BOARD OF EDUCATION

Randall Harper, CPA

Internal Auditor

115 S. Ludlow Street Room 4S-405 Dayton OH 45402-1812

Tel. 937.542.3255 Fax 937.542.3152

Dayton Public Schools

Board of Education
115 S. Ludlow Street
Dayton, OH 45402
I am pleased to present the Internal Audit Report 2017-001, Operations Department Audit for
your review. A brief executive summary of the report is presented below.
In accordance with the 2017 Audit Plan, the Office of Internal Audit has completed an audit of the
Operations Department. The objective of this audit project was to determine the operations and
fiscal responsibility of the Operations Department is in sound order. Our audit included testing of
work order completion, use of DPS vehicles, reasonableness of reported hours worked, inventory
levels, food service controls, and timely process of purchase orders. In addition, a review of current
processes and procedures was documented to evaluate areas for improvements and efficiencies.
This Internal Audit Report records the results of the internal audit findings and recommendations
looking at possible ways in which the controls and operations could be improved to overcome
identified weaknesses in internal controls and increase the adequacy, efficiency and effectiveness of
internal controls based on the risk identified. The matters raised in this report are only those arising
from the audit that the Office of Internal Audit believe need to be brought to your attention. It is not
a comprehensive record of all the matters arising and the Office of Internal Audit cannot be held
responsible for reporting all risks and all internal control weaknesses. The maintenance of effective
internal control measures still remains the responsibility of management and not the Office of
Internal Audit.
Based on the review, there are a few recommendations presented and a rating of the severity of
areas that may be improved. The Internal Audit Report has been set out in two sections as outlined
in the executive summary section and the detailed audit findings and recommendations section.
The Office of Internal Audit appreciated the courtesies and cooperation extended during the audit.

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Randall Harper, CPA
Internal Auditor
October 25, 2016
Mission Statement
The mission of Dayton Public Schools is to equip our students to achieve success in a global society by implementing an
effective and rigorous curriculum with fidelity.

Office of Internal Audit

Internal Audit Report
2017-001
Operations Department Audit
Report Date: October 25, 2016

Mission Statement
The mission of Dayton Public Schools is to equip our students to achieve success in a global society by implementing
an effective and rigorous curriculum with fidelity.

Randall Harper, CPA

Internal Auditor

Dayton Public Schools

Office of Internal Audit
Table of Contents

Title

Page

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 1 - 3

Audit Objectives ..............................................................................................................................4
Audit Scope ......................................................................................................................................4
Methodologies..................................................................................................................................4
Background ......................................................................................................................................5
Findings and Recommendations .............................................................................................. 6 - 14
Management Responses and/or Corrective Action Plans ...................................................... 14 - 16

Executive Summary
The Dayton Public Schools (DPS) Office of Internal Audit has completed a general audit of the
Operations Department in accordance with the Internal Audit Plan approved by the Dayton
Public School Board of Education. The general audit procedures consisted of reviewing and
testing of the financial aspects, operating activity efficiencies, and compliance to policies in
relation to the Operations Department.
Based on the results of the audit procedures completed during this internal audit project number
2017-001, it appears there are opportunities to achieve improvements and/or efficiencies in the
internal control processes and procedures within the Operations Department.
During the course of the audit, management was made aware of observations and
recommendations for improvement. The DPS Office of Internal Audit would like to
acknowledge the cooperation and professionalism of all DPS staff the internal audit came into
contact with during the completion of this audit project.
The following are the DPS Office of Internal Audit observations noted during the audit project:
Risk Rating defined:
High/Unacceptable risk requiring immediate corrective action;
Moderate/Undesirable risk requiring future corrective action;
Low/Minor risk that management should assess for potential action.

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Observations

Risk Rating
High Moderate

Observation 1 - Monitoring use of DPS vehicles for propriety

and accurately charge mileage costs against work orders.

Observation 2 - Noncompliance with work rules for lunch

breaks with the Maintenance Division.

Observation 3 - Deficiencies in reporting, tracking, and

approval of transportation over/extra time.

Observation 4 - Personal use of DPS vehicles at the

Transportation Division against Board Policy.

