Shad White’s office takes a close look at the Vicksburg Warren School District

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Mississippi State Auditor Shad White’s office took a close look at the books and financial controls of the Vicksburg Warren School District in the publicly available Limited Internal Control and Compliance Review Management Report for FY 2024.

The state auditor’s office issued seventeen recommendations ranging from strengthening internal controls regarding bank statements and investments reconciliations to ensuring compliance with state law regarding surety bonds.

Under the Material Weakness category, the report listed that the school district had four bank accounts that were not reconciled and were $2,446,212 out of balance, with the largest portion coming from the Capital Projects account—a total of $2,321,428. The VWSD responded that the school district has experienced significant employee turnover in key financial roles. The district also had a similar issue reported in the 2019 compliance report.

Among the 17 audit findings, Finding 9 — The District Should Ensure Compliance with State Law Regarding Purchasing Procedures — emerges as the most serious infraction due to its scale, scope, and implications on financial integrity. The gravity of this finding stems primarily from the large dollar amounts involved, with the audit citing $148,213 in vendor purchases made without proper bidding, an $875,044 bid approved without evidence from other vendors, three instances of directors who are not bonded as purchasing agents dealing directly with vendors, as well as an additional $99,406 in split claims deliberately structured to circumvent state bidding requirements.

The report also stated that there was no evidence of publication soliciting bids nor Board approval for its custodial services with ABM Industry Groups, LLC, totaling $1,853,538 annually. The board has since gone through the appropriate bidding procedure and approved a new custodial services contract with HES Facilities Management for a three year contract totaling $1,899,898.37 per year in a special call meeting held on June 13.

Also under Finding 9 the Board approved an HVAC maintenance contract with Star Service, Inc. totaling $875,044; however, the District did not have evidence of all bids obtained from the other vendors.

In response to the claims in Finding 9, the district stated in the report “Over the past several years, the district has experienced significant employee turnover in key financial roles. Several of the contracts and/or purchases referenced were in place prior to the current administration assuming office. However, current financial employees will attend mandatory training in their respective areas.”

The school district made a similar response in Finding 1, claiming that the Board has approved to increase the minimum qualifications for several financial roles to include a bachelor’s degree specifically in accounting.

Read the entire report below, or click here.