Audit Report
What led to this audit?
In 2019, officials from Talawanda City School District reached out to the Ohio Performance Team in order to request a performance audit. Though the District is not in immediate financial distress, its leadership sought the advice and expertise of our office in order to identify options that would reduce expenditures and help to avoid future fiscal concerns.
What did we find?
The District has made long-term planning a priority. Its development of formal strategic and capital plans will continue to help the District to align its resources with agreed upon goals and identified needs. While the District has taken noteworthy action regarding long-term planning, several opportunities for increased efficiency and savings were identified, including staffing, transportation, and custodial services. Notably, the District could achieve significant annual savings in its transportation operation by eliminating bus routes and renegotiating costly provisions in its transportation contract. Exploring options for restructuring the provision of its custodial services, including fully contracting out the service district-wide, could also result in significant annual savings.
We provided ten recommendations which could reduce expenditures or increase operational efficiency. Overall, the recommendations could result in nearly $17 million in total savings over the five-year forecast period.