Observation 5 - Personal use of DPS bus vehicles causing

excess mileage and wear on vehicles.

Observation 6 - Proper bus driver procedures before and after

each route to care and maintain the condition of DPS bus
vehicles.

Observation 7 - Congestion of improper bus parking and idling

at the transportation parking lot causing concerns of safety.

Observation 8 - Closing work orders in a timely manner needs

improvements, in particular during peak season.

Observation 9 - General observations on the cleanliness of the

transportation facilities and maintaining proper safety equipment.

Low

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Observations

Risk Rating
High Moderate

Low

Observation 10 - Itemized purchase orders go unfilled or

unreceived for 80 days can cause procedural issues and limit the
access of such budgeted funds.

Observation 11 - Internal controls should mitigate the purchase

of unallowable expenditures that could have been deemed an
improper public purpose. One unallowable expenditure was
identified during the testing of Purchase-Card transactions.

Observation 12 - Unforeseen limitations of purchasing

inventory of parts at the mechanics garage causing inefficiencies

Observation 13 - Storage of pallets on warehouse shelving

causing safety concerns.

Observation 14 - Strategic planning for the District's storage

capacity and the current capacity of the District's warehouse.

Observation 15 - The District missed the opportunity to

reinstate the indirect cost rate reimbursement from the nutrition
services fund since fiscal year 2013.

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Audit Objectives
The objectives of the audit were to:

Review work order completion turnaround time to determine acceptable levels and
examine instances of higher than expected turnaround time;
Review carryover encumbrances from prior fiscal year and review timeframe for unfilled
purchase orders;
Determine if accountability exists for excess old inventory;
Determine that sufficient controls exist over food service sales and ensure receipts are
adequately safeguarded and reconciled;
Determine best practices for use of excess funds in the Food Service Fund (enterprise
fund);
Evaluate the use of District vehicles for personal use;
Determine if excess miles driven or timeframes bus drivers are sitting idle dont cause
overtime hours;
Evaluate for efficiencies in the level of vehicles available for maintenance and grounds
divisions;
Determine reasonableness of reported hours worked with actual hours reported doing the
work; and
Confirm accuracy and completeness of calculations to provide the state minimum
transportation to those students who live 2.0 miles or more from their base school.

Audit Scope
The scope of the audit covered operations commencing July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016.
Additional walkthroughs and observations occurred from July 2016 through September 2016.
The DPS Office of Internal Audit established the scope of the audit to include the review of
operational aspects of the processes and evaluation of internal control environments as they
relate to the audit objectives outlined.
Methodologies
To successfully accomplish the stated objectives, the DPS Office of Internal Audit performed the
following tasks as related to those objectives:

Reviewed Dayton Public Schools Board of Education policies and union bargaining
agreements;
Interviewed key DPS employees to document significant processes and procedures;
Tested a sample of work orders in areas with higher levels of significance of internal
controls and inherent risk;
Tested timeframe to close outstanding purchase orders at the end of the fiscal year and
evaluated for efficiencies;
Documented processes to limit significant inventory levels and minimize excess old
inventory;

Page 4

Test a sample of food service receipts and observe cafeteria sales;

Observed and monitored the use of DPS buses and vehicles during a selected timeframe;
Tested a sample of purchase card transactions for proper internal controls and compliance
with policies;
Documented monitoring procedures over employee hours reported; and
Documented supporting calculations if DPS provided state minimum transportation to
students.

Background
The DPS Department of Operations is comprised of the following functional areas:
Custodial Operations
Facilities Maintenance
Grounds Care
Logistical Support Services
Nutritional Services
Safety and Security
Transportation
The Departments overall budget for fiscal year 2016 is $31,331,222 or roughly 8% of the total
Districts appropriations (not including a $12,171,640 budget in nutritional services which is an
enterprise fund).
The following statistics outline the 2015-2016 fiscal year Operation Departments services
provided to DPS:
115 Custodians with 25 substitutes and 16 grounds workers take care of 31 academic,
administration, and service buildings totaling 2,854,415 square feet;
15 Logistical support workers deliver meals, inter-mail, accepting deliveries of purchase
orders, and other delivery of items;
36 Skilled workers maintain the districts facilities including capital, corrective and
preventative maintenance, and repairs as necessary;
28 Food service managers, 82 food preparers, and 8 support/administration employees
serve 18,313 meals daily and 1,645 additional meals outside of DPS;
27 Security Resource Officers, 3 safety liaisons, and 4 administrators while all are
certified and licensed for safety and security at school buildings and DPS events;
252 transportation employees are responsible for transporting 11,538 students daily on
148 buses.

