Name: Miscounted money, sketchy bidding and funds spent on vacations, Elmore Board of Education audit shows
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Miscounted money, sketchy bidding and funds spent on vacations, Elmore Board of Education audit shows

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Montgomery AdvertiserView CommentsWETUMPKA — A state audit shows the Elmore County Board of Education lost track of more than $1 million in debt funds, didn't follow the state's&nbsp;bidding law on a construction project and had an employee allegedly use up to $6,000 for personal vacations.The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts audit covered Oct. 1, 2018-Sept. 20, 2019.Findings included:&nbsp;She was indicted on theft charges covering an amount of $2,000 to $6,000, court records show. She also faces an ethics charge of use of public office for personal gain, Sheriff Bill Franklin said. She resigned&nbsp;January after her indictment, Superintendent Richard Dennis said.The internal control issues to audit brought out have been&nbsp;addressed, he said."During the track project at Redland, we had a brand new maintenance supervisor, assistant supervisor and secretary," he said. "They have all been trained to make sure we get the required bonds. Our system is 134th out of 137 school systems in the state when it comes to funding."I can't afford to hire people to address internal control issues. We have shifted employs to handle that and have increased training. We have learned from our mistakes and have fixed the problems."With the failure to record the debt transaction from the previous fiscal year, the board commented in the audit that the amount was missed by the department on a previous audit. The department replied that the board was responsible for not recording the debt amount.As to the former cheerleader sponsor, Leah Sellers, 52, of Millbrook, faces four counts of theft and the ethics&nbsp;&nbsp;charge. She allegedly used program money to&nbsp;extend her stays after cheerleading camps at the Alabama Gulf Coast, Franklin said. Sellers allegedly spent between $500 and $1,500 for each count, the sheriff said. She was indicted in January and released after posting bonds totaling $8,500, records show.David Vickers, Sellers' attorney, declined to comment.Other findings flagged by the audit included not recording capital assets of $1.7 million in financial statements. The list included not recording energy savings of $1.65 million for schools&nbsp;after a lighting upgrade project, a donation just over $24,000&nbsp; for the Redland track project and a&nbsp;donation of $40,000 for playground equipment at Wetumpka Elementary School.The audit also found the board did not pay overtime or document&nbsp; the hours worked outside regular duties for&nbsp; two employees who handled court-ordered refunds of&nbsp;health insurance premiums for employees under the PEEHIP Program. One employee received $4,000 and the other $800."We strongly protested the PEEHIP finding," Dennis said. "We discussed how to pay the employees in two board meetings, and asked PEEHIP for guidance. But we never got the guidance."The audit shows that the meeting minutes did not reflect the discussion of how to make the payments."We are moving forward," Dennis said. "If we have any questions we call the auditors. They have been very helpful."A recent audit by the examiners department of the Montgomery County Schools showed widespread misuse of more than $700,000 by six employees.&nbsp;Money was spent&nbsp;at strip clubs,&nbsp;casinos, liquor stores,&nbsp;for&nbsp;nonexistent vendors and&nbsp;on scholarships for an administrator's children when they did not qualify for the funding, according to the audit, which ran from October 2017 through September 2018.&nbsp;In total, the audit documented&nbsp;$703,197.66 missing, allegedly taken by six&nbsp;Montgomery Public Schools employees.Krista Johnson contributed to this report.&nbsp;Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.View Comments

Montgomery AdvertiserView CommentsWETUMPKA — A state audit shows the Elmore County Board of Education lost track of more than $1 million in debt funds, didn't follow the state's&nbsp;bidding law on a construction project and had an employee allegedly use up to $6,000 for personal vacations.The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts audit covered Oct. 1, 2018-Sept. 20, 2019.Findings included:&nbsp;She was indicted on theft charges covering an amount of $2,000 to $6,000, court records show. She also faces an ethics charge of use of public office for personal gain, Sheriff Bill Franklin...

Miscounted money, sketchy bidding and funds spent on vacations, Elmore Board of Education audit shows

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