Ex-Official, Wife Target of Inquiry on Schools Grant : Education: An assistant state superintendent steered a grant to Fresno system, and his wife later received $48,000 of it as program developer. The FPPC is asked for a conflict-of-interest ruling.

State Department of Education auditors have found that a former high-ranking official steered an $80,000 parent-involvement grant to the Fresno County schools, which subsequently contracted with the official’s wife to do much of the work.

Department officials have asked the state Fair Political Practices Commission to determine whether Patrick Campbell, former director of its special education division, is guilty of conflict of interest and if he and his wife, Kathleen, should be required to return more than $48,000 that was paid to her by the Fresno schools.

Campbell, 50, who was assistant state superintendent of public instruction and director of special education for almost six years, resigned in September but said Monday his resignation was “totally unrelated” to the department investigation.

The Department of Education audit has not been made public, but interviews with those who have seen it indicate that during the 1990-91 school year, Campbell approved a $100,000 grant to the Fresno County schools, whose superintendent, Peter Mehas, was a friend. Campbell, then a bachelor, and Mehas shared a Sacramento apartment when Mehas was education adviser to former Gov. George Deukmejian.

About $80,000 of the money was to be spent on efforts to increase participation of minority parents, especially Latinos and Hmong, in the education of their physically or mentally disabled children. The other $20,000 was spent on programs to help disabled students make the transition from school to work.

Fresno County officials then contracted with Kathleen Campbell, a longtime advocate for disabled children, to do much of the work. She was paid more than $48,000 between June, 1990, and July, 1991, to develop parent-involvement programs and materials.

Campbell said the Fresno grant was part of about $500,000 that was spent to implement a statewide “strategic plan” for special education.

He said the possibility of conflict of interest “never entered my mind” because Fresno County needed a good parent involvement program and his wife was well qualified to help them develop one.

“I had no intention of getting Peter to hire my wife,” Campbell, who is now special education administrator in Mendocino County, said Monday. “It wasn’t premeditated. I didn’t say, ‘Hey Pete, I’ll give you a grant if you’ll hire my wife.’ He knew about her prior to our marriage, he knew what she could do.”

However, he added, “in hindsight, I can see how some could take that viewpoint.”

Mehas also denied there was a conflict.

“He said, ‘Gee, Pete, we have these grants, you might want to apply for one.’ I didn’t think we had much of a chance,” Mehas said. “(State Supt. of Public Instruction) Bill Honig hasn’t been giving many grants to Fresno County since I’ve been down here. But I said you bet we want to apply, and we did and we got it.”

Mehas said he knew about Kathleen Campbell’s work in motivating parents of disabled youngsters but “I asked my people to check out her credentials, find out if she’s well qualified” before hiring her.

He added, “I find it amusing that the state (education) department doesn’t consider it a conflict when the superintendent’s wife is involved, but they find a conflict here.”

Mehas referred to the fact that Honig has been indicted on state conflict-of-interest charges for allegedly directing about $337,000 in publicly funded contracts to the Quality Education Project, a nonprofit foundation that was then run by Nancy Honig, the superintendent’s wife, out of the family residence in San Francisco.

Barbara Thomas, special education administrator in Fresno County, said she recommended that Kathleen Campbell be hired because “she’s a dynamic person and she had materials on parent involvement that I hadn’t seen before.”

Thomas said she and Mehas discussed the potential conflict of interest problem but decided to go ahead because “we didn’t see any problem and she was the best person” to do the job.

Asked if she now believes it was unwise to hire the wife of the state official who directed the funds to Fresno County, Thomas replied, “In hindsight? Yes.”

Kathleen Campbell completed the assignment by the end of June, 1991, and was paid $48,000 for her work, plus several hundred dollars for air fare related to the work.

A few months ago, questions about the arrangement were raised by members of the State Board of Education and by people in the special education field around the state.

Campbell said the complaints were registered by “an old girlfriend” who was unhappy when he married his wife in March, 1990.

“Some concerns were brought to my attention about the possibility of a conflict,” said William D. Dawson, executive deputy superintendent of public instruction. “I commissioned a review of the situation. Patrick cooperated every step of the way and was completely forthcoming with whatever material the internal audit team requested.”

The department has asked Campbell to repay the several hundred dollars his wife received for air travel and has sent the audit to the FPPC to see if the $48,000 should be reimbursed as well. FPPC spokeswoman Carol Thorpe said the agency would have no comment until it completes its own investigation.

Campbell said he did not resign from the education department because of the internal investigation but because “state government is a difficult place to be” and the Mendocino County job offered “a chance to become part of a community again.”