For Immediate Release:                                                      

August 18, 2020                                                                    

Wings Academy 2 Audit Contains Findings for Recovery Worth $89,808

Columbus – Auditor of State Keith Faber’s office released the 2018- 2019 Wings Academy 2 (Cuyahoga County) financial audit, which contained findings for recovery totaling $89,808.

Wings Academy 2 opened to educate students in fiscal year 2019, however, it never obtained the required 25 students needed to operate as required by Ohio Rev. Code and the sponsorship agreement between the Academy and its sponsor, Kids Count of Dayton. Therefore, the Academy was placed in suspended status effective October 2, 2018 and officially closed on April 30, 2019.

The Ohio Department of Education remitted two foundation payments totaling $89,808 to the school in July and August 2019, of which the Academy was not entitled due to not having enough students to operate under Ohio law. The Academy disbursed $2,910 and $9,948 to Kids Count of Dayton, the Academy’s sponsor, and The Genesis Group & Associates, LLC, the Academy’s management company, respectively, as a percentage of foundation funds, as required by the Academy’s contracts with these entities.

The Auditor’s Office issued a finding for recovery for public monies illegally expended against Wings Academy 2 in the amount of $76,950 in favor of the Ohio Department of Education.

Additionally, the Office issued a finding for recovery against Kids Count of Dayton in the amount of $2,910 and The Genesis Group & Associates, LLC in the amount of $9,948 in favor of the Ohio Department of Education.

The Ohio Department of Education has previously certified the debt for the two foundation payments remitted to the Academy to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for collection. On June 3, 2020, The Genesis Group & Associates, LLC remitted $9,948 to Wings Academy 2 for repayment. However, this amount has not been paid to ODE.

A full copy of this report is available 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 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.