DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – A Detroit Public Schools Community District assistant director in the accounts payable department was recommended to be terminated after an agreement to pay a janitorial vendor more than $1 million without approval was uncovered. The vendor hadn’t worked for the district since 2014.

The district investigation stated that the assistant director issued 431 total payments with a total in excess of $1 million from 2018 to 2024 for work alleged to be done in 2014. The assistant director only verified work was rendered by the contractor for three invoices totaling $35,000. The assistant director claimed that the janitorial vendor was owed the money for services rendered from 2014 and before.

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The school district placed the employee on administrative leave when the agreement was discovered and then moved to fire the employee at its December school board meeting. The information was provided to the school board members at that meeting.

According to district documents, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti sent a memo in November 2017 to all staff advising them of a “last call” for all unpaid invoices from 2017 and before. The assistant director responded to the 2017 memo with a list of vendors who needed to be paid and the janitorial vendor was not on that list.

Payments to vendors of $250,000 or more require approval by the school board. The assistant director was able to make the payments “without being detected by using off-cycle check runs and an account string that is intended for small contracts,” the district stated.

The assistant director made a verbal agreement with the owner of the janitorial business “without the approval or knowledge of any other District staff … and had no authority to make such an agreement with any vendor,” the district stated.