Reviewing Madison School District Financial Practices

Karen Rivedal:

Fralin said the financial review stemmed from a district initiative in November or December that started as a general attempt to get “better clarity on our financial protocols at the school level” but was soon narrowed to just Black Hawk and the district’s central office because officials “wanted to go deeper at Black Hawk.”

Fralin declined to identify specific red flags at Black Hawk that prompted the deeper review, only noting, “We had some questions about how some of the financial vehicles were being used.”

Fralin said the review should be finished “very shortly” and promised to report the results to Black Hawk parents and staff soon after. The Wisconsin State Journal has also requested the results of the review under the state’s open records law.

Fralin also confirmed that after hearing the parents’ concerns about money missing from the T-shirt fund, he authorized sending Black Hawk $1,000 from the district “since (the T-shirt fund) is still part of the review and we don’t want students to go without” in the meantime.

Much more on the District’s $460M budget, here.