Two former employees served a lawsuit against St. Paul Public Schools Tuesday alleging the district “misused” and “misappropriated” a substantial amount of federal COVID relief funding in violation of state and federal statutes, sometimes at the directive of former Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard who now works in Wisconsin.

Former Chief Financial Officer Marie Schrul and former Business Systems Analyst Curtis Mahanay expect to file their whistleblower lawsuit in court Wednesday morning.

Schrul told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS she tried to warn then-Superintendent Gothard and the St. Paul School Board about the misappropriation of federal funds but was retaliated against in what she said was a “hostile” work environment. Schrul and Mahanay were both let go by the district in September 2022.

In their lawsuit, obtained by KSTP, Schrul and Mahanay claim “the district uses emergency COVID funds to maintain its budgetary shell game,” and a substantial portion of the federal funds were spent on “employee bonuses and perks.” Schrul said some of that same funding was used to help cover the district’s $43 million budget shortfall, which she said violated state and federal laws.

“I would question what they were buying for employees and it was the gifts around those, not only COVID funds, but the nutrition funds that were federal funds,” said Schrul.

The lawsuit claims Gothard, at one point, used taxpayer funds to throw an exclusive party for 300 school district employees by invitation only, which included $10,000 for food trucks alone.

“I tried to keep sight of why I was there and that was for the students, the community and taxpayers,” said Schrul.

KSTP reached out to Gothard, but did not hear back from him.

A spokesperson for St. Paul Public Schools said the district does not comment on pending litigation.

You can view the lawsuit in its entirety below: