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Former Worker: Suspended DPS Administrator Accepted Kickbacks 'For A Long Time'

DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Public Schools administrator suspended for allegedly accepting kickbacks had been engaged in unethical behavior "for a long time," according to a former DPS employee.

The school district is investigating the activities of Bud Bullard, the district's $122,972.68 deputy chief information officer, after accusations surfaced that Bullard was steering lucrative contracts to companies that were rewarding him with gifts and free vacations.

The district placed Bullock on paid administrative leave Feb. 7.

"A lot of people knew things like this were going on for a long time," said Mark Jones, who worked under Bullard for several years, but was fired for unreliability and excessive absenteeism.

Jones filed a lawsuit against DPS claiming he was wrongfully terminated, but he lost in court. However, the 48-year-old telecommunications worker told CBS4 he once overheard Bullock boasting at work about accepting freebies.

"He was given a week's vacation on a houseboat on Lake Powell and he came in and said he was going to enjoy this trip on (the contractor's) dime," said Jones. "I assumed that meant that contractor was paying for the trip or gave them access to the houseboat. He seemed proud of it that he could finagle this vacation out of them."

Bullard has not responded to repeated calls and emails from CBS4 to inquire about the alleged bribes and kickbacks. There was no answer at his home in Golden when a reporter traveled there Wednesday morning.

Michael Vaughn, a district spokesman, said, "This is a very serious matter, we are in the process of conducting a complete and thorough investigation."

Vaughn said he was unsure when the probe would be completed.

As the district proceeds, school board members are furious at the story revealed by CBS4.

"I am rather appalled at the whole unfolding of this story," wrote DPS school board member Jeannie Kaplan in an email to the DPS chief of staff Jennifer Walmer and other board members. It was sent less than an hour after CBS4 broke the story Tuesday night.

"Channel 4 says (Bullard) has been on leave since Feb. 7. But more importantly, we all sat together for several hours (Tuesday night) and not one word was mentioned to the elected board of directors that this story was coming out. What will it take for you to realize this is unacceptable behavior?" wrote Kaplan.

Board members will likely be unhappy to also learn that the district employed Bud Bullard's father, Vern Bullard, from April 2, 2001 until Feb. 28, 2003. The elder Bullard was working in the Department of Technology Services, apparently working for his son.

But when he left DPS, Vern Bullard was hired by a telecommunications company that had received millions of dollars in contract work from DPS. Records obtained by CBS4 show that after Vern Bullard joined the company, it continued to receive millions of dollars in DPS work to furnish and install wire and cable at numerous Denver public schools.

Vern Bullard did not return a phone message left at his home.

DPS has numerous policies prohibiting employees from accepting gifts from vendors and showing favoritism to vendors. The district also has a policy against nepotism, which says no employee can "hire, supervise or appraise any employee that is an immediate family member."

"I didn't think it was real ethical," Mark Jones said of what he saw and heard.

- Written by Brian Maass for CBSDenver.com

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