Mo. auditor starting review of KC district's books

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee says her office is beginning to review the books of the cash-strapped Kansas City School District.

In a news conference on Sunday, Montee encouraged individuals with confidential information to contact her office.

The announcement comes as the district's superintendent, John Covington, prepares to present a final list Monday of schools he wants to close next year to eliminate a projected $50 million budget shortfall. As many as half of the schools in the district could be on the list.

Montee said last fall that she would begin the audit in Kansas City when her audit of the City of St. Louis ended.

Now that fieldwork in St. Louis is done, Montee has dispatched auditors to the Kansas City School District.