State Auditors: Golf Activities, $100k Contracts Among Evans Co. Superintendent’s Unauthorized Spending & Improper Bidding Practices

A recent audit of the Evans County Board of Education by the Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts shows a slew of failed internal controls for district spending and bidding processes, among other things.

The audit, completed for each school system annually, evaluates FY 2024, which ended on June 30, 2024.

The report details a host of ongoing issues with the Board’s Central office, which include decisions by Superintendent Marty Waters and others in management positions to circumvent local and state spending policies, and outlines an itemized list of ways for which taxpayer funds were not properly accounted.The Georgia DOAA also reported that “the accounting procedures of the School District are insufficient to provide adequate internal controls at the Central Office.”

From the report:

The School District’s controls over the expenditure and employee compensation processes were overridden by members of management, resulting in unallowable purchases, unauthorized approvals, and improper payments to employees. These overrides bypassed established policies, required approvals and documentation procedures designed to ensure proper authorization and accountability.

In the list of itemized issues, DOAA outlined the following: 

• The Superintendent authorized and expended $1,558.28 on meals for himself and other management staff while on travel status. These expenses exceeded the State’s per diem meal allowance and were not processed through the standard travel reimbursement procedures. 
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• Two members of management booked lodging totaling $1,553.64 through a vacation rental marketplace, which is prohibited under the State travel policy. An additional member of management incurred $1,319.75 in lodging expenses without obtaining prior approval. 
• The Superintendent, with involvement from three other members of management, authorized $594.92 for golf-related activities. These expenses were not supported by documentation demonstrating a clear and necessary business purpose, in violation of School District policy. 
• The Superintendent utilized a manual purchase order process outside of the School District’s financial management system for credit card purchases, circumventing required purchasing procedures and approval controls. 
• The Superintendent authorized exchange time payouts totaling $13,335.25, to 16 employees without obtaining Board approval, as required by School District policy. 
• One member of management received monthly vacation leave payouts totaling $6,672.00, in violation of School District policy, which allows for payout of compensated absences only upon termination of employment. 

Management did not adhere to internal controls and established policies over the expenditure and payroll processes. The deficiencies resulted from several factors, including the direct circumvention of controls due to a lack of effective oversight, reliance on past practices without verifying alignment with current requirements, and the inconsistent application of existing policies and procedures. Additionally, a lack of challenge or escalation protocols contributed to an environment where override controls by management went unchecked. 

Additionally:

• Two of the three procurement packages tested did not include sufficient supporting documentation. Specifically, the original vendor bids used to prepare the bid tabulation sheets for contract scoring and awarding, were not made available for audit review.  
• One construction contract exceeding $100,000.00 was awarded without soliciting competitive bids through the Georgia Procurement Registry, as required by State policy.

The School District lacks formal policies and procedures governing the use of and the administration of exchange time. This has resulted in an unregulated accumulation of hours, leading to potential future liabilities totaling $90,724.73. 

The School District is not in compliance with procurement regulations and lacks adequate documentation to support the competitive bidding process. Without sufficient records, the School District cannot demonstrate that contract awards were made in a fair, transparent, and competitive manner. In addition, the absence of formal policies and oversight for exchange time benefits has resulted in inconsistent tracking and management of employee work hours, increasing the risk of unanticipated financial obligations.

Notably, the findings come on the heels of the decision to increase the millage rate two months ago by 31.95%. Also worth nothing, all three schools in the school district are on the ‘Needs Improvement’ list for scoring in the bottom 5% of schools in the state. 

You can read the full report below.