Denver Public Schools and the district’s board president have confirmed that disputed charges for Netflix and Xbox Live that appeared on a board member’s credit card statement will be credited back to the district.
The charges appeared on board member Andrea Merida’s credit card statements for the current fiscal year.
She disputed the charges, and the credit card company agreed to reimburse the district.
Merida said in an emailed statement, “These charges were disputed because they were fraudulent as the district reported to the Post previously. Even though board policy does not require me to make any payments to the district, I am covering my own normally-allowed expenses and have brought spending down to zero. By the time my first term is over, the district will have saved at least $15,400. I do this because I respect the sacrifice the taxpayers of my district have made, though the record shows that past board members neither curbed their own spending nor improved the policy. This board did, unanimously. It is truly unfortunate, that this situation has been spun for political gain, while our district buckles under the weight of risky investment schemes that drain millions in unbudgeted dollars from our classrooms.”
The charges that were being disputed included two Netflix charges of $10.76 each, a Netflix charge for $7.71, and four October charges for Xbox Live totaling $125.
The first of the recurring Netflix charges appears on July 21 under a PayPal charge with the district-paid credit card.
Merida did not use her credit card in November.
According to an emailed statement from board president Mary Seawell, “Andrea and all of the board members are following the new spending policy. I have seen no indication of misuse.”
The new board spending policy outlines allowable expenses such as mileage and board related work, while prohibiting spending on any political conferences, or events. It was approved unanimously at the October board meeting.
Mike Vaughn, spokesman for DPS, said Merida still has a district-paid credit card. Board member Arturo Jimenez is the only board member who has not agreed to renew his card.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
