AUDITOR TELLS DISTRICT LUNCH MONEY INTACT

PATTON -- Missouri's deputy state auditor told about 80 taxpayers in the Meadow Heights School District Wednesday that although the school records are not perfect, they found no evidence of serious wrongdoing.

"We didn't find anyone stealing your lunch money," said Deputy State Auditor Chuck Pierce. "We found nothing we believe is evidence to warrant bringing in the county prosecutor.

"But that doesn't mean you don't need to tighten up on some of your internal controls and do some things a little bit differently," he added.

Early last year, about 250 taxpayers in the Meadow Heights school district signed a petition asking the state to audit the district's books, claiming that money was missing from school accounts.

What the state found in its audit were a few inconsistencies in the school's books, but nothing that could not be mended by procedural changes.

First, the state found that the district was not sending accurate data to the state department of education, for purposes of receiving state transportation aid.

Auditors found that the district's count of students riding the buses was inflated. They also discovered that some school expenses were being paid out of the transportation funding, but were not linked directly with transportation.

But Pierce said part of the state's formula for transportation funding allows for some discrepancies.

"I'm not even sure that the state's department of elementary and secondary education will even be interested in taking this up," said Pierce. "If they do, you may end up paying some of the money back, you may break even, or you might even get some money back."

Meadow Heights Superintendent Thomas F. Waller said that most school districts occasionally will manipulate amounts in the transportation column in order to get the maximum state funding available.

"In the past, some of my salary has come out of the transportation account," said Waller. "It is in our best interest to maximize the amount we draw from the state."

It was suggested that the district should improve its procedures and safeguards regarding money received for tickets to athletic events and for school lunches. Problems include a lack of pre-numbered tickets for admission to sporting events and a failure to reconcile lunch money collected to lunch money deposited in the bank.

Another discrepancy auditors discovered was the school district did not properly report to the Internal Revenue Service some payments made to district staff. Also, the district paid three administrators, including Waller, nearly $7,000 in travel allowance without requiring documentation of how the money was spent.

"If there is no documentation of the way that money is being spent, then it has to be recorded as earned income on the administrator's W-2," said Pierce.

Finally, Pierce said the district improperly maintained property records and, therefore, are unable to account for and insure all district property.

"What you need to do is a complete inventory of all the school's property," said Pierce. "It's going to be a big project the first time you do it, but after that it's just a matter of maintenance.

"By keeping records like that, you'll be able to keep closer track of equipment and will also have an easier time getting adequate insurance for school property," he said.

The bottom line, Pierce said, was "to keep better records. (Officials from) the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are the ones who will decide if the things we found are a big deal or not," he added. "We just felt an obligation to point these things out."

The state's audit is the district's third in 14 months. The state has been working directly with the school since July.

"I'm glad it's over," said Waller. "Some of the state's suggestions we will pursue, some we will not because of their impractability for this district.

"But the point of this whole matter is that the petition told the state that there was money missing from school accounts. This shows that is not the case."