Columbus – Auditor of State Dave Yost today released the Cloverleaf Local School District (Medina County) from fiscal emergency, a status it has held since January 2012.

“This is no stroke of luck for the Cloverleaf Local Schools,” Auditor Yost said. “Though it took time and a great deal of planning, the district has achieved financial stability.”

The Cloverleaf Local School District was placed in fiscal watch on March 30, 2004 due to forecasted deficits of $275,000 in 2004 and $1,725,000 in 2005. The district was placed in fiscal emergency in January 24, 2012 due to its inability to adopt an acceptable financial recovery plan to eliminate the projected deficits.

To eliminate the forecasted deficits, the Cloverleaf Local Schools took several measures to decrease spending and increase revenue. For example, the district consolidated three elementary schools into one new one and now shares treasurer services with a neighboring district. In total, the district saved approximately $7,068,000.

The voters of the Cloverleaf Local School District renewed a 10-year emergency property tax levy in August of 2013. Voters increased revenue by passing emergency and earned income tax levies in May of 2014 to generate approximately $1.6 million and $3 million, respectively per fiscal year. 

To be released from fiscal emergency,Cloverleaf Local School District met the following criteria:

• Adopted and implemented an effective financial accounting and reporting system;
• Corrected or eliminated all of the fiscal emergency conditions and no new conditions have occurred;
• Met the major objectives of the financial recovery plan; and
• Prepared a five-year forecast in accordance with standards issued by the Auditor of State, and the opinion expressed by the Auditor of State is “nonadverse.”

A full copy of this fiscal emergency termination may be accessed online.

###

The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,800 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:
Brittany Halpin
Press Secretary
614-644-1111