Lincoln-Way plans to question auditor at next meeting

NEW LENOX – A longtime auditor who worked with Lincoln-Way High School District 210 is scheduled to appear at the next board meeting to field questions from district officials in light of several questions about past financial practices.

Board member Christopher McFadden made several financial recommendations at Thursday’s board meeting, including changing the school district’s auditing firm, which has been Mulcahy, Pauritsch, Salvador & Co. since at least 1998, according to annual financial reports filed with the state.

He also wanted an independent audit of expenses, and in a written memo to the board stated Lincoln-Way should “consider legal action against [MPS] if our attorneys find grounds for doing so.”

Board President Kevin Molloy said Edward McCormick, an audit supervisor for Lincoln-Way since at least 1998, will take questions from the board at the Sept. 24 meeting at North High School. He said McCormick will appear before the board because of questions raised at Wednesday’s budget hearing about the previous school administration’s financial practices.

An MPS staff member said Friday that McCormick was out of the office until Monday, and an email sent to him was not returned.

McFadden said Friday that he had several concerns with MPS. Under basic auditing practices, firms are switched every five to seven years, and he wondered why MPS stayed with Lincoln-Way for so long.

He also is concerned as to why MPS never questioned a practice where district officials used transportation funds to pay for nontransportation expenses. Another was the lack of red flags from MPS when Lincoln-Way filed balanced budgets that nevertheless contained deficits of several million dollars.

“When this happens repeatedly, the auditor should be telling the board, ‘Hey, you should be looking at your budgeting practices,’ ” McFadden said.

He stated in his Tuesday memo to the board that MPS was criticized by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago in a case where the auditors appealed a determination by the Internal Revenue Service regarding their tax liability.

McFadden also recommended in the memo Lincoln-Way perform a forensic audit of all funds from fiscal 2011 through 2014 or this year to restore public confidence.

He said he raised these issues this past week because he previously was focused on the issue of a school closing and now wants to focus on financial practices.

The issue of why the Lincoln-Way board passed balanced budgets that contained deficits was raised at Wednesday’s budget hearing. Board member Christine Glatz – who’s held office since 1993 – said those budgets were passed based on information given to the board.

She said former school administration’s accounting practices were “not very strong.” A follow-up interview with Glatz could not immediately be set up Friday.

Molloy said he was disappointed Glatz spoke at the hearing about an issue besides the fiscal 2016 budget. He said she was speaking for herself and not the rest of the board.

He also said in his discussions with district officials, it was evident that former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie prepared his own budgets between 2011 and 2013, and possibly since he first began as superintendent in 1989.

But Wyllie did nothing illegal or unethical, he said.

Molloy said when McCormick visits the board at the next meeting, he likely will attest to the same.

“We approved what was put in front of us by that auditor and that auditor can attest there was nothing illegal or unethical,” Molloy said.