I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
State Auditor Hector Balderas has ordered his Special Investigations Division to begin an on-site risk assessment at the Bernalillo School District by the end of next week.
The move follows a risk examination, or review, of Bernalillo School District audit findings since 2006, according to a May 19 letter Balderas wrote to Superintendent Barbara Vigil-Lowder. Audit findings describe accounting problems and violations of the law found during state-mandated annual audits.
The Independent reported May 17 the District’s audit findings revealed inadequate internal controls to prevent embezzlement. The District’s 2009 audit listed 19 findings, including the mismanagement of federal funds. The District’s 2007 and 2008 audits had 26 and 13 findings, respectively.
The last time the District had no audit findings was 2003.
The District is at “extremely high” risk of fraud and embezzlement, Balderas’s letter states. The District’s mismanagement of federal grants contributed to nearly $25,000 in questionable spending, Balderas wrote.
“I remain gravely concerned about the District’s past and present heedlessness for the safeguarding of assets,” Balderas wrote. “The results of our risk examination revealed severe risks for fraud and risks for misappropriation of taxpayer funds. … I expect immediate corrective action in order to prevent further mismanagement.”
The audit examination identified patterns of insufficient documentation for stipends and overtime pay, personal use of district vehicles, tuition reimbursements and benefits for non-employees, multiple charges to a federal grant to pay for costs for field trips to amusement parks and nearly $14,000 in unauthorized cash disbursements from a charter school, the letter states.
Balderas also warned that the District does not have a conflicts of interest policy, creating “a tone from the top that is conducive to favoritism and abuse of District resources” — echoing concerns expressed in the District’s 2009 audit.
“(B)lank checks of the District are not adequately safeguarded, are accessible to unauthorized personnel, and checks are kept in a vault that is left unlocked throughout the day,” Balderas wrote. “(T)he payroll clerk for the District performs all duties that are required to process payroll with little or no supervision. Failure to implement adequate segregation of duties creates an extremely high risk for fraud.”
