As Leon County Schools reviews financial records related to the Foundation for Leon County Schools, the most recent independent audit currently publicly available on the Foundation’s website identified two “material weaknesses” involving the organization’s financial controls and accounting practices.
The publicly posted audit covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Tallahassee Reports could not locate audits for the fiscal years ending in 2024 or 2025 on the Foundation’s publicly accessible financial information.
The 2023 findings take on added significance following the school district’s announcement that Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michelle Gayle and Foundation Executive Director Margaret Farris have been placed on administrative leave while LCS conducts a review of financial records related to the Foundation.
The district has stressed that placing employees on administrative leave is not a presumption or finding of wrongdoing.
Auditors Identify Two Material Weaknesses
The Foundation’s 2023 independent audit identified two material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting.
One involved the segregation of financial responsibilities. According to the audit, one Foundation employee was responsible for collecting payments, entering deposits into the accounting system and making the bank deposits. Another employee reviewed invoices, entered disbursements into the accounting system, and prepared and mailed checks.
Auditors also reported that there was no official review process for journal entries or credit card transactions.
The auditors concluded that the arrangement increased the risk that receipts and disbursements could be manipulated and potentially result in materially misstated financial statements or misappropriation of assets.
The auditors recommended increasing Board review of financial activity, including reviewing bank statements, journal entries and credit card transactions.
The finding does not mean auditors determined that money had been misappropriated. Rather, it identified weaknesses in controls designed to prevent or detect such problems.
Accounting Adjustments Required
The second material weakness involved the Foundation’s accounting records.
According to the audit, significant adjustments were necessary during the audit process to bring the Foundation’s financial statements into conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The auditors reported that Foundation management had relied on the auditing firm to propose accounting entries that had not previously been recorded.
Because the adjustments resulted in a material change to the financial statements, auditors classified the deficiency as a material weakness.
Despite the two findings, the independent auditors ultimately issued an unmodified, or “clean,” opinion on the Foundation’s corrected financial statements. The auditors concluded that the statements fairly presented the Foundation’s financial position in all material respects.
Foundation Financial Activity Was Growing
The audit also shows an organization experiencing significant financial growth.
On the governmental-fund basis presented in the audit, the Foundation reported $757,930 in revenue for fiscal year 2023, substantially higher than its original budget of $408,734. Public contributions totaled $369,795, compared with a budget of $144,554, while grant revenue reached $241,492, compared with the $143,000 budgeted.
Foundation expenditures totaled $717,118.
The largest expenditure was $322,785 for classroom grants, followed by $242,038 classified as grants, contributions and programs. Together, those categories totaled approximately $565,000, or about 79% of expenditures.
Leon County Schools also provided significant support to the Foundation. The audit reported $137,829 in in-kind contributions from the district, including $100,389 in salaries and $37,440 for office space.
The Foundation is considered a direct-support organization and component unit of Leon County Schools because of its relationship with the district.
More Recent Audits Not Publicly Posted
The absence of more recent publicly available audits leaves an important unanswered question: Were the internal-control weaknesses identified in 2023 subsequently corrected?
That question is particularly relevant because the Foundation’s financial activity continued to increase after the 2023 audit.
Federal nonprofit filings show Foundation revenue subsequently exceeded $1 million annually, including approximately $1.5 million during fiscal year 2024. A significant portion of the increase was associated with grants and government-supported education programs.
Records from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations also show a $672,759 payment to the Foundation for work associated with Resiliency Through the Community and the New Worlds Reading Initiative.
However, without the subsequent independent audits, the public cannot determine from the Foundation’s currently posted audit records whether auditors found that the 2023 material weaknesses were corrected, continued, or were replaced by other findings.
The timing is notable given the district’s current review.
LCS announced this week that Gayle and Farris were placed on administrative leave while officials review Foundation financial records. Farris became the Foundation’s executive director in 2025 and therefore was not serving in that position during the period covered by the 2023 audit.
The district has not publicly alleged financial misconduct by either official and has said administrative leave should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing.
The Foundation’s 2023 audit consequently does not establish a connection between the earlier internal-control weaknesses and the district’s current review. It does, however, provide the latest publicly available independent assessment of the Foundation’s financial controls — an assessment that identified two material weaknesses.
Whether those weaknesses were subsequently corrected remains unclear from the financial audits currently available to the public.
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