CENTERVILLE — The St. Mary Parish School Board has begun transitioning its bookkeeping to become cashless after a former school board employee allegedly stole $205,000 from a Patterson High School bank account, a state audit of the school system shows.

The audit says the school board has changed its accounting program to restrict the capabilities of bookkeepers and only allow certain functions to be done at a district or central office level.

School board management will also require a monthly summary of account activity from each school in the district.

"Schools will be held accountable when bank reconciliations are not prepared timely," the audit says.

A new employee will also be tasked with reviewing all fundraiser reconciliations, as well as gate receipts, the audit adds. Bookkeepers will also no longer be allowed to write checks to themselves.

The complete audit can be found here.

The audit cites Lisa Ann Crochet Powell's alleged theft of more than $200,000 in funds from Patterson High's bank accounts between 2020 and 2024. Deputies said Powell was the only person handling receipts and depositing funds into the school account.

"Specifically, there were inadequate supervisory reviews of financial transactions, lack of segregation of duties and insufficient checks to verify that cash receipts were deposited promptly," the audit said.

The school system blamed the lapse in monetary security in part on high turnover.

The school's funds were not reimbursed, but the school board has filed an insurance claim.

Powell was arrested and fired by the school board in December.