Schools

Marlow: Questions "Shining a Light" Onto District Finances

Cherokee County School Board member Kelly Marlow on Thursday continued to ask questions about the district's fiscal year 2011 audit.

The Cherokee County School District's fiscal year 2011 financial audit was once again the topic of discussion at the school board's meeting on Thursday. 

Citing fiscal transparency, Cherokee County School Board Member Kelly Marlow on Thursday continued to press school district staff on the fiscal year 2011 audit. 

Marlow and School Board Chair Janet Read engaged in a debate during the board's Thursday meeting on the audit. Marlow said she's asked several times if Mauldin & Jenkins, the company who performed the audit, could attend a future meeting and ask questions. 

In a press release she passed out to local media following Thursday's meeting, Marlow noted she campaigned on "shining a light on to the finances of this system and this is what I have attempted to do."

"Ms. Read and the superintendent, along with the staff, refuse to answer questions clearly and directly," she said in the statement. 

During the meeting, Marlow noted since May she's been asking for a plan for how the audit findings will be "resolved." 

Read during the meeting offered counterpoints to Marlow's assertions. 

"You also have since April said you have seven pages of audit questions...and we're still waiting on those," she said. 

The board chair also said Marlow has been given the opportunity to talk personally with the auditor as well as Candler Howell, the district's superintendent of financial management. 

Read also noted she informed Marlow at the previous board meeting that if she "really wanted the auditor to come," that she was asked to put together an agenda item and she will research how much the auditor would charge.

"That agenda item was not forthcoming," she added. 

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo also weighed in on the discussion. He noted any research would not be staff doing something one board member request, but a majority of the board would want done. 

The most appropriate way, Petruzielo added, would be for Marlow to present an agenda item so the majority of the board can decide if some "additional pursuit of questions and answers as it relates to the former auditor for the school system" would be a worthy cause.  

Petruzielo did state he didn't think it would be "fruitful" for one member to raise questions at meetings and put district staff in a position of not knowing if the rest of the board wants them to spend time on "activities that may be totally irrelevant and that may take them away from things that are perhaps more important."

Staff, he added, is between a rock and hard place as they want to be responsive, but don't want to waste any more time.

"The fact that Ms. Marlow just pointed out she's got 7 pages of questions, but for some reason, she doesn't see fit to give those questions to us so we can answer them," he said. 

Board member Michael Geist said he'll introduce the item at the next meeting so "we can settle the question." 


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