The Elyria school district is in good financial health, according to the district’s yearly check-up by the state auditor’s office, which registered two findings regarding the district’s records.

Released Tuesday, the audit of Elyria Schools was among dozens performed for school systems, municipalities and other agencies statewide. The two findings by the state dealt with the district’s general fund and food service accounts.

“It’s not a situation where money was spent inappropriately or frivolously and has to be repaid or anything like that,” said Emily Frazee, spokeswoman for the state auditor’s office in Columbus. “These were fairly slight findings compared to what goes on with other districts of a similar size, but they are items districts need to be aware of so they can monitor themselves for compliance more closely in the future.”

It was determined that total general fund expenditures for the fiscal year running July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, exceeded appropriations by $312,849. The fund budgeted $66,881,083 while reflecting expenses of $67,193,932.

Expenditures for the food service account totaled $2,739,288, which was $65,868 over what was budgeted.

“This was not a case of unanticipated expenditures, overspending or using unappropriated money,” Elyria Schools Treasurer Fred Stephens said. “These findings came at the close of the (fiscal) year. They were clerical or computational errors.”

Even though the findings are not regarded as major in scope, they are part of a detailed, meticulous process.

“They inventory our books and go to find specific items, such as looking over stacks of purchase orders to make sure all the dates are right and numbers correct,” Stephens said. “They are rigorous audits.”

Frazee said the Elyria books looked good.

“They gave a clear picture of their financial situation,” she said. “They had all their ducks in a row.”

The lion’s share of the district’s budget, which is funded by local taxes and state money, stands at roughly $70 million, although the budget is supplemented by millions in federal funds for programs such as in-school meals for the 4,000-plus eligible students, Stephens said.

The state auditor’s office commended the district for its financial handling of $7.6 million in grant monies from agencies including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education, for school nutrition programs, preschool and adult basic education, and drug-free school programs.

“We evaluate their grants and see whether their grant-writing was done properly,” Frazee said. “They were in good shape there as well.”

The district’s audit was prepared by the Cleveland accounting firm of Charles E. Harris & Associates Inc. The company has been conducting the district’s audits for some time. Selected by a competitive process, the firm is paid $33,450 a year, according to Stephens.

About 35 percent of the 5,000-plus school systems, municipalities and other organizations whose budgets are audited by the state have those audits performed by independent public accounting firms, according to Frazee.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

 

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