Three months before her departure, Gothard and the school board recognized her office for having secured an award from the state Department of Education for its timely submission of audited data and accuracy in reporting.

But a review conducted after a first wave of building renovations cost tens of millions more than projected found the district needed better coordination between its facilities and finance departments.

The lawsuit argues finance officials were trying to hold the facilities department accountable.

Mahanay flagged Tom Parent, then the district’s facilities director, for continuing to spend money beyond what had been approved by the state, the lawsuit alleges, and Schrul told school board members that Parent was using funds for other purposes to cover his deficits, “digging deeper holes in other funding sources.”

Parent now serves as senior operations officer for Minneapolis Public Schools.

Also cited in the lawsuit was St. Paul’s use of $10,000 in public funds to cover the costs of food trucks serving an invite-only party attended by district leaders before the 2022-23 school year.