State Releases Audit of DeKalb Schools
State officials released an audit of the DeKalb County schools this week. The report covered the school system’s finances from July 2011 to June of 2012.
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The audit found weaknesses in the district’s accounting practices, including a $14.4 million deficit and poor oversight of a federal technology grant. Chief Financial Officer Mike Bell says the district improved its accounting during the 2013 fiscal year.
“Within the general fund budget for ’13, as of June 30, 2013, we had collected about $26 million more than we spent,” Bell says.
Bell says the district did that by increasing property taxes and freezing spending. Part of the surplus went to pay down the deficit, leaving DeKalb with a fund balance of about $10 million. Bell says the district also improved its grant oversight.
“We’ve tightened the monitoring process for the overall administration of federal grants,” he says. “An additional grants analyst position has been added in the finance department as an experienced grants person.”
The audit was conducted before Bell and DeKalb superintendent Michael Thurmond joined the district. Bell estimates the district will have a fund balance of about $10 million at the end of this fiscal year.
Bell says the upcoming trial of former DeKalb superintendent Crawford Lewis should not affect the district financially. Although the district initially paid for Crawford’s legal defense, Bell says the school system won’t spend any more money on the case.
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