SC’s top prosecutor asks McMaster to investigate Midlands school district spending

South Carolina’s attorney general is asking the governor to investigate a Midlands school district.

Alan Wilson wrote to Gov. Henry McMaster Tuesday to ask the governor to investigate purchase card spending in Richland 1, alleging school district employees have misspent thousands of taxpayer dollars on improper purchases, including charges at grocery stores, restaurants, florists and dry cleaners.

In the letter, Wilson cites McMaster’s recent request that the state’s inspector general conduct an investigation of the Richland 2 school district under a new state law. Wilson said he has “recently received many of the same kind of complaints” about Richland 1’s spending and requests a similar investigation of the district’s purchasing card program.

“(S)uch alleged misuse of public funds can even amount to misconduct in office, carrying stiff criminal penalties if proven in court,” Wilson wrote. “These types of criminal violations should be vigorously prosecuted.”

Wilson cited examples of alleged misspending in his letter, citing Richland 1’s own internal audit of its spending program. That audit cited 1,071 purchases from blocked businesses recorded on district employees’ “p-cards” in 2020, totaling more than $148,000. Money was spent on “grocery stores, fast food restaurants, florists, dry cleaners, and civil, social, and fraternal groups,” the letter claims.

The audit called the unauthorized purchase of food, in particular, “prevalent” during the audit period, and said that such purchases often lacked the required documentation to show that purchases were made for school- or work-related reasons.

“Based on an initial review by my Office, the allegations about Richland One are not isolated but may be representative of a systemic problem throughout South Carolina,” Wilson writes. “Structural reform of public school district purchase card spending and procurement practices is sorely needed.”

Wilson says he has concerns about other school district conduct as well, including whether districts properly post notice of public meetings according to state’s Freedom of Information Act.

In addition to the requested investigation by the inspector general, Wilson said his own office “is continuing to actively review this matter and will determine whether further legal action is appropriate.”

A spokesperson for Richland 1 did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment Tuesday afternoon.