Below is a follow up article on the $180,000 fraud case in Monroe County in the School District.
- People are calling for the resignation of the School Supt because his wife is accused.
- High School students running for office are doing so on a "fiscal integrity" ticket.
- They are barely starting investigation into misuse of school credit cards...
This is a good example of how ignoring cash and finance controls at a school, possibly due to nepotism, can really cause problems not only for a School District Board but the Superintendent.
Note: In the Lake County (FL) School District, there have been two past audits of school accounts where it was found that Lake County high schools had very poor controls over game tickets. They could not match the ticket "sold" count to the cash collected. I was in the audit committee meetings for one of the audit presentations, and we tried to get the issue added to the personnel file for the Principals who ignored earlier audit findings, but it went nowhere. The problem was that if you cannot account for serially numbered tickets "sold" or distributed at football games, etc. then it means either someone is stealing some of the cash collections, or they are giving free tickets to friends or VIPS without accounting for them. (I once was an auditor for the County of Los Angeles and their golf courses, which had the same problem). I don't know what happened in the most recent audit of school accounts, but I bet there wasn't much improvement, since the period in question would have been while Anna Cowin was superintendent. Hopefully the new administration will take cash controls over game tickets more seriously and fix the reported weaknesses. One weakness under Cowin was that the CFO didn't seem to have authority over cash controls at schools, when that should be the normal practice. My recommendation to the current Board and Administration: Don't mess around, and ensure proper cash controls are in place in all schools (inlcuding Lake Tech), including installation of safes to put funds into (which was another earlier recommendation that may or may not have been implemented).
vj
from a Florida Keys newspaper HERE
Acevedo wins board showdown
Pribramsky takes call to leave off the table
In a surprise move, Monroe County School Board member Steve Pribramsky on Tuesday withdrew a proposal asking Superintendent Randy Acevedo to resign following the arrest of Acevedo's wife for alleged theft of school cash.
Instead, the board heard rounds of cheers from the packed meeting room at the Key West district offices as several of Acevedo's supporters -- including a past superintendent and the president of the teacher's union -- blasted the board for what was labeled harassment.
Acevedo, an elected superintendent, once again publicly professed his innocence and made it clear he would remain in office even if the board voted to seek his removal.
"I do not intend to take leave or resign. I have not done anything wrong. I have not neglected my duties," Acevedo read from a prepared statement. "I was not a part of any of the alleged charges against my wife."
Acevedo's wife, Monique, was charged last week with grand theft and fraud for allegedly stealing more than $180,000 in adult cosmetology tuition and other class fees when she served as the School District's adult education coordinator. She turned herself in to authorities Thursday and was released on her own recognizance. Her arraignment is set for May 26.
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said his investigation is now moving to Monique Acevedo's alleged misuse of her district-issued credit card.
Finance records show thousands of dollars of purchases of personal items like DVDs, clothing and furniture that were recorded as "textbooks" and "supplies" for her adult education programs.
Randy Acevedo has not been accused of financial malfeasance, but Pribramsky says Acevedo can't effectively lead the district in light of the finance scandal.
Pribramsky's resolution had called for Acevedo to step down or be suspended by the governor "until the pending investigations of the Monroe County School District's finances are completed, the prosecution of the superintendent's wife is concluded, and all audits of the financial system of the Monroe County School District have been finished."
Monique Acevedo hadn't yet turned herself in on the arrest warrant when Pribramsky drafted the resolution. He had also heard that Key West High School students running for Student Council were running on platforms, in part, promising financial integrity.
"I have a concern that even our children are being affected," Pribramsky told the board. "But a number of people have contacted me and asked me to delay this resolution until the audit findings" are released, which is expected in several weeks.
Leon Fowler, president of the United Teachers of Monroe, wanted the board to make it clear it was tabling the resolution entirely -- not just delaying it.
"I'm concerned you are going to pull this item and make it seem like you're going to talk about it at a later date," Fowler said. "Let's remove the cloud around the superintendent and let him do his job."
Acevedo's attorney, Michael Halpern, said Acevedo shouldn't be indicted for the "crimes of a wife" and that Keys students could learn the dangers of "mob mentality" from the board's actions.
Former Superintendent A.J. "Bookie" Henriquez also defended Acevedo, who he said has the support of many administrators and teachers in the district.
"All of the information points to a single employee in the school system," Henriquez said. "Stop the harassment."
Board Chairman Andy Griffiths said he did not want the board "divided" and generating "sensational headlines" in local newspapers.
"We all know it's the 800-pound gorilla in the room," board member Duncan Mathewson said.