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Findings and Recommendations

Observation No. 1
During the observations and documentation of monitoring procedures over DPS vehicle use, the
maintenance, grounds, safety and security, logistics, transportation administration, and nutrition
services vehicles do not have GPS units installed in the vehicle to monitor the use of DPS
vehicles. Therefore, alternative monitoring steps must be taken that could be time consuming.
Current practice does not confirm miles driven a day compared to where work-orders or job
assignments where employees are to be working. Management is anticipating in the near future
to utilize the current work-order software system to charge and track vehicle miles to each work
order to enforce efficiency efforts and minimize the risks of employees working on other
business activities not related to DPS while still getting paid. In addition, this system could
support monitoring excess charge times or non-charge times.
Recommendation
Because it is difficult to monitor the vast fleet of DPS vehicles throughout the District with
limited supervisory resources, it is recommended GPS units to be installed on all DPS vehicles.
The use of GPS systems is an efficient option when monitoring a significant number of vehicles.
It will require designated user(s) to monitor the software for compliance. It is recommended the
Operations Department propose not only the cost of the GPS device, but also propose written
monitoring procedures to enforce accountability with the DPS policies.

Observation No. 2
Current work rules for the maintenance division outline the work hours between 7:30am and
4:00pm with a 30 minute lunch including travel time to and from lunch. Additionally, a 10
minute break in the first half of their shift and another 10 minute break in the second half of their
work shift are permissible. However, during observations and monitoring of DPS vehicle use, it
was noted 22 of 44 (50%) observations of maintenance vehicles, during a 5 week period, took a
lunch break between 43 minutes and 87 minutes including travel. In addition, there was one
observed instance where a vehicle was driven home for a lunch break within the allowable 30
minute lunch rules. However, the work rules do not explicitly outline if vehicles can be used to
drive home for lunch opposed to driving to restaurants for lunch.
Recommendation
It is recommended management review current practices regarding lunch procedures for the
maintenance division to determine how to improve the compliance of such rules and/or consider
increasing the designated lunch time to an hour while increasing the work day to create a full 8
hour work day. In addition, the work rules direct Vehicles may only be taken home when
approved in advance by management and it does not explicitly consider vehicles taken home for
lunch breaks. Management should consider including a section in the work rules or communicate
to the maintenance division whether or not vehicles are allowed to be taken home for lunch
breaks.
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Observation No. 3
As a result of the audit procedures regarding overtime hours in the Transportation Division, there
appears to be areas of current practices that could be improved. The following areas were noted
during the testing of a sample of high level bus driver overtime hours:

The current practice of paying bus drivers 2 hours for cancelled assignments does not
appear to be included in the transportation bargaining agreement.
The current practice of paying bus drivers for their full regular route time after the DPS
school year ended only for drivers that transport community schools who are still in
session. Therefore, those drivers continue to get paid for DPS routes even after the DPS
school year ended causing extra hours and overtime hours for roughly 5 10 days.
Two instances noted the bus drivers were paid for Trip Tracker requests in which the
driver was already scheduled on another trip during the same timeframes. Therefore, the
two drivers were paid roughly 3.2 4 hours over the actual time worked.
The current practice of transporting athletic events and trips within the District pays for
drivers to wait at the event until transportation is needed to return to the original
destination instead of returning to the bus garage during the event. This practice causes
excess hours and overtime. The transportation bargaining agreement does require a
guaranteed minimum of two hours for drivers required to work on a Saturday or Sunday
assignment.
The current practice pays bus drivers based on routed hours. In addition, if a driver picksup a portion of another route during the day, the driver is paid that portion of the
estimated route hours that were picked-up for that day. However, there were several cases
during the audit testing where a bus driver would pick-up numerous routes getting paid
based on the estimated route times and roughly getting paid 14 15 hours per day when
the actual time cards show 11 11.25 hours of actual time worked per day.
Four instances noted the bus driver did not pick up any students as identified as a oneway trip and reported to the pickup site roughly 3 4 hours before the event ends.
One instance was noted an incorrect estimated departure time on the Trip Tracker request
causing a four hour extra paid time for the bus driver.
Four instances noted the bus driver reported to the trip pickup location roughly 1 1.75
hours earlier than Trip Trackers estimate departure time and reported excess time
roughly an hour after returning to the bus garage.
One of the sampled cases paid a bus driver for four hours of OBI training on top of the
regular bus route hours even though there was a two hour early dismissal and no training
occurred that day. The current practice is to pay OBI trainers for actual hours worked.

