A national nonprofit published more than a year’s worth of credit card records for the Natrona County School District, showing $1.2 million spent on travel and entertainment.
In all, the district racked up nearly $10 million in various credit card charges between April 2016 and December 2017, with the largest amounts being spent on “computer related” areas — $1.53 million — and “household” items, which totaled $1.37 million, according to data provided by Open The Books, a nonprofit that told WyoFile in June that it had been fighting for years to get access to Wyoming’s spending data.
The nonprofit published the credit card information Friday on the website of Forbes magazine.
The information was acquired via a records request, district spokeswoman Tanya Southerland said.
In a statement, she said the district would release more information about its credit card spending soon and that the records did not tell the full story.
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“However, what the credit card statement may not identify is the purpose behind such an expense. (Field trip, professional development, classroom/educational supplies, etc.),” Southerland wrote. “We would like to share those additional details and purchase justifications with interested stakeholders. We anticipate this information will be readily available via our website natronaschools.org early next week.”
For a time, the district provided a public report that showed credit card purchases and the reasoning for the spending: student lodging, incentive food, retreat meals, teacher conferences. Those records were presented to the school board for part of 2016 and 2017, but apparently stopped being publicly approved last summer.
The trips, dining and entertainment spending in the Forbes report will likely draw the most scrutiny: According to the records, Wyoming’s second-largest school district spent more than $300,000 on entertainment-related Amazon purchases alone. Tens of thousands more was spent on hotels. More than $157,000 went to Bush-Wells Sporting Goods. Another $6,100 went to Krispy Kreme.
Trips included stays in Jackson, Las Vegas, Nashville and Milwaukee, according to the records.
The school board receives a report of checks written by the district at each of its board meetings, which are held twice a month during the school year and once a month over the summer. Those reports apparently don’t include credit card charges.
For a time, the board did receive a report of those charges — which includes explanations for them. Those reports are publicly available. The last such report, according to the board’s website, was publicly approved during the July 19, 2017, board meeting.
The available reports provide context for some of the spending. For instance, a February 2017 report lists a Las Vegas stay, giving the reason as a teaching conference. Another 2017 report shows a pair of charges to Bush-Wells for “student uniforms.” The same report lists Amazon purchases for “classroom books” and “staff supplies.” A $166 FireRock Steakhouse charge is listed as “student celebration” in a May 2017 board report.
Kevin Christopherson, a school board member who was chairman during the time period when the credit card charges took place, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday evening.
The disclosure comes after the district has taken serious measures to slash its spending in a time of school budget cuts. In June, it closed four schools to save $2.5 million a year. The summer before that, it shuttered another elementary school. It has offered incentives for employees who indicate when they’ll retire, and it has eliminated dozens of positions, mainly at its central headquarters.