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Auditor: Spending by St. Joseph Schools 'Staggering'

By Associated Press/Joel Hardy

02/18/2015

(AP/MSC News) - The St .Joseph School District received a poor grade from the state auditor, who said the district spent a "staggering" amount of money on unauthorized stipends for administrators.
In an report released Tuesday, Auditor Tom Schweich (shwyk) gave the district a poor rating, the only public school district receiving that ranking since 2011.

Schweich says the district gave more than $25 million in unauthorized or improper stipends to administrators in the last eight years. A lack of documentation before that means the amount could be more than $40 million.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports the audit also found the district promoted some employees without proper degrees, used school funds for unreasonable purchases, held improper closed meetings and mismanaged bond investments. In all, Schweich found 17 areas of concern.

According to KQ2-TV, Schweich met with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation before releasing his report. The FBI has been working on the case since April of last year and has so far conducted fifty interviews with different people.

On Wednesday, Missouri State Senator Rob Schaaf called for the state's Attorney General to file charges against those responsible for mishandling the funds.

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