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You Paid For It – Push for state audit of Francis Howell School District

Published

2 years ago

March 14, 2023

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ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – The Francis Howell School District in St. Charles County is due to release what could be a stunning internal audit this week on the tens of millions it spent over budget for school improvements.

The audit is intended to explain some spending questions, like the construction project at Francis Howell North High School, which was supposed to cost $86.3 million but instead ended up costing nearly $164.7 million.

The internal audit will be released at Thursday’s public school board meeting. It’s intended to explain just how the spending of Proposition S funds was so far off track.

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Prop S was a $244 million tax measure passed by voters to improve schools in the district, with the biggest being the high school.

When the cost of the development was unattainable, it threatened funds for other projects that had to be put on hold because there wasn’t enough money.

One school board member is not satisfied with just an internal audit.

Randy Cook wrote a letter to the Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, asking his office to audit the district’s spending.

Cook wrote in the letter, “The district began construction of the new FHN High School in early 2021 without knowing the final price.”

Cook is not the only one wanting the state auditor to step in. Missouri Representative Phil Christofanelli of St. Peters also want them to intervene.

“Enron had internal audits as well. I think we need an independent review of the district’s finances to figure out why this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Christofanelli said. “The dramatic increases that we’ve seen, as opposed to what was told the voter about that bonding increases, dramatically exceeded during the time they took on the project. We need to figure out what happened there. There needs to be accountability, and if there was wrongdoing, they need to be held accountable.”

FOX 2 spoke with Ken Gontarz, the chair of the Citizen’s Group and Francis Howell Families, and asked what his biggest question mark is.

“How did this happen? We as a community asked and asked and asked for validation,” Gontarz said. “We asked for numbers during the entire process, we didn’t get it until the last minute. We got it in the November 21 time frame after the train left the station.”

FOX 2 reached out to the district for comment. A spokesperson from the Francis Howell School District released the following statement:

“We are aware of the request that was submitted to the state auditor. As our superintendent stated publicly at our January Board of Education meeting, we welcome any outside review of our process and procedures. We are working hard to be transparent regarding our finances and Prop S.”

There are also changes coming to the school board. Two of the current board members have decided not to run for re-election. The citizen’s group is targeting a third member for defeat at the polls. The third board member didn’t wish to comment on this story.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

1 year ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

1 year ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

1 year ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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