The Office of State Budget and Management received questions about the Department of Public Instruction using administrative savings to purchase and distribute iPads for teachers. OSBM found that DPI incorrectly recorded the iPad expenditure using a state computer property account instead of an aid and assistance account for the local education agencies. This internal budget revision should have required OSBM approval since it involved an aid and assistance account. While the error cannot be corrected since the fiscal year is closed, OSBM wanted to notify DPI to prevent future oversight and offered additional budget training.

1. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
OFFICEOFSTATEBUDGETANDMANAGEMENT
ROY COOPER CHARLES PERUSSE
GOVERNOR STATE BUDGET DIRECTOR
Mailing address:
20320 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0320
www.osbm.state.nc.us
919-807-4700 ** FAX: 919-733-0640
An EEO/AA Employer
Office location:
4th
floor, Dobbs Building
430 North Salisbury Street
October 22, 2019
Ms. Barbara Roper
Chief Financial Officer
Department of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825
Dear Ms. Roper:
The Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) received numerous questions about the Department
of Public Instruction’s (DPI) recent announcement that administrative savings were used to purchase and
distribute iPads to public school teachers. Our staff researched this issue, and it appears that DPI approved
internal budget revisions that realigned lapsed salary in the Department’s budget to a PC/Printer
Equipment expenditure account (NCAS Account 53 4534).
This expenditure should have been recorded using an Aid & Public Assistance account (NCAS Account
53 6XXX) since the iPads were allocated to Local Education Agencies. Instead, DPI recorded the
expenditure in an account that is used for state-owned computer property. Using this account, the tablets
should have been recorded in the state’s fixed asset records as state property. Any transfer of state
property must be approved by State Surplus.
If the correct Aid & Public Assistance expenditure account had been used, DPI would not have been able
to process the budget realignment through the internal revision process. Section 3.6.6 of the State Budget
Manual requires any realignment involving Aid & Public Assistance accounts to be approved by OSBM.
Since this realignment occurred in the 2018-19 fiscal year which is now closed, it is not possible to
correct the error. However, we wanted to bring this to your attention to prevent this oversight from
occurring in the future. We also notified the Office of the State Controller and Office of the State Auditor
about this matter.
Feel free to contact Assistant State Budget Officer, Adam Brueggemann, at (919) 807-4715 if you have
any questions or would like to schedule training on the Budget Manual policies. Our Budget Execution
Section is prepared to provide additional training to you and your staff if needed.
Sincerely,
Kristin Walker
Deputy State Budget Director
cc: Anne Godwin, Deputy State Controller, OSC
Kent McLamb, Chief Deputy State Auditor, OSA
Chloe Gossage, Chief Strategy Officer, NCDPI
Adam Brueggemann, Assistant State Budget Officer, OSBM