Schools

School districts’ financial challenges are not the result of inaccurate student enrollment projections, according to a new report from the Office of the Washington State Auditor. 

Several public school districts are experiencing financial distress, and student enrollment has declined statewide. Legislators asked the State Auditor’s Office to determine whether districts’ financial challenges were linked to faulty projections of future student enrollment.  

New safeguards are in place for Washington special education students placed with private contractors, but gaps remain in those reforms. Some schools do not visit facilities in-person every year as required, and some state investigations are not conducted as quickly as they could be, a new performance audit found.

The IT system used to distribute funding to Washington’s 300 schools and districts, serving 1 million students, is both critical to public education and extremely complex.  

The Washington Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) is holding its annual conference this week in Tacoma, and team SAO will be there sharing the latest on financial reporting and auditing topics specificall

The Office of the Washington State Auditor published an accountability audit of the Moses Lake School District today, reviewing a tumultuous period in which the district’s financial condition was in decline. 

“The public is understandably frustrated,” said State Auditor Pat McCarthy. “As a former school board member, I want to recognize the important role the public plays in holding the District and elected board members accountable to ensure local public schools, a keystone of community life, remain operational and financially stable.” 

Washington’s public schools properly identified special education students and spent 26% percent more than the state provided to serve them, according to a new performance audit. 

The Legislature asked the Office of the Washington State Auditor to review the prevalence of disabilities in student populations in the state and compare that need to the funding available to identify and serve special education students. Auditors were also tasked with determining whether any populations were under evaluated or underserved in special education. 

If your school is experiencing budget shortfalls, it’s crucial to know which funding sources are appropriate to use—and which are not. School districts have various types of revenue, some of which are restricted to certain purposes. These include federal grant awards, levy or bond proceeds and even Associated Student Body (ASB) money. It’s important that districts do not use these funds for general budget purposes.

Whether from yearbook sales, prom tickets or direct donations, the money raised by Associated Student Body (ASB) groups are public funds. 

The Washington Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) is hosting its annual conference this week in Spokane and SAO representatives will be there in person, sharing the latest news on financial reporting and auditing issues specifically for schools

Efforts to ensure Washington’s school children have adequate time to eat lunch were stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but are progressing again now, according to a new performance audit by the Office of the Washington State Auditor.