Legacy Academy spent $38K illegally, audit finds

The school has taken steps to recover the funds and ensure payment of taxes.

YOUNGSTOWN — A state audit of the Legacy Academy for Leaders & the Arts, a charter school, shows more than $38,000 in illegally spent public money, but the state isn’t looking to recover most of that from the school.

It also showed that the school failed to pay employee federal and state withholding taxes.

The audit, covering fiscal 2003-04, shows the school, using public funds, paid for utilities and various other services and repairs to the tune of $26,285, but that expense should have been picked up by the building owner — Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church.

The audit found that Legacy’s lease stipulated that the church would be responsible for those costs, and a finding was issued against the church and school officials in that amount.

The school, in a reply to the audit, said the church has agreed to pay that amount of money to the school, and the lease agreement will be rewritten to have the school responsible for those services in the future.

A second finding determined that the school made two payments to Mount Calvary totaling $6,897 for some type of administrative services but without any supporting documentation to explain the expense or show that the school governing board had approved it.

That was public money illegally spent, according to the auditor’s office, and the audit sought the refund of that money from the church and school officials who signed the checks.

The school responded that it will get reimbursement from Mount Calvary.

The audit further found that the school accidentally paid Mrs. Lott’s Food Service twice for $1,875 worth of breakfast and lunch meals.

The school said it will obtain reimbursement from the food-service company.

The audit also showed the school district reimbursed its principal and some staff members a total of $3,148 for various materials and supplies but had no documentation such as invoices, receipts or bills to support those payments. Likewise, documentation was missing for $259 in purchases from two vendors, the audit showed.

The school said it would seek to recover all of those funds and provide documentation acceptable to the auditor for the receipt of that money.

Finally, the audit also found that the school withheld but failed to remit employee federal income and Medicare taxes to the U.S. government in the amount of $125,289, state income taxes in the amount of $34,489 and Youngstown city income taxes in the amount of $33,575.

The school said it has instituted procedures to ensure the prompt filing and payment of those taxes.

Mary Taylor, Ohio auditor of state, said the school had been declared “unauditable” in April 2007 because of missing or incomplete financial records. That meant the school was in danger of losing state funding assistance.

The completion of the 2003-04 audit removes that designation from the school, she said.

gwin@vindy.com