Elmhurst D205 Misspending Findings Kept Secret

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 last week decided against providing its internal report on more than $50,000 in credit card misspending.

More than a year ago, a top district official promised to provide information on what it found about former official Todd Schmidt's spending on booze, cigars, airfare, restaurants, country clubs and his daughter's sorority.

The district started looking into the misspending around the same time in November 2024 that Patch submitted a public records request about it. Patch's request followed Schmidt's felony arrest for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his mother.

In December 2024, board President Athena Arvanitis told the public after a closed meeting about Schmidt, "More information will be provided to the community as we learn more about this matter."

Asked about the recent records denial, Arvanitis said in a statement Tuesday, "Though the District has denied this (Freedom of Information Act) request as it is pre-decisional and not subject to FOIA, the Board and District Administration have shared all known facts as it relates to the P-Card misuse by a prior employee and made them available to the public."

Through a records request last month, Patch obtained the Elmhurst police report on Schmidt's credit card use. He paid back the amounts every month, though he was using public resources for private purposes.

In the report, the police referred to the district's "Executive Summary of Findings," something that school officials had not publicly mentioned before.

The police cited passages from the summary that revealed that some employees were exempt from credit card oversight because of the volume of purchases.

The summary also stated that school officials believed Schmidt used district trucks for his personal commutes during his last two months, police said. Schmidt lives in Rockford, more than 70 miles away.

In its denial last week, the district cited the exception for preliminary notes and drafts under the Freedom of Information Act.

"Specifically, here, the record contains drafts and internal opinions and recommendations regarding an employee investigation before final decisions were made," Tonya Daniels, the district's public records officer, said in an email to Patch.

In May, the district released a report on the district's credit card spending from Chicago-based Ostrow Reisin Berk & Abrams, an auditing firm.

The firm's two-page report listed recommendations for the district's credit card practices, but said nothing about Schmidt's spending and how it was able to occur.

In response to Patch's inquiry, Arvanitis repeated the district's legal reasoning for withholding the records.

The other six board members – Kelly Henry, Kelly Asseff, Brian Bresnahan, Beth Hosler, Nicole Slowinski and Courtenae Trautmann – did not respond to Patch's messages Friday.

Last year, Argo Community High School in west suburban Summit faced a credit card scandal involving its superintendent. He was accused of spending thousands of dollars on porn, among other personal spending, with his school credit card. He did not pay the money back.

Instead of secrecy, Argo released a third-party report on the misspending. It revealed a new finance official had weakened controls.

In Elmhurst, the district has never publicly revealed who approved Schmidt's credit card spending. According to the police report, Schmidt told administrators before his December 2024 resignation that his boss was aware of it.

His supervisor was Chris Whelton, then-assistant superintendent of finance.

Last February, Whelton reached an agreement with the school board to resign after 14 years in the position. It was a move largely seen as a response to the credit card issue.

Another suburban district hired Whelton for a top finance position. He took a pay cut.