No deficiencies in Wahluke School District audit

MATTAWA — An audit of the Wahluke School District didn’t find any deficiencies in the district’s federal program management or its financial reporting. It was the second straight deficiency-free audit for the district.

Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said that was due to WSD’s financial staff.

“I continue to be impressed with (Gabriela) Chacon, our finance director, and her team’s hard work, growth and commitment to implementing and sustaining fiscal systems,” Harlow wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald.

The audit report reviewed the district’s compliance with federal and state school meal programs and its migrant education grants as well as its financial statements.

“We reported no deficiencies in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting that we consider to be significant deficiencies,” the report said. “We identified no deficiencies that we consider to be material weaknesses.”

There were no deficiencies or material weaknesses in Wahluke’s management of its federal programs either, it said.

“It’s the second year in a row with a clean audit, not even a management letter,” Harlow said.

The audit covered the 2024-25 school year.

In some previous years auditors did find what they considered inadequate financial management, which resulted in areas that auditors said needed to be fixed. Previous audits determined that the district, in the opinion of the auditors, didn’t always track expenses effectively and in some cases failed to follow proper procedures.

All the previously identified deficiencies have been corrected, which auditors acknowledged in the 2023-24 audit report. Harlow said that over the last few years WSD officials reviewed its accounting procedures and made changes where they were needed.

“Continual commitment to stay focused on our procedures. If something breaks down, we don’t freak out – it’s, ‘where did the system break down,’ and looking at the system to try to fix it,” Harlow said in an earlier interview. “The second thing is, continued professional development.”

The auditors credited district officials for their work during the meeting that reviewed the results, Harlow said.

“Our lead auditor (said), ‘This has been a complete 180 (degree turn) from when I was here three years ago. It’s been a really remarkable turnaround.’ This is obviously extremely exciting for our finance team and district,” Harlow said.