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Columbus -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor is unveiling a self-assessment guide designed to assist Ohio’s public school districts in an effort to improve financial efficiency. The Auditor of State’s School District Self-Assessment Guide is a tool public school officials can use to improve operations, identify cost savings and make better use of existing resources.

“This valuable information is available to school officials as a part of my commitment to provide Ohio’s public organizations with the tools they need to properly safeguard tax dollars,” Taylor said. “If used properly, this information will help public school officials improve operational efficiency and reduce spending while providing quality educational services to students and taxpayers.”

The Auditor of State’s office is presenting the guide to public school treasurers at various clinics held around the state by the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) and the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA).

The Auditor of State’s School District Self-Assessment Guide focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of four critical service areas – Financial Systems, Human Resources, Facilities and Transportation. The 63-page document was developed by the Auditor of State’s Performance Audit Section in response to a growing demand from Ohio’s public school treasurers and administrators for information on ways to measure operational performance, set goals and track progress.

For example, the guide includes steps Ohio’s public school districts should consider when tracking cash flow and reducing spending to levels of high performing school districts of similar sizes. Performance auditors in the Auditor of State’s office use peer comparisons and benchmarking data to help school officials identify areas where efficiency and effectiveness can be improved.

Since taking office, Taylor has released 35 performance audits that outline 1,632 recommendations for improvements and identify more than $77 million in potential annual savings.

To request a copy of the Auditor of State’s School District Self-Assessment Guide, please call the Auditor of State’s Performance Audit Section at 800-626-2297. A downloadable copy of the self-assessment guide is available online at http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/Publications/General/SchDistSelfAssessGuide.pdf

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