Franklin County officials say FY25 accounting error left schools about $1.41 million short; supervisors propose corrective plan

An accounting error that carried prior-year revenue into the wrong fiscal year left Franklin County Public Schools (FCPS) with an overexpenditure of about $1,413,850, Superintendent Kevin Sears told a joint meeting of the Franklin County Board of Supervisors and the Franklin County School Board on the evening of the joint session.

"This error was ours. We own it and we own the responsibility for correcting it," Sears said, acknowledging the district’s role and laying out steps the school division has already taken to close the gap.

Why it matters: The FY25 shortfall forced a public review of the school system’s finances and prompted the county to draft a corrective action plan that supervisors said they plan to consider for approval in February. Supervisors emphasized the need for stronger cross-jurisdiction oversight and monthly in-person reporting from the superintendent to the board of supervisors.

What the schools say happened: Sears told the joint meeting that an amount of revenue received for FY24 was not removed from the FY25 books and was therefore recorded as FY25 revenue. After the audit was complete the district reported an overexpenditure of approximately $1,413,850 (the number reported to both boards during the meeting). Sears and school staff described FY25 as an unusually difficult year, citing a six-point Local Composite Index (LCI) increase that reduced state funding, the closure of two schools, turnover in the small finance office (four of five positions), and disruptions to timing of federal reimbursements that complicated year-end reporting.

Steps already approved by the school board: At its Jan. 12 meeting the school board identified existing funds and reductions that can be applied to the deficit. Those include: a FY24 carryover balance of $367,000; food-service funds currently held by the district (reported in the meeting as $518,100), an emergency-management reimbursement of $110,000 for costs tied to last year’s ice storm, and a 15% holdback from school-level supplies allocations totaling about $164,290. The superintendent said those sources together equal about $1,160,185 available to apply toward the shortfall.

The school board also approved several reduction measures intended to produce additional carryover by June 30: elimination of three secondary teaching positions for the second semester (estimated savings about $100,000), adjusted tutoring funding to rely on available federal or Title I dollars, suspension of nonrefundable professional-development spending for the remainder of the fiscal year, restrictions on out-of-county field trips unless funded outside local dollars, and reduced scope of summer programs. Two more significant options—suspending the retiree-substitute program (DSIP) and eliminating two grant-funded positions—were discussed but not adopted and remain on the table.

Supervisor concerns and county proposals: Supervisors pressed school leaders for transparency on personnel changes, asking why administrative positions had been restructured even as the division eliminated roughly 78 positions since 2023 and lost more than 1,000 students from pre-COVID highs. Several supervisors said teachers and support staff are bearing disproportionate burdens of cuts and asked for a detailed breakdown (teaching vs. administration) of prior reductions; school officials said they would provide that breakdown.

Draft corrective action plan: County staff presented a draft plan for public review that — as read aloud at the meeting — would require the school division to cover the deficit, increase monthly reporting to the board of supervisors, include county finance staff in the hiring process for the school division’s chief financial officer, and secure a county-engaged financial consultant to review FCPS finance processes. The draft, which supervisors said they expect to refine before a potential February adoption, also reserves the county’s option to change appropriation timing (for example, to more frequent allocations) to increase oversight. The draft stated the county would ensure the school division bore the cost of the consultant and any remediative steps, and proposed a fiscal figure to bring the FY26 allocation into alignment with the corrected numbers (the draft language read, and was understood in context to mean, approximately a $1.44 million adjustment tied to the FY25 error).

Questions about restricted funds: School and county staff said the $518,100 in food-service funds is physically available to FCPS but the administration must confirm allowable uses and federal restrictions before applying those monies to offset county contributions. School and county finance teams said they are working together to determine compliant application.

Accounting and audit findings: Sears repeatedly emphasized the district is treating the matter as an accounting error, not missing money, and the superintendent said auditors found no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing. "There were never any missing funds and nobody was ever suspected of any deliberate wrongdoing, as was confirmed by the auditor earlier this week," Sears said.

Next steps: County supervisors circulated the draft corrective action plan and said they expect continued joint work between county and school finance staff, the possible engagement of an outside financial consultant, and a February meeting to consider formal adoption of the corrective plan. School officials said they will provide requested breakdowns of personnel changes and continue monthly and weekly budget reviews as described in their remediation steps.

What was not decided: The meeting produced no formal vote to shift county funds or to adopt the corrective-action draft; supervisors presented the draft for consideration and set a timeline for further review and possible adoption. Several potential cost-cutting options at the school level remain under consideration but were not approved that night.

Who was quoted (selected): Dr. Kevin Sears, superintendent of Franklin County Public Schools: "This error was ours. We own it and we own the responsibility for correcting it." A county official reading the draft corrective action plan said the county expects the school division to determine how to make the reductions "with an expectation that these cuts will minimize the impact on instruction."