MIAMI – CBS News Miami is investigating how Miami-Dade school employees spend their money after a former school board member was arrested Lubby Navarrowho faced multiple charges for allegedly using a county-issued purchasing card for personal items and vacations.
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade School Board underwent an internal audit examining extracurricular spending.
Miami-Dade Correctional Facility
“This money belongs to the taxpayers,” said Dr. Steve Gallon III, who represents the First District.
He explained the results that “no evidence of significant fraud, waste or abuse was found” in Purchase Card spending.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility and must monitor compliance,” stressed Dr. Gallon.
On January 17, the school board approved conducting internal audits and creating new policies related to the school district’s credit cards, known as purchasing and travel cards.
This came just days after former board member Lubby Navarro was arrested on charges that she spent more than $100,000 in taxpayer dollars on personal expenses.
The report describes the random sample of 34 monthly statements from 23 of the 116 P-cardholders in 83 departments from July 2021 to January 2024.
Although no fraud has been detected, problems persist.
In one case, “250 umbrellas valued at $2,349 were purchased.” The items were considered “personal.” Five unbidden purchases totaling over $11,000 violated county policy. Other issues included incomplete forms or missing original receipts.
Dr. Gallon emphasized the need for continuous and improved training.
“I hope that any problems that have arisen will be recognized as an anomaly,” said Dr. Gallon. “You can’t eliminate intent, but you can improve compliance.”
“We need 21st century systems to make the school district function,” added Luisa Santos, another school board member who represents District 9.
Santos mentions a newly implemented online system for entering and tracking expenses following Navarro’s arrest.
“We all received training, but everyone’s cards were blocked and could not be used until the training was confirmed,” Santos said.
Still underway is an audit by the Office of the Inspector General, which will examine spending by current and former school board members over the past five years, jointly with the Office of the Superintendent, the General Counsel and the Chief Auditor.
“Make sure every office follows all the rules,” Santos said. “Since I’ve been in office, we’ve had to show every single receipt, whether it was for one dollar or $5.10.”
Board members were not aware of the timeline for completion of the other audit, which included recommendations to monitor spending and increase credit card limits.
Navarro’s next court hearing is scheduled for August 26 at 9:30 a.m.
Click here to read the report.
Joe Gorchow
