Schools

School accounts still flawed

An audit shows problems with the district's accounting, some uncorrected from last year.

By TOM MARSHALL, Times Staff Writer
Published November 6, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Finance director Deborah Bruggink says prenumbered receipt books aren't feasible.

BROOKSVILLE - For the second year in a row, auditors have found flaws in the way the Hernando County schools manage funds in school-based "internal accounts."

And six out of 12 flaws discovered last year have yet to be corrected, said the auditors from King & Walker in Tampa.

The internal funds are raised from nonpublic sources, such as athletic events, vending machines and donations, and spent on things like sports programs and field trips. But the money is nonetheless considered public, and must be handled as such by bookkeepers in each school.

In some cases, the amounts raised are considerable. Together, the county's four high schools began the 2006-07 school year with a $1,025,754 balance, more than two-thirds of the district total. During the year, they took in receipts totaling $2.3-million, and finished the school year with $1,079,946 still in the bank.

During that time, Central, Springstead and Nature Coast Technical high schools earned just .05 percent on their money in a regular checking account, while Hernando High earned a rate that varied from .05 to 5.39 percent. The auditors said the district could have earned 5.35 to 5.4 percent in a state government investment pool.

While the high schools did a fine job of managing the ticket logs at sports events, D.S. Parrott Middle School and Chocachatti Elementary didn't, auditors said.

At five schools - Parrott and West Hernando middle schools, and Brooksville, Deltona and Westside elementary schools - mailed donations and vending commissions aren't recorded on prenumbered receipts, and the mail is opened by the bookkeeper. The auditors said such practices increase the risk of errors or fraud.

Finance director Deborah Bruggink said the district office does its best to encourage good accounting practices at each school.

"We do try to work with them, but there's a lot of autonomy once you get away from the district office," she said. "When you look at how much money runs through, there certainly is some exposure here."

The auditors recommended that the district issue prenumbered receipt books to each of its 21 schools, and require schools to reconcile collections with deposits.

"That's not feasible," Bruggink said, describing the complexities of keeping receipts in sequence across the entire district. "There's just no way."

Tom Marshall can be reached at tmarshall@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431.

[Last modified November 5, 2007, 20:02:59]