Borough flags roughly $5.4 million in alleged overspending; forensic audit planned
Loading...
Summary
Ketchikan Gateway Borough manager told the school board that roughly $5.4 million in potential district overspending has been identified and that the borough has hired a forensic auditor; the borough assembly will discuss the matter Dec. 1 and the board plans its own follow-up.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough informed the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education on Nov. 20 that it has identified approximately $5,400,000 in what it is calling overspending by the district and is treating the amount as a debt the district may owe the borough.
Madam President read a memorandum from borough manager Ruben Duran notifying the board of the discovery and saying the borough has engaged an auditor to perform a forensic review. The borough assembly scheduled a work session for Dec. 1 to discuss the findings, and the board said it will schedule its own work session or special meeting once audit results are available.
Board members said the information is new and limited. "This is a new discovery, and there's very little information currently available," the presiding officer said when announcing the memo and the borough's next steps. The board asked staff to share updates as they arrive.
The announcement came at the start of a special meeting otherwise focused on staffing contracts and an interim-superintendent search. Board members warned the discovery adds urgency to ongoing budget scrutiny: one member pointed out the district recently worked to address an insurance-repayment schedule and said the timing heightens concern about available funds.
The borough manager's memo, as described to the board, estimated the amount at about $5.4 million and noted the borough has retained an auditor who expects the forensic review to take roughly a week once it begins. The borough assembly's Dec. 1 work session was listed as the first public review of the findings; the board said it would await the audit and consider a district-level work session or special meeting to examine whether district transactions or accounting practices require correction or repayment.
No formal findings, causation or allocation of responsibility were provided at the Nov. 20 meeting. The board did not vote on the matter at the session; instead members said they would reserve action until they have forensic-audit results and more detailed documentation.
The borough and the district did not provide a public timeline for when any repayment decisions would be required if the audit substantiates the borough's preliminary estimate. The borough's work session is scheduled for Dec. 1; the board indicated it expects to review the audit results as soon as they are available.