Recommendation
It is recommended the District review each issue noted above to determine the proper resolution.
Some items to consider include: 1) Possible additional clarification or communications in the
Transportation Bargaining Agreement; 2) Implement the time and attendance feature on Synovia
GPS units requiring drivers to swipe their IDs on the bus [The District already invested
significant money installing these card readers in all buses]; 3) Continually evaluate the bus
routes estimate times to determine significant decrease/increase and whether reassignments are
necessary; and 4) Hold the bus trip requestor accountable for incorrect estimate departure times.
Page 7

Observation No. 4
During two weeks of observations of the transportation divisions DPS vehicles, there was
excess personal use of these DPS vehicles. This includes driving directly to lunch and back
without being in the field, driving home, or even running errands during lunch breaks. This is a
violation of Board Policy file EEBA, which states District-owned or leased vehicles are to be
used for District business only, unless personal use is included as part of the employees
compensation package. This can cause noncompliance with State and Federal taxation laws if
determined the identified personal use of DPS vehicles should have been reported as a taxable
fringe benefits.
Recommendation
As recommended above, the use of GPS devices on all DPS vehicles will help with efficiencies
in monitoring the personal use of DPS vehicles and enforce disciplinary actions for
noncompliance. In addition, routine communications and reminders to all DPS employees will
help maximize the understanding that the use of DPS vehicles for personal use is strictly
prohibited and will lead to disciplinary actions.

Observation No. 5
Of the 18 sampled school bus drivers, 7 (39%) drivers had utilized the bus for personal use
deemed to be unacceptable in accordance with Board Policy file EEBA. In many of the cases, the
driver had utilized the bus for personal use more than once. The following outlines the severity
of each of the 7 bus drivers found to be in noncompliance to Board policy during the 2015-2016
fiscal year:
Sample #1: Significant - 20 instances or more
Sample #2: Moderate - greater than 5 but less than 20 instances
Sample #3: Moderate - greater than 5 but less than 20 instances
Sample #4: Moderate - greater than 5 but less than 20 instances
Sample #5: Significant - 20 instances or more
Sample #6: Minimally - 5 instances or less
Sample #7: Significant - 20 instances or more
From other audit work testing:
Sample A: Minimally 5 instances or less
Sample B: Significant 20 instances or more
Sample C: Significant 20 instances or more
Recommendation
All DPS school bus vehicles have GPS units installed. However, it is unclear of the
responsibilities for management to monitor and routinely review bus vehicle history to determine
if noncompliance or other unacceptable activity has occurred. It is recommended specific written
job duties and training for designated employee(s) to monitor the GPS activity of bus vehicles.

Page 8

Observation No. 6
During observations at the bus garage, it appears some drivers are not completing the pre-route
and post-route checks on bus transportation vehicles. Ohio Administrative Code 3301-83-11
states Daily inspection of the school bus is the responsibility of each school bus driver to
complete and document a daily pre-trip inspection of the school bus before transporting
students. This also includes a post trip check. Per inquiries, some drivers let fluid levels
constantly run low, as indication on the dash panel, prior to letting the transportation mechanics
know of the issue and causing severe damage to bus engines. In addition, many bus windows or
front doors were left open allowing rain to enter the vehicles which could lead to rust damage
and diminish the useful life of the vehicle.
Recommendation
It is recommended management routinely monitor and observe bus drivers to be accountable for
pre-trip and post-trip inspection check lists. The Ohio Administrative Code does allow DPS to
designate other qualified individuals to complete portions of the stationary inspection in lieu of
the school bus driver. To minimize the monitoring of numerous bus drivers, DPS could designate
a small group of individuals to be responsible for all bus inspections.

