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SUMMARY
In September 2007, the Yuma Union High School District (District) requested that the Office of the Auditor General investigate allegations of financial misconduct by Mr. Mark Rau, former Yuma High School (YHS) marketing teacher and Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) student club sponsor. As a result of our investigation, we determined that Mr. Rau misused public monies and falsified public records. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has taken criminal action against Mr. Rau, resulting in his indictment on felony charges.
Our investigation revealed that from January 2002 through September 2007, Mr. Rau may have violated state laws related to misuse of public money and forgery while misusing at least $86,276 of public monies. These monies were earned by and/or intended for the benefit of YHS and students involved in the DECA program. However, Mr. Rau used some of these monies for his own benefit, including paying for his personal debt and expenses.
Mr. Rau diverted into his personal bank and credit union accounts money received from sales at the YHS student store, deposits for DECA trips, royalty checks, and extracurricular tax credit donations intended for the YHS DECA program. Mr. Rau used this money for his personal debt and expenses and also for circumventing district purchasing policies. In addition, Mr. Rau falsified public documents when he prepared or authorized at least 25 instances of false information related to his mismanagement of the YHS DECA student club and student store.
Lastly, district officials failed to safeguard and control district money. Specifically, they did not adequately monitor YHS student store activity or ensure the associated receipts were properly accounted for and deposited and expenditures were properly controlled. As a result of the District’s lack of oversight, the complete amount of public money misused or stolen cannot be determined.
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