Wayland Town Crier 9/30/15: Review finds ‘troubling’ spending in Wayland’s METCO program. State inspectors are raising new concerns about METCO director Mabel Reid-Wallace’s relationship with a private parent group, saying it raises “troubling” questions about whether Reid-Wallace is using the organization to circumvent financial controls and divert funds from the Wayland Public Schools.
Wayland Public Schools 9/29/15: Office of Inspector General Concludes Investigation of METCO-Related Allegations.
The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a letter on September 29th regarding allegations of misappropriated funds. More specifically, these claims related to the Wayland METCO Program Director’s fiscal management occurring prior to 2012. Following an external fiscal review, the Wayland School Committee referred the allegations of misappropriated METCO program funds to the OIG. The letter, which completes the OIG’s investigation, describes their conclusions and recommendations.
The letter states that, “The OIG review found no conclusive evidence to support these allegations. However, the OIG identified internal control and oversight lapses that led to the appearance of fund misappropriation and that created significant opportunities for individuals to commit fraud, waste, and abuse with METCO funds. Wayland Public Schools has since made significant improvements to its control environment.”
The Business Office and the School Committee have worked hard to implement these changes. These include aligning our business and finance operations with best practices characterized by clear procedures and guidelines, checks and balances, strong internal controls, and fiscal accountability. The letter concludes by making recommendations to further strengthen internal controls. After reviewing each recommendation, we will take steps as needed to adjust our policies and procedures and subsequently make continued improvements. An action plan detailing specific steps made in response to the OIG’s recommendations will be forthcoming.
Our goal, as a system, is to improve the district’s fiscal operations with an eye toward efficiency, transparency and accountability. The OIG’s guidance assists us in this ongoing endeavor.
The letter to the Wayland School Committee is available on line on the OIG’s webpage (http://www.mass.gov/ig/). The direct link to the letter is online here.
— Paul Stein, Superintendent of Schools