Observation No. 7
During the observations of the transportation bus parking lot, several bus drivers tend to start the
bus and then park them in front of the break room entrance idling until they leave. There are
several buses parked in this location to the extent where bus drivers could not back their bus out
of the bus ports. Although this is an efficiency issue, this is also a safety concern for drivers
walking in between those idling buses while other buses narrowly drive by. In addition,
excessive idling wastes fuel and when idling this close to the building could cause toxic air to
circulate into the facility resulting in unsafe health conditions, especially near the mechanics
garage overhead doors. Lastly, excess idling causes inefficiencies by clogging diesel particulate
filters and requiring immediate resolution to regenerate these filters that may lead to delays in
bus driver routes.
Recommendation
It is recommended the District investigate whether this parking lot area of concern is a fire lane.
In addition, it is recommended the District create a policy and communicate that all buses are to
be parked in a parking spot at the transportation division and not in front of entrances and exists
to minimize the congestion and improve the safety of those walking through the parking lot.

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Observation No. 8
After testing work order completion for Transportation, Logistics, and Maintenance Divisions, it
appears the logistical support division is fairly good at closing work orders within a reasonable
time. The maintenance division has improved. However, there is indication the maintenance
division needs continual improvements to decrease work order completion time frames as the
fiscal year progresses. The transportation division needs improvements in closing work orders
during peak season. By utilizing the last date that labor hours were charged to work orders by
mechanics instead of stated work order completion date, the average number of days to complete
work orders appear more reasonable. This is indication the transportation division is not timely
closing work orders during peak season at the beginning of the fiscal year.
Recommendation
The Operations Department is aware of the issue. The summer months are very busy for
maintenance and transportation mechanics. The Department should consider hiring a Work
Order Coordinator position to maintain up-to-date and accurate work order system(s) instead of
paying skilled trades workers at a premium rate to maintain the work orders.

Observation No. 9
During walkthroughs of the transportation mechanics garage, general observations were noted
that the District should consider. The cleanliness of the restrooms and break room in the
mechanics division are unacceptable. There was severe dirt built up on the HVAC system that
could cause failure of the HVAC unit if preventative maintenance is not completed. In fact the
HVAC system failed one week after the audit observations during late July 2016 in the
Transportation facilities. In addition, there was no eye wash equipment where the emergency eye
wash system was located. This could lead to be a possible violation of OSHAA safety
regulations and should be investigated and corrected immediately. Also, the cleanliness of the
parking lot and entrance to the mechanics garage are unacceptable. Observations noted bolts and
screws lying on the parking lot that could cause damage to the DPS vehicles tires and result in
costly tire repairs.
Recommendation
An improvement plan shall be coordinated with the maintenance and operations department
supervisors in order to resolve the cleanliness of the facilities. Preventative maintenance on
HVAC systems is imperative. It is recommended management propose an improvement plan for
ensuring preventative maintenance on the HVAC systems District-wide is appropriately
scheduled and completed timely. In addition, the mechanics garage daily closing procedures
should include a daily pickup of items near the garage entrances that could cause damage to the
DPS vehicles.

