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Resident urges inspector-general, board vows action after audit findings
Summary
A public commenter urged creation of an inspector general for Putnam schools after audits found numerous deficiencies; the superintendent accepted responsibility and said an outside investigation into mileage issues is underway.
A resident urged Putnam County School Board members to create an inspector-general function or hire contracted oversight after the district’s recent audit produced multiple findings. “You need an office of inspector general for the school district, answerable to the board,” Timothy Hotelling told the board during public comment, arguing a systemic review would identify best practices and prevent repeat problems.
Hotelling cited audit numbers in his remarks, saying the district had “12 findings” while comparable districts averaged about 4.4 findings. He urged the board to focus on system-level fixes rather than individual blame.
Superintendent (first referenced as “doctor Sarinci” in the meeting) acknowledged the district’s responsibility in a later report to the board. “I accept 100% responsibility for the audit and all the things that happened,” he said, and told members an outside entity is investigating mileage record discrepancies. He said staff will share the outside investigator’s findings at the next meeting.
Board members and staff discussed remedies already underway, including new vehicle logs, revised authorization forms for drivers and a phased approach to procurement projects. The superintendent said the district must demonstrate improvements to state oversight bodies, not just promise them.
Next steps: the superintendent said the district will present the outside investigator’s report at the next board meeting and continue implementation of new controls. No formal policy change or vote to create an inspector-general office was taken at the meeting.
