The Fox C-6 Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, to discuss “the likelihood of various financial improprieties during the past three fiscal years,” according to a statement posted Thursday (Aug. 7) on the district’s website.
Newly hired chief financial officer John Brazeal wrote the memo and in it recommends that the district request a state audit to investigate possible fraud between 2011 and 2014.
“Due to the potential magnitude of the alleged improprieties, the recent departures of high-ranking administrators, along with the need for an independent outside investigation, it is hereby recommended the Board of Education promptly request an audit from the office of the Missouri State Auditor,” Brazeal said in the memo.
According to the statement, alleged improprieties include:
■ Financial transactions that appear to be of a personal nature rather than for a district purpose.
■ Unauthorized rates of compensation.
■ Misuse of district property.
■ Transactions that are potentially illegal.
■ Destruction of physical and electronic records.
■ Irregularities related to the issuance of the most recent general obligation bonds and disposition of the bond funds.
Brazeal said that “suspicious activity has been discovered during the past few weeks,” and since then he and acting Superintendent Tim Crutchley have “taken a series of internal actions to correct problems and developed procedures to prevent reoccurences of similar problems.”
Those steps, Brazeal said, include:
■ Preservation of relevant evidence.
■ Recalling all credit cards, although a few have been re-issued under new, more restrictive agreements.
■ Correcting unauthorized rates of compensation.
■ Recovery of funds.
If a state audit is conducted, all findings would be made public, Brazeal said.
The meeting will be held at the Fox C-6 Service Center, 849 Jeffco Blvd., Arnold.