Levy County board reviews district audits, approves Nature Coast charter recovery plan
Summary
Board staff reported recurring internal control weaknesses at several schools and presented a fiscal recovery plan for Nature Coast Charter School after auditors flagged a 'deteriorating financial condition.' The board approved the recovery plan and will monitor monthly compliance.
The Levy County School Board heard a district audit summary Tuesday and voted to approve a fiscal recovery plan for Nature Coast Charter School after the charter's auditor reported a deteriorating financial condition.
Miss Lake, the board's audit presenter identified on the agenda, told trustees that the district's internal‑accounts audit firm, Ferguson Gray, "in their opinion, the financial statements were presented fairly in all material respects," while noting "3 findings and 1 management concern," including recurring issues with segregation of duties, untimely cash reporting and purchases made without documented principal preapproval.
Those findings were illustrated by per‑school examples: some collection reports lacked dates or authorized signatures, several schools had deposits recorded more than five business days after collection, and multiple purchases lacked supporting documentation or evidence of preapproval, Miss Lake said. The board heard that some issues arise from small staff rosters (often a single bookkeeper) and that the finance office works with schools on training and process changes.
Separately, the board reviewed an external audit of its charter schools by Price & Associates. Miss Lake said the firm's report included a new finding for Nature Coast described in the presentation as a "deteriorating financial condition" caused by a fund‑balance deficit. She told the board that the finding triggers the sponsor's obligations under state law (the presentation referenced statute 1002.345 and related audit rules), requiring notification to the commissioner of education within seven business days and submission of a financial recovery plan to the state within 30 days.
Miss Lake said the recovery plan submitted by Nature Coast trims roughly $20,000 from projected expenditures and shows the charter starting the year with a financial‑condition ratio of about 5.59, with the plan intended to keep the school above the program's 3% threshold by the end of the year. "They did turn in a fiscal recovery plan," she said, and district staff recommended board approval with monthly monitoring.
A board member moved to approve the recovery plan; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. Miss Lake said the district will monitor the school monthly and will return to the board if the charter fails to meet the recovery benchmarks. She noted statutory remedies could include nonrenewal or termination of the charter if the deficiencies are not corrected within a year.
The board did not adopt additional immediate sanctions; instead staff emphasized training, tighter controls and active monitoring of the recovery plan's implementation. The board's approval authorizes district staff to continue working with Nature Coast under the terms of the submitted recovery plan and to report monthly on compliance.
