Audit Shows Schools Overpaid Employees $1 Million, Lax Computer Security

Employees in the Prince George’s County school system have been overpaid $1 million and the district’s computer network is vulnerable to attack, according to a state audit of the system.

The Office of Legislative Audits released its audit results Wednesday, noting serious problems in the district’s human relations and Internet security departments and questioning $1 million in six contracts for which the school system apparently had no documentation, reports The Washington Post.

Auditor Thomas J. Barnickel III said he was concerned that many of the problems identified were the same issues found six years ago during a state audit of Maryland’s second-largest school district and its $1.7 billion budget. Prince George’s Schools officials said Barnickel’s concerns are mistakes that date to previous school administrations, the newspaper says.

Schools spokesman Max Pugh told the Post that Schools Chief Executive Kevin M. Maxwell will use the audit report as a guide for improving the system. 

Auditors found problems in several areas, including $1 million in overpayments to employees; the ability of students in computer labs to access internal school systems; and a failure to use automated bus-routing software to ensure that school buses were being used in the most cost-effective manner.

The district is trying to recover $780,000 in overpayments to employees through a collection agency.