An internal Department of Education audit has found an "unacceptable" lack of oversight, monitoring and accountability of the state’s $92 million school food services program.
The review, presented Tuesday to the Board of Education’s Audit Committee, concluded that school cafeteria workers were essentially expected to run miniature businesses on their own while following outdated and inefficient policies and procedures.
The lack of oversight, the audit said, poses a risk of improper purchases or fraud.
"It’s a pretty scathing report," said Wes Lo, vice chairman of the BOE’s Audit Committee. "We’ve been served."
Don Horner, BOE chairman, said in the committee hearing that an outside consultant might need to step in to help the department look at ways to address the school food services concerns, "given the magnitude and the size of the problem."
"We’re running a $92 million business on 3-by-5 cards," he said.
The problems raised in the audit include:
» The school food services program is operating with conflicting, outdated and uncomprehensive policies and procedures, many of which are not consistently followed. For example, many cafeterias’ staffs do not fill out proper forms for such fundamental operations as purchase requisition, inventory records and collections from individuals.
IMPROVING SCHOOL FOOD SERVICES
An internal Department of Education audit on school food services found major problems. Its recommendations for improving operations include:
>> Clearly delineate who “owns” oversight of school food services policies and procedures.
>> Institute mandatory training for school food workers who handle purchasing duties.
>> Beef up money collection protocols to ensure funds are well tracked and accounted for.
>> Update purchasing policies and procedures, addressing those that are outdated or duplicative.
>> Periodically conduct spot-checks of food inventories.
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» Some school food service managers are responsible for "conflicting tasks" in the purchasing process, from placing orders to receiving goods to maintaining inventory.
» The School Food Services Branch does not review purchases as part of annual on-site reviews.
» Staffing for school kitchens is based on a 1964 formula, and overstaffing was found. In the 2011-12 school year, there were approximately 27 full-time and 35 part-time positions that were unneeded, according to the audit.
» Menu planning, ordering and inventory are all manual processes. Because many current inventory policies and procedures are not being followed, school kitchen staffs are essentially making decisions about what to order without really knowing what they have.
The audit is the latest product of a beefed-up DOE internal auditing arm, whose directive is to help the department as it looks to streamline operations, address spending concerns and ensure that its own policies are being followed.
Lo, of the BOE, said previous internal audits have similarly reported a lack of monitoring and other controls.
"These are systemic problems that we’re facing right now," he said.
Jim Williams, BOE member, said at the committee hearing that the lack of oversight and monitoring means "the dedication and honesty of the (school food) employees is the only thing that stands between what we’ve got and massive corruption."
