DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – For nearly eight years, a Detroit Public Schools Community District administrator approved nearly $1 million in school funds to a former vendor without purchase orders, contracts, invoices or evidence that the district received the services it paid for.
The alleged scheme.
The school district administrator’s alleged scheme went on from June 2017 to August 2024; the administrator was fired and a criminal investigation is underway. That was just one of the examples of fraud within the district cited by Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) Office of Inspector General in its annual report that was recently released for the 2024-25 school year.
Other investigations.
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That’s not all. Other issues investigated by the Office of Inspector General in 2024-25 included:
- A principal instructed clerical staff to misreport staff absences, including that of the principal, as regular hours that resulted in several staff receiving pay for 644 hours they did not work for an amount of $32,025. The investigation also found several students were falsely marked present resulting in improper attendance incentive payments totaling $1,800. The investigation is pending.
- A teacher “read passages, guided responses, and otherwise influenced student performance” during online math and reading lessons offered by the district.
- A former employee continued to receive pay from the district after resigning from the district. The employee received $38,895 in pay from the district after resigning. The district was able to recoup the funds.
- A school athletic coach inappropriately used school funds to buy school uniforms using the coach’s personal business. The coach also collected $34,833 in fees from the team that was deposited into his personal Cash App account. The coach resigned and the district is considering prosecution.
- A school administrator was engaged in outside employment for three years that was not disclosed to the district and had frequent absences. That administrator had 60 documented absences over 10 months. The administrator resigned.
- A teacher abused family sick leave policies by using 135 sick days over two years, which was far beyond the threshold allowed for the district policy. The employee was suspended without pay.
- A school vendor received $41,310 for food services that was not included in the contractual agreement. That school vendor also was attempting to misrepresent food services as educational programming to get more money. That vendor invoiced $18,000 for services that were not delivered to the district. The Office of Inspector General recommended the vendor be suspended from district business.
Tens of millions of dollars in losses.
The district’s Office of Inspector General investigated 45 incidents in 2024-25 and completed 31 of its investigations. Since it was created in 2009, the department estimates it has uncovered $15.2 million in losses to the district of which $3.8 million has been recovered.