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For over fourteen months the reporters investigated the Cleveland Municipal School District's transportation department, producing 25 stories. The reports examined extensive waste of resources, mismanagement, and fraudulent use of inflated data. Reporter Tom Merriman used records, surveillance video, and interviews with ex-employees to document the district was inflating rider numbers to get more funding. School administrators blamed the mid-level bureaucrat they fired, but Merriman used internal documents to show he was ordered to inflate the numbers. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of dollars were being spend on luxury coaches for athletes. The investigation lead to the resignation of a top official in the organization.