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Observation No. 10
Of the $694,889.53 prior period carryover encumbrances in the Operations Department as of
6/30/2015, 71% ($493,247.62) reflects itemized purchase orders placed with vendors over two
and a half months that have not been received per BusinessPlus as of 9/18/2015. Roughly 5 of
the 14 itemized purchase orders were never used and subsequently disencumbered. This is an
indication that either the Operations Department received the items ordered, but failed to submit
the receiving documents (e.g. packing slips, shipping notices, etc.) to the appropriate department
manager or supervisor so that the items delivered can be "received in BusinessPlus, or the
vendors failed to deliver the items ordered. In either case these purchase orders are still being
reported as open in BusinessPlus as of 9/18/2015, with each having an age of well over 80 days.
The delivery time for an order placed with a vendor should not exceed 30 days, which is the
maximum period. The 30 day period includes orders that are backlogged or back ordered.
Of the prior period carryover encumbrances, 29% ($201,641.91) of the $694,889.53 reflects
blanket purchase orders that are scheduled and in fact closed by October 1st, 2015, because they
will have reached the 90 day limit placed on the life of blanket purchase orders by the Treasurer's
Office. However, if any portion of the $201,641.91 blanket purchase orders carried over from
prior year that reflects amounts invoiced but not paid shall remain open until paid.
Recommendation
It is not acceptable for itemized purchase orders to go unfilled or unreceived for 80 days. It is an
indication of poor vendor customer relations or poor management of the procurement function at
the department level. An itemized purchase order that has gone unfilled for 30 days (maximum
deliver time) should be evaluated to determine whether the purchase order should be closed and
a new purchase order issued to a different vendor who can fill the order in a timely manner, if the
item is still needed. This will prevent the Operations Department from having more than one
purchase order opened at the same time to purchase an item that had been previously ordered but
not received (i.e. vendor failed to fill the previous order). This will also increase the
unencumbered budget balance by relieving the purchase order of the amount encumbered, which
reduces the amount encumbered in the budget. If the issue is that the Operations Department
personnel are not submitting receiving documents (i.e. packing slips or shipping notices) to the
appropriate department manager or supervisor in a timely manner, then vendors will not get paid
in a timely manner, since the items delivered have not been received in the BusinessPlus, which
initiates the payment process for itemized purchase orders.

Page 11

Observation No. 11
As a result of the testing of Purchase-Card transactions through the Operations Department, one
unallowable expenditure that could have been deemed an improper public purpose was identified
and was subsequently reimbursed by the employee immediately after the audit found the issue.
The internal controls over Purchase-Card transactions appear to be in place and operating as
intended. However, this purchase should have been mitigated during the Purchase-Card
approval/reconciliation process and management needs to scrutinize these expenditures
thoroughly to mitigate personal purchases by their employees.
Recommendation
Although this rarely occurred, it is recommended all inventory items acquired through PurchaseCard transactions to be assigned to a work order and tracked in the work order software system.
In addition, management shall be diligent and trained to determine improper purchases during
the Purchase-Card approval and monthly reconciliation process.

Observation No. 12
The purchasing process for inventory of parts at the transportation mechanics garage is
inefficient with the current practice and approval flow. Purchase requisitions are requested by the
lead mechanic from vendor quotes and approved through various supervisors and management
prior to a purchase order being prepared. This process has been found to be lengthy due to
supervisors needing to drive buses for uncovered routes and causing management to handle the
supervisors duties. This in hand results in approving purchase orders as a secondary priority and
functioning inefficient. In addition, purchase orders are created for $4,999 or less so they do not
need to be approved by the DPS Board. However, this also creates a vast amount of purchase
orders and heavier load for the Treasurers accounts payable department. In addition, purchase
requisitions are being requested a month or two ahead of time to anticipate the consistent lengthy
time to obtain some purchase orders.
Recommendation
It is recommended management shall review and improve the current purchasing practice for the
mechanics division. Management should designate an employee or consider bringing on board a
Business Manager/Purchasing Clerk of which purchase order requisitions is a primary job duty
to enhance the processing times and improve accountability of financial operations within the
transportation division. One option to consider is the purchase department could setup open
purchase orders for the mechanics garage at an amount to cover a certain period, monthly or
quarterly, to allow the ability to acquire inventory parts as needed and reduce the volume of
purchase orders needed to be created by the Treasurers Department.

