Resident accuses district of accounting irregularities; board and administration pledge document access

During the public comment portion of the Carmel Central School District meeting on May 7, resident Prakash Tiwari delivered an extended set of allegations about the district's finances, audits and budgeting practices. Tiwari said he had filed Freedom of Information Law requests and named account numbers he said lacked supporting invoices, and he urged voters to press for state investigations.

Tiwari said "it appears that there are ongoing financial irregularities and corruption in Carmel Central Schools" and criticized the audit process, alleging that certain pandemic relief (ESSER) funds were not accounted for in year-end available-balance figures. He cited figures from the most recent audit report and asserted that roughly $24 million was transferred toward pension liabilities and that the district had received about $7.5 million in COVID relief, portions of which he said were used for administrative salaries.

Trustees responded to the remarks by acknowledging that the public's questions were legitimate. Several trustees and members of the business office said they would publish additional documentation online, and the business office agreed to post a line-by-line three-year expense history spreadsheet in an analyzable format so members of the public can inspect underlying transactions. The administration cautioned that current-year numbers remain in flux and that posted files may contain open encumbrances.

No audit finding or administrative rebuttal that resolved Tiwari's allegations was presented at the meeting. Trustees encouraged Tiwari and other speakers to pursue written FOIL requests and to allow administration time to produce the records; Tiwari said he had forwarded his findings to the Office of the Inspector General and the State Comptroller.

The board did not take formal action on the allegations at the meeting. Several trustees said they share the public's interest in clearer, machine-readable records and committed to posting the specific spreadsheet requested.