Tennessee saw a slight increase in Title IX complaints at the 11 state agencies that reported those complaints, according to an audit from the Tennessee Comptroller.
There were 269 complaints from those 11 entities, compared to 265 in fiscal year 2022 and 171 in fiscal 2021.
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A Tennessee Comptroller investigation into the former executive director of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police found nearly $64,000 in questionable credit card transactions between January 2017 and December 2021.
Maggi Duncan was reportedly suspended from her post in early March 2022 and then resigned March 18, 2022. The organization is funded through federal and state grants, vendor fees, fees for testing and accreditation, donations, and membership dues that are paid by members’ respective governments.
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The Tennessee Comptrollers Office has released a report questioning the effectiveness of the leadership at Tennessee State University (TSU). The primary focus of the report is on the University’s recent housing controversy, and its need to explore alternative options due to overcrowding. However, the report also covers TSU’s policies around the awarding of scholarships, the governing board’s competency, and the university’s financial management.
Like many universities across the country, TSU has seen a growth in enrollments during the post-pandemic years. Coupled with an increasing interest in traditional Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from students planning to enroll in college, TCU has seen its enrollment from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022 increase by 1,141 students. Simultaneously, the university’s scholarship budget grew from $6.4 million to $28.3.
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A recently released report from the Tennessee Comptroller’s office shows that Tennessee K-3 students are making positive, albeit slight, growth in acquiring reading skills. Those conclusions were drawn from state-mandated K-3 universal reading screeners (URS), which all school districts are required to administer as part of legislation passed in 2021 during a Special Session of the General Assembly on education.
Legislators passed the Tennessee Literacy Success Act (TLSA), with the intent to ensure that students were on track to become proficient readers by the end of grade 3. The URS requirement was embedded in the bill as a means to safeguard taxpayer investment while delivering on promises made to Tennessee students.
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A Madison County commissioner was found to have collected more than $115,000 in fees from 1,970 marriages unlawfully, according to an investigation from the state of Tennessee’s Comptroller office.
The commissioner would charge a $60 fee for marriages even though commissioners “may not charge a fee or demand any other form of compensation.”
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For the second consecutive year, an audit of Tennessee’s federally funded food programs showed a pair of programs requested reimbursements for meals the groups did not serve.
In the most recent report, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office found that Nashville’s New Beginnings International Ministry and Shelby County’s Giving Youth a Chance requested reimbursements for meals that were not served.
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A Tennessee Comptroller Office’s annual financial report of Haywood County had nine findings of deficiency for the second consecutive year.
Four of the findings in the report were a repeat of last year’s audit, which had found five of the nine findings were repeated from the previous year.
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The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office this week suspended all exemptions that allowed businesses, governmental agencies, schools and other employers to impose COVID-19 vaccination as a condition to receive federal funds.
The decision, which Comptroller Jason E. Mumpower announced Wednesday, came after federal judges in Kentucky and Louisiana issued preliminary injunctions on Tuesday. It also follows a sweeping bill signed by Gov. Bill Lee on Nov. 12 that says government entities cannot require private businesses to instate COVID-19 mandates.
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New data from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability shows Tennessee public schools spent an average of $9,753 per student during the 2019-20 school year.
The comptroller data shows the Franklin Special School District had the highest per-pupil spending in the state at $15,582.19. Oak Ridge Schools was second at $13,041.51 per pupil, and Metro Nashville Public Schools was third at $12,374.33 per student. Union County Public Schools had the lowest spending per pupil at $7,935.77.
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NASHVILLE — Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson is not pleased with Metro Nashville’s finances and wants three things out of city officials as part of a corrective action plan so the city won’t fall into a receivership.
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The Internal Revenue Service fined Jackson County officials a sum of $86,147 for failing to comply with Obamacare, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Tuesday. That penalty money, of course, will come from county taxpayers. This is the third county in Tennessee this calendar year that must pay a huge sum of money to the feds because of the controversial health care law. Jackson County’s failure to comply with Obamacare occurred during the 2015 fiscal year, auditors wrote. “The county did not provide health insurance to employees from January through October 2015,” Comptrollers wrote. “Beginning November 2015, the county provided health insurance coverage to employees; however, this coverage was not in compliance with federal regulations for certain employees. This deficiency resulted from a lack of management oversight.” In a written response to auditors, the county mayor concurred with the findings. The current county mayor is Randy Heady, according to the county’s official website. “The county mayor and commission had been told by an affiliate with Zane Benefits, with whom we entered a contract, that the cafeteria plan we started in January 2015 made our county ACA compliant,” the county mayor wrote. “In October 2015 we found that in fact…
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Rhea County officials used taxpayer money on a number of questionable things, including a new car for the county executive, Christmas parties, flowers, and gift cards for county employees, according to a new state audit. Among other things, county officials also spent more money than budgeted and did a lousy job managing their books. “Questionable expenditures included a donation to the Campbell Memorial Scottish Highland games, a vehicle purchased for use by the county executive, a Christmas party for employees, flowers for an employee, pagers and service fees for the county executive and Emergency Management Agency director, and gifts and gift cards for employees,” Comptrollers wrote. According to the audit, county taxpayers spent, among other things, $8,999 on a 2007 Ford Expedition for the county executive and $700 on catering a Christmas dinner for county employees. They also spent $3,563 in credit card payments to Lowes for Christmas party gifts. “Many of the expenditures noted-above do not appear to benefit the citizens of Rhea County, but rather appear to benefit only the employees of the county,” auditors wrote. “Gifts were purchased and distributed to county employees without properly accounting for their use. The practice of purchasing items to be distributed…
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