Ashdown superintendent suspended after state audit finds $34,037 in improper spending at his former district

ASHDOWN, Ark. — Ashdown School District Superintendent Robert Poole has been suspended after a state investigation found he made, started or approved more than $34,000 in improper purchases during his final years leading the Prescott School District, including golf gear, clothing, an Apple computer he later sold online and umpire equipment he used while officiating for other districts.

Ronda Pounds, public relations director for Ashdown Public Schools, confirmed the suspension but said the district had no further comment because it involves a personnel matter. Chris Scarborough, the district’s federal programs coordinator, will serve as interim superintendent, Pounds said.

The Arkansas Legislative Audit investigative report, dated Aug. 20 and posted publicly Sept. 11, reviewed Prescott School District transactions from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025. Auditors found $34,037 in spending that did not appear to serve a school purpose and called it “constitutionally suspect” under the Arkansas Constitution.

The report has been forwarded to the Eighth North Judicial District prosecuting attorney and the Arkansas attorney general. The review began at the request of the Eighth North prosecutor after Prescott officials discovered questionable purchases and athletic gate money that was never deposited. A special prosecutor was later appointed.

The report does not name Poole but refers to the district’s superintendent, who it says was placed on non-duty status April 17, 2025, and resigned effective June 30, 2025. Poole led the Prescott district from 2010 until 2025 and became Ashdown’s superintendent July 1, 2025.

What auditors found

The largest category of unallowable spending was $10,348 for golf apparel, equipment and tournament fees. Auditors also flagged $7,160 for clothing and shoes, $5,340 for Apple products and a cellphone, $3,143 for umpire gear and officiating fees, and $1,872 for custom baseball bats, gloves and apparel.

Among the specific findings:

• A MacBook bought by the district was later advertised on social media and sold online by the superintendent, who wrote in the listing that it had been bought for and used by a relative.
• A cellphone bought on a district credit card appeared to be for a relative and was assigned to the superintendent’s personal phone plan.
• Lapel pins were customized with a neighboring school’s name and logo. Auditors said the invoice appeared to have been altered to hide the customization.
• Golf clubs bought for a relative could not be found at the district or in the golf shed at Prescott Country Club where district equipment is kept. After meeting with auditors, the superintendent said the clubs were in a golf shed at the country club belonging to a family member.
• A custom baseball bat was engraved with the name of a tournament team not tied to the district and with the superintendent’s initials.
• Purchases were made on four trips to PGA Tour Superstore locations out of state. Three of those trips fell on workdays when the superintendent did not record leave.
• The district paid $2,360 for an out-of-state American Baseball Coaches Association conference, including a first-class flight. The registration was made under the name of an outside tournament baseball team. The superintendent was not a baseball coach for the district.
• The district paid $200 for a full-page ad in a sports program honoring a relative of the superintendent.

The superintendent told auditors the umpire gear was bought for emergencies. He said he had never umpired a Prescott game but did umpire for other districts and was paid for it. Auditors and district staff could not find the gear during an inventory check, though some items later turned up at the district after auditors met with him. One pair of pants carried a dry cleaner’s tag in the superintendent’s name dated May 7, 2025, weeks after he had been placed on non-duty status.

The superintendent acknowledged some of the purchases were improper and repaid the district $1,229 between March 2025 and February 2026, according to the report. The cellphone and golf clubs are now in the district’s possession.

Golf cart charged to school construction

After the superintendent was placed on leave, the district found he had a district-owned golf cart that was never listed among district assets. The $11,654 cart, equipped with upgraded wheels and tires, a premium seat, a lift and a tinted windshield, was bought in January 2021 and billed as “Facility Transportation” in the construction contract for Prescott’s new elementary school.

That $12.3 million building was paid for with bond money and $5.2 million in state matching funds.

The superintendent told auditors the cart was bought to move building materials and carry board members and others to the construction site, and that it was later kept at Prescott Country Club for the golf team. He returned it June 25, 2025, at the request of the district’s attorney. Auditors said they could not determine when the cart arrived, where it was kept or who used it.

Auditors also found $5,664 in purchases with no documented business purpose that could not be found on district property, including $2,923 in lawn equipment such as pole saws and a chain saw, nine Yeti and RTIC coolers totaling $2,024 and $717 in pickleball equipment.

Grant money and missing gate receipts

The report found that $1,993 spent on a district credit card assigned to the superintendent, mostly from an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission grant, bought trail cameras, deer feeders, feed and mineral blocks for the district’s animal science program. Auditors could account for only one feeder, one camera and about 10 bags of feed. Because closeout paperwork was never filed, the district lost eligibility for the grant program for the 2026 fiscal year.

Admission money from two softball games and three baseball games in March and April 2025 was never turned in or deposited. District officials told auditors several employees had access to where the money was kept, so the person responsible could not be identified.

Auditors compared gate receipts and found football and basketball games brought in $40,577 in the 2026 fiscal year, up from $21,964 the year before. Average football revenue per game rose from $1,770 to $2,573, and basketball from $601 to $1,023. Auditors said the jump could indicate that not all gate money was deposited in 2025.

The report also found that up to $2,610 in ticket money from an August 2024 athletic Hall of Fame banquet could not be accounted for, and that the district improperly used $2,372 in beverage contract commissions to help pay for the event. It also noted the Prescott Athletic Booster Club’s bank account had been operating under the district’s federal tax ID number. The booster club incorporated as a separate nonprofit in October 2025.

District response

In a corrective action plan dated Aug. 24, Prescott Superintendent Larry Smith and Treasurer Elizabeth Lawrence wrote that the findings occurred under former administration and pledged to follow each of the auditors’ recommendations, including tighter controls on spending, equipment tracking, grant compliance and deposits of athletic and activity money.