SALEM SCHOOLS Accountants assigned posts on audit panel

An old barn owned by the school district will be taken down this summer.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Two city businessmen will serve on an audit committee formed to oversee school district finances after allegations of wrongdoing in the treasurer's office.
On Monday, the school board approved appointing to the committee Roger Hack, a partner in Hill, Barth & amp; King, a Salem accounting firm; and Howard Rohleder, Salem Community Hospital administrator.
Both men are certified public accountants. They will not be paid or receive any benefits for their service.
Also serving on the panel will be two school board members and the schools treasurer.
The committee's duties will include reviewing audit reports, ensuring that auditing recommendations are addressed, and serving as a liaison between school district management and independent auditors.
The committee is being formed partly to ensure that no more problems arise with district finances, Superintendent Dr. David Brobeck has said.
Investigation
The county prosecutor's office and the state auditor's office are probing allegations of wrongdoing in the school district's treasurer's office.
The probe began after officials learned in December that $781 in office equipment was bought in March 2002 and delivered to then-treasurer Ted Cougras' Poland home.
An audit of the school district is expected to be released today by the state auditor's office.
In other business, the school board approved a contract with a company that will dismantle a barn on school property off Whinnery Road on the city's southeast side. The company will pay the district $1 and keep the wood. Officials want the barn taken down because it presents a safety concern and because booster clubs are interested in constructing playing fields on the site, school board members said.
The work will be done this summer by a company called Timeless Reflections in Wood. School board members weren't certain where the company is from or what it wants with the barn.