Audit finds issues in Woodland Park RE-2 finances | Education

An audit report on Woodland Park School District RE-2’s financial statements reveals a series of omissions, errors and inconsistencies with the district’s finances during the 2023-24 school year.

The audit, conducted by Hoelting and Co., was released in early March and made publicly available after scrutiny from the Woodland Park City Council.

“The District was unable to reconcile and close its books in a timely manner,” the audit read. “Most closing procedures took place during audit field work when significant and material errors were brought to the attention of the business services staff.”

Per an intergovernmental agreement between the two, the school district was required to present a regular report to the City Council about its use of funds generated from a local sales tax.

In February, council members criticized the district for submitting a one-page summary of the past six months, deeming the document insufficient. The much more detailed audit was then provided 13 days later.

Among the audit’s findings were a lack of procedures in place, missing records, organizational dysfunction and misstatements on items including the district’s pupil activity fund, debt services and salary accruals.

Auditors noted that many of the issues they discovered were largely the result of the district’s business services department, which experienced complete turnover after the 2023 fiscal year and lost institutional knowledge to pass on to new staff.

The audit can be viewed in its entirety on the school district’s website. Woodland Park RE-2 Board of Education monthly regular meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, when an audit update is scheduled to be discussed.

“Due to this turnover, we noted a lack of supervision, training, and resources within the business services department,” the audit read. “The district does not have the proper controls, processes, or personnel in place to analyze, adjust, or independently review account balances prior to audit field work.”

Exacerbating this issue was the recent resignation of the district’s chief financial officer, Jack Bay, who abruptly left his position in the middle of the school year. The audit noted that filling the CFO position was a slow process — eventually getting resolved through short-term contracted service providers — leaving inexperienced staff continuing operations in the meantime.