Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced on Thursday that his office is starting a full audit of the Hickman Mills School District.
The auditor’s office launched an investigation into the school district in March following a whistleblower complaint about the potential misuse of school funds. Fitzpatrick said Thursday that it uncovered “significant issues,” prompting an audit of most of the district’s operations.
Fitzpatrick said the whistleblower raised concerns about travel expenses paid with a school credit card and a $1.4 million termination fee for canceling a technology contract.
He said school trips to Ghana and China also “raised red flags for many parents and taxpayers.”
"At a time when the school district is struggling to gain full accreditation, it's best they use the hard-earned tax dollars of district residents on providing a foundational education that prepares students for the future,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “Our initial investigation indicates that isn't the case which is why we are elevating this review to a full audit to dig even deeper and uncover other issues that may exist.”
Dr. Dennis Carpenter, the school district’s interim superintendent, said at a Thursday news conference that the district has already begun an internal assessment of budgetary and financial practices.
Since the auditor’s investigation began, Carpenter said the district has gone from having 47 credit cards issued to about three.
“While it's unfortunate that things have reached this point, I welcome this audit, because I believe the community deserves full transparency and how every single fund that comes in is used,” Carpenter said. “We'll cooperate with the state auditor's office every step of the way.”
Carpenter previously held the role of superintendent from 2013 to 2017. He said he was experiencing “deja vu,” referring to when he entered the district on the heels of another state audit.
District leaders on Thursday issued a request for proposals for an internal forensic review, Carpenter said, because auditors won’t begin their work for about five months.
He said the district will also provide updates throughout the audit process and launch a series of town hall meetings where families, staff and community members can share their thoughts.
“We’ll determine through that process, along with the processes of the state, what possibly went wrong and why did it go wrong?” Carpenter said. “Because our community and the children we get to serve each day deserve nothing less.”
The Hickman Mills School District has been striving for full accreditation from the state since it was classified as provisionally accredited in 2014. The school district’s test scores in 2024 were high enough for accreditation, but state officials said they needed more data before changing its designation.
The state education department considers leadership and financial stability when evaluating school districts for accreditation. Carpenter said those are obstacles that the district will have to cross.
Another challenge he said is the district’s budget. Carpenter said the school board approved a tentative budget in May, but he determined the budget is more strained than the board was made aware of.
Carpenter said a revised tentative budget would be presented at Thursday’s board of education meeting.
The school board announced last month that it relieved former superintendent Yaw Obeng of his duties. Obeng said in a letter shared online that his departure was without cause. He said there hadn’t been misconduct, financial impropriety or “any of the typical grounds for dismissal.”
