Audit committee flags HR certification gaps, readies new auditor as charter changes proposed

Manatee County— The school districtaudit committee reported three findings from a recent human-resources audit and recommended implementation steps while explaining a planned change in internal-audit firms.

The committeereported the most significant finding as gaps in tracking teachersworking "out of field" and a related three-year temporary certificate process. Jim Daniel, chair of the audit committee, told the School Board the HR database lacked a field to reliably mark temporary out-of-field certificates and that some teachers remained listed as out of field beyond the statutory window. "It's a very exciting time in the audit committee right now with everything that's going on," Daniel said as he described the report and follow-up work.

Why it matters: the problem combines personnel, compliance and risk. If certification records are incomplete or not shared across districts, staff may teach subjects for which they lack required credentials, exposing teachers and the district to legal and payroll compliance risk and potentially affecting classroom instruction.

Key findings and immediate fixes - HR audit: auditors reported three findings, the most serious addressing out-of-field teaching and gaps in certificate tracking. Daniel said HR and IT have implemented database changes so an "out of field" report now runs monthly and is updated in real time. Certification specialists will audit classes initially and then on a quarterly basis. - Inter-district communication: the committee found cases where teachers who moved to other districts continued to teach out of field because there was no routine communication between districts about temporary certificates. The committee said staff will review procedures to improve information sharing. - Unemployment/vendor records: the audit flagged informal communications with the vendor that handles district unemployment claims; the district has created written procedures and a centralized file structure for vendor communications. - State-system access (VERSA): reviewers checked six VERSA accounts and found two users who were no longer employed or no longer needed access; management has already removed inappropriate accounts and assigned an HR specialist to check membership monthly.

Transition to RSM and risk-assessment work Daniel told the board CRI, the district's internal-audit firm of about 10 years, will finish at month-end and RSM will begin as the new internal-audit provider. RSM will perform a detailed, in-depth risk assessment the district is required to perform at least every five years, Daniel said; the committee will use that baseline to prioritize future audits and recommendations.

Charter schools, reporting concerns The audit committee also reported variances in how some charter schools present financials in the format required by federal grant auditing standards ("the yellow book"). Committee members said some charter reports did not appear to follow governmental-fund reporting conventions; the committee has forwarded those issues to the Florida Department of Education for review.

Committee structure and proposed charter edits Members discussed the audit committeecharter and the committee's shrinking roster. With four members out of seven required for an earlier quorum and recent resignations, committee members proposed revising the charter to permit smaller membership (the draft now would allow three to seven members). The draft also proposes folding the Citizens Financial Oversight Committee(oversight of voter-approved millage/sales-tax funds) into the audit committee so the district has a single committee that includes some volunteer citizen members and financial professionals. Board members urged outreach and advertising to recruit volunteers and suggested broadening candidate qualifications beyond district finance experience to attract qualified candidates from business and nonprofit sectors.

Next steps The committee recommended approval of the HR report and said it would bring proposed charter edits back to the full board for consideration. Daniel said the committee will continue to follow up on HR procedural changes already implemented and will evaluate the RSM risk-assessment deliverable when it arrives.

Ending The board accepted the quarterly update for discussion and asked staff to draft recruitment and charter language reflecting the committeeedits so the board can consider formal action at a later meeting.