The chief financial officer hired by Dallas County Schools last fall to help fix the bus agency's financial problems suddenly resigned Wednesday.
DCS Superintendent Rick Sorrells released a short statement to NBC 5 Investigates about interim CFO Alan King, saying, "Today, I received Mr. King's resignation and it was accepted. We are appreciative of his work to help Dallas County Schools. He did not give a reason for his resignation."
At last month's DCS board meeting, King publicly expressed concerns about what he found when he arrived at the agency in October.
He described a $42 million budget shortfall. Much of that was tied to spending on a school bus camera program that has caused significant financial problems.
For months Sorrells has declined to answer any questions on camera about the situation at DCS. On Wednesday night NBC 5 Investigates approached him outside DCS headquarters, and Sorrells said he did not know why King left.
When NBC 5 asked Sorrells if there had been friction between him and King, or between King and the DCS board, Sorrells replied, "No, not that I am aware of. He and I got along very well."
King is widely respected in education circles for his ethics and for his ability to deal with financial mismanagement at troubled school districts.
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"He's extremely competent and experienced in this," said forensic auditor Don Southerland, a former FBI agent who now audits school district finances as a consultant.
King was hired at DCS after NBC 5 Investigates discovered DCS was using tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to pay traffic tickets for bus drivers who ran red lights.
King quickly focused on more questionable spending on the camera program, which NBC 5 Investigates has been investigating since 2013, after records showed the program cost millions more than DCS officials first indicated.
NBC 5 left messages for King for comment, but he has not yet responded.
King was due to deliver another significant financial report to the board next week. So far, there is no word on what led to his resignation.
