(Radio Iowa) – A report from the State Auditor’s office has identified questionable expenses filed by the former Des Moines superintendent who was arrested by immigration agents last September. Ian Roberts has pleaded guilty to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen when he was hired by Des Moines Public Schools, as well as a gun-related charge, and he’ll be sentenced in late May. State Auditor Rob Sand says the re-audit found Roberts failed to disclose a conflict of interest with a consultant who was paid over 62-hundred dollars.
“He had a pre-existing professional relationship with the owner of a company called Lively Paradox as well as a close and allegedly amorous personal relationship with that individual,” Sand said. “He did not disclose these conflicts to the Des Moines School Board and tried to steer contracts worth thousands of dollars, which he did do successfully, to this individual.” Sand says the district’s Chief Financial Officer found out Roberts had a professional relationship with the consultant, so Roberts waited until the C-F-O was out of the country on vacation to get the contract approved.
“It is completely unethical for someone to advocate for either a contract with someone with whom they have professional conflict or an intense personal conflict. At the time DMPS didn’t have a conflict of interest policy,” Sand said. “…They have since updated that policy, which is at least an improvement at this point.” Sand says Roberts also used the school district’s credit card 38 times for nearly two-thousand dollars worth of personal expenses, which he was allowed to repay.
A state senator asked the State Auditor’s office to review the process the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners used to grant Roberts a state license, but Sand says the agency has refused to provide information about its background check on Roberts and the third party vendor hired to conduct that check. “So the auditor’s office can’t tell you whether or not laws were being followed or whether or not taxpayer resources were spent responsibly here because the administration refused to answer questions or to provide any information,” Sand said.
Iowa Department of Education officials say they cannot provide those details because the auditor’s office did not send the agency what’s called an engagement letter to initiate the review. Sand says state law does not require the letter. In 2019, the federal government issued documents that allowed Roberts to work in the U.S., but that work authorization expired at the end of 2020. He was hired by Des Moines Public Schools and licensed by the state in 2023.
