Napa County Grand Jury • 2024-2025

A Tradition of Stewardship a Commitment to Service Napa County Civil Grand Jury

Published: March 21, 2025 15 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 6 findings

F1
Bond financing is the primary source of funding for addressing the capital needs of the Napa Valley Unified School District.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
NVUSD should maintain an ongoing campaign using multiple media outlets and distribution tools to inform stakeholders and the general public on the details and progress of the projects associated with bond fund allocations, and do so
F2
The NVUSD website is complex to navigate making it difficult to find bond financial data and reports.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Narrow bond measure election results strongly suggest that NVUSD should build community trust by proactively distributing information and updates to inform the general public on how bond funds are being allocated and used, and do so
F3
Charging NVUSD employee salaries against bond funds, while permissible in limited circumstances, may reduce public trust by contradicting public pledges and bond ballot language that states, “no funds for administrators”.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
NVUSD should continue its current practice to refrain from using bond funds for any district salaries, operating expenses or other administrative activities.
F4
NVUSD does not adequately inform the general public that the Citizen Bond Oversight Committees play critical roles in satisfying California’s Proposition 39 (2000), which requires school boards to establish independent oversight committees and conduct annual financial and performance audits until all bond funds have been spent.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
NVUSD should inform the general public about the role of bond oversight committees and actively encourage stakeholder groups, especially community members and parents of students, to participate on such committees, effective no later than 90 days after the publication of this 2024-2025 Napa County Civil Grand Jury report.
F5
NVUSD’s Citizen Bond Oversight Committees lack thorough and independent training on the roles, scope of work, relationship with school district personnel, and authority of its members.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
NVUSD should arrange for independent training of Citizen Bond Oversight Committees, starting with the new Measure B committee, and do so
F6
The creation and execution of NVUSD’s 2016-2025 Facilities Master Plan had only limited public participation. COMMENDATION The 2024-25 Napa County Civil Grand Jury commends the volunteer members of the NVUSD Bond Oversight Committees for their monitoring spending of Measure H and Measure A2 bond funds. Education Code § 17070.54. 13 | Pa ge
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
NVUSD should implement fully its existing facilities planning policy by establishing a Facilities Advisory Committee consisting of staff, parents/guardians, and business, local government, and other community representatives, and do so before a new Facilities Master Plan is created and no later than June 30, 2026.

Commendations 1

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Napa County County Superintendent of Schools Elected County Office
Napa Valley Unified School District School District