COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a letter sent to the Richland Two School District on Monday, the State Department of Education put the district on fiscal watch.
This comes after an audit of the district was not turned in to the Department of Education on time.
In a meeting back on January 31, the board acknowledged that they knew the fiscal watch was coming.
“The audit was due December 1, that’s a date that'd been established by law so we have to follow it," Board member Joe Trapp asked. "You have a 30-day grace period, and then the 60 days kicks in, and then there's action by the state department of education," replied financial officer, Dr. Harry Miley.
Before this board meeting, the district’s Chief Financial Officer submitted her resignation on January 6.
With the loss of this piece of their staff, Richland Two says missing the deadline was inevitable.
In a statement Thursday, district staff said “We fully understand that a district cannot be four months late on an annual audit and that consequences like fiscal watch are the price for being late. We do not anticipate being under a time-intensive state investigation next year so we fully believe we will make all deadlines next year.”
The letter from the state superintendent gives the district 60 days to establish a plan of action to get out of the fiscal watch.
In response to this, the district said “We are prepared to provide to the state a plan that demonstrates this commitment to fiscal responsibility and timely reporting. Our financial staffing is being filled in the coming weeks and we are confident in our ability to meet all reporting deadlines."
Board Chair Lindsay Agostini says the audit nor the fiscal watch is a reflection of the new board.
“The new board took their oath of office on November 18, their first meeting was November 29, and this audit was due December 1, so this is no reflection of the new board. The new board is committed to working with the Department of Education, to make sure something like this does not happen again," Agostini stated.
The board will remain under fiscal watch for the remainder of this fiscal year.