A Birmingham City Schools bookkeeper has resigned after an investigation found more than $13,000 was missing from a local elementary school’s bank account.

An audit, published by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts on June 28, said school board members noticed discrepancies when comparing teacher receipts and amounts deposited into Huffman Academy’s bank account around March 2023.

According to the audit, an internal investigation found that from 2017 to 2023, a total of $13,679 was collected but not deposited.

The bookkeeper, who is not named in the audit, was placed on administrative leave in July 2023 and resigned in December 2023.

Birmingham City Schools officials did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. According to the audit, the board has filed a police report and is pursuing legal action to recover lost funds.

It is not immediately clear whether a criminal complaint has been filed, or whether officials have been able to recoup any losses since the date of the audit.

The audit also found recurring problems with overspending and lax accounting protocols at several other local schools. At five schools tested, staff failed to submit receipts and deposits on time, opening those schools up to the risk of loss or theft.

In a response to auditors, Superintendent Mark Sullivan said schools were not following the same accounting manual, leading to inconsistencies.

“Currently, our district is decentralized, which means the central office has minimal oversight regarding what happens at the school; therefore, issues arise without our knowledge,” he wrote.

The district is undergoing training to establish better financial procedures, and has done some fundraising to help balance local school budgets, the audit stated. A new routing system has also been created to ensure a school has money available before making a purchase.