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Rock Hill board votes unanimously to commission independent audit of district finances
Summary
Trustees voted 7-0 on Jan. 28 to order an independent audit and financial review after trustees and community members raised concerns about funding decisions made during and after pandemic-era federal and state allocations.
The Rock Hill School District Board of Trustees on Jan. 28 voted unanimously to commission an independent audit of district finances to provide a clear, external review of how one-time pandemic-era funds were spent and how the district should allocate resources going forward.
Board members cited a need for transparency and a full picture of revenues and expenditures. "It's time to put our funding into the classroom and prioritize our people," a board member said while urging the review.
Board discussion leading up to the vote referenced the roughly $54 million in additional funding the district received during the COVID period and said those one-time dollars supported new expenditures that are now under pressure as the funds ended. A board member and members of the public noted that certified staff recently received the district's largest pay increase in its history and asked whether noncertified staff and other priorities had been adequately addressed.
A motion to commission the independent audit was offered in open session; the board adopted the proposal 7-0. Board members said an outside analysis would help identify overlapping programs, administrative redundancies and potential efficiencies so money could be redirected to classroom priorities and personnel.
The vote followed public comments urging financial transparency and repeated calls from trustees for an objective review. Board members said they will solicit an outside firm and will return to the board with a scope of work and timeline; the meeting transcript did not include the audit contract, scope, or a proposed vendor.
Ending: Board members tied the audit to longer-term budget work ahead of the next fiscal planning cycle and said they expect the review to inform decisions about staffing and program priorities. No vendor was selected at the Jan. 28 meeting.
