COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus City Schools is accepting the findings of its annual state audit, which found nearly $28,000 in mishandled money and inaccurate student attendance information.
“The District acknowledges and accepts the findings of the Auditor of State, and further acknowledges that while the overall audit results in many respects were good, we do not feel that these specific results meet the high standards that should be expected of us – or that we should expect from ourselves,” said Gary Baker II, Board of Education Member and chair of the District’s Audit and Accountability Committee.
Nearly $28,000 in findings for recovery; $46,546 in federal questioned costs, and inaccurate attendance data were identified, Auditor of State Dave Yost said.
“It is clear that major improvements must be made at the Columbus City Schools,” he said.
The district had taken some action to improve the accuracy of its student attendance data, Baker said, including reestablishing an Attendance Accountability Team, establishing a protocol for student attendance data to be reviewed quarterly, creating access protocols for data entry, requiring additional training and establishing a fraud hotline and whistleblower policy.
A special audit is underway regarding the so-called “data scrubbing.”
The audit also told Columbus voters to expect a levy on the ballot as early as November to eliminate future deficits and included two findings for recovery – indications of “material weakness” in accounting procedures.
The first item was the result of a theft by one of the District’s Area Treasurers, uncovered internally by the district’s treasurer’s office and reported to Yost’s office, Baker said.
Yost’s report says $27,796 from five district schools were not deposited into the district’s bank account or recorded into the accounting system by former Treasurer Tina Dorsey. That finding will be referred to the Franklin County Prosecutor, Yost said.
The second item — related to ensuring purchasing approvals were documented for federal grant purchases — is also being addressed, Baker said. Yost says it is being referred to the Ohio Department of Education.