Reports from auditors don’t use terms like “Liar, liar pants on fire,” but if they did it appears that’s how the report recently released by the North Carolina state auditor on the Guilford County Schools would read.
The North Carolina state auditor completed an investigative audit in response to allegations that Guilford County Schools’ vehicles were being used for personal use.
The “Key Finding” of the audit is, “Investigators were unable to determine if the Department vehicles included in the allegation were used for personal use because the Department did not maintain documentation of vehicle usage.”
The allegations were that three GCS vehicles assigned to the Building Services Department and driven by the senior executive director, the director of maintenance and operations, and the director of health and safety, custodial services and logistics had been used for personal use in violation of a GCS policy that GCS vehicles “are not to be used for personal use at any time.”
According to the state auditor’s report, not only did GCS not have documentation for the usage of these three vehicles but it did not have documentation for “any of the 120 vehicles assigned to the Department.”
The school board responded to the audit report with a letter signed by Chair of the Guilford County Board of Education Deena Hayes and school board members Dianne Bellamy-Small, Linda Welborn, Khem Irby, Bettye Jenkins, Crissy Pratt, Deborah Napper and Alan Sherouse.
The state auditor’s report states, “In their response to the investigative report, the School System made statements that mislead the reader.”
The report quotes the GCS response as stating, “To be clear, there was no evidence that the vehicles were used inappropriately at any time by any employee.”
The state auditor responds, “The School System’s statement is misleading.
“As clearly stated in the report, there was no way to determine if the vehicles were used for personal use because there was no documentation to support the business purpose for the miles driven and the locations traveled to for the three vehicles included in the allegation.”
The state auditor’s report also quotes the GCS response, “All three of the directors are aware and abide by the policy and there is no evidence to the contrary.”
The state auditor responds, “Again, the School System’s statement is misleading.
“Without documentation to support the business purpose for the miles driven and the locations traveled to, there was no way to determine if the Directors were following the School System’s policy regarding vehicle use.”
All government vehicles should have tracking devices installed. Activated when checked out.
Got to make you wonder????
Q.E.D.
Lol…welcome to Greensboro!
Corruption or just being incompetent? Starts with the elected board and commissioners that allow such shenanigans. Who get the reprimand or dismissal? No one in Guilford County…..and they want millions more in funding yearly but have zero accounting practices on every level. What a terrible example of being a steward of public funds meant for children. No wonder public schools are crumbling , it is a lack of leadership and fiscal responsibility.
What did the milage on the vehicles have on them compared to other districts or counties that properly followed the rules. Any witness es neighbors interviewed. Please do a proper investigation
Well h*ll fire if they are looking at that I wonder if they can explain using school buses during an election cycle. Does anyone remember that?
Damn right!
They still praised the Superintendent and she allegedly did that without the board’s approval.
Leadership should lose their jobs over this for incompetence and NO accounting procedures.
What do you expect ? It’s GCS !
MISMANAGEMENT in all they do !
The community of Colfax is trying to bring to the publics attention this fiasco that happening around the new Johnson school! The Lies about the STEM component … wasn’t going to be a STEM ( which was what the bond was passed represented) and when we called them out … suddenly it’s some form of STEM again ! Wow , just wow GCS!
When will Guilford County stop this ! Isn’t there some type of oversight on GCS ! They do as they please & are sucking GC dry !!!
Let us write our legislature and demand answers. Write to the auditing department about the 2020 bond. Let’s put the kibosh on spending the bond money unless and until the school board and the commissioners come clean. At the school board meeting tonight, the pastor of Mt. Zion Church spoke in favor of building the school at Boylston Rd and S. Bunker Hill Rd. Stay in your lane, pastor. You live in Greensboro and have no children that will be affected by the location. You know nothing about Colfax. You are not qualified to speak about the school. Therefore, who put you up to speak tonight, the wannabe mayor of High Point?
Residents in the area want to know why the location was selected. Residents want to review the traffic study by May 12, 2023. Residents were told there were 13 other sites investigated, give us the names of those sites and why they were not selected. Give the residents the negotiated purchase amount. On information and belief, the amount is $90,000 – $100,000 per acre. The residents demand to know. This is borrowed money that must be paid back by taxpayers at a high interest rate. When the bond was put together, a STEM school was to be built. Then the residents were told that there would be no STEM school. Then the residents were told it would be a modified STEM. What is a “modified STEM school?” The school board, Skip Alston and the county commissioners are being dishonest. It is time for Raleigh to rein in Guilford County just as they are about to rein in Greensboro.
Build the school on Colfax School property. There is no reason not to build there. Further, stop talking about growth as justification for building a new school. We all know the growth is not in the number of school children. So disingenuous.
Well, well, well GCS and Deena Hayes, who has been in her position way too long, is sorta like GCC and their lack of parliamentary rules for Council meetings. If there are no rules and no documentation procedures, everything is lovely. Ms. Hayes, if the Board wants to provide proof that there is no wrongdoing as it relates to personal use of government vehicles assigned to GCS, then establish iron-clad records of vehicle use. Or, are those driving GCS’s vehicles your cronies? Can we all say “term limits” together?
The GCS vehicle that was seen last week at Colfax School was sweet. Large SUV that could be used to carry the entire GCS around town. Why not a small vehicle like a Ford Fiesta; good gas mileage?
GCC refuses to allow police officers to drive their patrol vehicles home. Yet, GCS plays loosey-goosey with their assigned vehicles. And, again, all together “TERM LIMITS.”
Term limits are at the ballot box.
Wrong.
Please show me how the Greensboro transportation department can justify running our beautiful buses and support itself. I have yet to see a city bus with more than four people on it. Most are empty and loosing money.
Was wasn’t mentioned in the News and Record article: if the IRS comes looking around, the employees driving these GCS-owned vehicles could be assessed income tax. The IRS has had rules for decades concerning employee use of company-owned vehicles. You must have an “accountable plan” which includes the requirement to maintain a record showing the business vs personal use of the vehicle. The value of the personal use is required to be included in the employee’s Form W-2.
Dashcam cameras. So we can monitor what’s going on within the driver’s side of the vehicle. Useful in case of accidents and able to watch the odometer TOO. They should obviously be tracking exactly where they are going for each trip, the purpose of it, original mileage when starting, mileage when back to base. Date of trip. I’ve worked in MANY organizations where this was a requirement. So, it’s very easily done. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Just as TRUE now as in the 15th century! No one should be above the power of accountability! From the bottom to the top. Same rules should apply to everyone.