SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office revealed that a former bookkeeper at Catlettsburg Elementary School deposited cash funds months later and voided receipts.
It started after the school's auditor reported to the TN Comptroller about "accounting irregularities." Investigators found the school's former bookkeeper failed to deposit cash, totaling $2,309.50, until seven months later. State law requires funds to be deposited within three days.
“School leaders must ensure they have adequate oversight over their internal bookkeeping operations so that one person isn’t delegated too much financial responsibility,” Comptroller Mumpower said. “It’s also important to establish procedures to make sure that all money collected is deposited in a bank account within three days.”
On Feb. 15, 2022, the bookkeeper receipted collections totaling $3,003.70 ($2,309.50 cash and $694.20 checks) but voided the receipt in the school’s accounting system on Feb. 28 without depositing the cash, according to the Comptroller's Office.
Voiding the receipt could give the appearance that the cash had not been collected. She deposited the checks in March, the Comptroller's Office said.
The former bookkeeper said she had stored the undeposited cash in the school’s vault and forgot about it until after she was questioned by the school’s auditor.
The cash consisted of individual small amounts from the yearbook, field trip, concessions, pizza and Beta Club collections, the TN Comptroller said.
On Sept. 19, 2022, the cash was deposited but it included seven $100 bills, which caused investigators to question her version of events.
Investigators also found the former bookkeeper signed another employee’s signature on 12 concession collection logs without permission and used school credit card cash rewards to make personal purchases totaling at least $21.
The former bookkeeper was reassigned to a different position within the Sevier County School system in 2023.
Sevier County Schools released a statement about the Comptroller's report. The statement is available below.
"As the comptroller's report indicates, these irregularities were limited to Catlettsburg Elementary School. The school system has taken corrective action to address this specific situation, and as a preventive measure, additional training has been provided for all district bookkeeping personnel regarding these irregularities."