The Waukee, Iowa school board was asleep at the wheel as officials wasted stacks of cash on things that were “not in the best interest of taxpayers,” from lavish office furnishings to staff retreats, dinners on the town, and massive settlements with whistleblowers to keep the corruption under wraps.

The disturbing findings and others were outlined in a report by Iowa Auditor Mary Mosiman released on Thursday, roughly a year after state Rep. Rob Taylor and state Sen. Charles Schneider requested an investigation based on reports of corruption in the Des Moines Register.

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The news site uncovered an internal investigation from 2016 that found district chief operating officer Eric Rose falsified time cards, used school property at his home, and used his position to land donations for his son’s hockey team.

Mosiman’s audit confirmed many of the previous reports, and highlighted underlying issues of mistrust between administrators and employees and a lack of oversight from the school board that are driving the dysfunction.

The audit identified $130,244 administrators spent on items deemed “not in the best interest of taxpayers,” which included numerous out of state “team building” trips and nearly $50,000 at local restaurants.

The Register summarized the highlights:

  • $83,234 was spent on four trips to Kansas City and one to Omaha in five years. That included mileage, taxi trips and team-building activities at escape rooms in Kansas City that totaled $790 and a pedal pub — a 16-person bike that the group rides to various bars — in Omaha that cost $642.
  • $48,600 was spent on meals throughout the Des Moines metro, including $8,669 at Spaghetti Works, $8,179 at Jethro’s, and $6,364 at Perkins.
  • More than $2,000 was spent at stores across the metro, including an escape room, florist, jeweler and at the Jordan Creek Apple Store. Nearly $500 was spent on hotels in Des Moines.
  • Superintendent Cindi McDonald purchased $16,684 worth of furniture for her office. Former Chief Financial Officer Lora Appenzeller-Miller spent $622 on an office chair. Another $10,596 was spent on eight lounge chairs for district offices.
  • COO Eric Rose spent $612 on car washes in a two-year period. Two other employees spent $139 and $169 on two car detailings.
  • The district’s batting cage was accessed 35 times in two months using Rose’s key card. Auditors believe the cages were used by either Rose’s son or his son’s friend because the facility was accessed after work hours and on weekends.

Those expenses, however, pale in comparison to the cost of wrongful termination lawsuits against the district by former employees who attempted to expose the corruption.

The district settled one lawsuit with former operations manager Nicholas Bavas for $175,000 in May, about four months after it settled a similar claim from former Human Resources Director Terry Welker for a staggering $985,000, KCCI reports.

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Bavas told the news site he wasn’t the least bit surprised by the audit.

“When I was there, it was a culture of ‘Do as you’re told, don’t ask questions,’ and I asked questions,” he said. “I did the right thing and it cost me my career.”

“I feel vindicated and happy that the public can finally see what was going on there,” Bavas said. “I believe Waukee is full of wealth, and there’s just too much money with too little control.”

Schneider, the senator who initiated the audit, said he hopes the school board heeds the Auditor’s advice to reign in the waste. He also called for law enforcement to investigate district officials for potential criminal charges.

“They ought to hold anyone who is responsible for misappropriation of taxpayer funds fully accountable,” he said.

Waukee Superintendent Cindy McDonald would not discuss the audit with the Register. All but one of the district’s board members ignored a request for comment from KCCI.

“I have become aware that this ongoing matter has eroded public trust,” the board’s newest member, Lori Lyon, wrote to the news station. “The actions of a few do not represent the values and dedication of teachers, principals, central administration and hardworking staff who commit themselves fully to educating our students every day.”

District spokeswoman Amy Varcoe wrote in an email to the Register that the audit’s findings “fail to reflect the high expectations we set for our district leaders” and promised officials will do better.

“The audit findings confirm policy and procedural changes we have implemented or will be implementing, to strengthen our administrative and operations controls, protocols, policies and procedures,” she wrote.

In the meantime, now retired state Rep. Taylor – who helped Schneider push for the audit – is questioning whether the district’s truly serious about change, or whether it’s all talk.

Both McDonald and Rose remain employed by Waukee schools with salaries of $200,000 and $142,800, respectively.

“To me, it just looks like we’re continuing to reward bad behavior, incompetence and lack of leadership,” Taylor said.