SC Department of Education orders audit of Richland One, says financial recovery plan is 'inadequate'

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has ordered an audit of Richland County School District One after rating the financial recovery plan submitted last month as “inadequate” and “incomplete.”

Richland One submitted the plan to the department after state Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver The level of financial supervision was elevated to budgetary prudencethe second highest under state law, in early August.

The three levels of budgetary concern for South Carolina school districts are budgetary control, budgetary prudence, and budgetary contingency.

The district had been under budget supervision since December 2022 another state audit found problems with the purchasing card, or p-card, system.

Weaver ordered the fiscal prudence designation following a state Inspector General (SIG) investigation into the multimillion-dollar Vince Ford Early Learning Center that halted construction. The investigation revealed procurement problems, violations of the law and waste of money.

By law, the district had 60 days to submit a recovery plan. It was filed on October 11.

The Inspector General investigation found that the district mismanaged $31 million related to the construction of the early learning center, which began without proper permits.

In its recovery plan, Richland One emphasized that no crime had been found, and stated that the board had voted on August 9 to ratify the construction tender for the project.

SCDE’s new letter, dated Oct. 31 and written by its Chief Financial Officer Kendra Hunt, alleges that the district’s response to this specific concern “ignores the State Inspector General’s (SIG) findings of deficiencies and instead emphasizes imposes information on fraud or illegality that is not related to the content of the finding.”

The department also wrote in the letter that it is not elevating Richland One’s status to a fiscal emergency “at this time.”

In extreme situations, the SCDE could take over a school district’s financial operations under this designation if concerns are not addressed.

In August, Rep. Heather Bauer, D-Richland, said: “It would be terrible if our schools were taken over by the South Carolina Department of Education, but unless this school district veers off the path to disaster, that is exactly what is going to happen. to happen.”

SCDE’s letter stated that Richland One’s “apparently superficial responses have increased the Department’s concerns about the District’s apparent failure to understand the severity and full implications of the SIG’s findings.”

The department said it hopes the audit will help Richland One address “the multiple, overlapping areas of budgetary concerns.”

Under department policy, the audit will initially be paid for by SCDE, but it may seek a full refund from the district.

A spokesperson for Richland One said they will provide a full response to the letter at a later date.

You can read the full letter from the department below:

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