The Indiana State Board of Accounts has found systemic problems in an audit of the South Bend Community School Corporation’s books from 2023. The corporation says it’s corrected the problems and implemented steps to prevent them from happening again.
The audit, released this week, looked at the corporation’s financial controls on federal money it received to serve students at low incomes and to respond to learning delays from the Covid pandemic. It found the corporation under then-Superintendent Todd Cummings lacked federally required controls and review procedures for how money was spent and accounted for.
The audit states, “These deficiencies heightened the risk of delayed federal reimbursements, potential loss of future funding, and reduced transparency. Ultimately, such errors can diminish overall confidence in the School Corporation's financial management.”
The school corporation issued a statement Friday saying, “Importantly, well before the issuance of the audit report, the Corporation’s current administration and finance leadership had already begun implementing comprehensive reforms … These actions were undertaken as part of a broader effort to modernize systems, improve accountability, and align operations with best practices.”
