Columbus City Schools followup report released in data-rigging scandal
The Columbus City School District (Franklin County) is making progress in correcting the issues that led to the attendance data-rigging scandal, according to a follow-up report released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.
“This is a very large ship in the middle of doing a 180 – they’re halfway there,” Auditor Yost said.
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The report reviewed the period of February 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015 to determine if the district took corrective actions in 12 identified areas in the time since the Auditor of State’s special audit report was released on January 28, 2014.
The report notes district improvement in its policies pertaining to the Alternative Pathway Program, its maintenance of documentation supporting letter grade changes, its procedures for grade level changes, and its approval and maintenance of records for home education, in addition to other areas.
Auditors noted errors in the district’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), its documentation of student absences, student withdrawal information, and supported and timely erasures of absences.
Due to changes in district policy adopted on April 22, 2014, auditors were unable to determine if the district was uniform in its methods used to determine final grades. The Auditor of State’s office will follow-up on compliance with this policy in the next regularly-scheduled financial audit.