Waukee school administrators improperly used district charge cards, spent large sums of money on out-of-state retreats and violated district policies without consequences, according to a state auditor's investigation.

In a report released Thursday, Iowa Auditor Mary Mosiman said her office found at least $130,244 in payments that were "not in the best interest of taxpayers," including $83,234 spent on team-building trips out of state and $48,600 at local restaurants.

It also identified a culture of mistrust between employees and administrators and a failure of fiduciary responsibility by school board members.

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The report comes nearly a year after state Rep. Rob Taylor and state Sen. Charles Schneider asked the state auditor to investigate the district.

The Republican lawmakers made the request after the Des Moines Register published a series of articles detailing allegations of misconduct, bullying andretaliation at the district's administrative office.

►More:Waukee administrator altered time cards, used district property at home, reports say

Those reports highlighted a 2016 internal investigation that determined Eric Rose, the district's chief operating officer, fabricated employee time cards, used school property at his home and solicited donations for his son’s hockey team from district vendors.

The Des Moines Register's reporting of allegations of misconduct, bullyingand retaliation at the Waukee school district initiated this audit. Your digital subscription supports important watchdog reporting such as this. Click here to subscribe for 99 cents a month.

Waukee school district spokeswoman Amy Varcoe said in an email that some of the audit's findings "fail to reflect the high expectations we set for our district leaders."

"It is our responsibility to learn from the past and move forward into a future that best serves our staff and students," she said.

Among the auditor's findings:

$83,234 was spent on four trips to Kansas City and one to Omaha in five years. That included mileage, taxi trips and team-building activities at escape rooms in Kansas City that totaled $790 and a pedal pub — a 16-person bike that the group rides to various bars — in Omaha that cost $642.

$48,600 was spent on meals throughout the Des Moines metro, including $8,669 at Spaghetti Works, $8,179 at Jethro's, and $6,364 at Perkins.

More than $2,000 was spent at stores across the metro, including an escape room, florist, jeweler and at the Jordan Creek Apple Store. Nearly $500 was spent on hotels in Des Moines.

Superintendent Cindi McDonald purchased $16,684 worth of furniture for her office. Former Chief Financial Officer Lora Appenzeller-Miller spent $622 on an office chair. Another $10,596 was spent on eight lounge chairs for district offices.

COO Eric Rose spent $612 on car washes in a two-year period. Two other employees spent $139 and $169 on two car detailings.

The district's batting cage was accessed 35 times in two months using Rose's key card. Auditors believe the cages were used by either Rose’s son or his son’s friend because the facility was accessed after work hours and on weekends.

In addition, auditors found instances in which employees other than Rose used district-owned equipment at their homes, including a dehumidifier, tables and chairs, a lawn sprayer and scaffolding.

"A 'culture' was established where this type of behavior or actions carried no consequences and sent a message there was no need to consistently enforce board policies," the audit says.

►More:Waukee schools investigation: What you need to know

The report provides details on a culture of mistrust that was bolstered by a lack of communication and transparency.

"Relationships between certain individuals in key positions affected the decision-making and oversight of certain operational areas," the report says.

Three former employees filed wrongful termination lawsuits against the Waukee Community School District and Rose, claiming they were forced to resign after the district's administration retaliated against them for reporting Rose's actions to investigators.

The district settled one lawsuit in May with former operations manager Nicholas Bavas for $175,000. A lawsuit filed by Amy Patters, a former administrative assistant, is scheduled to go to trial in June.

The third lawsuit filed by a former grounds supervisor was dismissed.

In January, Waukee headed off a potential fourth wrongful termination lawsuit when it paid nearly $1 million to former Human Resources Director Terry Welker.

Welker claimed the district eliminated his position after he cooperated with investigators. He provided police and internal investigators with a "diary" detailing allegations of Rose's misconduct.

The district said his position was eliminated due to budget cuts. It admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Those lawsuits "are further evidence of the unfavorable environment and working conditions in the district," the state audit says.

Rose, who was hired as Waukee's chief operating officer in 2011, earns $142,800 a year.

McDonald took over as superintendent in February 2017 after the resignation of longtime Superintendent David Wilkerson. She served as associate superintendent for six years before that. Her annual salary is $200,000, according to an Iowa Department of Education database.

The district declined a request to interview McDonald following the release of the audit, which examined the district's finances from July 1, 2013, to Dec. 31, 2017.

Varcoe, the district spokeswoman, said Thursday that the district will continue to look for ways to promote a positive work environment.

"Waukee Community School District's focus remains on doing what we do best and that is educating our students at the one of the highest level (sic) in the state, supporting our teachers, staff and principals, with a positive learning and growing environment," she wrote.

Auditors also admonished the school board for failing to provide proper fiduciary oversight, which ultimately "enabled a dysfunctional work environment with a lack of accountability and trust." Specifically, the board did not exercise oversight in the personal use of district equipment, monitoring travel expenses, or ensuring compliance with district policies.

In several instances, auditors found board members approved items without having full or clear information. For example, Rose and other administrators were given a 2 percent raise in April, but the salary package that was presented to the board before the vote was incomplete. Lori Lyon was the only board member to vote against it.

School board President Wendy Liskey did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The audit recommends several areas of improvement and new policies for the district to consider.

Schneider, one of the state lawmakers who requested the special investigation, said he hopes the Waukee school board heeds the auditors' advice.

"They ought to hold anyone who is responsible for misappropriation of taxpayer funds fully accountable," he said.

Schneider also called for criminal prosecution should the Dallas County Attorney's Office or Iowa Attorney General's Office find evidence to bring charges. Both offices have received copies of the audit.

Taylor, now a retired legislator, called on the Waukee school board to hold a vote of no confidence in the superintendent. He's also demanding an explanation from McDonald on why Rose is still employed by the district.

"To me, it just looks like we're continuing to reward bad behavior, incompetence and lack of leadership," Taylor said.

Varcoe said the district has made some procedural changes in its business operations and is in the process of changing some of its policies, including reviewing the activity fund and staff responsibilities to ensure proper internal controls.

"The audit findings confirm policy and procedural changes we have implemented or will be implementing, to strengthen our administrative and operations controls, protocols, policies and procedures," she wrote.