LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: Allerton Hill Consulting

  • Auditor of State’s criminal investigation and special audit of the Loveland City School District

    Auditor of State’s criminal investigation and special audit of the Loveland City School District

    There was insufficient evidence to meet the standards for recommending criminal charges

    (Read the District’s public response at the end of this story)

    Loveland, Ohio – The Special Investigations Unit of the Ohio Auditor of State has released the results of a criminal investigation and special audit of the Loveland City School District based on “improper spending of public funds”. The investigation began in March 2020, after receiving complaints from a District resident. It was alleged that the District used operating funds in support of a levy campaign. After reviewing information from interviews and preliminary examination of records, a special audit was undertaken by the Auditor.

    Background:

    Dr. Amy Crouse was Superintendent during this time and Kevin Hawley was the Treasurer. The Board President was Art Jarvis; also on the Board at the time was Eileen Washburn, Ned Portune, Michele Pettit, and Dr. Kathryn Lorenz.

    The District engaged in two one-year contracts with Allerton Hill Consulting (AHC), dated March 20, 2018 and March 19, 2019, to “assist with its communication needs and provide a strategic communication marketing and outreach plan”.

    The first contract, costing $73,000, included an agreement that AHC would conduct a “satisfaction” survey using a third-party pollster. A second contract cost $60,000 as it did not include an agreement that AHC would conduct a survey.

    The District summarily canceled the second contract on November 22, 2019. Among the objectives contained within each of these contracts, was a goal to “offer high-quality, long-term, strategic communications, marketing and outreach plan so the District is successful in future public initiatives”.

    “This intimates services provided to aid the passage of a tax levy”, according to the Auditor’s report.

    While there was no levy issue during the first contract period, the District did seek to pass ballot initiatives in both November 2019 and March 2020.

    The 2019 ballot initiative was to pursue a 16.78-mill combined operating and permanent improvement/bond levy including buying approximately 110-acres of land – part of a property known as Grailville. Proposed was a new campus at Grailville for all Pre-K through fifth-grade students and other District wide facility improvements.

    Pursuant to the initial AHC Contract, Fallon Research & Communications, Inc. (Fallon) was hired to conduct a survey in May 2018 of 303 randomly selected residents of the District. This contract cost $13,000 and was inadvertently paid twice by the District: once as part of the AHC contract and a second time directly to Fallon, resulting in a double-payment.

    Additionally, the District subsequently hired Fallon to conduct a survey in March 2019 of 301 registered voters at a cost of $15,000. The first survey contained two general questions regarding how the District spends funds received from tax payers, while the second survey contained three questions that appeared to the investigators “partially designed to aid in the passage of a levy”. These questions provided different funding scenarios with detailed millage options to gauge the likelihood of community support if placed on the ballot.

    Findings

    Based on the special audit procedures and investigation, the Auditor of State confirmed noncompliance as well as a double-payment of survey costs by the District.

    The audit report said, “We issued $13,000 in a finding for recovery for illegally spent funds as well as a management recommendation related to noncompliance regarding contracts partially advocating for the passage of a levy”

    The full details of the finding for recovery and management recommendation are located in the Appendix below.

    Prosecution

    At the conclusion of the special audit and investigation, the special audit results were reviewed by an Auditor of State attorney, who determined there was insufficient evidence to meet the standards for recommending criminal charges.

    ______________

    Loveland City School District’s public response

    Joint Statement regarding Ohio Auditor of State finding

    “Loveland City School District fully cooperated with the Auditor of State’s office and appreciates their work to ensure accuracy in financial reporting and district processes. The investigation relates to actions taken nearly six years ago under previous district leadership,” Loveland City School District Board of Education President Jonathan Eilert stated.

    “The current board and administration have reviewed and discussed the statutory requirements surrounding levies to mitigate future issues. I appreciate the Auditor of State resolving this matter with no penalties towards the district or the previous leadership,” Superintendent Mike Broadwater said.

    “The payment in question was resolved, to the district’s benefit, nearly three years ago.  The district has put into place processes and software to protect against errant payments and remains committed to fiscal responsibility,” Treasurer John Espy said.

  • Board of Ed cancels contract with Allerton Hill Consulting and enrolls in Ohio Open Checkbook

    Board of Ed cancels contract with Allerton Hill Consulting and enrolls in Ohio Open Checkbook

    Loveland, Ohio – On November 26 the Loveland Board of Education unanimously passed two motions in response to subjects that had been requested by voters who questioned the need for the operating and bond levy that the Board had placed on the November 5 ballot. The ballot issue was defeated by a 78-22% margin.

    The Board first voted to cancel the contract with Allerton Hill Consulting, the Columbus and Washington D.C. based consulting company the District hired to help with “messaging”. The contract was set to expire at the end of March, and Superintendent Amy Crouse said it would take 30 days to end the contract so it will end at the end of December. Crouse said the consultant has been working with the District for the last two years and were hired to help the District as they undertook big projects and to help support the Communications Director. She said Allerton Hill Consulting, increased social media presence, helped reduce costs in some mailings, and provided “structural support”.

    Before voting, Board member Ned Portune said, “It goes without saying I’ve not been satisfied with what we have gotten out of the Allerton Hill and I agree with the void of that contract.”

    Responding to Portune’s comment, Board member Eileen Washburn said, “I think that sums it up.”

    The second action was also a unanimous vote to participate in Ohio Open Checkbook. This will allow the public easier access to District spending.

    Treasurer Kevin Hawley said he hopes to get the most recent 12 months of data on-line in two weeks and then each month another year would be added. The Board discussed a target goal of having five years’ worth of data on the site by the end of 2019. The motion that passed said the District would participate in Open Checkbook and the Treasurer’s office will enter one-year’s worth of data within the next 2 weeks.

    Below is OPENGOV’s video demonstration of how Ohio Open Checkbook should work for District residents. The City of Loveland uses Open Checkbook and you can check it out HERE.

    Users can search by a specific department, date, vendor, or use the Google-style search bar, which will return any value in the report that matches the entered text. Keywords may be searched by simply clicking on the term – one of the most popular ways to explore the data.

    In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video, you can hear the discussion on these two motions. (From the bottom of the screen are Treasurer Kevin Hawley – Board member Eileen Washburn – Board Vice President Dr. Kathryn Lorenz – Board President Art Jarvis – Board member Ned Portune  – Board member Michele Pettit – Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse.)

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