Former Fox C-6 School District Superintendent Dianne Critchlow inappropriately spent taxpayers’ money on herself and those close to her, State Auditor Nicole Galloway said during a press conference this afternoon (May 25) at the Wainwright Building in St. Louis.
Galloway spoke about the 105-page report on its audit of the district.
“We found serious mismanagement of taxpayers’ dollars,” she said. “I think the former superintendent used taxpayers’ dollars for her own benefit and the benefit of those close to her.”
She said the audit – which was requested by the Fox C-6 Board of Education – focused on the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years.
She said her office found “a series of serious issues” and “not every issue can be corrected overnight.”
Her office gave the school district a “poor” rating, the lowest of four possible ratings from a state audit.
Galloway said she did not have an exact total on the amount of money Critchlow is accused of spending inappropriately, but estimated it to be a minimum of $200,000. She said her office would try to compile such a total but did not know how long it would take.
She said her office does not pursue criminal charges stemming from its audits, but will work with the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and any other government body seeking charges against Critchlow or her husband, Jamie Critchlow, also a former Fox C-6 administrator.
Galloway also took to task the Fox Board of Education for not overseeing Critchlow’s behavior.
“Checks and balances were not in place,” she said. “There was no accountability and no oversight by the board.”
She noted the district’s administration and members of the Board of Education have had almost a complete turnover since the time of the audit.
The audit began in September 2014 and, at that time, the Auditor’s Office said the audit could take a year.
Galloway said Critchlow’s lack of cooperation with the Auditor’s Office stretched out the time it took to complete the audit.
"Through her attorney, she declined to meet with us," Galloway said.
Among the questionable actions Galloway said she and her staff uncovered were:
■ There were a series of adjusted contracts and administrator raises based on incorrect and inconsistent application of salary schedules. In some cases, base salaries were increased without board oversight and incidents were found of salary adjustments made with no explanation. A number of administrators, including the superintendent and the administrator she later married, received inappropriate salary increases not approved by the board. Dianne Critchlow’s compensation was boosted by about $20,000 and Jamie Critchlow’s by $89,000, the report said.
■ The board received bids for a $34,000 vehicle for Critchlow to use on official business, but she bought a car that cost $9,000 more without board approval.
■ Thousands of dollars were spent on gift cards for businesses ranging from Buffalo Wild Wings to Best Buy, with Critchlow indicating the cards were for needy families – even though the district had no formal gift card program for the poor. Fox officials were unable to find any documentation for card receipts.
■ Credit card records showed hundreds of purchases that appear to be personal in nature or otherwise inappropriate, without adequate board review and in violation of the district’s credit card policy.
■ The superintendent allowed questionable purchases on behalf of the district by her husband. “It was a conflict of interest,” Galloway said.
■ The superintendent used a district credit card to pay a $104 fine from a red light ticket from Ellisville she received while driving a district vehicle. She claimed to have repaid the fine money to the district, but auditors found no evidence of the repayment.
Dianne Critchlow's attorney, Brandy D. Barth with the firm of Newton, Wright and Barth, called the audit report a "biased and one-sided account filled with inaccuracies, half information and misleading statements."
She said in a written statement that Critchlow did cooperate with auditors and that expenditures that are now being called into question had been approved by the school board.
No Fox officials attended the state auditor’s press conference.
Current Superintendent Jim Wipke said those now running the district must find ways to move forward.
“It’s time to move forward and work on building trust with our community,” he said.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Forrest Wegge issued a press release saying his office received a copy of the audit Tuesday (May 24) and is reviewing it to consider possible criminal charges. The release further states due to the audit report’s length, his office anticipates it will take several weeks to decide whether any charges will be filed.
He said he would have no further comment during the review period.
See the June 2 Leader for more details.