Joint Finance Committee demands clearer school accounting after audit finds $2 million discrepancy

Karen Pica, a volunteer analyst who presented the committee’s budget review, told the Northumberland County Joint Finance Committee that a forensic audit and her own review of school financial reports showed gaps and inconsistencies that need to be resolved before the county approves the next school budget.

Pica said the county approved about 97% of the school board’s requested appropriation last year but that subsequent line-item changes and a superintendent reallocation raise questions about where money was moved. "That money likely is what should be returned to the county," Pica said of roughly $2,000,000 she found missing from posted revenue reports following a November revision, adding that the school’s posted reports and the school finance system did not match.

The discrepancy and multiple accounting irregularities were discussed by members of the Board of Supervisors on the committee and by other attendees during the meeting, which focused on two agenda items: process transparency and a budget-management quarterly review. Committee members emphasized transparency and timeliness in the budget process and pushed for better documentation before a…