Audit: Loveland schools misspent $13,000, improperly used public money for pro-levy survey

Loveland City Schools illegally, but inadvertently, misspent $13,000 when it paid a consulting bill twice for work done in 2018 and 2019, according to a state audit released Thursday.

The district also used the consulting firm to improperly conduct surveys meant to help get a levy passed in November 2019 and March 2020 , the audit found, though that misuse of money won't be criminally prosecuted.

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber released the findings, stemming from an investigation the report said began in March 2020 that was prompted by "several complaints from a district resident." The Enquirer has requested copies of those complaints.

Loveland school officials said the issues occurred six years ago under previous district leadership and have long since been resolved.

“The current board and administration have reviewed and discussed the statutory requirements surrounding levies to mitigate future issues," Superintendent Mike Broadwater said in an emailed statement to The Enquirer. "I appreciate the Auditor of State resolving this matter with no penalties towards the district or the previous leadership."

Treasurer John Espy said the district is also using new software to protect against "errant payments."

According to the report, here's what happened:

Loveland schools hired Allerton Hill Consulting in two, one-year contracts beginning in March 2018 and March 2019, respectively. The hire ostensibly was to help with the district's communication needs and to help map out marketing and outreach plans.

The first contract cost $73,000, of which $13,000 was to "field a satisfaction survey using a third-party professional pollster." The district paid Allerton Hill Consulting for that survey, but then also paid $13,000 to the pollster, Fallon Research & Communications, Inc., separately. That double-payment of the bill prompted the auditor's office to issue a finding for recovery of $13,000 "for illegally spent funds."

Marc Kovac, a spokesman with the auditor's office, said Thursday the school district has already fully repaid the finding for recovery.

The May 2018 survey gathered input from 303 randomly selected district residents asking general questions about how the district spent taxpayer funds. The next year, the district hired Fallon separately to conduct another survey in 2019 of 301 residents at a cost of $15,000. The questions in the second survey were problematic, the audit found, because it asked three questions "partially designed to aid in the passage of a levy."

Those three questions laid out "different funding scenarios with detailed millage options to gauge the likelihood of community support if placed on the ballot," the report said. Ohio law doesn't allow public funds to support or oppose levy proposals.

Per the report, an auditor's office attorney found there was insufficient evidence to recommend criminal charges, but the auditor's office did issue a management recommendation related to "noncompliance regarding contracts partially advocating for the passage of a levy."

District voters had shot down repeated attempts by Loveland schools to pass levies between 2019-2022, which left the district in dire financial straits, inching toward a state takeover of its finances. Last May, voters reversed course and approved a 4.9-mill levy.

Read the audit below.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Audit: Loveland schools misspent $13,000, improperly used public money for pro-levy survey