ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Francis Howell School District officials acknowledged this week that a controversial payment to a book reviewer was not "fully in line" with normal procedures, but said the expenditure did not break a state law the district was accused of breaching last week.

Earlier this summer, Francis Howell school board member Jane Puszkar came under fire for engaging with a consultant to review the district's library books for appropriateness. In emails obtained through records requests, then-Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos said Puskar entered into an agreement with the consultant, Jordan Adams, without authorization from district administrators or a vote of the school board's majority.

The district paid Adams anyway, after it received a $3,000 invoice for a list of books Adams s

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