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 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.
- The district has numerous "ghost cards" — accounts that allow administrative departments to make charges above the $2,000 cap that applies to other credit card purchases. The district could not provide records for seven of the 10 "ghost cards" auditors checked.
- The district lacks records showing how some people were issued charge cards. In 16 of the 21 charge-card accounts auditors checked, the district had no records of requests for the cards.
Hundreds of APS employees including department heads, school principals and others have district credit cards. The cards make purchasing some items easier and more efficient, Sohrab said.
APS already requires credit card purchases to be preapproved and accompanied by a district purchase order, Sohrab said. And the cards can only be used at companies in preapproved categories — like textbook suppliers — he said. Purchases also must be tied to specific budget line items.
APS recently hired a new chief financial officer, former Fulton County schools finance chief Robert Morales. And the district is developing new procedures to better supervise the use of credit cards, Sohrab said.
About the Author
