Audit Reveals Important Issuesโ with LLESD Spending, Board Commits to โฃReform
A recent audit ofโ the Las Lomitas Elementary School District (LLESD) revealed widespread โฃissues โwith financial oversight and documentation,โ prompting a commitment from the Board of Trustees to implement corrective measures. The audit, conducted by theโค fiscal Crisisโฃ &โ Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), found thatโข 76% of reviewed transactions failed toโค meet โขat least one established criteria, raising concerns about theโข validity of those expenditures.
The โขreport highlighted several โฃareas of concern, including $5,775 spent onโ items deemed potential gifts โof public funds, such as retirement parties, flowers,โข gift cards, โcustom birthday cakes, and โcondolences. Twenty-six transactions lacked documentation โขdemonstrating an educational purpose. Specific examples included $1,035 and $3,004 purchases from left Bank and Draeger’s supermarket respectively, attributed to staff events, and a $160 birthday cake โคcharged โto a $10,812 Dream Inn hotel invoice during a leadership retreat. An employee explained the cake purchase was mandated by the hotel’s policy prohibiting outside food.
Auditorsโ also identified significant documentation gaps, noting 156 transactions totaling $63,018 were missing receipts. Furthermore, 18 out of โ57 reviewed credit card statements lacked the required expenditure โlog form. The audit foundโข that even whenโ used, these log formsโ were โfrequently enough incomplete and lacked necessary employee and โsupervisor signatures.
Theโ audit’s findings stemmedโฃ from concernsโ raised by the community during labor negotiations in October 2024, which led to a public records request for credit card statements. โIn response, โขthe Board suspended Polito’s credit card use, formed a budget advisory committee, andโ eventually placed Polito on administrative leave.
Board members expressed โgratitude for the audit’s thoroughness and acknowledged theโ district’s shortcomings.โข Trustee Heather Hopkins, former board president,โ detailed the timeline of events leading to the audit. Trustee Kimberly Legg acknowledged the district’sโ “mistakes, insufficient policies โand carelessness” and the resulting frustration withinโข the community. โ
“Systems in place did not provide the oversight and accountability that our community deserves,” Legg stated, emphasizing the board’s commitment to rebuilding the โฃsystem “thoughtfully and publicly.”
The LLESD Board of Trusteesโฃ is now tasked with creating a โcorrective actionโ plan within 15 days,toโ beโ discussed in โคa โpublic session on โNovember 18th at 2 p.m. The โขcounty requires implementation of theโค plan within 120 days of the presentation. Hopkins โalso indicated a desire to develop detailedโ guidelines for โฃreimbursements, building on recentlyโ approved policies โคregarding administrative credit card use.
