Delaware News

Attorney General Carl Danberg Announces Results of Preliminary Review of Three Christina School District Audits

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Wednesday, December 27, 2006



 (Wilmington, DE) Attorney General Carl C. Danberg announced today that his office has found no
legal violations in the business and accounting practices of the Christina School District audited thus far by the Auditor of Accounts. This conclusion is based solely on a review of three audits published to date.
The Auditor of Accounts is currently working on several additional audits of Christina School District
including its salary and personnel expenses. Those Audits have not yet been finalized, nor have they been presented to or reviewed by this office. It is anticipated that these audits will require further investigation by this office.
Earlier this year, the Auditor of Accounts issued three audits of the Christina School District. Two of the Audits made allegations of fiscal wrongdoing. The two audits addressed the purchase of land and use of referenda funds for a new middle school, and the use of “tuition tax” funds, funds used for special needs or non-traditional students.
A third audit issued, pertaining to “Cafeteria Funds” (as the name implies, these are funds for nutritional programs and expenses), however this Audit did not make significant findings of wrongdoing. It found that the cafeteria funds were used for the purpose of child nutrition and were allowable per the Department of Education. The majority of disputed charges were verified as legitimate by the District or approved by other State agencies.
Following the issuance of the middle school and tuition tax audits, this office reviewed the matters to
see if any legal action was appropriate. We have concluded that there is no basis for criminal prosecution or other legal action arising out of these matters.
These findings should not be taken as approval of, or validation of, the business practices or internal
procedural and bookkeeping practices of the District. Indeed, the Auditor of Accounts uncovered a number of procedural and documentation problems with the District’s records and accounting. However, we have
concluded that there is no evidence of civil or criminal violations committed by the District or its former officials.
There is no evidence of any false statements, or falsification of records, and no evidence that the District administration tried to mislead or to hide any of their actions from State officials. There is no evidence of monies being taken or personal gain by any Christina School District officials.
The text of the Attorney General’s report is available on the website at www.state.de.us/attgen or by
calling the office.
# # #

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Attorney General Carl Danberg Announces Results of Preliminary Review of Three Christina School District Audits

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Wednesday, December 27, 2006



 (Wilmington, DE) Attorney General Carl C. Danberg announced today that his office has found no
legal violations in the business and accounting practices of the Christina School District audited thus far by the Auditor of Accounts. This conclusion is based solely on a review of three audits published to date.
The Auditor of Accounts is currently working on several additional audits of Christina School District
including its salary and personnel expenses. Those Audits have not yet been finalized, nor have they been presented to or reviewed by this office. It is anticipated that these audits will require further investigation by this office.
Earlier this year, the Auditor of Accounts issued three audits of the Christina School District. Two of the Audits made allegations of fiscal wrongdoing. The two audits addressed the purchase of land and use of referenda funds for a new middle school, and the use of “tuition tax” funds, funds used for special needs or non-traditional students.
A third audit issued, pertaining to “Cafeteria Funds” (as the name implies, these are funds for nutritional programs and expenses), however this Audit did not make significant findings of wrongdoing. It found that the cafeteria funds were used for the purpose of child nutrition and were allowable per the Department of Education. The majority of disputed charges were verified as legitimate by the District or approved by other State agencies.
Following the issuance of the middle school and tuition tax audits, this office reviewed the matters to
see if any legal action was appropriate. We have concluded that there is no basis for criminal prosecution or other legal action arising out of these matters.
These findings should not be taken as approval of, or validation of, the business practices or internal
procedural and bookkeeping practices of the District. Indeed, the Auditor of Accounts uncovered a number of procedural and documentation problems with the District’s records and accounting. However, we have
concluded that there is no evidence of civil or criminal violations committed by the District or its former officials.
There is no evidence of any false statements, or falsification of records, and no evidence that the District administration tried to mislead or to hide any of their actions from State officials. There is no evidence of monies being taken or personal gain by any Christina School District officials.
The text of the Attorney General’s report is available on the website at www.state.de.us/attgen or by
calling the office.
# # #

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.