(Screen grab, KSL-TV)
SALT LAKE CITY — Several employees in the Tooele School District will have to repay the money they spent to attend a conference reported KSL 5 TV’s Tanya Dean.
That’s because the money they spent, wasn’t theirs. Instead, it came from the school district. And the conference they paid to attend in person had been canceled and switched to a virtual conference.
A representative from the Tooele School District said they didn’t know about the issue until they received a records request from KSL-TV.
That request revealed that five district employees registered for the conference, flew to Savannah, Georgia, stayed in hotel rooms, and used per diem allocations, all when they could have stayed at home and attended the virtual conference.
In their defense, the employees said they bought non-refundable airline tickets and hotel accommodations.
District spokeswoman Marie Denson told KSL TV that each employee will be responsible for paying the district back to the tune of around $2,000. In all, the records request revealed the employees spent $10,000 on the trip.
“It was definitely an error in judgment on their part,” Denson said.
Along with paying the money back, the employees will also face disciplinary action.
And the district said it will change its policy to prevent the purchase of non-refundable flights and rooms.