ST PAUL, Minn. — Two former St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) have filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging misuse of emergency COVID funds from the federal government and retaliation after they raised concerns.
Former SPPS chief financial officer Marie Schrul and former business systems support manager Curtis Mahanay say they were fired after they went public with concerns over alleged forms of financial waste and abuse in their draft complaint.
According to Schrul and Mahanay's lawsuit, SPPS - led by former superintendent Joe Gothard - regularly moved money around to different accounts in order to skirt state laws and regulations. The draft complaint accuses the district of cutting ties with both employees after they called attention to the matter.
The lawsuit also alleges that SPPS misused federal money during the COVID pandemic to buy "gifts" for certain employees.
"The District used COVID funds and federal Nutrition Service funds to pay employees to deliver school lunch to students while schools were closed during COVID lockdowns - consistent with the spirit of the funds. But the District continued to pay those employees for school lunch delivery even after in-person learning resumed and no such deliveries occurred - a practice that was not consistent with the spirit of the funds," reads the lawsuit.
The complaint also accuses the district of playing a "shell game," constantly shifting financial assets into different funds to overcome budget shortfalls over the years.
When contacted by KARE 11 for a statement on the pending lawsuit, an SPPS spokesperson said the district does not comment on pending legal matters but provided links to the district's year-by-year budget reports and audited financial statements dating back to 2017. Access to SPPS policies governing the district's investments, fund balance, annuities and other financial operations was also included in the statement.