Senate Bill 2534

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-9-18, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A DESIGNEE OF THE STATE AUDITOR MAY AUDIT THE FINANCIAL RECORDS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REMOVE THE PROVISION REQUIRING THE STATE AUDITOR TO TEST ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR COMPLIANCE OR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CLASSROOM SUPPLY FUNDS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-9-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-9-18. (1) (a) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations concerning the type of financial reports required to be submitted by the superintendent of schools to the local school board, and the frequency with which the reports shall be submitted. The rules and regulations promulgated by the board shall include:

(i) A requirement that the reports be listed as an agenda item for discussion at a regularly scheduled meeting of the board;

(ii) A requirement that the minutes of the board meeting reflect that the reports were discussed;

(iii) A requirement that each board member present be provided a copy of all required reports; and

(iv) A requirement that a copy of all required reports be included in the official minutes of the board meeting at which the reports were discussed.

(b) The State Board of Education is authorized to require school districts to submit any of the required reports to the State Department of Education on a basis determined by the department.

(c) Failure to comply with any of the rules and regulations established by the State Board of Education with regard to reporting requirements shall constitute a violation of the Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards.

(2) The State Auditor, or his designee, shall audit the financial records of school districts in accordance with Section 7-7-211(e). The State Auditor shall give reasonable notice to school districts regarding the times during which the State Auditor, or his designee, will perform such audits. * * * Contracts for the audit of public school districts shall be let by the school board in the manner prescribed by the State Auditor. The audit shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and generally accepted accounting principles, and the report presented thereon shall be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. If the Auditor's opinion on the general purpose financial statements is a disclaimer, as that term is defined by generally accepted auditing standards, or if the State Auditor determines the existence of serious financial conditions in the district, the State Auditor shall immediately notify the State Board of Education. Upon receiving the notice, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall direct the school district to immediately cease all expenditures until a financial advisor is appointed by the state superintendent. However, if the disclaimer is a result of conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina 2005 and applies to fiscal years 2005 and/or 2006, then the Superintendent of Education may appoint a financial advisor, and may direct the school district to immediately cease all expenditures until a financial advisor is appointed. The financial advisor shall be an agent of the State Board of Education and shall be a certified public accountant or a qualified business officer. The financial advisor shall, with the approval of the State Board of Education:

(a) Approve or disapprove all expenditures and all financial obligations of the district;

(b) Ensure compliance with any statutes and State Board of Education rules or regulations concerning expenditures by school districts;

(c) Review salaries and the number of all district personnel and make recommendations to the local school board of any needed adjustments. Should such recommendations necessitate the reduction in local salary supplement, such recommended reductions shall be only to the extent which will result in the salaries being comparable to districts similarly situated, as determined by the State Board of Education. The local school board, in considering either a reduction in personnel or a reduction in local supplements, shall not be required to comply with the time limitations prescribed in Sections 37-9-15 and 37-9-105 and, further, shall not be required to comply with Sections 37-19-11 and 37-19-7(1) in regard to reducing local supplements and the number of personnel;

(d) Work with the school district's business office to correct all inappropriate accounting procedures and/or uses of school district funds and to prepare the school district's budget for the next fiscal year;

(e) Report frequently to the State Board of Education on the corrective actions being taken and the progress being made in the school district. The financial advisor shall serve until such time as corrective action and progress is being made in such school district as determined by the State Board of Education with the concurrence of the State Auditor, or until such time as an interim conservator is assigned to such district by the State Board of Education under Section 37-17-6. The school district shall be responsible for all expenses associated with the use of the financial advisor. If the audit report reflects a failure by the school district to meet accreditation standards, the State Board of Education shall proceed under Section 37-17-6; and

(f) If a financial advisor is appointed to a school district in accordance with this subsection and it is determined by the financial advisor and/or any other official of the school district that an audit by a certified public accountant for that district was deficient in any manner, the financial advisor and/or any other official of the school district shall, within thirty (30) days, refer the matter to the State Board of Public Accountancy for follow-up and possible disciplinary action. Any disciplinary action by the State Board of Public Accountancy with regard to the certified public accountant shall, within thirty (30) days after notifying such certified public accountant, be reported to the Office of State Auditor.

(3) * * * When conducting an audit of a public school district, the State Auditor shall test to insure correct and appropriate coding at the function level. The audit must include a report showing correct and appropriate functional level expenditure codes in expenditures by the school district. Compliance standards for this audit provision shall be established by the Office of the State Auditor. Based upon the audit report, the State Auditor shall compile a report on the compliance or noncompliance by all public school districts with correct and appropriate coding at the function level, which report must be submitted to the Chairmen of the Education and Appropriations Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate.

(4) In the event the State Auditor does not perform the audit examination, then the audit report of the school district shall be reviewed by the State Auditor for compliance with applicable state laws before final payment is made on the audit by the school board. All financial records, books, vouchers, cancelled checks and other financial records required by law to be kept and maintained in the case of municipalities shall be faithfully kept and maintained in the office of the superintendent of schools under the same provisions and penalties provided by law in the case of municipal officials.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.