Press Release • Ohio Auditor of State
Columbus City Schools Follow-Up Report Released
Columbus - The Columbus City School District (Franklin County) is making progress in correcting the issues that led to the attendance data-rigging scandal, according to a follow-up report released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.
“This is a very large ship in the middle of doing a 180 – they’re halfway there,” Auditor Yost said.
The report reviewed the period of February 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015 to determine if the district took corrective actions in 12 identified areas in the time since the Auditor of State’s special audit report was released on January 28, 2014.
The report notes district improvement in its policies pertaining to the Alternative Pathway Program, its maintenance of documentation supporting letter grade changes, its procedures for grade level changes, and its approval and maintenance of records for home education, in addition to other areas.
Auditors noted errors in the district’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), its documentation of student absences, student withdrawal information, and supported and timely erasures of absences.
Due to changes in district policy adopted on April 22, 2014, auditors were unable to determine if the district was uniform in its methods used to determine final grades. The Auditor of State’s office will follow-up on compliance with this policy in the next regularly-scheduled financial audit.
A full copy of this report may be accessed online.
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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,800 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.