Head Start director
on leave for auditInvestigators will
review allegations
of financial misconduct
The longtime director of Oahu Head Start has been placed on paid administrative leave while outside auditors investigate allegations of financial and managerial improprieties.
Roland Gella, who has led Head Start for 38 years, was put on leave Monday by Ruby Hargrave, executive director of the Honolulu Community Action Program, which oversees the program.
Gella said his forced leave was the result of three letters -- one signed, two anonymous -- sent to the Lieutenant Governor's Office.
"It's internal politics," he said during a phone interview from his home yesterday. "I haven't been on vacation for a while so I guess it's a good time."
The allegations against Gella were from "a current employee of the program" said Robert Piper, deputy chief of staff and general counsel for the Lieutenant Governor's office. Piper is also chairman-elect of the Honolulu Community Action Program and has been on its board for about four years.
Gella, Hargrave and Piper declined to specify the allegations. The decision to put Gella on leave was also signed off by Piper and the former chairman of HCAP's board of directors, Gella said.
Head Start, which receives about $11 million in federal funding and $200,000 in state money, provides education, health and social services for about 1,700 pre-school children from lower-income families in 73 centers on Oahu.
Piper said Honolulu Community Action Program has commissioned two audits, one financial and one managerial, into the program.
"The objective is to find out if this program is being managed and run correctly and benefiting the people it is supposed to benefit," Piper said. "Once the audits are completed, the findings will be turned over to the proper federal and state departments and after that, a decision will be made whether the audits were enough or whether they'll launch their own investigation."
Piper said no judgments have been made.
"We're trying our best to be objective," he said.
Head Start is operating normally, with Assistant Director Toni Farm in charge, Hargrave said. Gella will be on leave until the audits are complete sometime next month, she said.
"We're just trying to find out what is going on and it's easier to do that if Mr. Gella is not here," Hargrave said. "All we're trying to do is address the letters that were sent to the Lieutenant Governor's Office."
Gella said he is certain the letters were from disgruntled employees, including one whom he reported to police and tried to fire for alleged misappropriation of about $30,000 in tuition money.
"We asked her to return the money and she came up with $18,000," Gella said. "She said she was on her way to the bank with the rest of the money but had a headache and went home and then someone burglarized her and took the money along with all the financial statements.
"When I tried to terminate the individual, the executive director stepped in ... Right now they have the license to steal."
Piper said he was aware of the allegations against the employee and that there was a lot of "he said, she said" at Oahu Head Start. Piper noted that all the allegations will be looked at by auditors.
Head Start is overseen by both the Honolulu Community Action Program and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Piper, who became chairman-elect of the HCAP board of directors last month, said he was not sure why the letters were sent to the Lieutenant Governor's office.
Piper said he was assigned to investigate because Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona was concerned that Head Start could lose federal funding if something was not done soon.
