Strict fiscal controls in place at McBee High

Aug. 13, 2019

Strict fiscal controls in place at McBee High

As a result of an investigation and audit of missing funds at McBee High School that began nearly three months ago, general spending from the pupil activity account at that school has been frozen for about a month, according to CCSD Superintendent Dr. Harrison Goodwin in a statement released Aug. 13.

“We still have been paying all outstanding invoices and contacting any vendors who might have invoices that have not yet been sent to the school,” said Goodwin, who briefed the situation to a majority of the school board in executive session on Monday night. Dr. Joshua McLaurin, who was installed as principal at McBee High on July 12, also briefed the board concerning his findings and corrective action he has taken the past five weeks.

“We also are trying to make sure that other prior obligations have been met (one specifically was a school contribution toward baseball championship rings. These types of contributions will probably be re-evaluated moving forward),” continued Goodwin. “When we return to normal business, we want to be confident that there are no surprises. In addition, we are evaluating each of the sub accounts to determine as closely as possible the balance that we must work from moving forward.”

Sub accounts include all athletic teams and band, in addition to clubs such as FFA and FBLA.

“Coaches or organization sponsors who have specific needs will work with the principal to acquire any items that they have justified as necessary,” added Goodwin.“If the need is greater than the available cash on hand at a given time, we have the ability from the district level to advance funds that can then be reimbursed during the course of the fiscal year. This is a normal part of our business transactions with schools.”

CCSD has also implemented a new fiscal standard operating procedure district wide at all 16 schools. These changes are designed to increase accountability by improving tracking and managing of the financial operations at all schools.