Columbus – Excess busing costs and spending more than double for extracurricular activities per student are among more than $730,000 in potential savings identified for the Cuyahoga Heights Local School District (Cuyahoga County) in a performance audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“The district is making headway during what has been a hard couple of years,” Auditor Yost said. “These recommendations should help the district get back on solid ground with a sustainable budget.”

On a per-student basis, the district spends more than double the amount peer districts spend on extracurricular activities (134 percent additional). Total extracurricular spending (not taking into account variations in student population) exceeds $842,000, more than 50 percent higher than peers, offering a potential savings of $287,000. In transportation, the district approved, but did not carry out, a policy of providing only state-required busing levels. Following district transportation policy would save the district an additional $234,000. An additional $209,000 in potential savings could be achieved from other recommendations in the report relating to administrative and maintenance staffing, health benefits and other items.

The Auditor of State’s Ohio Performance Team conducts performance audits by request and in cases of fiscal distress of local governments, including Ohio public school districts. Cuyahoga Heights LSD has not suffered deficit financial forecasts, but the district has engaged in a cost reduction program and has limited expenditure growth to 1.2 percent during the past three years. The district’s fiscal year 2011 expenditures were approximately $17.4 million.

A full copy of the audit may be found online.

 
The Auditor of State is one of five independently elected statewide offices under the Ohio Constitution. Auditor Yost’s office is responsible for auditing over 5,600 state and local government agencies. Staff also works in partnership with state and local governments to deal effectively with financial, accounting and budgetary issues.

Contact
Public Affairs