4/17/08

ThisWeek

David J. Cross

A lack of managerial control contributed to the Columbus City Schools food services department’s long-standing funding woes, according to a report by Harold Saunders, the district’s internal auditor.

The audit, compiled by Saunders and discussed at a meeting of the school board’s Audit and Accountability Committee last week, reported that a poor control environment led to unauthorized food purchases.

“Yes, there are department manuals, policies and procedures, but department management does not exercise its authority to ensure existing regulations are adhered to,” the audit stated.

It added that department goals appear to be “fuzzy” for employees, who are often not in-line with department objectives.

“Many employees expressed their ultimate goal is to ‘feed the children,’” the report stated.

This philosophy, along with the disjoint between management and staff, has caused the district to incur expenses over and above that which is normal and expected.”

The report said the district annually advances $2.5-million from the general fund to food services with the expectation of being repaid, which hasn’t happened.

In two cases, the report noted that a substantial number of items purchased from two vendors were not approved by the district.

The audit showed that in one case 53 percent of the items purchased were not approved, and were about 20 percent more expensive than approved items, costing an additional $252,000

A second case showed that 43 percent of the items purchased from another vendor had not been approved, and cost about 33 percent — or $223,000 — more than was budgeted.

Other cases show that two vendors over charged the district a combined $11,200 for food items purchased during the first three months of the school year. The audit reports that the district has received a credit for the items from both vendors.

The audit also showed the district lost about $340,000 in federal/state subsidies because food services underreported the number of meals served. In addition, the district did not meet the application deadline for about 19 percent of the 17,650 students who applied for the free and reduced-price meal program.

The audit notes that teachers receive additional pay to supervise breakfast and lunch periods, costing the district about $292,000 annually. The internal auditor’s office recommends that cafeteria duty be one of the normal duties of a teacher.

Sanders recommended that the district increase its breakfast participation rate from 38 percent to 75 percent of students. If this goal is met, he said, the food service operation would bring in about an additional $2-million annually.

Stephanie Groce, the school board member who chairs the committee, said the district is working to implement the internal auditor’s suggested changes.

Jeff Warner, a district spokesman, said Columbus City Schools is implementing a majority of the recommendation in the audit.

In addition, food service director Dudley Hawkey will leave that position this summer by mutual agreement, Warner said. He will be assigned another role in the food service department.

Among the recommendations made in the audit was reorganizing the department’s structure.