Misuse of Agriculture Dept. School Cited : It Reportedly Helped U.S. Agencies Circumvent Manpower Curbs

An investigative report said Thursday that the Graduate School, a 64-year-old institution overseen by the Agriculture Department, was paid more than $30 million over three years by other federal agencies for manpower and services, in some cases to enable them to get around federal manpower ceilings.

The report was released in three parts, totaling 2,300 pages, after about two years of investigation by the department’s Office of Inspector General that resulted from a complaint from an unidentified whistle-blower. No criminal charges have been brought, but officials said a grand jury is looking into that possibility.

Another report, involving an audit of the school, is still in the works. The parts released were made public after a Freedom of Information request by the Associated Press and others.

Interagency Agreements

Generally, it was alleged that the school used “interagency training agreements” with other agencies--including the Pentagon, the Agency for International Development and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative--to circumvent federal laws dealing with procurement and employment.

Typically, the report said, the school would “serve as a pass-through contractor” by hiring persons wanted by a client agency and paying their salaries. For this service, the school collected up to a 30% “overhead fee” or commission from the client agency.

The report cited a number of the school’s senior officials for alleged “misuse of federal funds and mismanagement” of the institution’s programs. They included Director Edmund D. Fulker, a 26-year employee who resigned under pressure on July 31.

Others Investigated

Several others also were investigated, including Scott L. Varner, former director of the school’s special programs, and Anne C. Shea, associate director.

A spokesman, Brian Gray, said that Varner quit last year and “left no forwarding address.” Shea has moved into Varner’s job as acting director of special programs, Gray said.

In a statement to investigators, Fulker denied any wrongdoing and said that many practices cited in the report had been standard procedure for years.

“There are so many government rules . . . regulations, it is impossible for any one individual to know all of them,” Fulker said.

Shunned Investigators

Varner, a 15-year veteran of the school before he resigned in April, 1984, “would not meet (with investigators) to further explain his involvement in these matters,” the report said.

Shea said that she had been told by Varner to purchase supplies for federal agencies through Graduate School agreements.

The school has an annual budget of $20 million and depends entirely on revenues from its educational services, which include night classes and other educational opportunities for government workers and the public.

It is housed in the Agriculture Department and is overseen by a board appointed by the secretary of agriculture.