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Taylor Releases Audit of South Point Local School District

Concerns regarding management of federal grant money persist

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Lawrence County -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor today released the audit of the South Point Local School District for fiscal year 2007. The audit reveals that school officials may have mismanaged more than $62,000 in federal grant funds and lack basic accounting controls over financial reporting.

“Improper record keeping and lax financial oversight continue to plague the South Point Local School District,” Taylor said. “I encourage school officials to review and implement the recommendations outlined in this report as they seek to improve accountability and efficiency.”

Taylor declared the district “unauditable” on December 12, 2007. An unauditable designation means that important financial documents were missing, incomplete or inaccurate. The release of this report effectively removes the district from an unauditable status.

The report identifies $62,291 in federal grant funds that were either improperly recorded and reported or spent outside the allowable time period. The report notes that the district does not have proper accounting procedures in place to manage federal funds. Mismanagement of federal grants could result in the loss of future federal funding.

Additional concerns outlined in the report include:

  • The failure of board members to accurately monitor financial activity
  • Incomplete and inaccurate bank reconciliations
  • Indications that the school treasurer was not properly bonded
  • Instances of missing financial records and other documents causing a delay in the audit process

A copy of the complete audit is available online at www.auditor.state.oh.us.

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