review all of his personal expense claims after television reports questioned his spending of state money on pricey restaurants and office furniture, according to state officials.
But state education commissioners and department employees said Saturday that the expense flap does not reflect Jones’ dawn-to-dark work habits and “frugal” spending on motels and fast-food meals during relentless job travel.
“Clearly we need to review the expenses that have been pointed out,” said Elaine Gantz Berman, the elected board commissioner from the Denver area. Berman stressed, though, that Jones “is one of the most honest, transparent and hardworking people that I know.”
“He works from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and is always working on behalf of the kids of Colorado. And that schedule is not an exaggeration. Anyone who works with him will confirm that.”
Jones will review all of the meals charged to assure they included state education business, and will post all new expense claims online, said Department of Education spokesman Mark Stevens. Jones has asked the staff to remind him, and each other, that “times are tight, be mindful of every dollar,” Stevens said.
KMGH Channel 7 and CBS4 both reviewed Jones’ office expense records in reports broadcast Friday night.
CBS4 said, for example, that records show Jones spent $584.61 for a dinner at Elway’s, a popular steakhouse at downtown Denver’s Ritz-Carlton hotel. He took his wife and son, and met with two consultants and a school superintendent, last Father’s Day.
Jones reimbursed the state for alcohol at that meal and others, as required by law, and for the food for his family. The bill to the state, however, still totaled $340.
Channel 7’s report focused on Jones spending $12,000 to replace a suite of office furniture, accompanied by memos saying the department would lose the money from its budget unless it was spent before the end of the year.
Stevens said the office furniture was bad timing, as state employees have taken furloughs to balance the budget. But, he added, the furniture included “cubicles that were falling over when people moved them around to run extension cords; a part of a desk did fall on an employee,” and replacement parts were no longer made.
“Stack that up against a potential workers’ compensation claim,” Stevens said.
Berman noted Jones had promised to visit every school district in the state, and has made 200 district trips in two years and four months. Jones has been to 130 of 178 districts, many twice, said Stevens, who has traveled with Jones.
“He’s a road warrior. His style on the road more often than not is a Best Western and a bag of peanuts,” Stevens said.
Jones was hired in 2007 at $205,000 a year.
