The former chief financial officer at the Iowa Association of School Boards told legislators that he never meant for the association to be billed for his tropical vacation. Kevin Schick testified before the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee Thursday, repeatedly answering questions about his December trip to Bora Bora. Schick at one point told lawmakers he made charges on the association’s card because his personal credit card had been compromised.
“I was sitting at Christmas opening gifts and I received a phone call to my house and they were saying, ‘Are you making charges from Brazil? Are you making charges?'” Schick testified yesterday. “But obviously on Christmas Day, it’s hard to get a credit card and so there was a delay in the time when my personal card was replaced.”
Schick told lawmakers he “immediately” repaid the association once he returned from vacation. Lawmakers asked for proof that Schick’s own credit card had been compromised, and Schick said he’d have to ask his credit card company for the documents. Schick resigned abruptly in late January after he learned a “whistleblower” had come forward to complain about his financial stewardship of the school boards’ association.
“After that I felt like the investigation into that was handled in a manner that was inappropriate,” Schick said, “and I felt most comfortable resigning and going forward with something else.” Officials at the Iowa Association of School Boards have said Schick claimed to own an island and had once offered to put up two-million dollars so the association could pay off a loan and remodel its headquarters.
Thursday, Schick told lawmakers he’d never made such an offer. Also yesterday the man who was the association’s executive director until last July repeatedly refused to answer lawmakers’ questions about his 12-year tenure at the Iowa Association of School Boards. The woman who took over as the group’s chief executive was fired in March for significantly raising her own salary without board approval.
The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee has been holding hearings, asking about audits of the group and questioning key figures in the on-going investigation.