Columbus – Nearly $800,000 in unnecessary bus and building expenditures is among more than $1.7 million in potential savings for Indian Creek Local School District (Jefferson County) identified in a performance audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“The district is making progress on deficit reduction,” Auditor Yost said. “These recommendations should help achieve the ultimate goal of operating with a balanced budget.”

Nearly $800,000 in savings could be obtained from eliminating unnecessary buses from the fleet and from reconfiguring buildings to increase usage rates and eliminate unused capacity. Approximately $650,000 in savings would result from bringing staffing levels in line with peers, and $333,000 from bringing health insurance contributions and various work-related benefits such as leave and tuition reimbursement in line with peers.

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. The performance audit of the Indian Creek Local School District was initiated on December 19, 2011 at the request of the Ohio Department of Education in response to forecasted financial deficits.

A full copy of this performance audit may be accessed 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 5,600 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.

Contact:
Carrie Bartunek
Press Secretary
614-644-1111