The Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) have released an audit report revealing alleged mismanagement under the tenure of former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett, which includes questionable credit card usage and unauthorized administrative pay practices. First Alert 4 reports that the findings from a management assessment carried out by Armanino LLP highlighted 637 questionable credit card transactions out of over 1,100, amounting to roughly $148,000—nearly 60% of the total reviewed charges.
Commissioned by the city’s Board of Education (BOE) in July, the audit delved into the district's financial governance. The data, having scrutinized, revealed all but one of the Superintendent's 19 travel expense reports, totaling $4,820, may have violated their employment contract which necessitated board approval, according to the First Alert 4 article.
Aligning with this narrative, an article by KSDK highlights specific alleged misdemeanors under Scarlett's direction. These involve the hiring of new senior-level staff, the handling of expense reimbursements, and dealings with strategic contracts post Scarlett's installment as superintendent.
The internal scrutiny further found that Scarlett purportedly enacted new salary structures and directed unauthorized retroactive payments to be made to chiefs and deputies without the sanction of the school board. In response to the automobile charges and the oversight of purchasing guidelines, disclosed Scarlett direct multiple policy violations for travel expenses. The audit made several forward-moving recommendations, which include the establishment of an internal audit function and the implementation of heightened supervision by the board of education regarding superintendent conduct, as detailed by FOX 2 Now.
