Quincy School District gets two auditor findings

QUINCY – The Quincy School District received two findings from the Washington State Auditor’s office on Sept. 21.

In the findings, the auditor stated that the school district had used the wrong month when filling out information for the district’s Title 1 funds for the 2018-2019 school year.

“We have to set aside a certain amount (of money) per building per month,” said Tia Stoddard, business manager for the district. “We pulled the wrong month.”

Since enrollment varies from month to month, the amount of funding fluctuates. To prevent this error from happening again, the district is putting multiple checks and balances in place, including having more people review the numbers.

The other finding against the district related to a failure to use the correct processes when handling ASB (Associated Student Body) funds during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years. Stoddard said that a few years ago, the district had, at the request of the auditor’s office, put some new processes in place in the area of ASB funds. Some of the buildings are still struggling with implementation.

“A couple of fundraisers did not use the forms,” Stoddard said.

As a result, ASB-related events now must also be approved by the district, as well as the school staff and ASB.

“We are ensuring that everybody is following the rules related to ASB,” said John Boyd, Quincy School District superintendent. “ASB rules and laws are strict and intense. Getting everyone involved and following them is hard. We are doing pretty good now. Student money is important. We want to make sure we are protecting it. We take it really seriously.”

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at [email protected].