Cuyama Joint Unified School District

Conclusions 14

• CL1
  The District Business Office staff members have not received annual performance reports.
• CL2
  The frequent turnover in the Superintendent position has created inefficiencies.
• CL3
  The Board of Trustees has not kept the Board Policies and Administrative Regulations current.
• CL4
  The District Business Office staff requires ongoing training on the specialized Escape software program and day-to-day duties.
• CL5
  Due to a lack of oversight and timely correction, multiple negative audit report findings recurred in succeeding years.
• CL6
  The Business Office staff relies routinely on the County Education Office School Business Advisory Service staff to provide notice of key events and dates.
• CL7
  Neither procedural guides nor cross-training for critical tasks exist in the District Business Office, creating disruptions when there are unexpected or extended absences.
• CL8
  The appropriate responsibilities of the District Business Office are not accurately reflected in the current job descriptions.
• CL9
  Disagree Wholly with an explanation
• CL10
  Disagree Partially with an explanation Responses to Recommendations shall be one of the following:
• CL11
  Has been implemented, with a brief summary of the implemented actions
• CL12
  Will be implemented, with an implementation schedule 5 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 2018-2019
• CL13
  Requires Further Analysis, with an explanation of the scope and parameters of an analysis or study and a completion date of less than 6 months after the issuance of this report
• CL14
  Will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable, with an explanation CUYAMA JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES - 90 Days Findings: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Observations 1

• OB1
  A major role of the five-member elected Board of Trustees is to make policy. Board members interviewed indicated there was an internal indifference to updating Board Policy and Administrative Regulations (Policies). A district official stated that the Policies are out of date and a plan has been initiated to revise them. Each month the Board now reviews updates presented by the Superintendent, which, when approved, are incorporated into the Policies. During the staff interviews, the Jury was advised that the District has experienced a high rate of turnover at the Superintendent position. The current Superintendent assumed the position on July 1, 2018. He was preceded by five superintendents since 2006. The last three superintendents, two of whom were part-time, served a total of four years.3 The Chief Business Officer (CBO) has served since July 2006. During the interview process with the Business Office staff members, the Jury learned that a calendar of significant events, such as key reports and due dates, does not exist. In one instance, the SBAS administrator reminded the District that a report requesting supplemental funding was due and the District risked not receiving entitled funds. Staff members in the DBO have requested additional training in the use and application of Escape, the integrated software program used by SBCEO, and in day-to-day duties. A SBAS staff member has been assigned to provide training on the software program. The Jury was informed that there is no cross-training of DBO employees to perform essential business office functions due to absences of any duration. When the Account Clerk (AC) abruptly 3 Cuyama Joint Unified School District Personnel Records 2 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 2018-2019 resigned, the CBO assumed responsibility for the payment of invoices. The lack of knowledge in processing invoices resulted in substantial late fees. Job descriptions provided by the District for the CBO and AC were reviewed. The current CBO job description was adopted in 1993, while the current AC job description was adopted in 1992, and neither has been updated. The District also provided the duties currently performed in each position. The Jury found job descriptions out-of-date. In particular, some current CBO functions are unrelated to fiscal responsibilities. The Business Office staff members were also asked if annual performance evaluations had been performed and provided to them. Staff members stated they could not recall when their last performance reviews were conducted. A probationary employee in the DBO has not been evaluated since starting in July 2018. A review of the state-mandated annual financial audits for 2014-2018 revealed that the same negative audit findings recurred from year-to-year because they were not corrected.4 Examples include lack of proper documentation, not depositing funds on a timely basis, improper coding, inaccurate time cards, non-compliance with state mandates, and failure to provide annual teacher contracts. The staff stated they use the procedures outlined in the ASB Accounting Manual5 for the handling of cash from fundraising activities conducted by the Associated Student Body and other school site activities. In order to minimize the risk of future loss of District funds, the Superintendent modified the bank deposit process so that deposits occur more frequently.

Agency Responses 1

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.