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Officials flag untraced $895,000 school nutrition appropriation; ask auditors for pre‑final briefing
Summary
A finance director told the joint committee the county cannot find supporting documentation for a roughly $895,000 appropriation to the school nutrition account, prompting members to request a pre‑final meeting with auditors and consider a dedicated forensic review of the program.
The joint finance committee was told this week that county and school financial records do not match and that an $895,000 appropriation shown in the county budget cannot be traced on the school side.
Director said the county financial system lists an $895,000 appropriation for the schools this year “for which no one on the county side or the school side can find documentation on what that request was based, who made it, or how it got in the budget.” The director added that county and school systems show different carryover figures and that she reviewed five data sources that “none of those numbers work together.”
Why it matters: The discrepancy affects the school nutrition fund’s reported carryover and may mean the county supplemented the program without clear authority or documentation. The director outlined that county reports and school reports diverge — citing figures described in the meeting as roughly $176,000 on the school side versus a larger county number — and warned auditors may need to reconcile federal, state and local revenue categories for the fund.
Members pressed auditors’ role and asked for a pre‑final (outbrief) meeting so concerns can be discussed before the audit is finalized. "I think we need to wait and see if it comes in, and then smack them on the wrist," one member said, insisting the auditor should flag inconsistencies in their outbrief. Chair said he would require auditors to meet with three named officials plus the interim finance director before finalizing the audit.
Next steps: The committee asked staff to schedule a pre‑final briefing with the county auditors and to consider a separate audit or forensic review of the school nutrition program. The director said she will provide further reconciliation work and documentation at the August meeting so members can better assess whether the budgeted appropriation or carryover was double‑booked or otherwise misstated.
The committee did not take a formal vote during the session; members agreed to follow up with the auditors and revisit the matter after the pre‑final briefing.
