Audit findings on tonight's Cedar Rapids school board agenda

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids school district has earned two recognitions from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

The district received the Association of School Business Officials International's Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting, as well as the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Associations.

This is the 15th consecutive year the district has received both awards. Both honors are for 2008-09.

David Farmer of McGladrey-Pullen, the district's independent accounting firm, will provide a presentation of the 2009-10 audit findings to school board members tonight.

District officials also will give a quarterly update of internal control progress. The regular reports are part of the district's promise to be more transparent after a state auditor's special report found that former employee Jamie May embezzled $587,784 from the district between 2002 and 2009.

May, who had breast cancer, died of cardiac arrhythmia in 2009. The Linn County Attorney's Office dismissed the first-degree theft charge after her death.

The district has since restructured the accounting department to segregate duties, and both an internal auditor and an accounting supervisor were hired.

School board members also will hear results of two surveys - the Gallup Student Poll and Iowa Youth Survey - and examine the 2010-11 student enrollment numbers.

Tonight's meeting begins at 5 p.m. It will be held in the boardroom, room 305, at the Educational Service Center at Kingston.