The Atlanta school district falls short in supervising the use of district credit cards used to charge millions of dollars each year, according to a recent state audit.
Atlanta Public Schools officials don’t dispute the audit’s finding. But they say it did not find any public money had been misspent.
“We actually have some of the toughest and tightest procedures that I’ve ever experienced,” deputy chief financial officer Nader Sohrab said. “We believe that none of these purchases are outside of what they needed to be. It’s just that the documentation and authorization guidelines need to be followed.”
The findings, which address the 2013-14 school year, come after revelations of credit card misuse in other Atlanta-area government agencies. Earlier this year, a former DeKalb county commissioner went to prison after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation into personal charges made on her county card.
And it follows internal audits that found problems with cash handling and checking accounts at Atlanta elementary, middle and high schools, including cash not deposited promptly, payments made to employees’ relatives, and missing concession stand proceeds.
Among the state audit’s findings: There are few checks on whether charges by APS’ biggest spenders — mostly department heads and managers — are legitimate. That’s in violation of the district’s charge-card policy, which requires monthly approvals.
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