Petition Audit for NR-S circulated

Just last week, a petition was circulating in the area to have the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District officially audited by the North Dakota Auditor’s Office.

The Transcript learned of the petition when a petitioner brought it to the newspaper office to solicit signatures, and Emily Dalzell, Communications Director for the Office of the State Auditor, confirmed the petition audit has been approved for circulation.

“We, the undersigned, being qualified electors request an audit authorized by North Dakota Century Code 54-10-15,” states the petition. “The state auditor shall audit and review the books, records, and financial accounts of New Rockford Sheyenne Public School, which is a political subdivision in North Dakota Century Code …”

North Dakota’s auditor is Joshua C. Gallion, and under North Dakota law his office can be petitioned to audit or review any political subdivision in North Dakota, provided enough qualified voters of that subdivision make the request.

To request such an audit of a school district, the petitioners must acquire enough signatures to equal 35 percent of the number of voters at the most recent school board election.

This summer’s NR-S school board election saw 225 ballots cast, meaning the threshold for the audit petition is just 79 signatures.

Over 100 signatures had already been collected as of Tuesday, Aug. 1, according to one petitioner, and the process of turning the petition over to the state auditor’s office had already begun. As of Thursday, Aug. 3, Dalzell said the state auditor’s office had not yet received the petition and its signatures.

According to the auditor’s official website, once their office receives the petition they’ll begin the process of verifying those signatures, making sure each comes from a qualified elector that resides within the school district’s boundaries.

However, acquiring enough signatures no longer triggers an official audit. In the most recent legislative session, legislators voted to give the Office of the State Auditor discretion on whether or not to move forward with any given petition audit.

“If an audit/review petition is certified, staff from the Office of the State Auditor would then schedule a meeting with a committee of petitioners to review their concerns,” states the auditor’s official website. “The audit staff would review the concerns to determine if there are sufficient financial concerns that warrant a petition audit.”

Even then, if the auditor’s office determines there are sufficient financial concerns, it’d be up to the audit team to determine the scope of the review/audit, and they’re under no obligation to include every concern identified by petitioners.

Delzell noted that the Office of the State Auditor has not turned down a petition audit since the new law was passed giving them discretion.

The petition that’s been circulating does not list the petitioner’s specific concerns.

Additionally, if the auditor’s office does move forward with an audit, any progress or data would not be made public until their work is complete.

According to the auditor’s website, “Once a certified petition is received, data relating to an audit/review are not considered public records and are exempt from open records laws until the final report has been published by the Office of the State Auditor.”

The auditor’s website further states that work on any potential audit only begins when staff is available, and that it’s often several months before an audit can be scheduled. The current 2023 list of scheduled audit’s already has dozens of entries, many of which have been completed while at least 30 others are still in progress.

To make matters worse for the NR-S district, the Office of the State Auditor told the Transcript on Thursday that if a petition audit is approved, the entity being audited would have to foot the bill. The cost would depend on the scope and length of the audit.

Meanwhile, NR-S Business Manager Dave Skogen told the Transcript on Wednesday that the district is already audited every year, with their most recent audit – for the 2021 fiscal year (FY) – being approved in February of 2023.

Once the FY 2021 audit is reviewed and approved by the Office of the State Auditor, it will appear on their website for anyone to view.

Audits for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years are currently underway, said Skogen. The audits are being conducted by Widmer Roel, a firm out of Fargo, N.D., which is the district’s official auditor.

ONLINE UPDATE:

In response to an audit petition that could have the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District officially audited by the N.D. State Auditor’s Office, School Board President Todd Allmaras released the following statement on Friday, Aug. 4, after the Aug. 7 print edition had already been printed.

“Fellow taxpayers and patrons of the New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School District,

“Recently, I have been made aware of a petition that is circulating requesting the ND State Auditor’s office to implement an audit of the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District. Upon reaching out to a few that have signed this petition and discussing this matter with them; I have learned that they were told (or led to believe) that there is money missing from the school.

“This claim of missing funds is baseless and lacks any supporting evidence. The New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School District has routinely completed audits pursuant to and in compliance with the statutes identified in North Dakota Century Code. These audits are reviewed by district administration, the school board and subsequently submitted to the ND State Auditor. Past audits indicate absolutely no justification for concern of impropriety or misappropriation.

“This petition is personally troubling to me as it is an attack on the business manager, administration, and my fellow school board members; as we are all entrusted with the responsibility of managing the district’s finances. At times there may be difference of opinion on how funds are spent, but at no time has there been funds spent in an unlawful manner. It is the taxpayers right to ensure that their monies are being handled in an appropriate and lawful manner. State law gives the taxpayers the right to petition for a State audit, however; there has been no claim or concern over potential unlawful use of funds made to district administration or board members. Even though this audit is completed by the State of ND, the local district is responsible for all costs involved. This action will cost the district upwards of $20,000.

“At the end of the day; if the taxpayers of the district do feel that it is justified to spend their money to complete this audit, the administration and board members of the New Rockford – Sheyenne Public School district will totally and completely support the process. Our books are open and we are completely transparent.

“Respectfully,

“Todd Allmaras

President, New Rockford – Sheyenne Public School Board.”

The Transcript will continue to cover this story and provide any updates when they’re available.