Eric Becoats is gone. The Durham Schools Superintendent submitted his resignation effective Dec. 31. Becoats is the schools executive who used a school bus to ferry his family on a personal shopping trip and whose charges on a school credit card raised questions. The latest controversy proved one too many.

Last week, an audit revealed the schools had $15 million more in unassigned funds than the board originally reported.

Board Chairwoman Heidi Carter said she had reached out to the commissioners in June because the school board thought it had only $4 million in unassigned funds, far less than the typical $16 million the board has normally kept in the account to help offset state budget cuts. The commissioners allocated another $2.4 million.

Carter said Becoats had provided the board with bad financial information, prompting the county commissioners to ask the school board Tuesday for an explanation of how the mistake was made.

But no one knew.
So exactly who is protecting the taxpayer?