Topeka ? State Board of Education Chairman Steve Abrams said Tuesday he has found nothing wrong with board member Connie Morris’ travel expenses, which included $339 per night for six nights at a swanky resort hotel in Miami Beach.

“I do not fault Mrs. Morris for staying at the conference hotel, despite the fact that the conference-reserved block was previously sold out,” Abrams said in a letter to Frank Smith, a Harper County resident who has complained about Morris’ expenses.

Smith said he disagreed with Abrams’ analysis.

“It appears that Dr. Abrams may be more interested in maintaining his current board majority than he is in assuring the reputation of the board or the interests of Kansas taxpayers,” Smith said.

Abrams, a Republican veterinarian from Arkansas City, leads a 6-4 conservative board majority that includes Morris, a Republican from St. Francis.

Morris caused an uproar when she charged the state approximately $3,900 to attend a six-day conference on magnet schools in Miami. Last week, Morris paid back the state $2,890, but was unapologetic and blamed the controversy on “media bullying.”

Smith raised questions about whether Morris rented a car when she sought reimbursement for cab rides and whether the meal expenses included buying food for her husband, who was with her on the trip.

But Abrams said that after looking at Morris’ receipts, he found nothing to support Smith’s inferences.

He noted the largest expense was for the hotel room, but he didn’t blame Morris, stating, “But, as I am sure you are aware, neither Mrs. Morris nor the Kansas State Board of Education had any input into where the conference would be held.

“Invariably, conferences of this nature are always held in expensive hotels in tourist destination cities … .”

Smith said Morris could easily have rented a much less expensive hotel room within a short walking distance.