Treasurer reports counterfeit check caught, county tax-rate correction in Cuyahoga Heights finances

At its March 2 meeting, the Cuyahoga Heights Local Board of Education heard from the district treasurer about a counterfeit check that was stopped by bank controls and a separate county tax-rate correction that the district will continue to monitor.

The treasurer told the board the district’s positive-pay system flagged a check with an incorrect address, an out-of-sequence check number and a signature that did not match district records. The treasurer said the district contacted Huntington Bank and filed a police report with the Cuyahoga Heights Police Department; Huntington Bank returned $5,199 to the district, and no funds were lost. “Because we identified the counterfeit fraud check quickly, no loss of funds occurred to the district,” the treasurer reported.

The treasurer also read an email from the bank confirming the reversal and urging continued vigilance. He described the incident as part of a broader trend of increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts — including emails that try to spoof staff and vendor requests — and urged staff to verify exceptions and preserve controls.

Separately, the treasurer summarized recent budget-commission minutes about an evaluation error that affected tax year 2024. According to his account, the county corrected the issue with omitted taxes while the state corrected rates for tax year 2025, creating a double correction that the county now plans to unwind. The treasurer said county fiscal staff plan to remove omitted taxes placed on class-two parcels and instead correct only the levies needing adjustment, and that the district’s legal counsel will review the county’s corrections before final numbers are released. He said the aim is to have corrections reflected in the second-half bills the county must prepare for the next billing cycle.

Board members thanked staff for catching the counterfeit check and for the detailed update on tax-rate corrections. The treasurer’s presentation was part of a block of consent and information items the board approved by roll call earlier in the meeting.