Audit shows more than $10,000 unaccounted for in Coronado case

A Clark County School District audit of Coronado High School’s football program concluded that more than $10,000 from student fundraisers is unaccounted for.

The audit, released Wednesday, found that the varsity football coach did not follow protocols for documenting funds and turning them over to the school banker.

The audit probed the football program’s finances from July to February.

The audit did not name the coach. In a March interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Mannion, 50, said he was responsible for overseeing the money. He was Coronado’s head varsity football coach during the period audited.

A school police investigation into the missing or stolen football funds at the Henderson campus is ongoing.

“It was determined that there was significant lack of internal controls regarding the collection of fundraiser revenues related to the football program,” the audit states. “As a result, the varsity football coach could not account for at least $10,325 in revenues from fundraisers.”

The audit cautioned that even more money might be unaccounted for.

“Due to the significant lack of internal controls, we cannot rule out the possibility that other funds may have been collected that were not receipted or deposited into the school commercial bank account.”

District sources have said the amount of missing funds is more than $20,000.

The audit states that the varsity football coach did not turn in funds to the school banker on a daily basis. The audit also said some funds might have been held for six to seven months before being deposited.

Mannion did not return calls for comment.

The audit also disclosed that money collected had not been secured in the school safe.

“Funds were maintained in bank bags, one of which was maintained in the varsity coach’s desk and the other in a wardrobe closet,” the audit states.

“The bank bag that was supposed to be maintained in the coach’s desk was misplaced and later discovered behind a filing cabinet. The bank bag that was maintained in the wardrobe closet is currently unaccounted for.”

Mannion previously told the Review-Journal that roughly $6,000 had been stolen from the football office in late August. He also said that he had held money for weeks at a time because the school’s banker was not on campus when he was.

“I’ll be the first to say I shouldn’t have had it for that long,” Mannion said in March.

District spokesman David Roddy said Mannion remained on paid administrative leave Wednesday.

Mannion is also a weight-lifting teacher at Coronado.

Roddy said Mannion recently resigned as varsity football coach. He said Mannion will remain on paid leave pending the conclusion of the school police investigation.

Coronado’s freshmen football coach, who asked that his name not be used, said the audit validates his claims that Mannion didn’t follow proper banking procedures with student-generated funds.

“I don’t know what he did with the money, but he definitely didn’t spend it on football, and he definitely didn’t turn it into the school like he was supposed to,” the freshmen coach said Wednesday. “The big question is, what are they going to do about it? Are they going to press charges against this guy?”

Superintendent Walt Rulffes said the audit points out some faulty accounting practices, but said it is up to police to determine whether any laws were broken.

“Anything of this magnitude is a concern and requires follow-up on the part of the school district,” Rulffes said. “In my quick review of the audit, it appears there are more questions than answers.”

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.