Board of Education Committee Recommends Eliminating Credit Cards

Full board to vote on recommendations July 28

July 22, 2014 5:19 p.m.

In the wake of questionable use of official credit cards by some Board of Education members, a board committee recommended Tuesday that members no longer be given credit cards.

Instead, the committee suggested that board members be given a per diem allowance for professional conferences, and that the board establish a list of “preapproved public events” that members can attend.

The committee also suggested that the full board limit home office expenses that members can charge as official expenses.

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The committee’s recommendations will be considered by the full board on July 28.

“The Board of Education takes its responsibility seriously and we want to make sure that we are being good stewards of public dollars,” said Board of Education President Phil Kauffman in a statement. “Our review process has shown that we clearly need to improve the review and approval process of Board member expenses. I think our recommendations today will go a long way in ensuring that we have good processes in place to manage expenses.”

The committee used an outside law firm, Venable LLP, to review the expenses. Venable found that the current guidelines governing the use of the cards were ambiguous and members made subjective judgments on how to use them. Venable’s report also recommended that school-issued credit cards be discontinued for board members.

Karl Racine, the Venable lawyer who authored the report, wrote that the law firm didn’t find additional questionable expenses beyond what have already been reported in news reports. But that if “additional expense concerns are identified in other reviews, Board members and staff should be required to promptly reimburse MCPS.”

The credit card scandal unfolded after The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County published the expense reports of past board president Christopher Barclay. Barclay’s expense report showed purchases of more than $1,400 that weren’t permitted. Barclay later reimbursed the school system and apologized. Later, news reports revealed that Barclay and board member Rebecca Smondrowski had charged the school system for stays at the Washington Hilton during a February conference, an expense allowed under the current policy.

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Also, Deputy Superintendent Kimberly Statham spent $486 to buy a computer bag and leather carry-all while at a conference in Chicago, for which she later reimbursed the school system.

“While this is a great start, we have an awful lot of American Express cards floating around MCPS,” said Janis Sartucci, a member of the Parents’ Coalition. “We know the credit card bill is $6.4 million.”

According to the MCPS funding accountability and transparency website, the school system paid American Express $6.4 million in fiscal year 2014 and $6.9 million in fiscal year 2014.

Schools spokesman Dana Tofig said in May that teachers and other school staff have purchase cards, but those are restricted to purchases of supplies or classroom needs. He said only high level administrative staff and board members have credit cards with spending accounts.

Sartucci also criticized the board for hiring an outside attorney, rather than enlisting the public’s help or using an in-house attorney to research the credit card issues for the school.

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“We don’t know what this memo cost,” Sartucci said. “Unfortunately, we continue to see a willingness to spend dollars that belong in classrooms.”

An MCPS spokesperson did not immediately know Tuesday afternoon how much the law firm was paid.

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