Following the indictment of former Superintendent Devon Horton on charges of wire fraud and embezzlement allegedly committed during his time in Evanston, District 65 announced at Monday’s school board meeting that it’s planning to launch a forensic audit of its spending in recent years, particular on transportation, administrative stipends and annulment contracts.
Board members suggested taking a look at these areas when Chief Financial Officer Tamara Mitchell asked for their input before the district officially hires an accounting firm to complete the audit. Mitchell also noted that the district’s legal team has recommended using one of the “big four” firms (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PwC or KPMG) for the audit due to their name recognition and reputation.
Horton served as superintendent from June 2020 to June 2023. In a 37-page indictment, Horton was charged with 17 crimes, including multiple counts of wire fraud, tax fraud and embezzlement. He allegedly helped orchestrate a kickback scheme where he directed District 65 contracts to companies owned by his friends.
The indictment charges Horton and three of his friends who allegedly took part in the scheme, where they reportedly funneled District 65 and Chicago Public Schools contracts to their companies without disclosing their involvement or financial stake in those contracts.
Timeline
Former school board president and current board member Sergio Hernandez pushed the district on Monday to not only consider specific target areas for the audit, but to look back at finances before Horton’s tenure, as well.
“We had staff in our business office that had been there for about 20 years,” Hernandez said. “They were presenting what we thought were balanced budgets. So I want to know again, were those balanced budgets even back then?”
Although other board members acknowledged the potential benefits of better understanding the district’s past financial state, board President Pat Anderson countered Hernandez by urging a shorter time frame for the audit.
“If we can put a specific envelope around the time to kind of narrow it down, we might be able to get more answers sooner than later,” Anderson said.
In terms of a timeline, Mitchell explained that putting together the initial paperwork to start the process will take several weeks. Then, that documentation outlining the audit’s scope of work will go out to accounting firms for consideration. Once the district identifies the company it wants to hire, staff will have a better sense of how long the audit will take.
Board member Andrew Wymer also suggested an audit into the financial practices and policies of the board itself. Mitchell responded that the district can look into that idea, which might be something that the Illinois State Board of Education could help with, as opposed to a financial institution.