Hunter
05/12/26
A former chief financial officer for the Iowa City Community School District questioned the district’s finances months before school board members were informed of the crisis.
The Gazette reports information obtained through a public records request discovered Leslie Finger, who retired on June 30th, 2023, sent emails to his successor Adam Kurth, voicing concerns about $500,000 in federal tax penalty payments, questioning the absence of financial reports, and saying he was “confused” by the growth of the special education deficit by millions of dollars.
It does not appear that Kurth, who left the District in November, responded to the emails.
The Gazette also reports that Kurth misstated the district’s bond rating last may during a school board meeting. He told board members the bond rating was Aa, just below the highest Moody’s rating. However, Moodys revoked the bond rating about six months before that meeting.
Kurth told the board members that the bond rating had been temporarily withdrawn because an audit on the fiscal year 2023 had not been completed. That audit wasn’t completed until September 2025. Fiscal year 2024 and 2025 audits are still incomplete, with the 2026 fiscal year ending June 30th.
Finger is currently back with the district and assisting in catching up the reconciliations. He declined an interview with the Gazette, commenting that the emails speak for themselves.