Overview

When Michelle D. Jackson joined Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) as Staff Accountant, she found a district with the right technology – but untapped potential. KEV Group’s school finance platform was in place, but processes weren’t standardized, training was inconsistent, and audits were harder than they needed to be.

By fully embracing KEV Group’s platform and support, Michelle transformed financial management across 60 schools – achieving true audit-ready excellence.

The Challenge

A strong foundation with untapped potential

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) is the 10th largest school district in Georgia, serving more than 36,000 students across 60 schools. When Michelle D. Jackson joined as Staff Accountant, she quickly discovered that while the district had invested in the right technology, it wasn’t being used to its full potential. Processes weren’t standardized, training for administrative staff was inconsistent, and audits were complex and more time-consuming as a result.

With hands-on experience as a charter school bookkeeper – where she manually managed all activity fund transactions and reconciliations, Michelle immediately recognized how much more the platform could deliver – particularly in ensuring transparent, verifiable audit readiness.

“I don’t know how the district managed funds before SchoolCash, but I can imagine how hard it would have been. SchoolCash has eliminated cash transactions and all the problems related to collecting and managing cash at half of our campuses.”

 – Michelle D. Jackson, Staff Accountant, SCCPSS

The opportunity was clear: standardize processes, leverage KEV Group’s support for training Administrative Secretaries at scale and ensure all 60 schools got maximum value from their investment.

The Solution

Unlocking value through process, support and training

Michelle’s strategy focused on three key areas, all of which set the stage for true audit-ready excellence:

  1. Process standardization and optimization: She established transparent, consistent processes for collecting, recording and reconciling student activity funds across all 60 schools. From senior dues and SAT payments to athletics fees, field trips, and graduation expenses, every transaction now flows through KEV Group’s school finance platform, creating a single source of truth that auditors can rely on.
  2. Maximizing KEV Group’s support resources: Rather than trying to solve challenges internally, Michelle proactively engaged KEV Group’s support team. This partnership approach ensured faster problem resolution and continuous platform optimization, both essential for audit compliance.
  3. Strategic use of KEV University: Michelle transformed staff training by embedding KEV University into district operations. She tracks which courses staff have started and completed, assigns training modules based on individual needs, and uses targeted videos to close skills gaps.

“I can look at transcripts, see which courses they’ve started and finished, and if I have a secretary who is struggling with, for example, time-to-reconciliation every month, I can engage them with a specific reconciliation video.”

– Michelle D. Jackson, Staff Accountant, SCCPSS

The Results

Audit-ready excellence across 60 schools

SCCPSS transformed its financial operations with measurable improvements across all key areas:

  • Cash elimination: Half of all campuses now operate completely cash-free.
  • Real-time visibility: Instant access to transaction data and account balances.
  • Streamlined workflows: Administrative Secretaries manage transactions more efficiently without extensive training.

Most importantly, SCCPSS achieved what often feels out of reach for large districts: true audit excellence.

“Where SchoolCash really shines is as a timesaving, single version of the truth, in the whole area of audits – both in facilitating occasional spot audits and in ensuring that our external auditors don’t have any findings when they do the annual audit.”

– Michelle D. Jackson, Staff Accountant, SCCPSS

With a single source of truth in place, the district ensures compliance during both spot audits and annual external audits. Every check is instantly accessible, complete with back-up documentation including invoices, collection records, deposit information and principal approvals – making audits smooth and stress-free. Michelle explains:

“Related to the annual external audit, the auditing firm sends me a list of schools being audited, along with samples of activities they’ll be looking for. I have access to it instantly with SchoolCash. I send a quick email to the schools, print a report that verifies their information, and upload it for the auditors.”

A strong culture of transparency

By making audits seamless and verifiable, SCCPSS has gone beyond compliance to foster a culture of trust and transparency. What were once challenges are now reliable checkpoints that build confidence across the entire district community.  

“SchoolCash makes all of our jobs easier and information verifiable – for the administrative secretary team, external auditors and myself.”

 – Michelle D. Jackson, Staff Accountant, SCCPSS