Savannah-Chatham schools empanels finance committee, shares sobering audit report

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) school board kicked off the first Finance Advisory Committee meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday Nov. 29. The new committee is one of now seven other committees.

The following day, Nov. 30, marked the latest meeting of the board’s Audit Committee, which presented sobering news about the state of some SCCPSS Human Resources (HR) practices. Interim Senior Director of Internal Audit Leah Underwood presented a draft of the Human Resources Division Audit of Human Resources Activities.

North Star: 'Literacy is this generation’s civil rights imperative:' advocate, educator Kareem Weaver

SCCPSS HR Audit identifies significant shortfalls

Initial agenda items focused on approving Oct. 2023 meeting minutes and approval of updates to the Internal Audit Department by-laws and Audit Committee Charter. The changes were to provide clarification that the board does not have “independent authority to hire people without the recommendation of the Superintendent,” according to SCCPSS counsel, Leamon R. Holliday, III. School Board President and Audit Committee member Roger Moss, further clarified that members of the audit department are recommended for hire by the superintendent. To make sure the internal auditor maintains independence, though, Holliday said, “We've amended as a line of authority policy of the district and, in essence, we've placed the internal auditor as a direct report to the [board] president, which is not the superintendent.”

The by-law update was an important item as it preceded the internal HR audit report by Underwood.

According to the report, the audit was performed to “evaluate the risks within the processes for the development of the job descriptions, hiring and promotion activities, employee discipline activities, and the district’s employee onboarding program.”

Risks were identified in the areas of monitoring activities of the HR Department and Employee Discipline Procedures.

'Insufficient' HR Monitoring Activities

The first risk section started by stating, “The District’s Human Resources Division has insufficient monitoring controls and activities to ensure the policies and procedures of the department are relevant to the organizational needs, designed for equitable treatment between classified and certified employees, and are consistently being followed as designed.”

The section contains multiple observations made by the audit department, some of which proved concerning:

• Random drug testing procedures fell short of the Drug-free Workplace policy regulation, particularly when reviewing a sample of bus monitors. CDL Bus Drivers were found to be tested within compliance of the regulation, but auditors found that “employees are not tested when they are absent more than 30 days.”

• Staff conflict-of-interest forms are not filled out annually, which presents a risk. A random sampling of 30 employees showed that 80% had filled out the form upon being hired as required by the current policy but not in conjunction with contract renewals.

• All job descriptions aligned with the structure of the job description as prescribed by Society for HR Management (SHRM), however, 44% of SCCPSS job descriptions were not current.

• The report highlighted weaknesses within the “hiring and interview procedures that impact the hiring process.”

• The report concluded that the district “has no formal promotion process to provide an employee with a clear understanding of a career path within the District.”

• The report also determined that the district “does not have a structured and equitable onboarding program.”

'Ineffective' Employee Discipline Procedures

Under the second area of risk, the key takeaway stated that “the District’s Employee Discipline guidance is ineffective to ensure consistency of practices across the District.”

Of 210 survey respondents, 65% answered "no" to the question, “Do you perceive that disciplinary actions are consistently and fairly applied across the District?” Through their interviews of 39 hiring managers, 59% responded "no" to the same question.

The audit committee made recommendations for corrective actions regarding both risk areas.

The meeting also entailed a review of the audit department’s budget, which was unanimously passed as a recommendation to the school board. Also, Underwood presented the ESPLOST performance audit report. Year ended June 30, 2023, expenditures from all four ESPLOST funds totaled $75,358,663. An independent audit was conducted by Serotta Maddocks Evans and Company, CPAs asserted that they have examined SCCPSS’s, “schedule of SPLOST Project Expenditures and their compliance with Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph IV of the Georgia constitution and Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A) 48-8-141.”

The audit report will be presented to the entire school board for a vote at the Dec. 6 Regular Meeting.

Finance Advisory Committee holds first meeting

Wednesday’s session of the Finance Advisory Committee was very much an initial meeting. Discussions were held about how frequently members should meet and what times might suit committee members best. SCCPSS representatives shared that the Budget Committee “was sunset at the October Board meeting when the new Finance Advisory Committee was created.”

According to the committee charter, it plans to ensure “transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the District’s finances.” It will be composed of two or more school board members and the board president as an ex-officio member. The committee will also consist of the Chief Financial Officer Larry Jackson, the Budget Director Paige Colley, at least one principal, one or more representatives from the community, and representatives from a financial advisory firm, if applicable. Committee members will be appointed by the superintendent for one-year terms.

The Finance Advisory Committee chair is District 6 board representative David A. Bringman. At the outset of the meeting, he explained how the committee differs from the Budget Committee. “We are now going to be able to look at anything that would actually utilize funds across the district.” He said that the budget would remain a priority, though the committee would now also look at the process for Request for Proposals (RFPs) as well as assess ESPLOST.

SCCPSS Controller Accounting Teresa Seeley presented on the Fund Balance Review & Long-Range Planning. The data showed that SCCPSS’s General Fund has more than doubled since 2019 to over $150 million. When Cooley later shared the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Process presentation, she notably stated, “One of the reasons that our fund balance has gotten higher in the past couple of years is due to vacancies.” She said if SCCPSS were fully staffed there would not be a fund balance. “In fact, I'd be worried,” she said. “The budgeted amount a month is around $50 million or more if we're fully staffed. So $150 million is not over.”

Jackson noted that there had been an agenda item for the district to provide its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funding Update, but it was postponed till the next meeting in January, though the report is accessible online. That presentation discusses funds the district had received through the Cares Acts during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent funds received from the American Rescue Plan that run out by Sept. 2024.

Wrapping up the Budget Process presentation, Cooley laid out FY 2025 Items of Focus which include:

• Student Enrollment Trends and Birth Rate Decline*

• Staffing Stability and Rising Compensation Costs

• Literacy

• Recession Indicators and the Decline of State Revenue

• Federal Stimulus Spending and Recurring Cost Impact

• Continued Financial Stability

*Vital Statistics from the Georgia Department of Public Health Website OASIS

Moss encouraged members of the public to consider attending the Finance Advisory Committee meetings if they have an interest in knowing more about the district’s fiscal status.

Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Chatham Public schools finance and audit committees meet