JACKSON- Former Greenville schools superintendent Harvey Franklin will be sentenced November 13 for accepting bribes from the seller of a reading program.

In an investigation led by the Office of the State Auditor, Franklin pled guilty to a three count information, charging him with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; accepting bribes and kickbacks from a contractor with the Greenville Public School District; and stealing, embezzling, and converting to his own use federal funds on August 2, 2012.

“The taxpayers of Mississippi will not tolerate any misuse of taxpayers’ funds, but especially when it involves our school children, the future of our state,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “Dr. Franklin’s actions directly impacted students in the Greenville Public School System, and he must be held accountable for his actions.”

Edna Goble, the founder and president of Teach Them to Read Inc., pleaded guilty October 7 in federal court in Oxford to one count of bribing Franklin.

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The press release from August 2, 2012 announcing Franklin’s guilty plea can be found here.