Okolona School Board - State Auditor Called In
Mississippi's state superintendent told the State Board of Education that findings from a financial report on the Okolona School District have been turned over to the Mississippi State Auditor's office.
At the board's Sept. 18 meeting in Jackson, Lance Evans, identified as state superintendent from the board chairman's later reference to "Dr. Evans," said during his superintendent's report that the Mississippi Department of Education met with the auditor's office after the board's previous meeting. "We also had a meeting with the state auditor's office following our previous board meeting to discuss some of the findings in the Okalona financial report and we've handed those over to the the state auditor's office for them to do what they choose to do with those findings uh moving forward," Evans said, according to the meeting recording. The district's name appeared in the transcript as "Okalona."
Evans did not detail the specific findings in the report during the meeting, nor did he specify a timeline for any further action. It is not clear from the meeting what prompted the original financial report or what it covered.
The referral means two state authorities — the Department of Education and the State Auditor's office — are now both examining the same district's finances. What the underlying findings actually show, and whether the Auditor's office pursues any formal action, remains unresolved. Mississippi State Board of Education members did not ask follow-up questions about the referral during the portion of the meeting captured in the report. No additional details on the findings or the district's response were available.