The Alabama State Department of Education voted on Thursday to take over the Dallas County Public School System (DCPSS), citing a major discrepancy in the use of federal grant money, which was nearing roughly $12 million.
The Alabama State Board of Education voted unanimously to intervene in the Dallas County Public School System after an audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts found discrepancies with the system's use of federal funds. Namely, due to improper procurement procedures, the DCPSS was ordered to repay roughly $12 million in federal dollars.
The examiners also found other issues, such as failing to record meeting minutes, not reconciling bank accounts with financial statements, improper and incomplete payments, and improperly recorded expenditures.
In one case, the Dallas County Board of Education (BOE) expended nearly $4.9 million from the Education Stabilization Fund for professional development services without obtaining sealed bids or proposals, far above the cap the application threshold of $250,000.
At the meeting, State Education Superintendent Eric Mackey said dealing with the financial woes is a "very heavy lift" while complimenting the Dallas County BOE for its receptiveness.
"Dallas County School Board members we met with several weeks ago, they've been good to work with," Mackey said. "This is obviously not an easy thing when you're a local school board member and the state's coming in to take over your district. But, as you all probably know, they voted 5-0 to agree to the takeover because they understand they have some financial concerns that are a very heavy lift.
Dallas County is the third school system in which the state is currently intervening, along with Sumter County and Bessemer City schools. Mackey announced that Dr. Daniel Boyd, who is presently leading the Bessemer takeover and a chief administrative officer, would also do the same in Dallas County.
After the meeting, Mackey was vague about the specifics of the DCPSS's financial issues, specifically the $12 million. However, he strongly emphasized that there were no accusations that the funds were spent due to theft or fraud.
"Last summer, in the routine audit process, state examiners determined that there were several million dollars that had not gone through the proper procurement process," Mackey said. "Now, again, that doesn't mean somebody has stolen the money or anything like that; it just means they've not gone through the proper procurement processes. And so, they reported that, as they would always do, to our department. Dallas County asked us to come in and do a deeper audit of their federal programs."
He continued, "When our folks went in, they actually found out it was deeper and more money than had originally been identified, so that was very concerning to us. We have been working with them since last October on a repayment plan, but essentially, you know, Dallas County doesn't have that kind of money lying around; about $12 million."
When specifically asked what was meant by DCPSS not following "proper procurement procedures," Mackey responded, "I don't know that I can get into what that means."
Mackey said that ALSDE was working alongside federal and local officials to determine a final dollar amount owed and a process for repaying it over time.
"Obviously, they can't write a check like that in one day," Mackey said. "It's a big concern for me because, as you may know, the way our state constitution is written, county boards of education are arms of the state. So, if a county board cannot pay its debt, that becomes a state debt. That would ultimately have to go back to the legislature."
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