Columbus – Auditor of State Keith Faber today released the fiscal year 2018 audit of Eastland Preparatory Academy (Franklin County), which indicated that the academy overpaid their lessor, Obermiller LLC by $5,457.

“As recipients of taxpayer dollars, community schools must be sure they are paying the correct amount on their lease payments,” said Auditor Faber. “I am issuing a finding for recovery so that taxpayers get the maximum return on their investment in this community school’s program.”

The agreement between the academy and Obermiller LLC was dated March 1, 2013 through June 30, 2018. The academy agreed to pay rent based on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students from the previous month, multiplied by $300. Each month the lessor would subtract the aggregate amount of rent already paid for the current fiscal year and divide by the number of months remaining in the fiscal year. At the end of the year, a final accounting was to be performed using the final FTE verified by the Ohio Department of Education.

During fiscal year 2018, the academy’s lease payments to Obermiller LLC totaled $52,644. When the lease ended on June 30, 2018, no final accounting was performed for fiscal year 2018 to see how much the academy owed. As a result, based on 157.29 full-time equivalent students, the academy overpaid their lease by $5,457.

State auditors caught this oversight and Auditor Faber has issued a finding for recovery to see the full amount overpaid restored to the community school.

On August 7, 2019, Obermiller LLC repaid the finding for recovery in full to the academy’s general fund. The Auditor’s office considers this finding repaid under audit.

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. 

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Allie Dumski

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