Camden schools: No dead people paid

While admitting that it needs better fiscal management, the Camden School District said payments were not made to dead employees.

In a voluminous corrective action plan, the district disputed recent findings by state auditors that said payments were made to 10 employees after their recorded dates of death.

South Jersey's largest school system blamed shoddy record-keeping and clerical errors for that and numerous deficiencies cited by auditors.

The state audit had accused the district of continuing to pay salary and benefits to some employees who had died. The auditors compared their Social Security numbers with the Social Security list of deceased people.

But according to the district, in some cases, incorrect Social Security numbers were used. In other instances, payments owed to employees who subsequently died were made to the employees' estates. And in yet other cases, payments for such things as unused sick pay were made to the estates after an employee died. The district said that the proper employees were paid.

The state Department of Education ordered the district to explain how the mistakes occurred and find ways to prevent the problems.

The sweeping audit issued in January said the district operated under unchecked spending and lax internal controls, resulting in more than $13 million in "questionable expenses."

Auditors found little oversight in departments such as accounts payable, payroll, purchasing and transportation.

Conducted by the New York-based accounting firm KPMG, the audit said employees were not properly supervised or held accountable for their work, and failed to follow the district's standard operating procedures.

The corrective action plan, prepared by the district's new business administrator, James Deveraux, did not dispute most of the audit findings criticizing the district's fiscal practices.

"There is no doubt far greater discipline has to be instilled throughout the district with respect to the spending of district funds," the plan said.

Deveraux did not return a message seeking comment yesterday.

Furthermore, the district said it would try to recoup $2.3 million: $1 million in fines paid to the Internal Revenue Service; $1 million from the New Jersey Schools Construction Corp. for expected reimbursements from capital projects; and a $350,000 reimbursement from the Camden Education Association for the union president's salary and benefits, which hadn't been repaid in several years.

Jon Zlock, a state Department of Education spokesman, said the corrective action plan would be reviewed by the state-appointed fiscal monitor overseeing Camden's finances.

Camden school board President Philip E. Freeman said the district must go a step further, and hold key employees accountable.

The school board approved the plan Monday night. "The plan is only as good as the people implementing it," Freeman said. "But if no one follows it, it's fruitless."

In its response, the district sought to offer explanations for some of the audit findings.

For example, it said that more than 300 purchases exceeded the purchase orders by a total of $16.1 million because they were based on estimates.

And the district was required by union contracts to pay out $703,424 to 239 employees in amounts exceeding their base pay, the plan said. The payments were for retroactive pay raises.

According to the action plan, the district has taken steps to correct some of the problems flagged by auditors, including retraining employees. Long-range plans include hiring more staff and reorganizing the business office.

New computer software will generate an alert if a birth date is entered for anyone under 18 or over 65, to help catch possible errors. The same warning will be issued if a Social Security number is changed.

The names of dead employees will be removed from the payroll database within 24 hours of notification.