In its search for a financial watchdog, the Monroe County School Board wants to hire someone with a better track record than itself or district administrators for sticking to policies and reporting wrongdoing.

Someone who can ignore pressure from employees, administrators and even School Board members who ask to bend the rules is the right person for the internal auditor's job, the board urged its recruiter Tuesday.

"If the internal auditor is going to help us with this, we have to be careful to get the right person," board member Duncan Mathewson said. "It's going to be difficult in this climate, as we tried to attack this financial scandal for three months."

Among the six recommended candidates, at least two have proven they will blow the whistle on corruption. David Richstone and John Cashmon refused when higher-ups asked them not to report financial wrongdoing, headhunter Connie Hoffman of the Mercer Group told the School Board.

Richstone ran into pressure with the North Broward Hospital District, she said.

"Somebody mentioned to Mr. Richstone that he should check payments to the outgoing CEO," Hoffman explained. "He found a questionable $30,000 payment. The CEO had received a housing relocation allowance but had never moved there. A member of the [hospital] audit committee asked him to deep-six that report, but he refused."

Cashmon's experience was with the Connecticut State University System.

"It was a similar situation where he was fought on some findings and the audit committee was leaning on him, 'Don't put that in there,' " Hoffman said. "There were some professors using grant money to travel to Europe, and the university didn't want the bad publicity."

Hoffman said the other four candidates on the short list also are qualified to do the work the board wants done: oversee the district's financial practices, including adherence to federal and state grant spending rules and financial accountability. They are Joseph M. Susteric, Florida Community Banks Inc. audit manager; Stacey P. Chados, Bechtel Systems and Infrastructures Inc. auditor; Theodore P. Guba, Doral city auditor; and James Smith, Tampa city auditor.

The discussion over the new position prompted the board to ask itself whether it was prepared to back the internal auditor -- whose mission is to prevent a repeat meltdown of internal controls -- when things get tough.

"What happens when they get push-back? They'll get frustrated and they'll either quit or be fired," board member Steve Pribramsky worried. "What happens if this internal auditor finds out again that there are misuses of the dollars and they come to us and make recommendations that the person be terminated? The board hasn't held anyone accountable for what's been going wrong for years. Will it start now?"

Board attorney Richard Collins cautioned that only the superintendent can recommend employee discipline, not the auditor. The internal auditor only can make a report.

"What if the superintendent doesn't act on the employee's wrongdoing?" Pribramsky asked. "If it rolls back to the superintendent, that is going to be a problem."

Board member John Dick also isn't convinced an internal auditor would get enough support from the board.

"Would the board have the stomach to do anything about something wrong brought before it?" he asked. "Without that, the internal auditor hasn't got a chance."

Board Chairman Andy Griffiths agreed.

"The internal auditor will answer only to us," he said. "The [internal auditor] will be only as good as we allow them to be."

The School Board decided to hire for the position after it was revealed that former Adult Education Coordinator Monique Acevedo, wife of now-suspended Schools Superintendent Randy Acevedo, allegedly made personal purchases with her school district credit card and reimbursement vouchers.

The School Board recently supported Acting Schools Superintendent Mike Henriquez's recommendation to not discipline any Finance Department employees or her supervisors, including himself.

jguerra@keysnews.com