Audit requested of school district accounting procedures

The Speaker of the Utah House on Thursday said he has requested an audit of school district accounting procedures in light of the federal indictment of two former Davis School District employees for allegedly defrauding the district of $4.3 million in federal dollars.

Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, last month asked the Legislative Auditor's Office to look at accounting procedures and how school districts otherwise handled finances. The goal is to see if districts are following their own procedures and whether oversight improvements are needed.

Curtis' comments come the day after Weber School District and law enforcement officials publicly announced they were probing the alleged embezzlement of $900,000 of Weber School District Foundation funds. A foundation secretary, who was fired last month, is the focus of the probe, the officials said.

But that had nothing to do with Curtis' request.

"The Weber School District Foundation is not part of Weber School District," House Majority Assistant Whip Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, said. "There a difference with what we're looking at" in the audit.

Alleged misdeeds in the Davis School District spurred the audit request.

Former Davis District employees Susan and John Ross were indicted last month on 47 counts of mail fraud, money laundering, theft of government funds and copyright infringement. They were accused of defrauding the district of $4.3 million in federal Title I funds, which benefit children in low-income schools, between 2000 and 2005. They have pleaded innocent to the charges.

The audit is expected to be completed after the Legislature adjourns Feb. 28.

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