Columbus – A community school sponsor was overpaid by nearly $20,000 due to inaccurate attendance records at the Frederick Douglass Reclamation Academy, George V. Voinovich Reclamation Academy, Langston Hughes High School and Thurgood Marshall High School.  Audits of the four community schools were released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“Inaccurate records have costly consequences,” Auditor Yost said.  “It is important for taxpayers and the schools alike to receive the correct amount of funding, and I’m happy to see that the situation was rectified quickly.”

Inaccurate attendance records discovered by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) led to a decrease in state funding for the schools.  Ohio law states that a community school sponsor may receive no more than 3% of the amount the state pays to the school annually for the cost of its oversight and monitoring activities.  The adjusted funding levels caused overpayments to the schools’ sponsor, Education Resource Consultants of Ohio, Inc. (ERCO), in the following amounts:

• $10,407 by the Frederick Douglass Reclamation Academy
• $3,364 by the George V. Voinovich Reclamation Academy
• $3,900 by Langston Hughes High School
• $2,222 by Thurgood Marshall High School

Findings for recovery were issued against Education Resource Consultants of Ohio, Inc. and former Treasurer James Szabo in the respective amounts.  The findings for recovery were repaid in full by ERCO’s parent company, Christ Tabernacle Ministries of Excellence, Inc. on January 29, 2013.

Full copies of these audits 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