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The York City School Board voted 5-4 to pull the receipts for expenditures during an April trip to San Diego for further review.
Payments to four board members who submitted receipts were on the agenda for approval at Wednesday's meeting. Those board members, and the expenses for a National School Board Association conference, were: vice president Tom Foust, $244.63; Beverly Atwater, $463.17; James H. Morgan, $563.56; and Hiawatha Powell, $728.08. These figures do not include air fare or hotels.
The bills for the board member's expenditures -- which total nearly $2,000 -- have already been paid, but if the board decides not to approve them at a future meeting, board members could have to reimburse the district.
The move came after a heated discussion about the expenses charged by Powell, who had nearly $300 in taxi expenditures and a couple of high-priced meals, including a room service breakfast for more than $50.
"This is a political ploy to pressure me to step down from the board," Powell said.
He will have a hearing June
The issue of the San Diego expenditures was raised at the meeting by board member Barbara Krier, who made a motion to hold off on paying them until they are reviewed by the district business office to ensure they are appropriate and district-related expenses.
The board was made aware of how the money was spent on the trip because of a Daily Record/Sunday News article, Foust said at the meeting. The receipts were obtained through a Right-to-Know request. Board member Elmira Sexton also attended the conference but did not have her reimbursements submitted for this month's meeting, so they were not available for review.
The school board has a policy to reimburse for "necessary and reasonable" expenses, but that does not include a specific figure. A superintendent's regulation, which is similar to a policy, says reimbursements should be based on the federal per diem rate for travel, which is about $65 a day.
Should the district decide that his expenditures were unreasonable, Powell said he would reimburse the district. He was not informed of the policy and limitations on spending before the trip, he said.
Some of the cab rides -- including one that cost $100 round-trip -- were for travel to restaurants outside the downtown San Diego area, Powell said.
"I wanted to get a nice meal," he said. "I have no problem returning the money."
Board members that voted to hold off on approval of the expenditures were Krier, Foust, Sexton, Renee Nelson and president Jeanette Torres. Those voting no were Atwater, Samuel Beard, Morgan and Powell.
"There is common sense that needs to be addressed here first," Foust said. "I don't see how the board can approve some of these expenses."
Also at the meeting, Atwater accused the board secretary of placing Morgan, Powell and her in a hotel separate from the other board members. She said that has never happened in the past and questioned it. Her hotel, the Hard Rock Hotel, was directly across from the conference center.
Board secretary Mindy Wantz provided an e-mail exchange between her and Atwater in response to a Right-to-Know request regarding hotel accommodations. In it, Atwater specifically requests that the three stay together in the same hotel. Atwater said she requested that because, as a female, she did not want to stay in a hotel without anyone she knew.
At the meeting, Wantz said arranging the hotel was difficult this year because she has to go through the conference's housing authority to get accommodations. Morgan was originally placed in the Hard Rock Hotel, but upon his request for a suite was moved to another hotel, Wantz said. The district ended up paying more for his room because it was not part of the conference's block of discounted rooms, she said.
Former board member Michael Breeland told the board he was upset the receipts were made public, saying it should have been dealt with internally rather than being published in the newspaper.
Legally, the district had to release the receipts because they are specifically mentioned in the state's new Open Records Act as being open to public inspection.
Krier, who has never gone to a district-sponsored school board association conference, said she pulled the receipts for further review because she believes taxpayer money is at stake and it's her responsibility to ensure it is being spent appropriately.
"Two thousand dollars here and two thousand dollars there adds up," she said.
Atwater wondered who is going to do the review, saying the only way to do it right would be to hire an expert.
At the end of the meeting, Marjorie B. Wiltshire, president of the district's Parent Advocates for Children, urged the board to stop bickering and think about the students.
Earlier in the meeting, a single mother walked out because her child was not on a list of students hired for summer jobs at the district, Wiltshire said. No one on the board noticed because they were fighting about the San Diego trip, she said.
"We don't have time for this," Wiltshire said. "We have people who need help. I am appalled at you -- all of you."
ndobo@ydr.com; 771-2032
