Montco faculties unit to tighten insurance policies after leaders’ African safari

The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit’s board of administrators plans to tighten its skilled growth and journey insurance policies after studying in March that its leaders had used their company bank cards to buy abroad journeys — together with a 14-day African safari — with out the board’s data.

Mark Klein, an lawyer and former faculties superintendent who performed a two-month investigation into the journeys, informed board members at a digital assembly Tuesday evening that, going ahead, the board ought to require Montco IU leaders to obtain board approval for journey.

The present coverage, which Klein stated consists of no such requirement, is “in conflict with many of the school districts that are in the area.” He famous that it isn’t an uncommon coverage for an intermediate unit.

The exterior investigation started after The Inquirer reported in March that the Montco IU’s govt director, Regina Speaker, and its assistant govt director, Sandra Edling, had used their procurement playing cards to ebook about $40,000 price of worldwide journey since 2023.

Speaker has defended the 2023 journey she and Edling took to Kenya and Tanzania, which culminated a yearlong academy for training leaders run by the School Superintendents Association, generally known as AASA.

The itinerary included a visit to a tribal faculty, in addition to 11 nights in “handpicked hotels,” six sightseeing excursions, and eight wildlife drives in the hunt for zebras, monkeys, lions, baboons, cheetahs, hippos, elephants, wildebeests, and “the exceedingly rare black rhino.”

“Everything was through the lens of leadership,” Speaker beforehand informed The Inquirer. “It was about that process of survival of the fittest, and how are you a leader, and what do you prioritize.”

At Tuesday evening’s assembly, nonetheless, Speaker apologized for the dearth of “adequate transparency” round her journey.

“For anyone who felt disappointed, concerned or uncertain because of my decision, I sincerely apologize,” Speaker stated. “I never take your confidence or trust for granted. I remain committed to serving with integrity, humility, and transparency.”

Records obtained by The Inquirer final 12 months by means of a Right-to-Know request confirmed that Speaker in May 2023 made about $9,000 in purchases associated to the Africa journey with out offering receipts. The solely point out of Africa within the information appeared months later when she bought a Tanzanian eVisa for $139.

The Montco IU’s then-board president didn’t log off on the bills till after Speaker had returned from Nairobi.

Klein didn’t straight deal with these points in his presentation Tuesday. He advisable that the intermediate unit conduct an audit of how procurement playing cards are used.

Speaker, whose base wage was $298,000 final 12 months, additionally traveled to South Korea and Singapore for 11 days in April 2025 as a part of a $13,000 management academy.

Gary Ledebur, a Montco IU board member who additionally sits on the board of the Upper Merion Area School District, stated that whereas Speaker, based on Klein’s findings, didn’t violate any insurance policies, “I think Dr. Speaker took advantage of this lack of policy.”

“In my opinion, she exhibited an error in judgment,” Ledebur stated. “I wish she had chosen not to go on these trips.”

The intermediate unit, which gives help providers to greater than 200 space faculties, is one among 29 state-mandated companies in Pennsylvania. It has a $198 million funds and receives a mixture of native, state, and federal funding.

The full 21-person board, which consists of members from every faculty district board within the county, will meet later this month. It is predicted to just accept Klein’s suggestions.

“We have found some gaps in our policies, and now that we know that, we’re going to do better,” Margaret Wright, president of the intermediate unit’s board, stated Tuesday evening.

Expense studies present that in March 2025, Edling, whose base wage final 12 months was $215,000, used her procurement card to make about $7,000 in purchases associated to what’s described on the buying log solely as a “conference.” The paperwork didn’t title a location or provide specifics.

The Inquirer reported that the bills have been for a deliberate 10-day journey to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in October 2025 sponsored by AASA, the identical superintendents group that organized the African safari.

“Ascend into the Alps for an evening of true Swiss hospitality,” reads the itinerary. “As you feast on beautiful views from your hosts’ mountain chalet, enjoy traditional food, entertainment and fun Swiss games and activities.”

Two faculty visits have been additionally deliberate, based on a brochure, along with quick-tempo Viennese waltz classes, an underground practice journey into Austria’s historical Hallein Salt Mine, and a “journey to crazy King Ludwig’s fairy tale castle of Neuschwanstein.”

Edling ended up not occurring that journey. Speaker stated the IU subsequently froze all journey amid Pennsylvania’s funds deadlock that had held up a lot of the intermediate unit’s funding. (The cancellation additionally got here after The Inquirer had requested the information. Speaker stated the IU was in a position to get a refund for that journey.)

After The Inquirer’s story was printed, about 50 individuals confirmed up for the Montco IU’s subsequent board assembly, that are normally sparsely attended. At least 225 extra joined by Zoom. Intermediate unit staff expressed outrage.

“The trips felt deceptive and intentionally secretive, and I struggle to understand how they related to our mission,” Liz Forcellini, an occupational therapist on the IU, informed the board, including that some staffers have been paying for provides with their very own cash.

Public finance specialists stated the journeys raised bigger questions on whether or not taxpayers ought to pay the total value of professional-development outings that embrace substantial leisure time. Some faculty directors who went on the Africa safari paid for it out of pocket, together with the top of a New Jersey training service company who stated she additionally took trip days.

“Most of us would consider it a dream trip,” Andrew MacLeod, a private care assistant on the IU, informed the board on the March 25 assembly.

The saga took a weird flip the next night when Kimberly Wheeler, then a member of the Montco IU board, falsely acknowledged at a public assembly of the Souderton Area School District’s board of administrators that The Inquirer reporter who wrote the story “right now is under investigation with the Philadelphia police for misleading information, and reporting on inaccurate information.”

Sgt. Eric Gripp, a Philadelphia police spokesperson, stated in June that the division doesn’t conduct felony investigations of journalists for his or her reporting.

Wheeler later walked again her remarks a couple of police investigation and stated she had been “going by the word of Dr. Speaker.”

Asked for remark on the time, Speaker despatched a 2023 information launch issued by Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s workplace complaining a couple of story that had uncovered monetary issues in her workplace that 12 months. It made no point out of a police investigation.

Staff author Maddie Hanna contributed to this text.

Acknowledgment

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