EDMONDS – The Edmonds Community College athletic department did not properly record and monitor all transactions over a two-year period, according to a state auditor’s report.
College officials say the problems have been corrected since the hiring of a new athletic director.
Cash collections at sporting events were not always properly recorded, the report said, as the number of tickets sold at 19 of 39 games at the college facilities could not be verified. No deposits were made following eight games, and deposits for 10 other games did not reconcile the recorded number of tickets sold, the auditor’s report says.
The department’s records indicate it received $109,296 and $110,054 in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The figures are not reliable, according to the report, because transactions may not have been entered into the accounting system, and records have been destroyed.
The financial period is from July 2002 to June 2004.
Another part of the report indicates that multiple athletic department employees directly involved in private athletic organizations utilized their connections with the college to use the facilities and Web site.
In one instance, no fees were collected for facility use, and the group operated without a formal contract, the report says.
The report also says the conduct of the employees mentioned in the report will be referred to the state Executive Ethics Board. The five-member board can impose fines, sanctions, other penalties or could drop the matter.
Mindy Chambers, the Auditor’s Office representative, identified the individuals as former baseball coaches Don Marbut and Tighe Dickinson.
Marbut coached baseball at EdCC through August 2003 and also served as athletic director from December 2001 until February 2003. Marbut, 31, is now head baseball coach at Washington State University in Pullman.
He said all records were kept properly to his knowledge.
“We’re definitely disputing that,” Marbut said.
Dickinson was baseball coach after Marbut and is now a assistant coach at the University of Washington in Seattle. He did not return calls.
Susan Kostick, EdCC’s vice president for college relations and advancement, said mistakes have been made, but the college has implemented changes.
“By the time the report was written in 2005, a year later, we already had our new athletic director in place,” Kostick said.
Faimous Harrison took over as athletic director in the fall of 2004, and a number of controls have been implemented to monitor accounts and train employees, Kostick said.
“The college has very stringent rules about training, cash handling and ethics, however, they’re mandatory for full-time employees,” she said.
Most employees of the athletic department are part-time or coaches who receive only a stipend during their sports season, Kostick said. Harrison now requires all athletic department part-time staff and coaches to receive the same training as full-time employees.
Marbut said he approved of additional training for coaches and part-time staff.
“They didn’t have an exact procedure, and I think it was loose, to say the least,” he said.
Jennifer Aaby is education writer for the Enterprise newspapers. E-mail jaaby@heraldnet. com or 425-673-6526.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
