GREENVILLE, Miss.–Former Greenville School District Superintendent Harvey Franklin has been sentenced to just over six years in prison for accepting bribes from a school contractor.
Franklin was sentenced to 76 months for two counts and 60 months on another but will serve each count at the same time.
“As a superintendent of education, Mr. Franklin enriched himself while stealing from the children of the Greenville Public School District and the taxpayers,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “I am glad that Mr. Franklin is being held responsible for his actions.”
He was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,201,247, with $75,000 due immediately. He will also perform 300 hours of community service.
He plead guilty last year of accepting bribes from Edna Goble of Georgia whom he knew previously. She owns Teach Them To Read and Franklin entered into a $1.4 million contract with her company with school money.
Goble made payments to numerous creditors on Franklin’s behalf according to the state auditor’s office.
Those payments included paying off Franklin’s automobile loan, remodeling and improvements for his home, paying off his personal credit card, and paying for the college tuition of Franklin’s children.
