Audit committee calls contract management "unsatisfactory," flags missing board approvals and gaps in insurance tracking

The Savannah‑Chatham County Public School System Audit Committee on Oct. 30 received an internal audit that rated district contract management as "unsatisfactory," citing gaps in approval documentation, contract tracking and vendor oversight.

The audit, presented by the district’s internal audit team, said it tested contract records and found substantial process failures. The team reported that a sample review showed a high rate of missing approvals and missing or expired vendor documentation: vendor performance evaluation forms were absent for 14 of 30 vendors tested and 15 of 30 vendor certificates of insurance were expired or missing. The audit also identified inconsistent contract indexing and reliance on multiple spreadsheets rather than a single, reliable contract register.

The audit’s nut graf: the combination of missing approvals, incomplete vendor oversight and a lack of formal performance metrics increases the district’s…