IAF Audit Reports still kept under wraps a year after BOE committee members urge changes

Nearly a year after members of the Board of Education Fiscal Management Committee requested MCPS staff to develop an implementation plan for posting the Independent Activity Fund (IAF) audits on the web, the audits are still unavailable to the public except through a Maryland Public Information Act request.

The September 13, 2010 minutes of the Fiscal Management Committee state:

Committee members reiterated their ongoing desire to have each school’s Independent Activity Fund audit, including the principal’s response, available on the web and requested that staff come back with an implementation plan.

According to the IAF Manual, money in each school's IAF is managed by the principal but belongs to the students. (The IAF manual was previously available on the MCPS web site, but was removed by MCPS after continued news reports about misuse of IAF funds at numerous schools.)

Many IAF audit reports obtained during the past several years by the Parents' Coalition have revealed extensive violations of IAF management and spending rules.