Audit issues explained to Winston BOE

DOUBLE SPRINGS       - The Winston County Board of Education has been cited by auditors for two instances where funds were not spent and filed correctly.
Pointing out the findings to the board at their regular meeting Friday, June 30, was Denise Olive, audit manager for Winston County from  the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, in the annual presentation of the system’s 2022 audit.
Olive was in attendance in accordance with a state legislature ruling that the audit must be presented in a public meeting after the audit is released, Olive explained to Winston County Schools Superintendent Greg Pendley and board members.
“We did issue an unmodified opinion on the financial statements, which means the way your financial statements are presented are materially correct,” Olive said.
The department also conducts a legal compliance audit to determine if the system complied with applicable laws related to local, state and federal funds, she added.
 “We did have one internal control finding on the financial side,” Olive pointed out. “We had to make some material adjustments for some PSCA (Public School and College Authority) monies you got that were not recorded correctly on the books.”
Olive was referring to funds related to Alabama School and College Authority Funded Projects, which are deemed capital improvement projects, professional services such as architect or engineer fees, surveying, testing, contractor fees and/or construction materials, according to authorities.
PSCA funds cannot be used for supplies, athletic equipment, teaching materials, reimbursements of local payments or expenditures not related to the approved project, authorities said.
 “Then, there were some of the ESSER monies that were not recorded,” Olive continued. “They were spent last  year, so we had to make sure we put the expenditures in that year.”
The examiners of public accounts office also does a federal audit, with a test being done on funds relating to special education and emergency connectivity this year, Olive explained.
“You probably are not very familiar with that one, but that is the one that is part of the COVID monies,” Olive explained to the board.
The examiners issued an unmodified opinion regarding special education emergency connectivity, but on the Education Stabilization Fund, the examiners found that ESSER funds, which are designed to be used to offset learning loss due to COVID-19, were instead used for flooring projects at all schools in the system, Olive pointed out.
“Anytime you use  federal money for construction projects over $2,000, you have to in the contract include...a prevailing wage clause which, basically, says anybody who works on that project will be paid prevailing wage,” Olive continued.
“Typically, you don’t use your (federal) monies for construction projects because, typically, you have Special Education Title 1, Child Nutrition (funds),” she added. “All of those are very specific and they are not for construction.”
Olive explained to the board that other school systems across the state were having the same issues about funds or specific wages paid to architects, who may not have understood it was for projects funded with federal monies.
“Just make sure,” Olive reminded board members, “that if there is a construction project over $2,000, that the wage clauses are included  in the projects and their pay,” Olive added.
These marked the only two findings, according to Olive.