Report flags questionable spending by ousted St. Louis Public Schools superintendent

ST. LOUIS — Keisha Scarlett racked up a record of extravagant spending including $88,500 in questionable credit card charges during her short tenure as superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools, according to an investigative report released Tuesday.

She also received a monthly car allowance of $800 as well as a district-owned car in violation of her contract, according to the 50-page report from Armanino accounting firm.

Scarlett, 50, was hired to run the district in July 2023 at a salary of $268,000, replacing longtime SLPS superintendent Kelvin Adams.

One year later, on July 25, Scarlett was placed on paid temporary leave pending the results of the investigation, which included an audit of staff hires, salaries and consultant fees. The bombshell report paints a picture of excessive spending on meals, travel and gifts on four credit cards assigned to Scarlett and others in her office.

The report also confirms reporting by the Post-Dispatch that Scarlett bypassed district policies to award at least $3 million in salaries and contracts to her friends and former colleagues from Seattle Public Schools. Investigators found many spending decisions that violated district policy were done without the approval of the St. Louis Board of Education.

“This report feels like a big old loss,” said Matt Davis, vice president of the board. “It’s an incredible level of frustration. I felt like at some point we were building on some momentum, and I feel like we’ve lost it.”

The board voted to fire Scarlett on Sept. 13 and again at an appeals hearing Oct. 14, while the investigation remained ongoing.

Davis said he doesn’t know if the board can be blamed for Scarlett’s actions.

“I don’t know how it can be that we’re controlling everything and then we didn’t have enough oversight,” he said.

Scarlett’s attorney in Atlanta said Tuesday the report is “biased and lacks credibility.”

“The Board of Education used this sham investigation to unlawfully terminate Dr. Scarlett, while intentionally excluding her from the process,” Sherry Culves said in a statement. “This is a continuation of the pattern of injustice and vendetta the Board of Education has against Dr. Scarlett.”

Scarlett said in October she intended to sue SLPS for wrongful termination.

In addition to questions about her credit card and transportation spending, the investigation also found Scarlett authorized $94,801 in retroactive pay for eight administrators and $146,000 for temporary contracts for new cabinet members before their start dates. These decisions, the report found, were made without board approval. The Missouri Constitution outlaws retroactive pay for public employees.

In one case, Scarlett directed the district’s human resources chief to extend a temporary employment offer in March to Zithri Saleem, a candidate for the chief information officer job who was still under contract with the University of Washington through June 30.

“As an hourly employee working in another state, he was unable to clock in and out; therefore, he emailed unapproved timesheets directly to payroll through June 30, 2024,” the report said. During this interim period, Saleem was paid $41,470 by SLPS as a temporary employee after submitting timesheets with “hours ranging from 25-50+ per week.”

Scarlett also used $1,750 in district funds on airfare for Saleem to come to St. Louis from Seattle in February and again in April. In May, the district paid another $3,500 for Saleem and three other people with the same last name to fly to St. Louis, according to credit card statements obtained by the Post-Dispatch through a public records request.

Saleem — a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington and frequent consultant to Seattle Public Schools — was to start Aug. 30 as chief information officer with a $200,000 salary, according to his contract. But before he could start, Saleem was one of several Scarlett hires let go by SLPS, the Post-Dispatch reported in August.

Among its many findings, the report highlights what it describes as “unusual credit card transactions,” including purchases of “charcuterie boards, flowers, and Edible Arrangements” that were described as gifts for Board of Education members and district employees.

Among “potential personal transactions” made on Scarlett’s credit card, the report listed:

• $125 spent at Massage Envy.
• $6,903 for Ikea and Wayfair purchases, apparently for office furniture for the superintendent.
• $1,510 spent on PowerScore, a test preparation company that offers admissions consulting, law school prep courses and other products.
• $26 spent at Planet Fitness.
• $169 at TruFusion, which offers fitness classes. An email receipt identified the purchase “as a lifestyle membership.”
• $14,901 for meals for cabinet retreats, retreats with the Board of Education, and meetings with out-of-town consultants.
• $467 for three tickets to a “Pastoral Anniversary Gala” at an unidentified church. The money went to Friendly Temple, according to credit card statements obtained by the Post-Dispatch through a public records request.
• $500 to the Missouri Botanical Garden for a President’s Contributor membership donation.

Scarlett appeared to have incurred travel expenditures that violated district policy placing limits on how much she could spend, the report said. For example, district policy limited coach airfares to $500 but Scarlett exceeded that amount in least 26 transactions. In all, she incurred about $11,500 in charges for airline expenditures that were not allowed.

She logged another $17,172 in non-reimbursable travel expenditures, including paying for travel for non-employees. The report does not name those individuals, but the credit card statements include airfare for Mia Williams, an assistant superintendent at Seattle Public Schools, and outside consultants James Randle and Joye Hardiman among others.

Other non-reimbursable expenses include internet access fees, tips and gratuities, and travel to professional meetings that weren’t approved by the district.

Davis, the board’s vice president, said the district will likely seek to recoup any fraudulent funds spent by Scarlett. The report’s findings have also been passed along to Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, who launched a comprehensive audit of SLPS in August.

Several current and former SLPS staff members said they were appalled by the report.

“My students showed up to school having not eaten the night before, having no way to get to and from school, living in abject poverty. Our teachers routinely work second jobs to buy groceries and afford basic necessities,” said Lexi Perez Lane, who taught at Monroe Elementary. “It is absolutely appalling for district leaders to be lavishing themselves with thousands of dollars’ worth of dinners, gifts, and trips while our students and educators can barely afford to eat.”