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Two Southland schools have been singled out for excessive loans in 2018 that have carried over to the Auditor General’s latest 2019 School Audit.
Four Southland schools have been flagged for irregular spending in the Auditor General’s 2019 School Audit.
Two of the cases were historical and the other two problems have been resolved.
Myross Bush School and Hillside Elementary School in Browns were singled out for excessive indebtedness in 2018, and these issues have been carried over to the next audit; while Lumdsen Primary School received its name from a transfer of funds to a trust and Blue Mountain College, in Tapanui, for unaccounted money.
Lumsden School Acting Principal Callum Tytler said the problems stemmed from a complicated lease between the school and the Lumsden Community Swimming Pool Trust..
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According to the Auditor General’s report, released Monday, the auditors drew attention to the transaction, which was included in the school’s financial statement, because it was not approved by the ministry.
Tytler said the school generally paid the rent money to the pool trust, but since it hadn’t been billed for some time, the payments were made as a lump sum.
“It was just an accumulation of funds that would normally be paid annually,” he said.
The auditors were also concerned about Blue Mountain College’s expenses for a trip abroad.
During the previous audit, the whereabouts of $ 52,000 of the $ 306,113 spent on the trip were not accounted for, but the report says that the auditors received information in the current financial year that ensured that the funds were not wasted.
Blue Mountain College principal Lindy Cavanagh-Monaghan said the $ 52,000 was used for living expenses while the students went on a self-funded overseas tour to Australia in 2018.
The students and parents had raised the money by tracking lambs, chopping firewood and catering, he said.
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Blue Mountain College in Tapanui came under the scrutiny of the auditors, but they are now satisfied that there was no financial mismanagement at the school.
Cavanagh-Monaghan said $ 32,000 was put into a cash passport card and another $ 20,200 ($ 18,000 AUD) was used for activities and meals that had not been paid for in advance.
“There was no suggestion of impropriety,” he said, and since then the school had sought advice on how to document this expense in the future.
“We understand the importance of a robust audit process and, although no misuse of funds was suggested, [we have] used the 2018 feedback as an opportunity to further strengthen our internal systems and amend existing policies and procedures, ”said Cavanagh-Monaghan.
Myross Bush School and Hillside Elementary School stood out in the previous audit for failing to seek permission from the Minister of Education or the Minister of Finance to borrow with repayments of more than 10% of the schools’ annual operating grant.
A spokesman for the Auditor General’s office said both schools had “borrowed” through leases for IT equipment and contracts to paint the schools.
“When a school enters into a finance lease or a painting contract, it cannot get out of those contracts without incurring additional costs. As long as the contracts are in effect, the school will continue to breach the loan limit unless they get approval from the Finance and Education Ministers for the loan, ”the spokesperson said.
