Charter financial analysis draws fire
Tom Nida was on the hot seat in late 2008 when a Washington Postinvestigation revealed his financial connections to the schools he regulated as chairman of the D.C. Public Charter School Board.
The Post reported that while he was chairman, the bank where he worked as a loan officer lent more than $55 million to charter schools, their developers or landlords. It meant, in essence, that as those charter schools thrived, so did United Bank's loan portfolio. Nida denied any wrongdoing, citing his recusals on some votes. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles found that he did not violate District conflict of interest laws, although he recommended that the board tighten up its ethics guidelines.
It nevertheless caused some heartburn when Nida, who stepped down from the board in February, unveiled what amounted to a collective balance sheet for the 57 publicly funded, independently operated