An audit of the Bibb County School District is costing nearly four times the amount first quoted by Superintendent Romain Dallemand.
Some, including local blogger Bill Knowles, say it's a waste of money.
Knowles found out about the cost through open records requests, and emails from a board member who did not want to be named. He said he started looking into the matter after he received a tip.
"A tip from someone in the school system that said that the audit that McGladrey had conducted was well over budget.," said Knowles.
The open records show the district has paid the firm at least $346,099.55 since January. That is a more than $250,000 increase over the cost originally quoted to the board.
"Right here, it says the third party will cost the district 90-thousand dollars," said Knowles, pointing to a December 12 email sent by the superintendent.
It might seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the district's $195 million general fund, but Knowles says the figure is indicative of consistent misuse of funds in the district.
"We can't afford to pay teachers what they deserve," he said, "but we can afford to pay administrators and we can afford to pay 300-thousand dollars for audits. It does not make any sense. It's completely off base and in this case it might even be illegal."
Knowles says he hoped writing the blog would help hold the district accountable, even if it means an independent investigation by the district attorney's office.
"There's some type of wrongdoing in this, there's a cover-up involved because when direct questions are being asked they're not being answered," he said.
The district has not responded to requests for justification of the increased cost of the audit.