A federal audit has found that two Maryland school districts misspent federal Title I grants earmarked for poor schools, instead buying things like dinner cruises and personal makeovers, the Baltimore Sun reports.
The Office of the Inspector General for the US Department of Education recommended that the Maryland State Department of Education repay funds misspent by Baltimore City Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools, an amount that may be as high as $540,000, including
- $166,370 for expenses that broke federal rules
- up to $373,643 in questionable expenses that are not properly documented
“These dollars were supposed to put more teachers into our classrooms,” the paper quoted Senate Minority Leader EJ Pipkin as saying in a statement. “Instead, it’s putting them into cruise ship dining rooms.”
Baltimore City school officials characterized the dinner cruises as “parent recognition events,” which would be allowed if the money used had not come from federal grant funds. But since the funds were not used specifically to build parent capacity, the funds were misused.
The district also spent $500 on a catered mother-daughter “makeover day” at one elementary school, the audit found. “A makeover day does not fit the requirement of a parental involvement activity, which is to improve student academic achievement,” the Sun quoted auditors as saying.
In addition to spending that broke the rules, as above, the audit had trouble determining if some of the spending was appropriate.
For example, Baltimore school officials spent $1,425 in Title I money on food for a parent activity. That was supposed to buy enough food for 100 people, but the sign-in sheet had only 17 names on it. Then, the district couldn’t show auditors an agenda for the event, making it impossible for them to determine whether catering for the event was allowed under federal guidelines.
For such a line item, auditors have asked for additional documentation, which may reduce the amount the state would have to repay. If the district can’t produce the required documentation for the event, the audit may find the spending ran afoul of federal guidelines.
Bad timing
The audit comes in the wake of a change in governance of Prince George’s schools where County Executive Rushern Baker III will run the schools and appoint a new superintendent.
And in Baltimore City, audit findings came to light as CEO Andrés Alonso resigned and a $1.2 billion district budget, including substantial amounts for school building construction and renovation, was approved.