CMCSS has cooperated fully with a year-long audit by the State Comptroller of the Treasury Office into the district’s Child Nutrition Department for the period January 1, 2012 through April 30, 2015
During a 2014 random audit interview with a CMCSS Child Nutrition employee, concerns about some practices in the department were shared with the state Comptroller’s office.
The audit identified six findings to which CMCSS has responded. In its finding that there was a conflict of interest in that CMCSS was doing business with a company which employed a sales representative who was married to the child nutrition director, the district has created a conflict of interest policy, and we require it as mandatory training for all employees. In the finding regarding the purchase, CMCSS did receive the goods ordered which were purchased from the lowest bid presented by the business employer of the director’s husband. Now that the investigation is complete, we will review the auditor’s recommendations to the district’s current conflict of interest policy.
During the audit, the district was informed that the Child Nutrition Association should have been overseen as a school support organization (SSO), a non profit organization that provides support to the Child Nutrition Department by funding professional development opportunities and support for organizations such as the FUEL program and Loaves and Fishes. The Association currently is inactive. Four of the six findings were related to the Child Nutrition Association. Should the Association reactivate, officers will be required to attend trainings as other SSOs and it will receive the same oversight as other SSOs.
Two of the three individuals cited are no longer with CMCSS. One retired and one resigned for a job in another county. One of the former employees has made full restitution and CMCSS will seek restitution from the second former employee after receipt of the final audit report. The third employee has made restitution to the Child Nutrition Association, and was not acting as an employee of the district, but as a volunteer within the Child Nutrition organization.
In response to a finding that the Child Nutrition Association used commodities without reimbursing the Child Nutrition Department, children never received less food than they should have.
Purchases totaling $162.92 made to the department’s credit card did not qualify as acceptable since it was for coffee and creamer for the department’s employees. The amount was reimbursed. All other purchases on the card were considered appropriate, but were not properly coded to the correct account.