Dayton school district wins award for clean audit

Dayton Public Schools Treasurer Hiwot Abraha receives the "Auditor of State Award with Distinction" from Joe Braden, west regional liaison for the Ohio State Auditor’s Office. Eileen McClory / staff

Dayton Public Schools Treasurer Hiwot Abraha receives the "Auditor of State Award with Distinction" from Joe Braden, west regional liaison for the Ohio State Auditor’s Office. Eileen McClory / staff

The Ohio State Auditor’s Office awarded Dayton Public Schools the “Auditor of State Award with Distinction,” meaning the district had a clean audit for 2020-21, no ethics issues, no other financial concerns and no issues with public records.

Joe Braden, west regional liaison for the Auditor’s office, presented DPS Treasurer Hiwot Abraha a plaque at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting.

Abraha said her team had worked extremely hard to earn the award, and she thanked the school board and superintendent for their assistance as well.

“A manager is as good as his or her teams,” she said. “So my team here are the ones who deserve this award.”

Dayton Public Schools had multiple audits with findings for recovery or other problems before the 2018-2019 school year. In 2017-2018, an audit showed DPS paid staff members who never showed up, and in the 2016-2017 school year, DPS paid approximately $21,000 in unearned pay, according to the audit.

Then the district’s state audit for the 2018-19 school year was described as the cleanest financial audit the district had received in several years.

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