The Grays Harbor County Sheriff Office has investigated possible fraud at the Oakville School District, and County Prosecutor Katherine Svoboda will review the report soon.

In October, a state Auditor’s Office investigation reported misappropriated or questionable payments for extra compensation, vacation buyout and stipends totalling $143,062.

In October, a statement on the district’s website said, “All district employees involved in the alleged fraud no longer work in the Oakville School District.”

Superintendent Rich Staley said he couldn’t comment at the time.

The investigation began in August 2017, when the school district noticed irregularities in its accounting shortly after a new superintended and payroll and human resources manager were hired.

Svoboda is on medical leave until early next month and said the report came in just before she left.

“In November of 2017, the Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Oakville School District in reference to a theft involving several school district employees,” Chief Criminal Deputy Brad Johansson of the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office said in an email. “The school district identified what appeared to be numerous irregularities involving school district employees and benefits paid to them. It appeared that a substantial amount of school district funds had been paid unlawfully. An investigation was started and the Washington State Auditor’s Office was called to conduct an audit. In October of 2018, the Auditor’s Office provided the results of the audit it conducted for the time period of June of 2009 to October of 2017. Follow-up investigation and interviews were conducted and the case has been submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office for review and consideration of charges.”

The state Auditor’s Office said their investigation “determined a payroll misappropriation totaling $11,397 occurred at the District between May 31, 2016 and July 11, 2017. There were also questionable payroll and credit card disbursements totaling $155,846 between July 2009 and July 2017.”

In all, the Auditor’s Office found six employees received questionable disbursements: the payroll and human resources manager, the former superintendent, two former business managers, a custodian and a custodian supervisor.

The report states almost $50,000 in “unsupported extra time compensation” was paid to the superintendent, two business managers and the payroll/HR manager.

About $86,000 also was paid out in vacation leave buyouts to the superintendent ($41,132), payroll/HR manager ($27,678), custodian supervisor ($7,283), one of the business managers ($5,454) and the custodian ($4,465).

The payroll/HR manager also was paid $15,000 over three years for managing the district’s website.

The audit found $12,784 in credit-card charges that were “unsupported and questionable,” $526 was charged on the former superintendent’s card and the remainder was charged on cards that the payroll/HR manager was the assigned.