DES MOINES, Iowa - The state auditor released his findings on reported financial irregularities at the Wapsie Valley Community School District on Monday, identifying thousands of dollars unaccounted for by the district.
Auditor Rob Sand estimated that the district collected $13,700 less than what would be expected from concession sales. This was less than the district's original estimate of a $23,000 shortfall. Sand attributed the gap to several possible factors, including collecting incorrect amounts from customers either unintentionally or deliberately, incorrect change given, funds being diverted before given to the main office, or money not making it from the office to a district bank account. However, he said that insufficient record-keeping would not allow him to determine specific reasons why the shortfall occurred, or to put an exact dollar amount on it.
KCRG-TV notes the report also noted the lack of record-keeping for event ticket sales, with no records of the starting and ending ticket numbers during an event or comparing tickets sold to money taken to the school's main office. Because of this, he was unable to estimate whether any funds were missing from ticket sales, if any.
Sand recommended that the district implement proper records of concession sales and cash transactions, as well as inventory controls over goods in the district's possession to be sold. The report also suggested that prenumbered tickets be used for events, cash counts are conducted before and after an event, and a comparison between cash received and number of ticket sales performed after each event.
Wapsie Valley agreed to the recommendations outlined by Sand's report and has already taken some steps to implement compliance.