LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
After nearly two weeks of silence, the Paris Union School District 95 Board of Education held its first meeting since three Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) reports revealed over $3.24 million in federal grant funding given to the district was misused and misappropriated. The meeting, helmed by District 95 board president Kevin Knoepfel in the absence of District 95 Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Larson, drew a crowd of concerned citizens, workers, teachers and multiple media outlets.
Knoepfel offered a statement at the outset of the meeting, addressing the district’s precarious situation. While some questions remain unanswered, Knoepfel provided insight into recent events and announced the hiring of Lorraine Bailey.
Bailey, former superintendent of Community Unit School District 4 (Crestwood), was voted in as the interim superintendent of District 95.
Bailey will play a critical role in addressing the district’s current financial situation while filling the void left by Larson. Larson is currently on paid administrative leave alongside District 95’s bookkeeper: Sally Keller.
Knoepfel declined further comment on Larson and Keller, but he did reveal their employment status is pending further investigation.
Knoepfel was quick to inform those in attendance that none of the funds in the report were embezzled or stolen.
“There are no actual funds missing, but they were not correctly reported and or allocated for grant purposes,” said Knoepfel.
Knoepfel also acknowledged the board knew of issues regarding the improper use of grant funding before the release of audit findings by the Illinois State Board of Education and the search of Larson’s home by FBI agents on Tuesday, June 13.
“The board was aware prior to receiving the final findings that issues had been identified by auditors related to the reporting of expenses and compliance with board policies and procedures,” said Knoepfel. “District administrators have been working with auditors for several months to correct these entries.”
According to Knoepfel, the district was granted an extension on the deadline to submit a corrective plan to repay the misappropriated grant funds. The new deadline is July 15.
Knoepfel has been told the ISBE is willing to work with the district if more time is required.
“They (the ISBE) want to make sure we get this done,” said Knoepfel.
While Knoepfel declined to offer specific details, he did note the district has been working on a solution for quite some time.
“We’ve already been making corrections to cover all of this,” he explained. “We’ve actually done everything, it’s just now a matter of writing that all out.”
Part of the district’s response includes adding additional staff to assist in documenting the return of grant funding.
Knoepfel also mentioned the board received a federal grand jury subpoena. As of now, the board will not release the contents of the subpoena.
“We understand this may be frustrating to the public. The board is committed to cooperating fully with the US Attorney's Office in responding to the subpoena,” said Knoepfel.
After the statement, John Kraft of the Edgar County Watchdogs pleaded with Knoepfel to go public with the contents of the subpoena, claiming no judge has sealed the subpoena and therefore it is not granted protection.
“I would hope this doesn't have to go into the circuit court,” said Kraft, “I would at least call anybody at the federal level and ask them if they would object to the release of the subpoena.”
Knoepfel stated the board would look into the issue.
Another member of the audience asked how the board planned to prevent similar mismanagement of funds from occurring again in the future, citing board policies designed to prevent the misuse of federal funding.
“We won’t be able to make that comment right now,” said Knoepfel. “But we are looking into all of it.”
Although several questions remain unanswered, Knoepfel was confident the district will be ready for the start of the school year, and praised staff involved with summer camps.
“The school district is very healthy. We are fine. We will be business as usual from day one," said Knoepfel. "We got excellent teachers here doing an excellent job and we got excellent administrators doing their job."