Sen. Schaaf Calls on Attorney General to Prosecute Those Responsible for Mishandling of Funds in St. Joseph Schools

JEFFERSON CITY — Following yesterday’s (Feb. 17) announcement of the mis-use of funds by some within the St. Joseph School District that may total more than $40 million, Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, is calling on the attorney general to bring appropriate charges against those responsible.

State Auditor Tom Schweich released an audit of the district, which gave it a poor rating, the only public school district receiving that ranking since 2001.

The district allegedly gave more than $25 million in unauthorized or improper stipends to administrators since 2001; however, the total may be as much as $40 million, though that number is hard to determine due to a lack of documentation before 2001. The audit also brought to light that the district promoted some employees without proper degrees, used school funds for unreasonable purchases, held improper closed meetings and mismanaged investments.

“I would like to call on the attorney general to closely examine the documents the auditor has complied and bring charges against those responsible for the mishandling of the funds within the St. Joseph Public Schools,” Sen. Rob Schaaf said. ”This money was entrusted to certain staff and members of the school board to help provide a quality education for our students by the most qualified professionals. These actions are illegal and greatly disturbing.”

Additionally, Sen. Schaaf is calling for the governor’s office and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to demand the school district return misappropriated overpayment of state aid received in Fiscal Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014 when inaccurately reporting summer school attendance. This resulted in an overpayment of approximately $3.5 million. 

In all, the auditor had 17 areas of concern with the completed audit.