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Taylor Releases Barnesville Exempted Village School District from Fiscal Emergency

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Belmont County -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor released the Barnesville Exempted Village School District from fiscal emergency. The district was placed in fiscal emergency more than four years ago based on a forecasted deficit. Since that time, members of the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services section have served as financial advisors to assist the district with its economic recovery.

“This announcement is welcome news for the entire community and I commend school administrators on a job well done,” Taylor said. “I am pleased that my office was able to assist the district and help resolve their financial situation.”

The school district was placed in fiscal emergency December 18, 2003 due to its deteriorating financial condition and a projected deficit of $1,551,000 for fiscal year 2004. A state Financial Planning and Supervision Commission was established to develop, adopt and implement the district’s financial recovery plan.

The announcement releasing Barnesville Exempted Village School District from fiscal emergency effectively dissolves the commission.

Taylor will release the annual financial audit of Barnesville Schools on Thursday, March 13, 2008.

The Auditor of State’s Local Government Services section serves as a consulting and fiscal advisory group to all governmental agencies and subdivisions. The section issues publications, accounting manuals and advisory bulletins to assist local governments in performing their duties.

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

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The Ohio Auditor of State’s office is one of the largest accounting offices in the nation.  The office strives to ensure that all public funds are spent legally and appropriately and works aggressively to root out fraud, waste and abuse in public spending. Taylor encourages anyone suspecting fraud or misspending of public dollars to contact her office toll free at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364). Since taking office in January 2007, Taylor has identified more than $10.9 million in public funds that were handled improperly, spent illegally or stolen and must be repaid.