Francis Howell School District rated 'poor' in Missouri audit over financial missteps

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - A new Missouri state audit gives the Francis Howell School District the lowest possible rating of "poor" over construction costs of the new Francis Howell North High School.

The audit cited transparency failures and mismanagement of taxpayer funds as key factors behind an unexpected spike in construction costs, with a final price tag that nearly doubled original plans.

The audit says that the high school's projected cost of $86 million increased to nearly $164 million.

"We responded to public calls for a state audit with the goal of giving taxpayers a better understanding of what happened with the construction of the new high school and with the goal of providing district officials recommendations to ensure these types of mistakes aren't repeated," said Missouri Auditor Scott Fizpatrick via a news release on the audit.

Construction on the new high school building began in 2021. The facility opened doors last August, replacing the high school's original campus from 1983.

The audit reported flawed cost estimates, construction lapses, questionable hiring practices, and various conflicts of interest in connection with the high school's construction.

Fitzpatrick says these issues led to the abandonment of 71 planned projects totaling $56 million.

The audit also found that the district overstated student attendance, which led to the district receiving $11,500 in excess state funding for construction.

The audit further revealed that district officials failed to keep the school board public informed about cost updates, leading to the board making decisions with "insufficient knowledge or understanding of their financial impact." It also claimed one board member knew of updated cost estimates but withheld information, resulting in $38 million of approved contracts without full awareness of total costs.

"This lack of transparency violated the trust of the people and created serious doubts about the district's ability to manage projects of this scale in the future. However, the district's new leadership is already working to address the audit findings and put our recommendations into place as they try to restore the public's confidence in the district," said Fitzpatrick.

According to the audit, the district plans to update policies, develop compliance checklists and implement supervisory reviews in response to the findings.