We've been in meetings all morning. And Jonah's out sick. The Seattle Times has the news of the day: Silas Potter, the central figure in the Seattle Schools contracting scandal, failed to appear in King County Court and is now considered a fugitive. He was last seen in Florida where he had been working in a furniture store.

Potter is accused of funneling SPS money to Potemkin companies when he ran the small business contracting program for the school district. A state audit found $1.8 million in suspect billings.

The Times reports:

Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler issued the $100,000-bail bench warrant for Potter, who had been summoned with the other two defendants for arraignment on the felony charges.

Scott Peterson, senior deputy King County prosecutor, said efforts to reach Potter over the past several months have been unsuccessful. He said the Prosecutor's Office has learned that Potter has left his job in Florida and disconnected his phone.

"We're afraid he might have fled," Peterson said after the arraignment. "We'll find him."

A onetime furniture repairman, Potter had recently been working as a salesman at furniture store in Clearwater, Fla., until he stopped showing up in the past several days, a store employee told The Times on Monday.

Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, said a 50-state warrant would be issued for Potter and the case would be referred to the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force.

Quoting Erica here: "How does this end well?"