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Observation No. 13
During the observations of the Operations Department warehouse, there are some safety
concerns with the storage of pallets on the warehouse shelving. It was noted several pallets of
boxes on the top shelves were not securely wrapped with plastic to minimize the possibility of
falling boxes. One pallet appeared to be broken causing the boxes on it to severely lean with the
boxes nearly falling as they were not wrapped securely with plastic. This could be a potential
safety liability to DPS.
Recommendation
It is recommended the District review and enforce safety standards in storing pallets of inventory
on shelving. All boxes stored on shelving shall be securely wrapped with plastic to minimize the
shifting and leaning of the boxes in order to minimize the possibility of falling boxes.

Observation No. 14
During the observations of the Operations Department warehouse, there is very minimal capacity
for additional storage at this location. If the District chooses to sell their unused facilities that are
being used as overflow storage, the District will be limited in alternative options for storage
locations. The secured student records caged area is at capacity and management is currently
assessing options against the costs for resolving this capacity issue. In addition, there are a few
areas in the warehouse that could be reorganized to maximize the capacity of storage.
Recommendation
It is recommended the District review the strategic plans for storage capacity, especially if the
District intends to sell the unused facilities that are being used as overflow storage. The District
should embrace strategic plans in place to be proactive to limited warehouse and storage
facilities instead of being reactive to situations at hand.

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Observation No. 15
The District has not charged the nutrition services federal program indirect costs in the past due
to minimal fund balance and financial hardship of the nutrition services fund. In addition, the
general fund advanced a total of $2,670,516 to the nutrition services fund from fiscal year 2006
through fiscal year 2009. The nutrition services fund balance recovered in fiscal year 2013.
However, the District did not establish charging the indirect cost rate for nutrition services
program at that time and the District missed the opportunity to reimburse the general fund these
indirect costs for several years now. Since fiscal year 2013 through 2015 the District could have
reimbursed the general fund roughly $764,000 for indirect costs associated with the nutrition
services fund.
Recommendation
It is recommended the District prospectively implement the practice of charging the nutrition
services fund the annual indirect cost rate to reimburse the general fund for such costs.
Additionally, the District shall review actual costs directly associated with the operations of the
nutrition services department that could be charged to the fund and is currently not being
charged.

Management Responses
The Operations Department Management has the following responses for each observation:

Observation No. 1 Management has an inventory of 25 new GPS units already on hand
and further research will be needed to determine funding for the remaining GPS units in
order to install on DPS vehicles.
Observation No. 2 During a scheduled department meeting, management reminded
personnel, within the Maintenance Division, of the proper use of DPS vans and the work
rules must be followed.
Observation No. 3 Many of the current practices related to bus driver compensation are
the result of managements compliance with the bus driver collective bargaining
agreement. Contract modifications have been proposed during the last several contract
negotiation sessions, however DPS has been unsuccessful in modifying the agreement
related to bus driver compensation including route hours, overtime, extra duty, field trips,
clock-ins per day, employee leave, etc.
One way field trips are utilized when possible to reduce driver extra time and overtime.
On a one way, one driver delivers the students to the event, while a second driver picks
them up at event conclusion.

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It is believed personal relationships exist between some bus drivers and athletic staff
causing the athletic field trip requestor to add time before and after an event. The DPS
Athletic Director has been supportive of the process change allowing Transportation to
determine the arrival and departure times for events, e.g., athletic personnel may request
a bus arrive 90 minutes before the scheduled departure to allow for equipment and
personnel loading which may in actuality take only 20 minutes.

