New York City Department of Education

John F. Kennedy High School: Management of General School Funds

The John F. Kennedy High School is one of six high schools on the John F. Kennedy Educational Campus, which is located in the Bronx. We audited the John F. Kennedy High School’s financial management practices for its general school funds, which are funds donated to and/or raised by students and/or school organizations to support extracurricular and co-curricular student activities. We identified significant weaknesses in the controls over these funds, as they were not properly accounted for and were sometimes expended for inappropriate purposes. In fact, we concluded it was likely that some of the funds had been stolen.

By failing to maintain basic accounting records and not following prescribed procedures, the officials at John F. Kennedy High School did not fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to properly account for the general school funds and ensure that the funds were spent solely for the benefit of students. We also determined that the New York City Department of Education did not provide adequate oversight and training, and did not exercise due diligence and care over the account containing the funds. Department officials notified the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District of our findings, and the Special Commissioner initiated an investigation into these matters.

For a complete copy of Report 2009-N-2 click here.