Former Chief Of Pr. George's Schools Gets 6-Year Term

Former Prince George's County schools chief Andre Hornsby arrives at the federal courthouse for sentencing today. (Marvin Joseph - The Washington Post)

Joffrion was secretly cooperating with the FBI.

Federal prosecutors also presented testimony that Hornsby sent his oldest daughter to speak to Owens in what they said was an attempt by Hornsby to tamper with a key government witness.

Hornsby was convicted of honest-services wire fraud, attempted evidence tampering and obstruction of justice.

Prince George's schools officials had hoped Hornsby could help save a public education system plagued by poor performance and leadership turnover.

The school board that hired Hornsby over two other finalists knew that he had been fired from his job as school superintendent in Yonkers, N.Y., after publicly feuding with the mayor. He had also been investigated there for allegedly accepting gifts from a school vendor, a charge Hornsby denied.

Still, Hornsby had been credited with raising student performance in Yonkers. By an 8 to 1 vote, the school board gave Hornsby a four-year contract with a $250,000 annual salary. School officials hoped his aggressive management style would deliver results.

During Hornsby's first school year, test scores rose in many county schools, though the state still listed more than 70 county schools, more than a third of the system, as needing improvement.

But questions arose about a year into Hornsby's tenure, after he approved the Leapfrog Schoolhouse purchase. Hornsby used federal anti-poverty funds for the deal and did not inform the board about his relationship with Owens. That relationship surfaced in news reports.

Staff writer Nelson Hernandez also contributed to this report.