State Auditors Find ‘Weaknesses’ In District’s Financial Reporting Riverside Officials Working On Remedy

The Washington State Auditor’s office has observed what it called “weaknesses” in financial reporting within the Riverside School District.

The auditor’s office has cited “some weaknesses in the district’s internal control structure.”

“None of these are findings of things that are illegal,” said district superintendent Jerry Wilson said.

“It’s more about procedural than financial.”

State auditors said the district over-reported the number of students riding buses. The state uses bus logs provided by school districts to determine funding for transportation.

Riverside may have received more money than it was eligible to receive, according to state auditor Brian Sonntag.

The district over-reported 28 students riding the bus from Sept. 1, 1995 to Aug. 31, 1996. The mistake means the district may have received an extra $6,817.18 from the state for the error, Sonntag said.

However, district business manager Kathy Stroyan said the district is disputing the state’s findings.

“We feel we didn’t have any areas of over-reporting,” Stroyan said.

The district received several new school buses this year and are scheduled to receive more next year.

The auditor’s office also noted the following:

Riverside High School’s Associated Student Body does not adequately control the sale of pop from the vending machines.

The high school does not have a system to ensure that all money collected from pop sales is deposited for the benefit of the ASB, the report said.

The auditor’s office said there was an “unexplained shortage of $5,896 between the money deposited and the money which should have been deposited.”

Auditors observed “numerous employees and students in a school safe, alone, without supervision.”

“Quite frankly, we don’t know where the money went,” Wilson said. “What we’ve got to do there is monitor the machines. We’re still trying to find out where it went.”

Fund-raisers were not adequately controlled, fund-raising money was not deposited in a timely fashion and the method of payment was not consistently noted, the report said.

The auditor’s office observed weaknesses in the district’s cash handling system which collected more than $300,000.

“Cash tapes were altered without explanation so that they agreed to district cash transmittal forms which are sent to the district’s administration building,” the report said.

“This is more of a housekeeping situation,” Wilson said.

An official with the auditor’s said the findings were significant enough to bring to the attention of the district.

Stroyan said ASB monies are receiving more scrutiny.

The state auditor issued the recommendations to the school district on Aug. 4 of this year. The office met final compliance laws a month later.

, DataTimes