MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Radical changes are coming to the Miami-Dade School Board after a former member was arrested for allegedly racking up massive bills on her board-issued credit card.
Questions and concerns from the community were directed at members of the Audit and Budget Committee, all about what went wrong and how former school board member Lubby Navarro managed to allegedly steal and spend thousands of dollars on her district-issued purchasing cards.
The superintendent and his staff provided some answers on Tuesday.
High-ranking district staff, like Chief Financial Officer Ron Steiger, first noticed irregularities in Navarro’s spending.
“The individual, per the inspector general report, went around the system completely,” said Steiger.
The investigation shows that while Navarro had a $6,000 monthly spending limit, in 10 out of 12 months in 2022, she requested credit line increases.
Local 10 News has since learned that audits on school board members had not taken place since 2011 and that new, concrete measures are being taken at the district following Navarro’s arrest.
A memo from Superintendent Jose Dotres, dated Jan. 24, exactly a week after the first school board meeting following the arrest, details some of the changes:
- Credit line increases on purchasing cards (P-Cards), travel cards for all employees will no longer be authorized by the Accounts Payable department.
- Credit line increases will now be submitted to and reviewed by superintendent’s chief of staff and approved by chief financial officer.
- Chief financial officer will assign accounts payable staff member to review the P-Card and travel card expenditures of all school board members, general counsel, chief auditor, the superintendent and chief of staff.
- A complete overhaul of current paper-form-based expenditures and reconciliation.