DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three months into his tenure leading Des Moines public schools, Ian Roberts asked the district's board for emergency approval of $116,000 in contracts.

The agreements to provide training on “culturally responsive coaching,” the superintendent said, had to be approved within days. But the district’s procurement manager discovered one contract was earmarked for a company that marketed Roberts as a consultant and speaker, sold his books and helped raise his profile, an Associated Press investigation found.

Finance officials warned Roberts that contracting with Kansas City-based Lively Paradox would be a conflict of interest, and Roberts canceled the special board meeting he'd requested in September 2023.

Since his arrest last month by immigration agents, the publi

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