Ohio auditor attempts to recoup mishandled funds

The state of Ohio has lost about $72 million due to mishandled or missing funds since it began tracking the statistics in 2001, the Springfield Sun-News reports. Of that amount, only around $12 million has been paid back, sparking many officials to uncover other ways of recouping the funds, such as hiring a debt recovery service, through the state's attorney general's office or even announcing debts via traditional media outlets.  "Stick their names in the newspaper," former Dayton school board member Clayton Luckie told the news source. "Stick their board members' names in the newspaper, if they belong to a charter school or any entity, and let folks know we need to recoup those monies." State auditor Dave Yost found that some cases end up never closing, because the massive backlog of debts lets debtors wait out the six-year statute of limitations. One of the largest findings of mishandled funds was at Dayton-area charter school Richard Allen Academy. Yost found nearly $930,000 had been misappropriated for "booze, missing money, missing records and self-dealing." Deeper investigation also found that school board members were overpaid for attendance at board meetings.