Shelby County administrators told board members today that the missing items cited in a scathing audit last week were only worth about ten percent of the estimated $48 million.
An audit last week showed that the district had about $48 million worth of equipment missing including laptop computers and vehicles. Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said the district had gone decades without an audit and had an outdated system to track equipment.
Administrators told board members at an audit committee meeting Tuesday that after they looked through the audit and added up the depreciated value of several of the items, only about $900,000 of legacy Shelby County equipment and $4 million of Memphis City Schools equipment was missing.
Administrators told principals this week where the bulk of the missing items were last spotted and told them to spend the next month looking for them.
Hopson said he is working to create an updated system to better track equipment. Similarly, the board said it is looking at its policies to make sure employees are held accountable in when equipment goes missing.
“Don’t spend your energy trying to discredit the report,” said committee chair and school board member David Pickler . “We have to fix what needs to be fixed.”