Federal probe into Leon County Schools ongoing

A federal criminal investigation into Leon County Schools was ongoing as of July, according to a report from the Florida Auditor General.

It’s the first public glimpse into the investigation in more than a year. In June 2015, Hank Coxe, an attorney representing the district, said the investigation was ongoing and not expected to end in the near future.

News the investigation was still open as of July comes as Superintendent Jackie Pons is seeking re-election against three challengers in the Nov. 8 general election.

The Auditor General noted the investigation’s status in a follow-up audit of the district released Monday.

“As of July 2016, no charges have been filed and the United States Attorney’s Office investigation was ongoing,” the audit report says.

Auditors fault LCS recordkeeping

Throughout the day Tuesday, the district maintained that the report was written in July, and that auditors had no new information about the investigation since 2015.

However, after questions about the time frame, the Auditor General’s Office called FDLE for an update, said Livetra Paul, director of internal auditing for the Leon County Schools.

“They verified as of today that the investigation is ongoing,” she said.

Paul, who was a liaison to state auditors throughout the process, said FDLE and a local agent with the FBI have been working the investigation in tandem.

The Auditor General also found that the district spent $667,846 on five law firms to represent the board and top administrators in any state or federal criminal investigation. The agency said the firms were hired and paid between January 2014 and June 2016; district officials said the last payment was made in August 2015.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with a federal grand jury and the FBI, began its investigation of the district in late 2013 or early 2014. At some point, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also launched an investigation.

Audit: LCS construction procedures 'need improvement'

In October 2014, the grand jury subpoenaed the district for thousands of pages of documents involving construction projects at 17 schools dating back to 2007. In March 2015, FBI agents seized the district’s email archive system after a federal magistrate judge found probable cause to believe it would contain evidence of a crime.

Chris Petley, a district spokesman, said the district has had no request for information or contact with any law enforcement entity “in regards to this situation” in more than a year and a half.

“To date, the superintendent has never been asked to interview by any law enforcement entity — though he would be more than willing to be interviewed if called upon,” he said.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.