DAYTON SCHOOL DISTRICT GETS BEST STATE AUDIT IN YEARS

The clean audit is another step in DPS’ improvement efforts.

Dayton Public Schools’ state audit for the 2018-19 school year was the cleanest financial audit the district has received in several years.

For the first time in four years, the state issued no findings for recovery of misspent money by DPS. The audit also gave the school district an “unmodified” opinion on its financial statements, meaning they comply with accounting standards and applicable regulations.

Treasurer Hiwot Abraha said the clean audit is another step in DPS’ improvement efforts, following a move last year from highrisk to low-risk auditee.

“This is a big achievement for our school district, our community, taxpayers and all stakeholders,” Abraha said. “We are delighted that we received this unmodified opinion, and we will keep on improving going forward.”

In several recent years, Dayton audits had also listed “significant deficiencies” or “material noncompliance” tied to certain financial reporting procedures. The 2018-19 audit from the state

shows no deficiencies, noncompliance items or material weaknesses for the first time in at least five years.

In the past two years’ audits, one of DPS’ largest problems had been employees getting paid for periods they didn’t work. In some cases, people were hired and received some pay, but never actually started, and in other cases people resigned and were still paid for awhile after they left.

School board President Mohamed Al-Hamdani congratulated the treasurer’s department, saying Abraha’s team and other top district leadership have been working on “dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s.”

“I think it’s a product of a concentrated effort on our treasurer’s department, to work very hard to ensure that we stay fiscally responsible and also stay compliant,” Al-Hamdani said.

The audit news comes on the heels of an improvement in DPS’ bond rating last fall. The Fitch agency upgraded Dayton’s default bond rating from BBB+ to A-, which could lower the district’s borrowing costs in the future.

Contact this reporter at 937225-2278 or email Jeremy. Kelley@cmg.com.