Auditor: Monticello band director improperly controlled booster funds for years

A Monticello school band director was improperly in control of a booster club's bank account for 14 years, according to a state auditor's report.

Officials in the Monticello Community School District in 2014 requested assistance from the state auditor in reviewing concerns about the district's band program and a booster club, called the Band Parents Club.

James Davis, a high school band director in the district, was in control of the club's account from 2000 to 2013, according to the report released this week. The account should not have been controlled by a district employee, the report said.

As a result, band fundraising efforts and payments for instrument repairs and purchases, among other expenses, were not properly documented or under district oversight, according to the report.

Davis also used the account to make about $5,750 in payments that appeared to be personal, the report said, and about $12,700 in payments that did not have enough supporting documentation.

The Band Parents Club restructured in fall 2013 and 'began operating properly as a booster club,” the report said.

That was a change for the better, said Chris Anderson, the district's superintendent.

Davis remains employed by the district, Anderson said. The superintendent declined to comment further about Davis until he had reviewed the report.

'We appreciate all the hard work the state auditor's office put into this at our request,” he said. 'Clearly (we) want to take the correct steps moving forward.”

The report made several recommendations to the district, including the segregation of duties between the members and treasurer of the parents club. It noted that 'segregation of duties is difficult with a limited number of individuals involved.”

Davis did not return a request for comment.

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