...A few days before the latest committee’s meeting Thursday, the school system released expense records for school board staff following a request from the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County. The system has already released records for school board members and other school system officials.http://www.gazette.net/article/20140703/NEWS/140709547/1124/montgomery-county-school-board-panel-mulls-more-limits-on-member&template=gazette
The committee plans to meet again before passing along its recommendations to the full board this month.
The staff expense records note that Ikhide Roland Ikheloa, the chief of staff to the board, mistakenly used his school system-issued credit card to make several purchases and that he reimbursed the system.
According to the records, Ikheloa’s accidental card uses include a $581.87 purchase at a Mr. Tire store, a $67.09 purchase at Target, a $50 purchase at Sargent Cleaners, a $36.56 purchase at Giant and a $33.25 purchase at CVS. He returned the Target items and reimbursed the system for the other charges, the records say.
“Mr. Ikheloa mistakenly used his district card to makes purchases that were not job-related,” school system spokesman Dana Tofig wrote in an email. “In each case he quickly rectified the situation.”
The school system also paid for an October 2013 dinner for board members and others during an Ocean City conference totalling about $509, according to the records. The dinner purchases, which do not go against school system policy, included a $42 surf and turf dish, a $39 lobster tail dish and a couple of orders of $39 prime ribs.
The records also show that the school system paid for board member Judith Docca to take taxis to meetings and events related to her school board role. She has been unable to drive due to health issues. One February taxi trip to a meeting in St. Mary’s County cost about $457. Multiple trips have cost about $20 to $30, while others have cost more than $300, $200 and $100...
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So, much of the summer will be spent focusing on the illegal use of credit cards. These board members are behaving like immature teenagers....................signing off on each other's illegal use of credit cards. They are also terrible role models for MCPS students. You know that this is NOT a few mistakes by some absent minded board members when the high school elected board member is staying in expensive hotels and ordering up prime rib from room service. This is a dishonest culture in MCPS. MCPS staff and board members all exhibit the same reckless behavior with our tax dollars. Kimberly Statham buying 2 leather computer bags and Roland Ikholoa, COS, buying tires for his car?!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNow, tax payers, MCPS parents, council officials, Parent Coalition, and the press are forced to babysit our elected BOE and their MCPS senior level staff friends? All of these people need to resign. Our focus is now on policing MCPS and the BOE. What about the children?
When you can't do your job because your job has now become one of covering your illegal/unethical behavior, you need to resign.
And yet, when the general election comes around, bets are every incumbent running for the BOE will win. People like scandals so they make mountains out of molehills. Sure SOME of the charges are inappropriate, but we also pay these people less than their services are worth
ReplyDeleteWhat? What you must be kidding.
DeleteIn 2011 Mr. Ikheloa's salary was listed as $156,142.
@ AnonymousJuly 11, 2014 at 12:04 PM: Are you Josh Starr or a member of the BOE?
Delete$156,142.+ Tires
DeleteThese charges are outrageous. The culture of MCPS is outrageous. It's public employees gone wild. Between the unions and the BOE spending is out of control. These people don't care that they work for the taxpayer. They spend because there is a sense of entitlement. It's like they've got it made with credit cards, can't be fired and life long pensions. Saving county funds is never a consideration for MCPS big wigs.
ReplyDeleteDana Tofig said: “In each case he quickly rectified the situation.” Two months to pay back the taxpayers for a set of Tires is not "quickly."
ReplyDeleteAnd the only other thing that would "rectify the situation" is for Ikheloa to hand in his credit card. Waiting to see what the Office of the State Prosecutor has to say about all this.
Any other REAL business concern would have fired these people for stealing and fraud.
ReplyDelete