The Missouri State auditor has issued a follow-up report that shows improvements within the St. Joseph School District after it received a 'poor' rating in February.
On Monday, Nicole Galloway, Missouri State auditor said, "The school has used the audit to improve operations and transparency across the district."
In June, the state evaluated 22 of its 40 recommendations made to the district. According to the report, 10 recommendation were implemented at that time, while the remaining 12 were in progress.
For example, the state's audit found that the district failed to comply with the sunshine law by holding several closed meetings. The state recommended that the district cite specific reasons for closed meetings. The reasons must be allowed under state law. The follow-up report shows that the district has implemented this recommendation.
Another issue found in February, was that several stipends were never approved by the board. For the 2013-2014 school year, extra payments totaled $3.8 million.
The follow-up report shows that the district has ordered a compensation study. The results will be discussed by the board in October.
Aside from the study, the board has adopted a salary schedule for the current school year. It includes administrative stipends in the base salary.
The district provided 41 Action News with the following statement, Monday:
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Jessica McMaster can be reached at jessica.mcmaster@kshb.com.
