Heather Latter
A series of revised policies and procedures are being praised for addressing the matter of a missing item within the Rainy River District School Board.
“After the discovery of the theft a few years ago, procedures and policies were updated,” board chair Mike Lewis explained, referring to the more than $300,000 in funds that went missing from Fort Frances High School’s chequing account between 2004-07.
“The other thing that has come into play is that every school board across the province has to have an audit committee,” he added.
“And our audit committee has also introduced some procedures and policies that are required by all school boards.”
Lewis indicated it was the updated inventory policy that led to the discovery of the missing item.
“In this particular case, it was reviewing inventory that highlighted some issue,” he noted.
“It was an internal matter dealt with by administration,” Lewis added, saying it was reported to the board as a personnel matter in-camera (behind closed doors) at its regular meeting June 4.
“The board received the information and approved the process that had been implemented, which is an internal process,” he remarked.
Lewis noted the police were brought in to investigate, and the missing item was located and returned.
“There were financial consequences for the person responsible for the missing item,” stated a press release issued by the board last Thursday.
“The matter of consequences is one addressed by internal discipline, and is not for public consumption,” it added.
The press release noted that “the board takes very seriously any matter where public property or funds are misappropriated or unaccounted for.”
When asked why a press release wasn’t issued earlier, Lewis replied it is not something the board typically does for internal matters such as this—that it was to address questions raised in the editorial published in last week’s issue of the Fort Frances Times.
“There’s several times during the year that internal discipline takes place for a variety of reasons and we don’t issue press releases on those things,” he noted.
Lewis added the only reason the public was aware of the missing $300,000 several years ago was because it became a public court case.
“Any kind of internal discipline is actually not even a matter for the board other than for the reporting of and the conclusion of, and then if there is a disagreement, that goes to the board,” he explained.
The press release indicated the board “recognizes that the news about the recent investigation may cause distress among community members, and wants to reassure you that the control systems put in place over the past three years are proving to be effective in revealing instances of concern.”
