Audit Signatures Verified

Bison Blinds

Word comes from the State Auditor & Inspector’s office on Monday afternoon that the signatures from voters on petitions to request a special audit of Luther Public Schools have been verified, and enough valid signatures were collected to proceed.

Votes by county:

• Oklahoma County: 254
• Logan County: 39
• Lincoln County: 4
• Total Number: 297

The SAI’s office received 354 total signatures by the November 24, 2015, deadline. Doing the math, 57 signatures were invalid. The signatures were verified at each of the county’s election board. To proceed, 285 valid signatures were required.

The Auditor expects that the audit will begin sometime in the next four to six months.

The petition requested an investigation into the following four areas (at a minimum):

1. Review possible mishandling of 2012 and 2013 bond project funds including but not limited to determining if any bond proceeds were expended on non-bond-related projects.
2. Review of board policies, procedures and custodial recordkeeping for possible irregularities in school activity accounts.
3. Review of personnel contracts and certification to determine that all personnel requiring certification are certified in the area in which they are employed and review the creation of Dean of Students for possible violation of Oklahoma nepotism statutes and district hiring procedures.
4. Review expenditure and possible misuse of federal, state, and private grant funds including almost $90,000 in questioned costs identified in FY14 financial statement audit report.

The audit will cost up to $40,000 to be paid by the school district.