Chesterfield County School District put under Fiscal Watch by Dept. of Education
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The South Carolina Department of Education has placed the Chesterfield County School District under a Fiscal Watch.
The declaration comes after an audit of the district’s finances.
The state Department of Education issued the notice after an audit this past December, which looked at the 2022–23 school year.
That was the first year with a new superintendent, Dr. Chan Anderson, at the helm.
The audit found that the district did not have certain internal accounting controls in place.
Program-to-Identify-Fiscal-Practices-Act-23-v.03-1-29-19Download
Auditors say the district did not comply with wage rate requirements on federally funded construction contract language, did not record or reconcile certain purchasing card transactions, and did not properly document personnel expenses.
According to the audit, the district did not timely claim certain federal funds and overclaimed funds, requiring the district to return $114,865 to the SC Department of Education.
2023AuditedFinanicalStatements-Issued12.14.23Download
Fiscal Practices Summary March 2024Download
Chesterfield County Schools released the following statement to Queen City News when we asked about the district’s Fiscal Watch declaration:
“On February 23rd, the SC Department of Education placed Chesterfield County School District on a one-year fiscal watch designation as a result of the fiscal year 2023 Financial Statement Audit findings. As a result, the district has provided a corrective action plan that has not only been fully implemented but has been approved by the SC Department of Education. The district fully expects to be removed from this designation when we are re-evaluated following the fiscal year 2024 audit next winter.
These findings did not come as a result of any lost or misallocated funds but were simply the result of deficiencies in our internal control framework. All of the deficiencies have been corrected. We want to extend our appreciation for the State Department’s willingness to provide technical assistance and guidance as we navigate this designation.”
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A Fiscal Watch is the lowest level of declaration.
If the state finds that the district took the proper steps to fix everything, they can be released from Fiscal Watch after their next audit.
State law allows the state Department of Education to take over the finances of districts that don’t comply and don’t fix issues over time.
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