North Kansas City School District is under investigation after an audit showed over half a million dollars paid to a mystery IT vendor, according to The Beacon News.
The school district released its annual audit on Tuesday after a board meeting to briefly discuss it. Superintendent Rochel Daniels told The Beacon the board reviewed the audit in a closed session beforehand.
The district discovered payments to an IT vendor that didn’t meet the procurement requirements, alerting them to investigate the issue further.
An IT employee was said to be approving invoices for a vendor charging the district $9,000 per month for “potentially fake consulting services,” The Beacon reported. The payments started in 2019, costing the district $630,000 total.
The district discovered the IT employee was the brother to one of the executive employees with the vendor in September. The person’s employment was immediately terminated, Daniels told The Beacon.
The district has since closed its investigation, but law enforcement’s investigation is still ongoing.
