Auditor's office issues finding for recovery

The treasurer says the missing money was deposited but not marked properly.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NEWTON FALLS -- The Ohio Auditor's Office has issued a finding for recovery from the school's treasurer and a secretary in the Newton Falls School District for not properly accounting for $209.75 in fund-raising money.
The audit says Treasurer Susan Irving paid the amount Oct. 21, 2005, and reimbursed the district's Arlington School general account in that amount.
According to the audit, the elementary school participated in a fund-raiser during the 2003-2004 school year offered by Daffin's Candy. It says Vicky Howard, who is secretary at the school, was in charge of it.
It says Howard deposited $17,336.70 with the district for money collected from candy sales, but an invoice from Daffin's approved by Howard and paid by Irving showed total sales of $17,546.45, a difference of $209.75.
The audit says Howard, Irving and the district "have not provided sufficient support documentation to support the variance."
Money for field trips
Irving said the fund-raiser, which is held annually, is used to offset costs for field trips. She said the project involves collecting money at the time the orders are placed, but some money came in afterward.
The problem was that as money trickled in, Howard did not mark some of it as being for the fund-raiser and instead the money went into a general account. "There was no way to track the money, even though it was there," Irving said.
"This year when we did the fund-raiser, I sat there and told them we didn't process any fund-raising money" if the whole order was not complete, she said, adding that a reminder was made that all money this time had to be marked as being for the fund-raiser.
Though Irving said she wasn't personally involved in last year's fund-raiser, "I am the treasurer and therefore responsible. The buck stops here. I had to step up and pay the money out of my own bank account."
She said she knows that all of the disputed missing money was actually deposited and that the auditor's office also "knows the money is there."