Internal auditor will keep eye on Dist. 300's cash

Since Community Unit District 300 discovered a possible theft in a student activity fund two years ago, the district has been working to restore trust in its accounting procedures and guard against future incidents.

One of the people central to those efforts is Lori Novak, who has helped train district staffers in new software to manage the student activity accounts.

On the strength of her private-sector experience as an auditor and fraud investigator, as well as her intimate knowledge of the district's finances, District 300 hired Novak this month as its first internal auditor. Novak has been with the district since last year.

In her newly created post, Novak will continue working to improve the district's financial practices -- training staff in proper accounting methods, auditing the district's finances and making sure District 300 meets new, more stringent federal reporting standards.

"We're one of the first districts I'm aware of that will have this newly created position," Superintendent Ken Arndt said. "It's probably something that is long overdue."

District 300's budget this year was $170 million. Novak will have to make sure all the money is accounted for.

To this end, one of Novak's primary tasks will be helping the district's auditor, Virchow Krause and Co., prepare the district's annual financial audit, a detailed review of the district's finances at the end of the fiscal year.

Since she started with the district, Novak has supervised the district's student activity accounts and its free and reduced lunch program. She beat out two external candidates for the post.

Carpentersville police are still trying to determine if more than $100,000 was stolen from Dundee-Crown High School's student activity account from 2004 to 2006.

"The police are still investigating," Arndt said. "It's definitely not case closed."