Over the last year, the embattled St. Joseph School District has had very little good news when it comes to audits and investigations. But Monday it received a report from the IRS that wasn't too bad at all.
The district says after an audit that started in June it will be fined just $27,249. The fine, according to IRS documents, is for failure to pay Medicare taxes for several employees in 2013 and 2014 and for improper documentation for about 30 staff take-home cars in the same years.
The IRS audit came on top of a FBI investigation and several federal grand jury subpoenas. District officials expected the worst but were pleased with the minimal IRS findings and fine.
“The district, overall, did well during this audit process," Interim Superintendent Robert Newhart said in a statement. "We will look at amending any policies or procedures that will prevent these issues from happening in the future and use this as a learning opportunity."
The district is hardly out of the woods. The FBI and grand jury investigations continue and the board of education has been working on streamlining its salary structure.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR. He's also co-host of KCUR's political podcast Statehouse Blend. Follow him on Twitter @samzeff.
