Richland 1 will challenge state scrutiny over its spending, but not all board members agree
The Richland 1 school district will appeal the state education department’s decision to put the Midlands district on fiscal watch after a contentious vote by the school board Tuesday.
Last week, the district was notified it was under fiscal watch by the South Carolina Department of Education following the results of a purchasing card, or “p-card,” spending audit earlier this year. State Superintendent Molly Spearman said the audit revealed “significant deficiencies,” but some Richland 1 officials say the findings are “immaterial.” Others in the district have questioned if the board is taking the audit seriously.
Of the district’s 426 p-card statements and 3,858 transactions between March 2022 and August 2022, the state flagged nearly 90 issues, from omitting information on paperwork to excessive p-card charges.
However, Richland 1 procurement director LaShonda Outing said Tuesday that all purchases made with p-cards were business-related. Outing said the district is implementing additional steps, reminders and consequences to prevent future oversight.
An additional external audit, said district chief financial officer Sherri Matthews-Hazel, had no material findings. But that external audit did give the district recommendations to “mitigate risks,” she said. It is unclear what these recommendations are.
School board member Robert Lominack pointed out that the district received a clean audit the year former Richland 1 procurement manager Travis Braddy misused $23,170.41 in public money for various personal reasons. And Braddy was not caught by an auditor, Lominack said, but by the district itself several months after the alleged fraud.
The concerns voiced by the state department, Lominack said, were shared a year and a half earlier after an internal audit, but the board never had substantive discussions to address them.
“I think the board has got to take its audit role more seriously,” Lominack said. “I know that people want to minimize the state department’s findings, but I think we could’ve avoided all of this.”
Lominack, along with board newcomer Barbara Weston, voted “no” to the fiscal watch appeal.
Board chairwoman Cheryl Harris pushed back.
“That’s not a fair statement,” Harris said of Lominack’s critique. She called on Kelvin Washington, the district’s internal auditor, to share his opinion on the district’s fiscal watch status.
Washington said that the district only fell under one of five criteria to be put on fiscal watch — if the state department identified issues.
“I don’t think the audit that they put forth rises to that level,” Washington said.
Community members voiced concern and displeasure for the district’s fiscal watch status at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Richard Moore, a retired Richland 1 educator and recent board candidate, said he was “distressed” by the state department’s findings and the district’s response, which he called an “abandonment of trust.”
“Official warnings are not issued over insignificant issues,” Moore said. “Even if the district does not see it as significant, the oversight agency does.”
George Crouch said the situation is “an embarrassment” to parents, teachers, students and the community.
Caroline Elsworth noted that a large amount of the taxes residents pay go toward education, and as such, residents expect transparency.
“This money comes from hardworking citizens,” Elsworth said. “This money is not to be spent cavalierly.”
The state Department of Education has 30 days to approve or deny Richland 1’s appeal. If denied, the district will be on fiscal watch until the end of the fiscal year, or longer.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
CORRECTION: This story previously misidentified Kelvin Washington, Richland 1 ‘s internal auditor, as Crawford Williams.
