School Board Chair Responds to Audit

The following is a column by Patti Head, chair of the Wake County Board of Education, responding to the Summerford fraud vulnerability assessment released last Tuesday.

The release of the special audit report on the Wake County Public School System on March 7 was an important day for Wake County, and an opportunity for our community to assess the strength of our school system.

Following the school system's discovery of fraud and collusion within its Transportation Department, and its further discovery of problems at the Garner High cafeteria, the Wake County Board of Education took action to ensure that the public's confidence in our schools was well placed. We contracted with Summerford Accountancy, PC, an independent auditing firm specializing in fraud examination and forensic accounting. We wanted to ensure to the best extent possible that no other fraud had happened in WCPSS, and that the internal controls in place were sufficient to prevent future fraud.

Summerford used data mining techniques to examine all of the school system's transactions and account balances. They reviewed every department. They asked hard questions. For the period from July 1, 2002 to December 31, 2005, the Wake County Public School System was under a powerful microscope.

The most important result was that there were no areas of the school system where Summerford found probable cause to begin a fraud examination -- no "red flags" other than those resulting from the Transportation Department collusion. The auditors said that the control environment, what they called the "tone at the top," was positive and operating effectively, and that WCPSS's internal controls were also operating effectively.

Summerford made some important recommendations, however, which the Board of Education takes very seriously. The auditors reminded us that there is no perfect way to protect against fraud, but pointed the way toward improvements in preventing and detecting it. They recommended strengthening the school system's internal audit staff, giving it the technology and manpower necessary to be more proactive in identifying risks of fraud. They also urged the school system to fully integrate its information systems to provide better oversight.

Thanks to this independent and thorough audit, we now know the story of the transportation scandal: A few employees colluded to commit fraud. They were found out. Trials and convictions followed. Internal controls were strengthened. Independent auditors searched for more fraud and found none. Further changes were recommended, and the Board of Education and staff are responding.

In the final analysis, the Summerford audit shows that while more needs to be done, our trust in the staff of the Wake County Public School System has been validated. I thank the staff for being forthright in dealing with the Board of Education and public, and in cooperating with law enforcement and the press. I also want to thank the district attorney's office, the State Bureau of Investigations and the Board of Education's attorney for their roles in investigating, prosecuting, and recovering the resources that taxpayers intended for supporting our students.

Thanks to their hard work, the sins of a few former employees have not tainted an entire organization, and we can now move on with the serious work of helping students learn, recruiting and keeping quality teachers and staff, and meeting the needs of a growing county.

Patti Head
Chair, Wake County Board of Education

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 2:24 PM on March 15, 2006 | Leave Feedback

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