Audit details weak controls, misleading budgets at Dublin City Schools
Auditors say weak controls and unreliable budget practices contributed to the district’s financial crisis.
DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A state audit found widespread financial mismanagement, weak internal controls and misleading budget information within Dublin City Schools, according to a report released this week by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts.
Georgia’s House Appropriation Committee Chair Rep. Matt Hatchett requested the audit as the district continues working to dig out of a financial crisis. The objective was to identify the root causes of the issues and recommend corrective measures.
The 15-page report says that the audit identified “purchases that raised concerns about potential waste and abuse of public funds, along with weaknesses in staffing and compensation practices” within the school system.
Auditors wrote that “absent or weak expenditure controls and deficient budget processes” were the primary causes of the district’s financial crisis, adding that the use of temporary COVID-19 funds “masked these problems for years” before they resurfaced as deficits.
According to the report, Dublin City Schools lacked “adequate internal controls over the expenditure process,” including “sufficient pre-approval procedures, attention to budget alerts, and oversight of credit card usage.”
The audit also found that budget assumptions presented to the Board of Education were unreliable. Auditors said “budget assumptions were not supported by evidence or properly reconciled,” which resulted in “the presentation of inaccurate financial projections to the Board of Education.”
Additionally, the audit said the district “employed substantially more staff than earned under the State of Georgia’s Quality Basic Education funding formula” and that the system employed “roughly twice as many staff members funded through local and federal funds when compared to their peer systems.”
Auditors also found that the district used temporary federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay for ongoing expenses, writing that the district “used temporary COVID funds to support ongoing personnel and operating expenditures and did not appropriately plan or budget for the expiration of these funds.”
In a response issued Wednesday by Dublin City Schools, district leaders said they are working with the Georgia Department of Education, the Department of Audits and Accounts and state officials to address the findings and restore financial stability.
Interim Superintendent Marcee Pool said the district is implementing corrective actions outlined in the report.
“We are extremely grateful to the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts for this deep dive into the causes of our current situation,” Pool said. “Diligent doesn’t begin to describe how we are working alongside our financial advisors, the Georgia Department of Education, the DOAA, and state officials to address every item outlined in this report and to implement best practices at every level to protect the district’s financial stability and ensure its integrity moving forward.”
On October 21, 41NBC reported that the Board of Education approved millions of dollars in budget cuts after facing a budget shortfall of $13 million. Additional coverage on October 24 and October 27 mentioned state monitoring efforts and more cost-saving measures, including shortening the academic calendar.
