Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced today that his office has launched an audit of the Independence School District. The audit will examine the district’s finances and its overall performance in providing quality education to students.
The audit is part of Fitzpatrick’s plan to more regularly review the performance of schools throughout Missouri. Upon taking office in January 2023, Fitzpatrick noted that while schools are legally required to have financial audits annually, they rarely undergo audits evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of district operations. Although the State Auditor’s Office has the authority to perform such audits for the more than 500 school districts in Missouri, previous administrations averaged one school district audit per year. Some audits only occurred following a successful petition by district residents who gathered the minimum number of signatures required to trigger a state audit.
“Parents and taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are being used by their schools and to understand how district decisions impact their children’s education,” said Fitzpatrick. “We will thoroughly examine how the Independence School District is operating to provide parents with the information they deserve and make necessary recommendations on how the district can make their schools more efficient and effective for their students.”
The audit of the Independence School District brings the total number of school district audits currently in progress to three. Fitzpatrick and the State Auditor’s Office are already auditing the Kingston K-14 School District in Washington County and the Francis Howell R-III School District in St. Charles County.
