About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy
The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”
Question 3: Credit Cards
Who has credit cards? How are charges independently verified to see if they are
proper school expenses?
Background: Credit-card abuse is rampant and is a common source of
school corruption. The reason for this is that most districts do not have an
effective monitoring system in place to verify the expenses for legitimacy.
Proposed Solution: At least two independent sources need to verify
expenses. The school finance officer and town treasurer can provide such
verification. There must also be guidelines developed as to what constitutes
legitimate expenses, and the limits of what can be spent on such items.
However, the best practice is to not have credit cards. Staff can use their
personal credit cards and then seek reimbursement, or purchase orders can
also be used.
Stop corruption in local school administration by making sure these policies get placed and followed.
This is part 3 in our 10 part series.
