KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A state audit of the Pathway Academy charter school in Kansas City, Missouri, says the school improperly paid bonuses and had questionable credit card policies.
The Missouri Auditor’s office gave the charter school, which closed at the end of the 2018-19 school year, a grade of “poor” for paying more than $25,000 in bonuses to employees in violation of state law.
The school also paid out more than $3,000 in unsupported compensation.
"Charter schools need to be operated and overseen in a way that efficiently and effectively serves not only the students who go there and their families, but also the taxpayers who provide the school's funding,” Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway said Tuesday in a release. “The money at Pathway was greatly mismanaged, and that is disappointing," Auditor Galloway said. "My office has turned over the findings of this audit to the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney and the Missouri Attorney General."
READ: Auditor’s report on Pathway Academy
Galloway’s staff also found nearly $20,000 in “questionable and unsupported transactions,” involving food, sporting and art functions, gift cards and other payments to employees.
State auditors were made aware of possible concerns in 2019 by the Missouri Charter Public School Commission.
