During a three-year period, Chicago Public Schools employees spent more than $250,000 on gift cards, some of which were allegedly used as a way to get around a no-petty-cash policy instituted by the district, according to a recent report.
The Office of the Inspector General of Chicago Public Schools published this finding in a 75-page annual report released Jan. 1 in a section titled “Theft at CPS Involving Gift Cards Used as Petty Cash.”
According to an audit covering Jan. 1, 2013, to Dec. 21, 2016, CPS personnel bought nearly 7,500 gift cards totaling $250,692. While some cards were issued by Target, iTunes and other retailers as family incentives, others were “large dollar amount” Visa, MasterCard or American Express cards that could be used for any purpose, the report said.
Nicholas Schuler, inspector general of Chicago Public Schools
| Chicago Public Schools
One case involved a nearly $10,500 loss where a school principal bought gift cards worth $3,100 to be used for tours of colleges sponsored by the school, the report said. However, he used the cards to pay $1,502.67 in cellphone and other personal expenses, in addition to another $404.99 he took from the school, according to the report. The principal is also accused of mismanaging funds, resulting in a missing $8,500.
In another case, the principal at a special-needs school was found to have spent almost all of $3,200 issued on gift cards on “items or services that, at best, were only somewhat related to educational purposes,” the report said. Some money was spent on the school clerk’s wedding favors, restaurant expenses and casino purchases.
At three different schools, five employees mentioned in the report allegedly used gift cards to buy $$5,515.87 worth of personal items, the report said. Other cases involved taking items for personal use that had been donated for students.
The investigation said further action may be taken.
“[T]he OIG has not only recommended administrative discipline, but also referred these cases to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for additional investigation and possible criminal prosecution," the report stated.
As a result of the investigation, the inspector general’s report recommends banning the use of Visa, MasterCard and American Express gift cards to pay for school-related expenses and advocates bringing back regular credit cards (P-Cards) to allow for better expense tracking. The process by which retailer gift cards are used as family incentives should also be better scrutinized, the report said.
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