HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The West Perry School District in Perry County short-changed itself over half a million dollars in state busing reimbursements according to an announcement from Auditor General Timothy DeFoor on Thursday.

“Our audits help to make sure school districts are properly reimbursed for transportation costs, which helps to reduce burdens on local taxpayers,” DeFoor said. “We truly don’t want to see any school district leave a half-million dollars of state funds on the table.”

According to DeFoor, the district made numerous errors from July 2015 through June 2019 in reporting student transportation costs to the state, altogether shorting itself $533,441 less than it was eligible to receive.

“It’s essential for school districts to have strong internal controls that help to prevent such errors,” DeFoor added. “Every dollar counts.”

In its response, West Perry officials outlined a series of actions the district will take to correct its tracking, calculating and reporting of transportation costs.

Click here to review the West Perry School District audit report.