The Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition received a overwhelming response from citizens and school board members across Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia when we released our article titled: “Public Schools are Wasting & Abusing Our Tax Dollars.” The first thing they all wanted to know is how waste, fraud, and abuse can be addressed in their district. We told them that they can be their own DOGE by having a professional team conduct a forensic and performance audit of the entire school system.
When you’re on this track, the first excuse school Administration will try to do is derail the request by saying, “The school district has an audit performed every year, and it’s required by law. We have passed our audit each year without issue.” That’s exactly why no issues are found. The first problem is that you’re listening to Administration.
A standard audit conducted by an accountant is ONLY looking for the reconciliation of dollars and cents, making sure accounts are in balance. What these basic annual auditors don’t look for is misappropriation of funds, the shell game of transfers, secret accounts, waste, fraud, abuse, or program compliance standards to make sure that the funds are spent accordingly.
It’s important to know the difference in audits.
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Financial Audit – A financial audit is an attestation that the client’s financial statement is accurate.
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Forensic Audit – A forensic audit involves scrutinizing the financial records of a person or organization to find evidence of fraud, misconduct, or other financial anomalies, often for legal purposes. This process uses specialized methods and is usually carried out by forensic accountants or auditors.
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Performance Audit – A performance audit is an independent review of a program, function, operation, or the management systems and procedures of a government or non-profit organization to evaluate if the entity is utilizing its resources economically, efficiently, and effectively.
There’s waste, fraud, and abuse in every public school district.
If a child is left unchecked, is never disciplined, and gets whatever they want, will end up being a spoiled brat. They’ll end up talking back, making demands, and throwing temper tantrums. Sound familiar? That’s human nature. School systems have gotten away with bloody murder, and a blind eye has been turned. But it doesn’t have to remain this way.
Make sure that the “DOGE” audit team is different from the annual auditors contracted by the administration – there’s a built-in conflict of interest avoided with a different team!
What, and expose their own theft?
That would be ljke letting the fox guard the hen house.