HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Independent School District recently disclosed findings from its audit committee meeting during a Board of Managers meeting.
The audit meeting revealed issues with documentation for extra duty pay, which led to some employees receiving late payments.
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According to the district’s website, extra duty pay is calculated based on the hourly rate multiplied by the approved length of the event, requiring advanced approval.
RSM US LLP, the district’s outsourced internal audit firm, conducted the audit. They found that pre-approvals for extra duty pay were not documented for at least 40 samples tested. In four cases, delayed supervisor approvals resulted in late payments to employees.
Additionally, for eight out of 40 sampled transactions, group approval was not completed in the TimeClock Plus (TCP) time management system before the system lockout. Despite these issues, the firm reported that all payments were eventually processed with supervisor approval.
These findings come months after Superintendent Mike Miles revealed in January that a separate internal audit review showed the district violated its procurement policy.
The district spent hundreds of millions of dollars without the school board’s approval. The two-page audit indicated that 10 purchases were made in violation of the procurement policy from Aug. 1, 2023, to Nov. 30, 2024.
However, a public memorandum confirmed that all reviewed purchases adhered to standard approval processes, were charged to reasonable budget line items, and were accurately recorded.
RSM completed an audit of these 10 purchases, confirming adherence to standard SAP approval processes and accurate recording.
In February, KPRC 2 Investigates reported that the district approved a $2 million initiative to support a campaign for the failed bond proposal during the Nov. 2024 elections.
This raised questions about whether the $2 million was spent appropriately, as Texas Election Code Title 15, Section 255.003, prohibits using public funds for political advertising unless the advertising is factual and does not advocate for or against a measure.
The Board of Managers said it’s planning and preparing for an internal audit performance review that will be completed by the next board meeting.
