A special investigation by the state auditor’s office has identified $8025 worth of undocumented fundraising and spending by the advisor of a northeast Iowa FFA chapter.
State Auditor Rob Sand said officials in the North Butler Community School District asked for the review.
“A lot of people would just look at this and say, ‘Oh, it’s just $7000,’ but $7000 is real money in smaller districts,” Sand said.
The special investigation shows auditors concluded FFA advisor Frank Kisley failed to collect or deposit about $2100 from two fundraisers for the chapter. Auditors identified another $5800 of improper spending for the chapter.
Kisley was placed on leave last March. He went back into the school in July and told investigators he was able to retrieve nearly $1900 in undeposited cash from his desk and turn it over to the principal. School officials told investigators the cash was”bundled as if had come from the bank.”
“When you have a situation like this where the documentation doesn’t tie up and you have cash involved it’s often hard to distinguish where that money was coming from,” Sand said.
Kisley indicated the cash was from FFA fundraisers held the previous school year. According to North Butler School District policy, cash and checks are to be turned over promptly to the central office and may only be stored overnight in the central office.