How about the University of South Florida, which recently discovered $275,000 in misplaced checks and cash scattered throughout their offices.
Nearly half the money at the school's English Language Institute -- $133,647 -- was in checks up to 10 years old and could not be deposited, USF spokeswoman Michelle Carlyon said.
The institute's director, Richard Schreck, found the cash and checks Dec. 21 inside desks and underneath books and office machines, among other places, Carlyon said, according to The Tampa Tribune on Saturday.
Some money was for student health-insurance premiums, which never reached their insurance carrier.
The university fired Schreck and Assistant Director Barbara Smith-Palinkas on Tuesday, citing management failures. Schreck, who had worked for the university since 2004, earned $75,520 per year. Smith-Palinkas had worked there since 1996 and earned $47,060 annually.
Officials fired Patricia Baker, a senior fiscal assistant at the institute, on Wednesday, alleging she neglected to deposit payments on time. The mislaid cash and checks were found in Baker's office.
The discovery comes about a month after a state audit of USF found lax financial controls.
Personally, I think Baker clearly deserved to go, but I'm not sure about Schreck and his assistant. Since the article states that he found the checks and cash himself, it sounds to me like in the wake of the audit, he was trying to clean up his own house.
Now that he's been fired for the discovery, you can bet the other departments will just sweep their own misplaced funds under the rug. |
