Did Orange County staff orchestrate ‘inflated' teaching contract? Emails prompt questions
Hours after the Orange County Comptroller's office released an audit claiming the county needlessly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on technology classes for seniors, the woman at the center of the controversy said she had the receipts that proved she did nothing wrong.
Kietta Mayweather Bracy provided emails dating back to as far as the fall of 2021 that showed her going back and forth with county staff about the classes she would offer through her nonprofit.
Read: Orange County overpaid at least $200K to teach seniors technology, audit claims
From the outset – years before contracts were signed – all parties were aware of the $250,000 price tag, which was an amount equal to an American Rescue Plan grant the county received.
Bracy said the county approached her, asked her to offer the courses and told her what her price needed to be.
'I never negotiated a price. I never proposed a price,' she said. 'The county came to me with the amount and also requested that I use my nonprofit so they can sole source it. They were driving this whole thing.'
A proposal Bracy shared set the price per pupil at $1,525 for instruction and $75 for materials. The follow-up emails showed a lack of concern about the cost from staff members, who apologized again and again for the delay in closing the deal.
Over the months, emails showed staff making suggestions to Bracy to help the courses fit the budget they had. There were also instructions to help the single-source bid, and finally a commission-approved purchase order.
Bracy brushed aside auditors' criticism that the county could have obtained similar services at a fraction of the cost.
'I felt the price was reasonable,' Bracy said. 'We went over and beyond. Even after the classes were over… we still gave assistance to people, even outside of the contract.'
Bracy said she had no idea there were any issues until she received a notice informing her she had to pay back more than $101,000 because many students who signed up for the classes did not complete the full eight hours.
Bracy said she shouldn't have to give any money back because the county agreed to the price, which she claimed was per class. However, auditors said the January 11, 2023 contract that the purchase order was based on specified the cost as per pupil, and included a proration provision.
Bracy questioned the timing of the audit and said it was meant to damage her and her husband, Randolph Bracy, who ran for State Senate and recently filed to run again to replace the late Geraldine Thompson.
'I told the people I would not lay down and allow the county to just railroad me, because the county is wrong,' Bracy said. 'If you're saying that it was overpayment, your office cut the check. The county's office is the one that approved the [purchase order], the county's office -- clearly on email -- shows that this was the price that they gave.
Staff from the comptroller's office agreed that had county staff done everything Bracy claimed, procurement violations would have occurred that would warrant investigating. They suggested other contracts would be examined to see if inappropriate sole-source contracts were routine.
However, there is no evidence to suggest the audit was political in nature. WFTV reached out to the man who tipped auditors off. The man said he was a contractor hired to examine the county's use of federal funds and discovered the discrepancy in payments during his work.
The man claimed he had no idea Bracy's nonprofit – From the Heart Charitable Foundation – had political connections.
Politically connected sources reached by WFTV verified the man's general history, including his habit of routinely filing records requests to examine county contracts. They said he had no known ties to adversaries of Bracy's husband.
'I didn't make this up. You saw the emails for yourself,' Bracy said. 'I did no wrongdoing on my part.'
WFTV reached out to a spokesperson for the county late Thursday but did not immediately receive a response.
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