2022-079 Jackson County DSB - OP

Report No. 2022-079 January 2022

JACKSON COUNTY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

Sherrill F. Norman, CPA Auditor General

Operational Audit

Board Members and Superintendent

During the 2020-21 fiscal year, Steve R. Benton served as Superintendent of the Jackson County

Schools from November 17, 2020, H. Larry Moore served before that date, and the following

individuals served as School Board Members:

District No.

Diane Long

1

Tony Pumphrey, Chair from 11-17-20

2

Stacey B. Goodson, Vice Chair

3

Chris M. Johnson, Chair through 11-16-20

4

Charlotte M. Gardner

5

The team leader was Douglas R. Conner, CPA, and the audit was supervised by Shelly G. Curti, CPA.

Please address inquiries regarding this report to Edward A. Waller, CPA, Audit Manager, by e-mail at tedwaller@aud.state.fl.us or by telephone at (850) 412-2887.

This report and other reports prepared by the Auditor General are available at:

Printed copies of our reports may be requested by contacting us at: State of Florida Auditor General

Claude Pepper Building, Suite G74 ? 111 West Madison Street ? Tallahassee, FL 32399-1450 ? (850) 412-2722

JACKSON COUNTY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

SUMMARY

This operational audit of the Jackson County School District (District) focused on selected District processes and administrative activities and included a follow-up on findings noted in our report No. 2019-207. Our operational audit disclosed the following:

Finding 1: District controls over school safety officer services could be improved.

Finding 2: Contrary to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rules, the public water system alteration for the Graceville PreK-5 Addition Project was placed into permanent operation in August 2020 without the required DEP clearance.

Finding 3: District controls over contracted services and related payments could be enhanced.

Finding 4: The Board did not establish a service-level agreement with the Washington County District School Board, as fiscal agent for the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium - Gateway Educational Computing Consultants (PAEC/GECC), to identify the services expected from PAEC/GECC and District and PAEC/GECC staff responsibilities.

Finding 5: District information technology security controls related to monitoring need improvement.

BACKGROUND

The Jackson County School District (District) is part of the State system of public education under the general direction of the Florida Department of Education and is governed by State law and State Board of Education rules. Geographic boundaries of the District correspond with those of Jackson County. The governing body of the District is the Jackson County District School Board (Board), which is composed of five elected members. The elected Superintendent of Schools is the Executive Officer of the Board. During the 2020-21 fiscal year, the District operated 14 elementary, middle, high, and specialized schools and reported 5,863 unweighted full-time equivalent students.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Finding 1: School Safety ? Safe School Officer Services

For the protection and safety of school personnel, property, students, and visitors, State law1 requires the Board and Superintendent to partner with local law enforcement agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school officers, such as school safety officers (SSOs), school resource officers, or school guardians, at each school facility. SSOs are to be certified law enforcement officers and, among other things, are required to undergo psychological evaluations.2 School guardians must satisfactorily complete training requirements, including a 144-hour training program conducted by Criminal Justice

1 Section 1006.12, Florida Statutes. 2 Section 1006.12(2)(a), Florida Statutes.

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Standards and Training Commission-certified instructors, and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) is required to certify that District school guardians complete the required training.3

Our examination of District records disclosed that the Board established the District Police Department in June 2019 and, for the 2020-21 fiscal year, commissioned 14 SSOs. In addition, the Board partnered with the Bay County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) to provide psychological evaluations of District SSOs and with the JCSO to certify that the District's four school guardians completed required training. However, although we requested, District records were not provided to demonstrate that 4 of the 14 SSOs had undergone the required psychological evaluations or that the four school guardians were certified by the JCSO to demonstrate satisfactory completion of required training. We also found that the District agreements with the BCSO and JCSO did not require the Sheriff Offices to provide evidence of the psychological evaluations or training certifications, and District procedures did not require verification of that information. Subsequent to our inquiry, in September 2021 the District received documentation from the respective Sheriff Office confirming psychological evaluations for 2 of the 4 SSOs and the required school guardian training certifications; however, evidence of the psychological evaluations for the other 2 SSOs were not provided.

