Manatee Schools release forensic audit supporting documents

The Manatee County School District posted all documents related to the forensic audit of the school district’s $3.4 budget deficit Feb. 1.

More than 16,000 pages of documents are accessible via the school district's homepage under the "Hot Topics" section at the top right of the homepage.

Click here to view the documents posted

The document files were released in the exact format received from Navigant, the audit firm that led the investigation, and Trenam Kemker, a law firm.

The district spent much of the Feb. 1 trying to find the best way to make the documents available, deciding to create two large files that can be downloaded off the district website.

The district said it will better organize and index the documents this week.

They were released almost three weeks after Navigant employees explained their 200-page-plus report to the public and school board.

That report blamed former Assistant Superintendent Jim Drake and flawed processes for many of the accounting errors that led to the budget shortfall.

Former superintendent Tim McGonegal, who resigned in September, was hands-off with budget, handing off most of the responsibility to Drake, the report said.

The school district also announced Feb. 1 that the district's bond ratings have been reduced because of the budget deficit.

As a result, the district will likely have to pay higher interest rates on its debt.

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected]