State Audit Finds Brownsville Area School District's Funds Drop By $1.3M In 5 Years

HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is telling a Fayette County school to improve its finances after the balance of the district's fund dropped by half.

According to the Auditor General, the district's general fund had a balance of $2.7 million in 2013, and by the end of 2018, it dropped to $1.4 million.

The auditor said the district failed to solicit bids for its transportation contract and didn't check to see if bus drivers were qualified and cleared to drive students.

In addition, the school also inaccurately reported their transportation costs, resulting in the state overpaying the district by more than $82,000.

The state also overpayed the district nearly $30,000 after the Brownsville Area School District failed to correctly report nonresident student data to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

"Auditors found that the district relied on refunding bonds and selling a school building to keep a positive fund balance," DePasquale said in a press release.

"These options may not be available in the future so the district must find ways to increase efficiency."

The Auditor General also noted that the district's charter school had more than doubled its tuition payments from $810,853 to $1.7 million during the five-year audit period.

The press release says the school district agrees with the audit and will implement 21 recommendations the made for improvement.