On Friday afternoon, the Paso Robles joint unified school district published two additional statements from superintendent Jennifer Loftus and board president Joel Peterson regarding credit card allegations against the district. These are made in response to an article by CalCoast News, and subsequently the California Post. The articles cite charges on the district’s credit card, saying some of the purchases “violate the constitutional ban on gifts of public funds, and the district’s own credit card rules.” This includes about $7,000 spent at San Antonio Winery, and meals purchased regularly by assistant superintendent Brad Pawlowski, alleging they were linked to his work in Bakersfield by the fiscal crisis and management assistance team.
Superintendent Loftus’s statement says Pawlowski’s meal purchases in Bakersfield were related to district business, as he serves on the self-insured schools of California board as a district employee, requiring travel to Bakersfield. She also says “the existence of a credit card charge does not, by itself, establish that an expenditure was improper or made for personal benefit,” and calls for corrections by California Post and CalCoast News.
Joel Peterson’s statement similarly says “our annual staff celebration is made possible by a private donation and is held at a local venue that happens to be a winery. The charges identified in the complaint… are fully paid for by that donation.”
Both statements cite the district’s recent move to have these expenses examined by a personal investigator, but says “this investigation should never have been necessary. These charges were budgeted, approved by the board in public session, and reviewed by our independent auditors.”
