DeSantis asks Florida IG to probe former Disney-appointed board for dropping $2M on perks — including $500K on tickets

A board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the special tax district for Walt Disney꧟ World is asking the state’s inspector general to probe whether of♈ficials on the former board took millions in taxpayer dollars to pay for resort season passes and other perks.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversigh꧟t District told the inspector general’s office on Monday that the ✃board that used to oversee the Orlando theme park’s district paid Disney more than $2 million last fiscal year for its members and employees to have season passes, as well as discounts on hotel stays, merchandise, food and beverages.

Board members and employees of what was then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement Dဣistrict racked up $492,382.96 for tickets, $16,837.39 for merchandise discounts, $4,969.52 in food and beverage discounts and $3,764.48 in a water parks discount, 🐼according to a copy of the 2022 fiscal year first quarter invoice obtained by The Post.

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Reedy Creek employees also paid thousands of dollars over that same period for nights at the Disney Yacht Club Resort, the Disney Caribbean Beach Rꦐesort and Disney Coronado Springs Resort, per the invoice, which covers the period from Oct. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31. 2021.

“While the investigation into this matter is ongoing, the thousands of documents reviewed so far raise several issues regarding the entangled nature of RCID’s relationship with Disney,” the board’s email to the inspector’s general office reads.

The for Reedy Creek’s fiscal year 2022 listed $169,012,258 in total revenues and $178,736,100 in total expenditures, with 382 personnel. No lines item for passes or discounts were listed.

The DeSantis-appointed board combed through 🎶thousands of documents to investigate whether its predecessors, who were appointed by Disney, unethically received the perks.

The that created the special tax district capped board members’ compensation💙 at $100 per month, raising further questions about the lawfulness of the arrangement.

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Central ꦚFlorida Tourism Oversight District Administrator Glen Gilzean has since eliminated the benefits.

The referral is the latest step in a legal feud between the Florida governor a♏nd the entertainment giant, which began last year with Disney CEO Bob Iger speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act.

The law, known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, prohibited classroom instruction on sexual 𓂃orientation or gender identity between kindergarten and third grade.

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DeSantis responded to Iger’s criticism by stripping Disney World of i𝄹ts self-governing authority and establishing five new board members to oversee the 27,000-acre resort district.

The governor’s handpicked board sued Disney earlier this year over an 11th-hour attempt to undermine their a❀uthority, claiming their predecessors made a “backroom deal” to help the company retain de💃velopment rights.

Further l🔯awsuits have been filed by the House of Mouse at the state and federal levels in an effort to regain control of the district.

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Last week, Disney also sued the DeSantis-appointed board for damages days a♊fter the Florida governor had urged the company to “drop the lawsu🐽it” because they were “going to lose.”

DeSantis has taken shots from opponents in the 202ಌ4 Republican presidential primary over the battle with Disney, including frontrunner and former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki ♎Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The Florida governor is currently in a distant second place with 14.9% support in the GOP nominating contest, according to the RealCl🌜earPolitꦡics average, with Trump at 55.8%.