Dearest reader,
We have reached Step 5 of the Meridian Public Schools ledger.
And this breadcrumb came with a sequel.
First, some important context: Meridian received an unmodified audit opinion.
But buried deeper in the audit reports is something taxpayers should see.
🚨 2024 — MATERIAL WEAKNESS
Auditors identified material journal-entry problems in the district's initial accounting records.
Among the errors:
💰 $2,150,000 in principal debt payments were incorrectly reported as interest expenditures.
💰 An $819,954 transfer was incorrectly reported as revenue in one fund and an expenditure in another.
The auditors concluded that the initial trial balance was materially misstated.
That alone deserves attention.
But then came 2025.
🚨 2025 — MATERIAL WEAKNESS
And the auditors put two particularly important words beside it:
REPEAT FINDING.
This time, principal debt payments were materially overstated in the initial general ledger by $110,551.
And when the auditors addressed the status of the previous year's finding?
"Finding repeated in FY 2025."
Dearest reader, mistakes happen.
That is precisely why audits and internal controls exist.
But when an auditor identifies a material weakness, management has an opportunity to correct it.
When the following year's audit identifies another material weakness and specifically calls it a REPEAT FINDING, taxpayers are entitled to ask what happened.
Especially when we are talking about the accounting of public money.
No speculation required.
Lady B didn't write the audit.
She simply read it. 🪶
With receipts and respect.
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