ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4)— A member of the Saint Louis Public School Board is calling for more accountability for the school district’s finances.
Specifically, board member Emily Hubbard told First Alert 4 that she wants a criminal investigation into the district’s credit card spending.
In a statement to First Alert 4 Investigates, Hubbard said: “Educating children includes teaching them that actions do have consequences. We cannot require less than that for the adults in the district.”
Back in the Interim Superintedent’s office
Meanwhile, First Alert 4 was granted another sit-down interview with Interim Superintendent Millicent Borishade after a family member of hers was linked to an overseas conference in Japan this past May.
BORISHADE: Each and every day I still worked while I was in Japan and followed the congregation and attended meetings here. It was 11 p.m. in Japan, and it was 8 a.m. here and I was still working.
AMELOTTI: Is it normal for school districts to send school leaders to Japan?
BORISHADE: Absolutely. There were leaders from all over the place.
AMELOTTI: Did you submit expense reports and receipts of those charges you incurred with this trip?
BORISHADE: I don’t have any expenses I am aware of. I paid for everything while I was there.
AMELOTTI: Did you require employees who report to you to submit receipts?
BORISHADE: They were supposed to. Everyone is supposed to submit receipts.
First Alert 4 Investigates sat back down with Interim Superintendent Millicent Borishade on Tuesday after uncovering social media posts by her adult daughter, placing her in Japan at the same time Borishade and other SLPS leaders were in the country for an education conference.
That trip overseas was highlighted in a third-party report, released last week. It detailed questionable spending by former Supt. Dr. Keisha Scarlett was terminated earlier this year. The report found several trip and meal violations with this trip that conflicted with district policy.
The assessment, conducted by Armanino LLP, was authorized in July by the district’s Board of Education (BOE).
“The May 2024 international delegation to Japan purchase totaling approximately $10,000 on the Student Support Services Department card. The Superintendent signed the authorization for travel form, but no date is provided to confirm if it was approved before the trip,” report authors said.
The report later stated, “In accordance with the St. Louis Board of Education Travel policy, under the “General Policy Information” section, “If a conference is held outside of the 48 contiguous United States, approval from the Superintendent is necessary to travel. The Superintendent signed the authorization for travel form, but no date is provided to confirm if it was approved before the trip.”
AMELOTTI: How did that trip help SLPS students?
BORISHADE: I learned about Magma Math, which utilizes a solution where students must show their work, AI scoring, providing hints and real-time analyzation of student work as it relates to math. I learned about audio enhancements, where teachers wear microphones to enhance their sound, equalizing the delivery of instruction and how people can speak their first language into Google translation and it translates into English simultaneously on a blackboard. When we were at the Board Meeting that took place at Roosevelt in November, this is one of the features that I empowered our staff to use.
AMELOTTI: Why was your daughter on that trip? Was her trip paid by taxpayer dollars?
BORISHADE: I paid for that trip. I have receipts that indicate I paid for her trip to Japan. There is a paper trail.
Only First Alert 4 Investigates has the expense report for Borishade’s personal credit card for the trip. It shows Borishade purchased tickets for a personal flight for her daughter, Alexis. She flew United. Plus, Borishade’s personal card shows purchases of $6,400 and $1,200, covering her attendance at the conference. Borishade would not directly answer why her daughter was on the trip.
“Everything that happened in Japan relates to me was taken care of by the district; everything for my daughter was taken care of by me,” Borishade said.
How is Borishade’s admin communicating report findings and changes to policy
AMELOTTI: We’ve had a lot of the district’s finances come to light – how are you communicating that to teachers and the district? What does that look like?
BORISHADE: I had the opportunity to meet with our principals to share with them the audit was completed and recommendations. I’ve also held a meeting with my cabinet. We’ve turned in all the credit cards. Making sure that we help people understand the why and what it will look like to obtain a credit card to make purchases. we are going to make sure we have merchant controls so you can only use a credit card for a specific purchase. That was something missing in the past.
AMELOTTI: Will there be an opportunity for staff and teachers to ask questions?
BORISHADE: Absolutely. We are preparing for winter break, but I am always available.
More questions about expensive dining out by former “Super”
AMELOTTI: Speaking of the report last week, I’d like to ask you a follow up. It detailed thousands of dollars spent at high-end restaurants by Scarlett. Were you at any of those meals with Dr. Scarlett?
BORISHADE: They were meetings with Dr. Scarlett, yes.
AMELOTTI: There were thousands of dollars spent at 801 Chophouse – how did that help SLPS students?
BORISHADE: When I am out for a meeting, I’m out for a meeting. It is not my knowledge that someone is paying for that with taxpayer dollars. Just like when I pull out my credit card for something, people assume I am paying for it with my own dollars. And I am. I had people come and see me, visit me and we went out, I footed that bill on my own credit card, not a district card.
First Alert 4 Investigates obtained credit card expense reports for all 21 SLPS district cards from July 2023 to July 2024. Anyone wanting to look at those documents for themselves can click here.
Saint Louis Public Schools released the findings of a comprehensive management assessment that focused on administrative pay, hiring practices, and credit card usage, one week ago Tuesday.
It showed Scarlett helped secure $1.3 million in pay raises for employees. It also documents 94,801.33 in retro-pay, not approved by the SLPS Board of Education. That’s something SLPS Board Vice President Matt Davis told First Alert 4 Investigates could be in violation of Missouri law.
The audit also reviewed over 1,100 credit card transactions, totaling $260,512 in charges. There were 637 questionable transactions, totaling approximately $148,000 (or 60%) of the total charges.
In addition, it appears that all but one of the Superintendent’s 19 travel expense reports, totaling $4,820, may have violated the Superintendent’s employment contract, which required Board approval.
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