Know the Facts: Cabot's Audit and Our Response

In light of rumors and speculation regarding the Cabot School District’s response to its most recent audit, we are very pleased to be able to share the facts.

As with all public entities in Arkansas, the audit process includes a series of formal steps. The district’s most recent audit was completed by Arkansas Legislative Audit and is now awaiting presentation to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, which is the next step in the standard review process.

Over the past week, the district received two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the audit. On May 14, we were advised by Arkansas Legislative Audit to temporarily hold the audit documentation and also provided the statute to reference, as it was scheduled to be reviewed by the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee soon.

After receiving one additional FOIA request, the district proactively sought further guidance. On Thursday, May 29, Arkansas Legislative Audit advised the district to move forward with releasing the audit in response to all FOIA requests. We are now processing and will fulfill all requests in full compliance with that direction.

The narrative suggesting that the Cabot School District is attempting to withhold audit information is simply not true. In fact, we are very pleased to share the details of our most recent audit and all previous audits. We are proud of our fiscal operations and the professionalism of our staff in managing a budget of over $150 million with diligence and integrity.

Audit Summary and Findings

As part of this comprehensive, months-long audit, only one finding was reported:

“Two unauthorized withdrawals of $9,937 and $67,332 were made from the District's bank account on October 24, 2023, and June 28, 2024, respectively. District personnel discovered the unauthorized withdrawals upon reconciliation of the affected bank account. All funds were recovered from the bank.”

Summary of Unauthorized Withdrawals

• October 24, 2023 – $9,937.33
  A check originally issued to Lewis Architect Engineers was fraudulently altered, changing the payee to Glenda Willett. The fraud was discovered when the original vendor reported not receiving payment. Although the district had submitted accurate information to the bank’s Positive Pay system, the change was not detected. The entire amount was refunded by the bank. Other districts working with this same vendor experienced similar fraudulent activity.
• June 28, 2024 – $67,332.26
  A check issued to Kelly Services was intercepted and fraudulently deposited at an unknown J.P. Morgan Bank location. There were no visible changes to the check that Positive Pay could detect. The fraud was discovered when Kelly Services notified the district of the missing payment. Again, the full amount was refunded by the bank.

District Action and Preventive Measures

Following these incidents, the district has taken steps in partnership with the bank to strengthen our financial safeguards:

• Continued use of Positive Pay, a fraud prevention tool that matches check details before clearing.
• Upgraded to Positive Pay Plus, which adds verification of payee names to further reduce the risk of fraud.
• Began transitioning vendors to Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) when possible, to reduce reliance on paper checks and protect against mail-related fraud.

As you can see, there was absolutely no reason for the Cabot School District to hide any aspect of this audit, despite the unfounded accusations to the contrary. The facts speak for themselves.

The Cabot School District remains firmly committed to the highest standards of financial responsibility and public accountability. We take great pride in how we manage public funds.

We encourage our community to review the full audit report and the formal response letter submitted by the district to Arkansas Legislative Audit. These documents provide a clear and accurate picture of our financial operations and the proactive steps we have taken to prevent future fraud.

Audit Response 2023-24

2023-2024 Audit