(The Middle Sq.) – Latest state audits have referred to as consideration to some Pennsylvania faculty districts’ lackadaisical controls which have made auditing how tens of tens of millions of {dollars} had been spent unimaginable.
The audits don’t recommend any criminal activity, however poor compliance measures can cover how taxpayer {dollars} are being wasted or improperly spent.
A Could efficiency audit of Allentown Metropolis Faculty District reported $8.5 million in transportation reimbursements that was “unauditable” over a four-year interval.
“Allentown Metropolis Faculty District (District) didn’t implement an ample inside management system over the enter, calculation, and reporting of normal transportation knowledge,” the report famous.
The reimbursements cowl transportation prices primarily based on the variety of college students, the variety of days autos had been used, and the variety of miles that autos are used with and with out college students. For Allentown, the district reported scholar numbers rose whereas car numbers fell in 2016-17 to 2017-18. Then, from 2018-19 to 2019-20, college students transported fell considerably whereas autos and reimbursements jumped considerably.
“Primarily based on previous accumulative expertise, reported info of an inconsistent nature like this means doable errors and, due to this fact, warrants an in depth assessment of the reported info,” the report famous.
The dearth of documentation, nevertheless, makes such a assessment unimaginable.
District employees who had been liable for calculating and reporting transportation knowledge had been additionally not adequately skilled on the Pennsylvania Division of Schooling’s reporting necessities. Moreover, the district didn’t have an ample assessment strategy of the information it obtained from the contractor that supplied transportation companies, the report mentioned.
In response to the auditor’s report, the district mentioned it could improve inside controls to assessment and confirm the transportation knowledge and supply “periodic coaching” on PDE reporting necessities.
A earlier audit in 2016 famous comparable points with the Allentown faculty district when it was overpaid by $1.76 million for transportation reimbursements pertaining to nonpublic and constitution faculty college students.
Equally, one other Could efficiency audit for Chichester Faculty District famous $1.98 million in transportation reimbursements had been additionally “unauditable.”
“Regardless that we had been unable to audit the reported knowledge, a cursory assessment of the reported knowledge confirmed potential irregularities that warranted additional assessment,” the report famous. Chichester had a big drop in transportation reimbursements, from $792,000 in 2016-17 to about $300,000 in 2017-18. The district relied on transportation software program to calculate the information as a substitute of reviewing documentation.
It additionally lacked documentation to clarify a reimbursement tied to a PennDOT hazardous strolling route. “The inconsistencies within the quantity of reimbursements obtained, in addition to the shortage of documentation from PennDOT, would point out that reporting errors most certainly occurred.”
The auditor, nevertheless, couldn’t decide the scope of the error or the financial impact as a result of an absence of documentation.
These recurring points with inside controls and documentation for transportation funds isn’t precisely uncommon. A February press launch from Auditor Common Timothy DeFoor famous 5 different faculty districts that led to overpayments and underpayments, and $11.4 million in transportation funds that might not be audited.
“Inside controls are practices and processes that assist ensure that faculty districts are appropriately managing their funds and operations,” DeFoor mentioned. “They supply accountability for a way tax {dollars} are spent and utilizing these important safeguards can assist to stop waste.”