BENTONVILLE -- State Sen. Bart Hester said he doesn't plan to seek an audit of the School District despite one School Board member's plea for him to do just that.
Hester wrote in an email, "I do not currently plan to request an audit." He didn't return two messages seeking explanation of his decision.
Bentonville audit
Beall Barclay and Co. did the Bentonville School District’s most recent general financial audit, which was for the 2013-14 school year. The School Board approved the audit by a 5-1 vote in February. Wendi Cheatham voted against accepting it.
Source: Staff report
Board member Wendi Cheatham said her questions about the district's financial practices led her to seek an audit through the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit. A private firm performs annual audits of the district, but Cheatham said Legislative Audit could go into more detail than a private firm could.
Cheatham's concerns have to do with the way millage money approved specifically for construction is being used. Cheatham said she was told a member of the Arkansas Legislature could request a narrow audit to ensure the district is complying with state laws.
Cheatham contacted Hester through her attorney, Tim Hutchinson, about a month ago.
Cheatham said Wednesday she hadn't heard from Hester about his decision.
"That's the first I've heard of that," Cheatham said. She declined further comment. Hutchinson also declined comment.
Hester, a Republican from Cave Springs, lives in a portion of the district Cheatham represents on the board.
Michael Poore, district superintendent, said Wednesday he hadn't heard from Hester since the senator asked for information that would help him decide whether to request the audit.
Poore, in an email to Hester on May 8, said the district doesn't use money intended for construction to cover operational expenses.
"Each year we are audited by a private firm and received clean opinions with no findings," Poore wrote. "For the past two years we have had audits performed at a high level that includes a CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Review), an audit which provides additional financial and statistical information to our School Board and to our community. I believe we are the only school district in the state to take this aggressive of an audit."
Poore also noted the district has a fund balance of about $25 million, has completed all construction projects on time and under budget and provides board members monthly financial reviews as well as quarterly financial workshops.
Cheatham's decision to seek the audit irked board president Travis Riggs, who didn't learn of it until Hester informed the district of her request.
Riggs addressed the matter at a board meeting May 4, which Cheatham didn't attend. He said it bothered him a board member would request an audit without first telling the rest of the board. He also expressed frustration with the "cloud of doubt" being cast upon the district and the board by Cheatham's actions. Her repeated concerns have been proven to have no merit, he said.
"A Legislative audit not only ensures that every tax dollar is properly accounted for, they also look at our policies and procedures to ensure that the district is complying with state laws," Cheatham wrote in an email May 8. "It is concerning to me that Bentonville has not had an independent review of district practices to ensure compliance with state law for over a decade (the type of review only offered by legislative audit) because Bentonville has chosen to hire a private auditor."
Jake Haak has been chief financial officer for the Rogers School District since last year. He previously oversaw finances for the Gravette School District for six years.
The state did Gravette's main audits while he was there. The Rogers district, however, employs the private firm of Hudson Cisne, which recently completed its audit report for the district's 2013-14 school year.
"Both experiences were different, but both were good," Haak said. "They had close to, if not exactly, the same in-depth analysis."
It's difficult to say with certainty a state audit provides a better evaluation of a school district's financial practices than a private audit does, Haak said.
"To my understanding, both Legislative Audit and private auditors have to adhere to the Arkansas Department of Education's requirements and legislators' requirements for financial and fiscal reviews," Haak said. "So on the front end they should have very similar lists to what they're checking."
Legislative Audit performs audits primarily on school districts and other governmental agencies, so its workers might have keener eyes when it comes to looking for certain things, Haak said.
"But I wouldn't say necessarily it's going to be less of an in-depth audit," he said.
Kathy Hanlon has been chief financial officer for the Fayetteville School District since last year. Before that she held the same position in the Rogers School District for 20 years.
Most of the state's large school districts use private firms for their main financial audits, Hanlon said. The Rogers School District, for example, has used a private firm since at least 1991, she said.
There is no practical difference between what the state auditors and private auditors do, she said. The only real difference is private firms work faster because they bring in more people to do the job.
NW News on 05/28/2015