Ascension Parish board receives 2024–25 school activity funds audit showing $5.1M in school cash, 52 findings

The Ascension Parish School Board received a report on the 2024–25 school activity funds audit showing school cash balances of just over $5.1 million and 52 findings across the district’s 34 schools, board members were told.

The presenter, identified in the transcript as the meeting’s audit presenter, told members the audits cover school activity allowances, disbursements, receipts, registration fees, bank reconciliations, purchase cards, fundraisers and, at the high‑school level, athletic revenues. "I'm going to talk about the 2024 25 audit results," the presenter said as she opened the summary.

Why it matters: school activity funds are managed at the campus level and include both unrestricted and restricted monies such as athletic receipts. Large aggregate balances can reflect restricted program needs as well as unspent general-purpose funds; the board discussed whether excess campus balances could be deployed to help families in need.

Key findings and scope The presenter reported the audit identified 52 findings districtwide, an average of about 1.53 findings per school. She named the two most common problems: inadequate documentation for disbursements and deposits that were not made in a timely manner. "The top two findings were inadequate disbursement documentation and…timely deposits," she said.

School cash balances as of the day before the meeting were described as "over $5.1 million," the presenter said; she cautioned the total includes athletics and other restricted funds. The audits relied on sample selections and covered common activity‑account areas such as concessions, fundraisers and purchase‑card use.

Schools with no findings The presenter listed 11 campuses that had perfect audits this cycle, including Ascension Head Start, Dutchtown Primary, Galvez Middle, Gonzales Primary, Lowery Middle, Prairieville Middle, Spanish Lake Primary, Sorrento Primary, St. Amant Primary, St. Amant Middle and Sugar Mill Primary. She said that represents about 34% of audited schools and praised school secretaries for their work.

Board questions and staff recommendations During questions, a board member raised the possibility of using excess school balances to help families, asking whether the district could identify schools with surplus funds. The presenter replied that some balances are restricted (for example, athletics) and suggested the district can run reports and notify schools when they have excess that could be used differently.

Ms. Julia asked, "Is there a cap on how much money they can have?" and questioned how much of the total balance was tied to athletics. Staff responded that athletic accounts often carry equipment and season‑specific costs and recommended consulting athletic budgets when assessing whether funds are truly surplus.

Corrective steps and support To address repeat findings, staff recommended education and peer networking for secretaries, quarterly self‑audits using a template on a shared Google Drive, and targeted one‑on‑one help. The presenter said an internal risk assessment prioritizes audits for higher‑risk campuses (for example, those with many prior findings or new staff).

Board members raised staffing solutions for busy high‑school offices, including a district‑level floating employee, contract support (to avoid benefit obligations), cross‑training and expanded use of internal auditors to perform pre‑audit work. Staff said they would look for candidates or contractors and return to the board with options.

Procedural note At the meeting’s close, Mr. Kennedy moved to adjourn; the motion was seconded and carried.

What’s next Staff indicated they will run financial reports to identify campuses with higher-than-expected balances, pursue options for district or contract support for secretaries, and continue training and pre‑audit assistance to reduce repeat findings.