Audit of Autauga schools flags two administrative items
PRATTVILLE — A state audit of the Autauga County Board of Education flagged two administrative findings, including the repayment of $2,500 in a case where an employee was improperly paid.
The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts conducted the audit, which covered the period of Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021.
According to one finding, the board improperly paid a retroactive stipend to an employee. The central office employee had taken on extra duties of two open positions, along with her regular job, the audit reads. The stipend covered February through July of 2021, but the BOE did not approve the stipend until June 10, 2021.
Public employees cannot be paid after services are rendered, the audit states. The stipend, which totaled $2,500, was paid back, Superintendent Tim Tidmore. "Another school system employee came forward and paid the $2,500, but did so with the request that the repayment would be anonymous."
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The other finding indicated that change cash at Prattville Junior High School was not properly recorded. The money involved change from sales at an athletic event and should have been deposited the next business day, Tidmore said. The money was deposited, but not in a timely manner, he said.
The employee received additional training on deposit procedures, he said.
All in all, Tidmore said he is pleased with the audit, he said.
"This was the first COVID year, and we had all that additional funding coming in," he said. "No one had ever dealt with anything like that before. So for us to have a relatively clean audit in the COVID year, I'm very satisfied with the overall audit."
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Audit of Autauga schools flags two administrative items
