Almost three months after local outlet News Five first revealed that thousands of dollars had vanished from the accounts of Louisiana Government School, Belize’s Education Ministry has confirmed that its full audit into the alleged financial irregularities is complete, and officials are now evaluating results to decide accountability measures for any wrongdoing uncovered. The case first entered the public eye in June 2026, when News Five broke the story of the unexplained missing funds. The report immediately prompted the Education Ministry to launch a formal investigation and independent financial audit of the school’s operations. Now, as the new academic year gets underway and students have returned to campus for in-person classes, Education Minister Francis Fonseca has shared new updates on the progress of the probe. In a public statement, Fonseca detailed the latest status of the ministry’s review, confirming that the full audit process has been wrapped up by department leaders. “The last update I received from the Chief Education Officer and the general manager was that the audit is finished, and they are scheduled to hold meetings with the school principal, the former bursar, and multiple other finance department staff members,” Fonseca explained. “I cannot confirm if those meetings have been held yet, but I can confirm that the ministry is moving forward with follow-up steps rooted in the audit findings. If any misappropriation of public funds is confirmed, we will ensure that every individual involved in the incident is held fully responsible for their actions.” Beyond the ministry’s ongoing review, additional developments have already emerged in the case: multiple sources familiar with the situation have confirmed to News Five that Debbie Palacio, the long-time principal of Louisiana Government School, has stepped down from her position. The outlet notes that this report is a direct transcript of its evening television broadcast, with all transcribed statements rendered accurately using standard spelling conventions for Kriol language comments included in the original segment. As of the publication of this update, no further details on the specific amount of missing funds or potential charges have been released to the public, with the ministry noting it will share additional information once its internal review of the audit is finalized.