On June 20, 2023, then-District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton made his final public appearance in Evanston before moving to DeKalb County, Georgia, to assume the same position.
Hundreds of Evanstonians gathered on that hot, sunny summer afternoon 14 months ago to dedicate Foster Field as the site of the new Fifth Ward school. Horton posed with a plaque bearing the date and a quote: “This land is dedicated in honor and recognition of this community and its unwavering commitment to return a walkable neighborhood school to the Fifth Ward.” Dr. Devon Horton, Superintendent. Every child, every day, whatever the cost.”
He posed for photos with the plaque alongside school board members and other District 65 administrators. He also talked about how the board entrusted him with the task of finding a way to build the new school when he came to Evanston in 2020, even though no one at the time could identify a funding source for the school.
“It happened,” Horton said. “The Fifth Ward is a community of strength and resilience, and I believe today’s reopening of a school is a testament to that spirit.”
A lot can change in a year. The board learned a few months later that the district had finished fiscal year 2023 with a budget deficit, and then then-interim superintendent (now permanent superintendent) Angel Turner announced in October that the new school would cost $65 million as planned, a far cry from the $40 million budgeted and a fact Horton did not disclose to board members before leaving for Georgia.
In addition, it took more than a year after the inauguration of the site until a Groundbreaking ceremony for the new school, and the project is not scheduled to begin until the end of this month.
In addition, in the two weeks immediately following the site’s inauguration, Horton made unauthorized personal charges on his District 65 Purchasing Card (P-Card), the corporate Mastercard that some administrators have access to make payments for approved expenses.
In fact, as father and blogger Tom Hayden first reported last week In his FOIA Gras newsletter, the former superintendent used the district card to pay for car maintenance, gas, dinners, and a stay at a 4-star resort in Stone Mountain, Georgia, in late June and early July 2023. His employment with District 65 technically ended on June 30, 2023. Here is a sampling of some of those expenses according to district reports on P-Card usage:
- $518.05 at Coopers Hawk, a winery and restaurant in Morton Grove, on June 23
- $2,900 at Car Care Chicago on June 27th
- $157.99 at Love’s, a gas station and grocery store in Kentucky, on June 27
- $256.42 at LongHorn Steakhouse in Tucker, Georgia on June 29th
- $505.95 at Walgreens in Tucker, Georgia on June 30
- Total of $1,442 at Target in Tucker, Georgia on June 30 and July 2
- $3,093.67 at the Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort on July 2
- $103.84 at a Home Depot in Tucker, Georgia on July 2
- $1,258.14 at Enterprise Rental Car on July 3rd
“Several expenses were previously identified as erroneous and immediate reimbursement to the district was requested and received. Board Policy 4:55, Use of Credit and Procurement Cards, prohibits unauthorized use. The full Board Policy is available on the District 65 website”Hannah Dillow, communications manager for the district, said in a statement to the RoundTable on Monday.
“Our new financial services leadership, as well as the department as a whole, are committed to increasing transparency and ensuring the necessary systems for financial management and accountability are in place. This includes strengthened processes around the use of P-Cards and reporting measures. For more information, visit the Board meetings in September.”
Dillow did not address other questions raised during the roundtable, such as how and why Horton continued to have access to the P-Card during his move to Georgia or whether those expenses raised concerns about Horton’s use of the P-Card at other times.
According to district records, Horton repaid $12,634.94 on July 14, 2023, although it is unclear how the district arrived at that number of unauthorized expenses. According to a BMO Financial Group bank statement, he spent a total of $20,118.72 on the P-Card during a payment period from June 20 to July 8.
Through his DeKalb County press secretary, Horton declined to comment for this story.
