The Kansas Reading Roadmap (KRR) was a project funded by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) to develop a new approach for improving rates of early literacy. Begun in 2014, the KRR partnered with the Kansas State Department of Education and 56 schools and four Boys & Girls Clubs to create comprehensive reading systems that support individualized learning.
KRR Programs supported more than 10,000 children across the state. At its height, the KRR was the single larges provider of free school-age childcare in the state of Kansas.
Unfortunately, the KRR came to a sudden end in 2019. After a change in administration, the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) issued a draft audit to the news media and cancelled the grant for convenience. The draft audit was incomplete and did not contain accurate information. As such, the release violated federal rules which require state agencies administering federal funds to first meet with a grantee to correct errors before publishing draft audits.
Andrew Hysell personally contacted the Kansas public schools cited in the draft audit and requested their general ledger documentation, including receipts. He submitted these receipts to Kansas DCF. After an initial hearing with an administrative law judge, DCF negotiated with Hysell & Wagner to cease the audit and agreed not seek the return of the any of the money cited in the draft audit. Instead, DCF paid Hysell & Wagner $100,000 to drop the company’s claim and agree not to bring suit against DCF for defamation. To see the complaint, click here. To see the settlement agreement, click here.
The following joint statement was also released:
"Today, the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Hysell & Wagner, LLC, announced that they have entered into an agreement under which each party agrees that all issues with the 2014-15 draft audit are resolved. In August of 2019, the Kansas Reading Roadmap grant to Hysell & Wagner, LLC was cancelled as allowed under the grant. During announcement of the cancellation, certain preliminary findings from 2014-15 draft audit were shared. After both parties conducted due diligence, DCF and Hysell & Wagner, LLC now agree that none of the audit issues warrant further action. Hysell & Wagner, LLC appreciates the Agency's efforts to resolve these matters and its decision to continue funding after-school reading programs directly with Kansas school districts. DCF thanks Hysell & Wagner, LLC for its years of work helping Kansas children."
Andrew’s experience of stepping up and fighting back against an unjust governmental action was pivotal. It inspired him to begin his work as a trial lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin. At Lawton Cates, S.C., he represents regular people to ensure that they get a fair chance to be heard.
Today, the Reading Roadmap continues under the direction of a not-for-profit organization. In December of 2023, the Reading Roadmap nonprofit was awarded over $3M in federal funds to support programming for at-risk children at five public schools in the Mississippi Delta.
You can learn more at www.readingroadmap.org.