Council members thought RPS had a certain amount of money. The school system said it had far less. Months later, after purportedly balancing the books, Stoney’s administration announced different figures altogether.

What happened?

Lassiter discovered poor accounting practices over the course of several years during former Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration. His team also found problems with the figures Stoney’s administration said it had reconciled and released last summer, according to the report.

Five of the six accounts tied to school maintenance and construction did not have accurate balances, the result of erroneous or inappropriate charges and other sloppiness in accounting.

The largest of the six RPS accounts, planning and construction, is managed by the city’s Special Capital Projects team in the Department of Public Works. The council budgeted about $187 million for the account between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2018.

The auditors found 72 invoices totaling $17.6 million that city staff initially categorized as miscellaneous expenditures, then later charged to the construction and planning account. Some charges they looked at were moved or changed several times, and in some cases, years after they were initially documented, the report stated.