Implementation of the Synovia GPS ridership function will allow more accurate data on
who rides the bus out of those routed. Transportation currently relies on the bus drivers to
communicate actual riders as opposed to routed riders. Synovia would provide an actual
student rider count allowing DPS routers to remove non-riders from the route and gain
additional efficiencies.
Observation No. 4 As mentioned in Observation No. 1 above, management is working
on a plan to acquire the GPS units in order to monitor the usage of DPS vehicles in the
most efficient manner. Additional training and communications are also necessary to
ensure personnel are aware of the proper procedures. Management has disciplined those
employees identified as using DPS vehicles for personal use.
Observation No. 5 Due to the demand for bus drivers, the transportation supervisors are
having to drive buses for uncovered routes and limiting the availability to monitor the
GPS activities. Therefore, if an issue is brought to the attention of management, then the
GPS activity is investigated to resolve the issue. Supervisors need to be in their office to
have the available time to monitor GPS activity routinely instead of reactively
investigating issues brought up to management. In addition, the Business Operations
Work Rules contain the statement that unauthorized stops in DPS vehicles are not
permitted. Management will be recommunicate this work rule to all department
employees.
Observation No. 6 Management at the Transportation Division discussed the bus
drivers union representatives at the last two labor/management meetings, increasing the
route times for ~10-15 drivers to eight hours so they can come in early each morning and
check the bus fluid levels. This does not release the bus driver assigned to the bus from
performing the complete pre trip, but it will allow the transportation mechanics to learn
of potential problems more timely.
Observation No. 7 Leaving an idling bus unattended on the Transportation lot for an
extended period of time is a violation of Transportation work rules, as well as the ORC
and ODE idling guidelines. Management will remind transportation personnel to park in
designated parking spots and not allow their buses to idle for extended periods of time.
Observation No. 8 Maintenance, Grounds and Operations have a backlog of work
orders for which the work has been completed but the work order has not been updated
with completion information and closed. Six clerical positions in Operations Department
have been abolished over the past 10 years and the responsibility for closing work orders
has unfavorably been placed on each maintenance foreman. This is not a cost effective
practice because of the disparity in pay rates and each foremans responsibility to
oversee, coordinate, and complete corrective and preventive maintenance. The
Department is in need of a full-time work order clerk to handle the TMA service tickets
which would also help improve the monitoring of material usage on each work order

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Observation No. 9 Areas within the Transportation facilities require a thorough

cleaning. In speaking with the custodian before school started, it became apparent he
required custodial training. The dirt on the HVAC diffuser is the result of dirty air in the
garage and transportation environment being pulled into the fresh air intakes and was not
the cause of the HVAC failure noted in this report. TMA contains preventive
maintenance plans for all equipment in both new and legacy buildings. Preventive
maintenance outlined in TMA far exceeds the budget allocated or collected via the
property tax levy restricted for Classroom Facilities Maintenance. The Ohio Facilities
Construction Commission directed preventive maintenance plan includes items that are a
low priority and should not be completed until the piece being maintained has failed, e.g.,
changing out a light switch cover every five years, even if it is not dirty, broken or
requires replacement.
Observation No. 10 Management acknowledges that the department needs to improve
on closing purchase orders in a timely manner and the need for monitoring purchase
orders open for over 30 days is essential. Management is investigating all open
encumbrances.
Observation No. 11 Management is aware that this feature of the work order system is
not fully operational in order to specifically directly charge purchase card transactions to
work orders. This project will be added in a strategic plan to implement a stronger work
order monitoring system.
Observation No. 12 Management will work with the DPS Purchasing Department to
minimize disruptions in the acquisitions process and improve the timeliness while
maintaining proper approval flow of purchasing inventory items at the mechanics garage.
High dollar blanket purchase orders requiring Board approval were issued at the
beginning of the school year to vendors who are in one of the purchasing cooperatives to
which DPS is a member or who are the successful bidder on Invitation for Bids.
Management will review all open encumbrances to determine annual volume and seek
Board approval as required.
Observation No. 13 Management has corrected the noted safety issue and will be more
attentive for storing pallets that could lead to a safety hazard.
Observation No. 14 Management recommends the Treasurers department investigate
the electronic storage of student records. Student files should be purged of documents not
required by the State to be retained, then scanned and stored electronically for access by
appropriate DPS personnel as required. Previous discussions indicate the State still
requires hard copy student files be retained. In this event, it is recommended files be
stored off site at a secure facility after they are scanned to allow for the most current files
to be stored in the Logistics Division.
Observation No. 15 The District will begin to charge the indirect cost rate plan to the
nutrition services program during fiscal year 2017 in accordance with the Ohio
Department of Education Indirect Cost Recovery Plan instructions. Additional research
will be completed to determine if other direct costs could be charged to the nutrition
services program. In order to be financially responsible, the department shall propose a
policy limiting the possibility of putting the nutrition services fund back in financial
hardship and only allowing indirect costs to be charged to an extent that funds are above
an acceptable level for future operations expenses.

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