Office of Inspector General The School District of Palm Beach County Case No. 14-195 Expenditures of $5,000 Grant Fund Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School INVESTIGATIVE REPORT AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE Authority. School Board Policy 1.092, Inspector General (4)(a)(iv) provides for the Inspector General to receive and consider complaints, and conduct, supervise, or coordinate such inquiries, investigations, or reviews as the Inspector General deems appropriate. Allegation. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation during September 2014 in response to a complaint alleging that the former Principal of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School ( School ) purchased $3,900 in books but improperly spent the remaining $1,100 for purposes not authorized by a $5,000 grant ( Grant ) from TD Bank. BACKGROUND In April 2009, TD Bank and the TD Charitable Foundation awarded $5,000 in grant funds to the School library. A review of the April 2009 Memo ( Grant Memo ) from TD Bank s Community Relations Manager (Exhibit 1) stipulates specific use of the Grant as follows: REVIEWS PERFORMED Document Review This grant should be directed to the purchase of new books, technology resources or to provide support to other worthwhile library programs. This grant should not be applied to operating expenses. TD Bank Grant Approval Terms and Conditions TD Bank Grant Awards Memo Copy of Check for the $5,000 Transfer Applicable Check Requisitions Applicable Purchase Invoices School District Account Receivable Reports (PeopleSoft System) FY 2008 to FY 2015 School District Accounting Services Internal Accounts Manual (Chapter 22- Donations) School Board Policy 6.04 - Donations Exhibits Exhibit 1 - TD Bank Grant Awards Memo Exhibit 2 District s PeopleSoft Accounts Receivable Transactions Exhibit 3 - Grant Terms and Conditions 1
Office of Inspector General Case No. 14-195 This investigation was conducted in compliance with the Quality Standards for Investigations within the Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspector General, promulgated by the Association of Inspectors General. RESULTS OF REVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS Allegation: A former Principal purchased books totaling $3,900 but improperly spent the remaining $1,100 for purposes not authorized by a $5,000 Grant from TD Bank and TD Charitable Foundation. The Grant funds received by the School were deposited in the School s Media Center s primary account on April 28, 2009 and comingled with other funds. We reviewed Check Requisitions and Invoices obtained from the School s current Principal, and the School District s Accounts Receivable transactions from the PeopleSoft System relative to the School s Media Center expenditures between 2009 and present (Exhibit 2). Between the period of April 28, 2009 and May 16, 2012, a total of $2,454 was spent on purchases of new books for the Library. The remaining $2,546 was expensed on purchases such as DVDs, Subscriptions and Licensing, Audio Visual Equipment, and other Library resources. The terms and conditions of the Grant provided no restrictions on when the Grant funds must be expended (Exhibit 3). Consequently, we concluded that the entire $5,000 in Grant funds were spent in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Grant Memo. There was no financial misstatement or misapplication of funds as alleged. The allegation is unfounded. FURTHER ACTION No further action required. The OIG has provided a draft copy of this report to the appropriate parties, who were given the opportunity to respond. No responsive comments were received. -- End -- 2
Exhibit 1 - TD Bank Grant Awards Memo Case 14-195
Exhibit 2 - District's Peoplesoft Accounts Receivable Transactions Case 14-195 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School Chart of Expenditures (TD Bank Grant) Grant Deposited: 4/28/2009 Media Center - Account #: 5-1700 Date Description Deposit Cost Balance* 4/28/2009 Balance Before Deposit -- 641.71 4/28/2009 TD Bank Grant Deposit 5,000.00 5,641.71 5/21/2009 Subscription - Palm Beach Post 64.35 5,577.36 1/6/2010 Movie Licensing 140.00 5,437.36 3/23/2010 Follett Library Resources - Books 575.49 4,861.87 6/2/2010 Subscription - Palm Beach Post 74.10 4,787.77 12/16/2010 Movie Licensing 140.00 4,647.77 1/11/2011 SDPBC - Comp USA 106.86 4,540.91 9/6/2011 Subscription - Palm Beach Post 72.15 4,468.76 10/4/2011 Follett Library Resources - Books 701.97 3,766.79 10/21/2011 Follett Library Resources - DVDs 64.28 3,702.51 11/8/2011 SDPBC - Lamination Film 202.29 3,500.22 11/22/2011 SDPBC - Library Books 843.66 2,656.56 12/12/2011 SDPBC - Ink 33.25 2,623.31 12/20/2011 Movie Licensing 140.00 2,483.31 1/25/2012 SDPBC - Avermedia FSO Document Camera 2,786.00 (302.69) 5/16/2012 SDPBC - Library Books 333.08 (635.77) 5/30/2012 SDPBC - Patch Cable 62.24 (698.01) 6/13/2012 SDPBC - Lamination Film 242.75 (940.76) 8/13/2012 SDPBC - Office Depot 60.54 (1,001.30) 12/19/2012 Movie Licensing 140.00 (1,141.30) 2/22/2013 SDPBC - Photo Conducting Kit 62.31 (1,203.61) 9/23/2013 SDPBC - Bulletin Board Roll Rack 705.91 (1,909.52) 12/17/2013 Movie Licensing 140.00 (2,049.52) * Balance does not include in-coming funds deposited in the Media Center's account.
Exhibit 3 - Grant Terms and Conditions Case 14-195