The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education met on Thursday to discuss a recent financial review conducted in light of violations of district protocols.
Held virtually, the meeting featured a presentation by consultants Dr. Don Martin and Kerry Crutchfield, who were recently hired by the district to review five-years worth of contracts and budgeting. Their review, released earlier in the week, stated more than a dozen contracts violated CHCCS’ policies by not coming to the school board for a vote, while many others did not have physical contracts at all.
Crutchfield, who has served as the budget director for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools for many years, said the 2019-2020 school year particularly added to CHCCS’ deficiencies, saying the budget was not prepared with enough detail. He cited a lack of documentation or inadequate documentation as an issue for the most recent years reviewed by himself and Martin, saying better training of financial staff and understanding of allocations by the school board are needed.
When asked if he noticed anything illegal in his examination, however, the consultant said he did not.
“In my review,” Crutchfield said Thursday, “I did not discover any evidence, any proof that somebody was deliberately trying to misappropriate funds or engage in activities that were not legal.”
The financial review, which interviewed 27 employees of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district, describes a “before” period and an “after” period to how the system kept financial records following the discovery in December of a contract that violated system protocols. At the time, the school system issued a message to the community saying its partnership with the consulting company Education Elements was “inconsistent with district policies.” Documents of CHCCS’ spending later revealed the system had paid more than $250,000 to Education Elements despite no physical contract existing nor the Board of Education voting to approve the deal.
Education Elements is not mentioned in the financial review, but the consultants do reference “the vendor that first alerted the Board to the exceptions.” Contracts mentioned in the review include ones with organizations like NWN Corporation, Reading Fundations, the American Reading Company and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).
Martin and Crutchfield both said Thursday the documentation of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ financial records in the spring of 2020 was “perfect” by their measures. They recommended the same level of documentation be continued, in addition to several changes to district policies regarding financing and what comes before the school board.
Board member Jillian La Serna asked during the meeting whether CHCCS still is engaged with some contracts flagged by the consultants. Crutchfield responded by saying yes.
“I do have a list of the specific contracts,” he said, “and I am planning to share that with [Interim Chief Financial Officer] Jonathan Scott and your interim superintendent [Dr. Jim Causby.]”
“I’m just thinking there might be some things that need some attention,” responded La Serna. Crutchfield followed up with, “And I think you’re correct.”
Two members of the district’s leadership who were present during the period examined are no longer involved with CHCCS. Jennifer Bennett resigned as the Assistant Superintendent of Budget and Finance in February, with Dr. Pam Baldwin resigning from her position as superintendent in April. The financial review does not list either as being interviewed by Martin or Crutchfield.
The next Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board meeting is slated to be held on Thursday, October 15.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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