First-class flights and resort booze. WA Commerce failed to oversee ed grant, audit finds

First-class flights and resort booze. WA Commerce failed to oversee ed grant, audit finds Ann Dornfeld August 13, 2025 / 2:37 pm

A state audit found the Washington Department of Commerce failed to properly oversee $10.7 million intended to bring broadband access, laptops, and training to people in underserved communities.

State auditors found that from July 2023 to June 2024, the state department advanced $8.4 million to the Equity in Education Center, its main contractor on the Digital Navigator Program, rather than reimbursing the contractor for documented expenses, as the grant required.

The majority of the $10.7 million paid to the Equity in Education Center during that fiscal year did not have sufficient documentation to determine whether the grant expenditures were allowabl