Additionally, at least one safe-school officer was assigned to each of the 11 District school facilities. To ensure that a safe-school officer was onsite during hours school was in regular session, the District required monthly time sheets to be completed, signed, and dated by the safe-school officer and applicable principal. As a part of our audit, we requested for examination safe-school officer time sheets for the days that the 11 District schools were in regular session during November 2020 and February 2021 and found that time sheets were maintained when the safe-school officers assigned to the schools were present. However, for 25 days that the assigned safe-school officer was absent, District records did not demonstrate that a substitute safe-school officer was present at the school. In response to our inquiry, District personnel indicated that, although substitute safe-school officer attendance was not recorded, none of the schools lacked a safe-school officer while school was in session. District personnel also indicated that, beginning July 1, 2021, the Board eliminated the District Police Department and contracted with the JCSO to provide school resource officer services.

Absent effective procedures to require, ensure, and document that SSO services were received, and school guardians complete the required training, the District cannot demonstrate compliance with State law or that all appropriate measures have been taken to promote student and staff safety.

Recommendation: The District should enhance procedures to ensure that District records demonstrate that each SSO received the required psychological evaluation, each school guardian received the required training, and at least one safe-school officer is present during school hours at each school.

3 Section 30.15(1)(k), Florida Statutes. Page 2

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Finding 2: Construction ? Public Water System Alteration

Pursuant to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rules,4 no public water system (PWS)5 components constructed or altered under a permit granted by the DEP should be placed into permanent operation without prior DEP approval or clearance. DEP rule violations may result in the imposition of penalties pursuant to State law.6

As part of our audit, we examined District records supporting the Marianna K-8 School Project (Marianna Project) and the Graceville PK-5 School Addition Project (Graceville Project) construction processes. We found that:

For the Marianna Project, with costs totaling $52.1 million, the DEP granted a permit in July 2018 for the District to alter the City of Marianna's PWS to connect to the Marianna K-8 School, and the District obtained the DEP clearance in June 2020 for alteration of the PWS before the alteration was placed into permanent operation.

For the Graceville Project, with costs totaling $8.2 million, the DEP granted a permit in September 2019 for the District to alter the City of Graceville's PWS to connect to the Graceville PK-5 School. While District records indicated the performance of certain procedures, such as potable water testing that disclosed satisfactory results, before the Graceville Project was placed into permanent operation in August 2020, District personnel overlooked the requirement to apply for and obtain the DEP clearance. Subsequent to our inquiry, the District applied for DEP clearance of the Graceville Project PWS alteration in September 2021 and the DEP granted the clearance in October 2021. Notwithstanding, our audit procedures cannot substitute for management's responsibility to timely obtain DEP clearance for PWS alterations.

Without the DEP approval or clearance prior to permanent operation of PWS alterations, the District cannot demonstrate compliance with DEP rules, which may subject the District to statutory penalties. In addition, absent timely approval or clearance, there is an increased risk that potable water may be unfit for consumption, jeopardize the health of the occupants, and endanger the environment.

Recommendation: The District should enhance procedures to ensure that DEP approval or clearance is obtained before PWS alterations are placed into permanent operation.

Finding 3: Contracted Services

Effective contract management ensures that contracted services conform to contract terms before payment. The Board routinely enters into contracts for services and District controls have been designed and implemented to ensure that payments are generally consistent with contract terms and conditions.

For the period July 2020 through March 2021, the District paid a total of $4.2 million for contracted services. To determine the propriety of those payments, we examined District records supporting

4 DEP Rule 62-555.345, Florida Administrative Code, Certification of Construction Completion and Clearance for Public Water System Components.

5 Pursuant to Section 403.852(2), Florida Statutes, a public water system is a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances if such system regularly serves at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year.

6 Section 403.860, Florida Statutes.

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