An email sent by Adams County/Ohio Valley School Treasurer Brian Switzer set the record straight last week regarding rumors being heard throughout Adams County regarding financial mismanagement and missing funds from the district. This media organization had also been notified of the rumors from several sources and dismissed them as ‘election year chatter’ after reviewing the latest state audit of the district released in March.
The Treasurer of the district took it a step further in notifying staff of the audit procedures in place in the district. “Many many sets of eyes watch what is happening here in the Adams County/Ohio Valley School District” said Switzer.
The letter to staff continued:
“Each year, by law, the Ohio State Auditor’s Office performs a financial and compliance audit of the District. This audit usually takes from October to March of each school year. The State sends in a team of auditors who do a thorough review and analysis of all financial transactions of the District, and compliance with Federal, State, and Local Law, and with Board Policy. The State then releases a report, each year, on the results of the audit. You can access the most recent audit, or past years audit reports, at the Ohio State Auditor’s Office website. For the most recent year, 2020, a quick synopsis. If you look at page 2, the State Auditor’s Opinion states “the financial statements are fairly stated”. This is the cleanest report an audit can receive.”
“The District receives several State and Federal Grants. The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is extremely efficient in monitoring, reviewing, testing, and tracking of each dollar involved in one of these programs. Each year the District has to file an extensive plan on how it proposes to use these dollars and then by September 30 of each year, file an extensive report on each grant how the dollars were spent. ODE and the State Auditor, independently, then test the transactions on these grants for proper spending and accountability. In the most recent State Audit report, the State Auditor says” In our opinion, Adams County/ Ohio Valley Local School District complied, in all material respects, with the compliance requirements that could directly and materially affect its federal programs for the year ended June 30, 2020. This is the cleanest statement the State can issue on someone who receives Federal Grant dollars.”
Switzer also said that in the last couple of months, the Boards legal counsel performed a review of the job and activities in the Treasurer’s Office and found no irregularities. It is unclear why the district requested a review of the activities of the office, as the staff is very small including Brian Switzer the Treasurer and Sherri Spencer who serves as the payroll clerk.
“So, contrary to some rumors that may be going on in the buildings and in the community, the taxpayers money is safe and accounted for here in the Adams County/Ohio Valley School District,” said Switzer. “These [sic] are at least 6 sets of external, and many more sets of internal eyes, always watching all financial activity of the district.”
In the latest audit released by Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber, the district did identify a finding regarding a certain deficiency in internal control, described in the accompanying schedule of findings that we consider a material weakness. “We consider finding 2020-001 to be a material weakness,” said the state auditor.
A full copy of the audit for the district can be found here:
https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Reports/2021/Adams_County_Ohio_Valley_LSD_20_Adams_FINAL.pdf
