Certified public accounting and business advisory firm SB & Company has begun a state-led audit of the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS). The Howard County Council unanimously voted to approve Howard County Executive Calvin Ball’s legislation calling for a state audit of HCPSS in July 2019.
“Despite a challenging fiscal outlook, we were able to provide significant funding to our schools this year, with a direct appropriation of $620.3 million,” said Ball. “This is a $13.1 million increase (2.2 percent) over last year’s budget and exceeds Maintenance of Effort (MOE) levels by $2.7 million. Every educator, student, parent, and resident in Howard County deserve to know exactly how and where our money is being utilized. This audit will ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent sensibly, to best serve our students and educators.”
The focus of the audit will be on four key areas, established through cooperation with HCPSS:
- Health and Dental Fund
- Budgeting and Actual Expenditure Variance
- Personnel Cost Development
- Procurement
The scope of the audit was confirmed with the engagement, collaboration and cooperation of the Board of Education, Superintendent Michael Martirano and HCPSS.
“I appreciate the county’s continued partnership as we tackle the various budget pressures we have faced,” said Michael Martirano, HCPSS Superintendent. “We welcome the audit as it will add another layer of transparency that HCPSS strives to achieve in how taxpayer dollars are spent and the critical need to avoid future adverse audit opinions by eliminating the historic Health Fund deficit.”