During the meeting of the Marshall School Board on Tuesday, October 23, board member Mike Mills expressed his concern about a petition to request an audit of the district by the state auditor’s office.
Mills and other board members, including Bryon Jacques, Dr. Erin Williams, Kathy Green, Ed Harper and Brad Guthrey offered input in the lengthy discussion.
Jacques pointed out what a possible audit would entail and other information. Several members of the board said if you have questions about what is being done, come to them or call them. Their information is on the district’s website. If they don’t know the answer, they said they will find out.
According to minutes from the meeting, audits usually find issues with reporting accurately to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and other funding agencies, and usually those result in millions of dollars in pay backs and withholdings for the upcoming payments. An audit was done in the DeSoto School District regarding spending and transparency, and the total cost is expected to be $50,000 to $75,000. Another audit was done in the Hazelwood School District regarding budget decisions, with an expected cost of $80,000 to $120,000.