Audit: Mad River schools paid ex-employee for eight months after she left
Mar. 28—Mad River Schools continued to pay a former employee for eight months after she resigned, according to the Ohio Auditor of State.
The Auditor's office issued a finding for recovery — discovery of misspent public money that must be repaid- against the former employee, Kelcee Wright Moreo and Mad River Schools Treasurer Jerry Ellender in the amount of $8,256, to be paid to Mad River Local School District's General Fund.
Moreo resigned in January 2023 and continued to be paid until September.
Mad River made a repayment plan with Moreo in November, who has agreed to repay in monthly installments of $606 until the amount is repaid in full. As of Feb. 8, she had already repaid $2,460 to the district, according to the state audit.
In their official response, district officials said the error was the result of a retirement at the payroll services provider contracted to handle the work.
The district hired a payroll specialist internally, who started in January, and added internal policies to prevent further issues.
"The District should implement procedures to verify that payments to employees are timely terminated after they have left employment," auditors said in the finding. "Failure to timely terminate payments could result in overpayments not being detected and could lead to the issuance of findings for recovery in future audits."
The issue was identified during a review of the school district's finances from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. Mad River officials didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.
