By james art 
Livingston parish schools should tighten their costs and supervision of the purchase of school equipment, after two cases last year, when the money was misappropriated, Louisiana’s legislative audit lawsuit said.
The audit of the State of the School Quarter, held from July 2023 to June 2024, found two possible cases of criminal activity, which led to the arrests of a Baseball coach of Walker and a resident of Denam Springs. The state audit report was published on February 19.
The audit praised the school board for having internal control that allows for self -disclosure of these misappropriation incidents.
In October 2024, 30-year-old Britney Miles was arrested for census identity theft, with the victim cited as Denham Springs, SGT high school. said Scott Sterling.
The audit notes two fraudulent withdrawals for a total of $ 350 from a student activity account, which is aligned with the Miles Arrest Report. The withdrawals were found during an examination of the monthly bank statement of the school, and later the bank returned the money to the school.
The suspect was not an employee of the school, said Delia Taylor spokesman. The court records show that the allegations were later dismissed.
In the case of a higher profile, the former baseball coach of the Walker Nicholas High School, 33, was arrested after receiving a refund of $ 29,000 for six months for buying baseball equipment and consumables. It was later discovered that objects were never received or used in the school, according to the audit.
In May 2024, Walker High School contacted the office of the Livingston parish sherry for the alleged misappropriation of funds, according to court records.
“Walker high school employees have made an inventory of equipment. They found that Scelfo said it had ordered it didn’t exist,” Sheriff Jason Ard said for the investigation at the time.
Skfo was a coach one year before his arrest of census a crime. The case is still undergoing litigation and has since been hired by a new baseball coach. The abused money was returned to the school board.
The audit recommends that the school board of trustees have all purchases, including those for equipment made with inspections of the respective suppliers and that employees should not be recovered directly from the school accounts without appropriate receipts. The management of the school area responded to the audit, saying that it was actively working on these proposals.