By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

CAIRO -- A state audit of Centura public schools released on Monday found severe documentation problems in employee reimbursement but no major issues requiring further inquiry or prosecution.

The audit cited dozens of examples from the 2006-07 school year of incomplete documentation on expense reports and school credit card purchases.

It also revealed several cases in which alcohol was purchased with school cards and two in which the school's tax-exempt status was used to buy personal items for staff members.

State Auditor Mike Foley said he believed the improprieties likely stemmed from misunderstanding of requirements and lack of oversight, rather than willful deception.

"These issues are serious and certainly require attention on the part of the (school) board," Foley said in an interview. "But I don't think that this is grand larceny by any stretch of the imagination."

The audit was commissioned last fall because of concerns by the district's patrons about financial mismanagement or fraud by the school's former superintendent, Dave Schley.

Schley retired last year and is currently the interim superintendent at McCook public schools.