[00:00:02]
BUENOS DIAS. THIS MEETING OF THE BOARD'S AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER FOR THE
[CALL TO ORDER]
PURPOSES STATED IN THE DULY POSTED MEETING NOTICE.COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT IN THE BOARD AUDITORIUM ARE TRUSTEE WADE, TRUSTEE SANTOS, TRUSTEE DEIGAARD AND OUR VOLUNTEER LIZ LOGAN.
ADDITIONAL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT AT THE BOARD AUDITORIUM ARE MYSELF TRUSTEE CRUZ.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON AUGUST
[CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS]
26, 2021 AND NOVEMBER 8, 2021.IS THERE A SECOND? WE HAVE A MOTION BY TRUSTEE SANTOS AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE WADE.
BY TRUSTEE BAKER, THIS MEETING OF THE BOARD'S AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER, OH SORRY. TODAY'S AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER AS A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, SINCE THERE IS A QUORUM OF THE BOARD FOR THE PURPOSES STATED IN THE DULY POSTED MEETING NOTICE.
WE'VE NOW COME TO THE PORTION OF OUR MEETING WHERE WE HEAR FROM SPEAKERS TO SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEMS, HOWEVER, THERE IS NO ONE REGISTERED TO SPEAK TODAY.
WE ARE NOW READY TO CONSIDER BUSINESS ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION.
SO TRUSTEES, I SENT Y'ALL A FEW DOCUMENTS LATE LAST NIGHT.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TARDINESS.
HOWEVER, IT WASN'T NECESSARY TO READ ALL OF THOSE DOCUMENTS IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED FOR TODAY'S MEETING.
SO THERE'S LAST YEAR'S AUDIT COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT, WHICH IS TURNED INTO THE FULL BOARD OR SHARED WITH THE FULL BOARD EACH DECEMBER BOARD MEETING.
ALSO, OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER, WHICH IS WHAT GOVERNS OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE, THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER, AND THEN ALSO OUR POLICY FOR INTERNAL COMMITTEES AND IT STATES THE PURPOSES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
SO JUST SOME ADDITIONAL HOMEWORK FOR Y'ALL WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE TO READ OVER THAT AND THE ANNUAL REPORT IS ALSO INCLUDED IN TODAY'S PACKET.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON ANY OF THOSE DOCUMENTS, I KNOW IT'S A LOT TO KIND OF DIGEST AND I KNOW THAT TRUSTEE DEIGAARD WAS ON THE BOARD AND ACTUALLY ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE WHEN A LOT OF THOSE DOCUMENTS, PARTICULARLY BOTH OF THOSE CHARTERS, WERE CREATED.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT HARD WORK THAT HELPED ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE AND OUR DEPARTMENT.
THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO NOMINATE AND NAME AN AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIR, SO I AM NO
[NAME NEW AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIR]
LONGER OFFICIALLY ON THE COMMITTEE.MY TWO YEAR TERM WAS COMPLETED IN DECEMBER AND I'M CHAIRING THIS MEETING SINCE I WAS THE CHAIR AND GETTING IT, GETTING YOU GUYS STARTED FOR THE YEAR.
SO IS THERE ANYONE THAT IS INTERESTED IN BEING THE CHAIR FOR THIS YEAR 2022?. Y'ALL MADE IT SO EASY.
I NOMINATE TRUSTEE DEIGAARD AS BOARD CHAIR.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY TRUSTEE SANTOS AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE WADE.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS, SEEING THERE ARE NO MORE NOMINATIONS WE WILL CLOSE NOMINATIONS.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY TRUSTEE SANTOS AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE WADE.
ANY DISCUSSION? FIVE FOR, ZERO AGAINST ZERO ABSTENTIONS, SO TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO
[00:05:03]
COME AND TAKE OVER.I'M WILLING TO KEEP GOING AND CHAIRING THIS MEETING, BUT YOU ARE NOW THE NEW CHAIR, SO I WILL LET YOU DECIDE.
I'D LIKE FOR TRUSTEE CRUZ PRESIDENT CRUZ, TO CHAIR THE MEETING FOR TODAY SO WE CAN SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE AND THEN WE'LL MODEL HER WHAT SHE'S DONE WITH THESE LAST TWO YEARS AND THEN NEXT MEETING TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, YOU CAN TAKE OFF.
THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE SUGGESTION AND CAN ABSOLUTELY CHAIR THIS MEETING SINCE I SET THE AGENDA TOGETHER WITH CHIEF BLACKWELL.
THE NEXT ITEM TO DISCUSS IS COMMITTEE MEMBER TERMS.
[DISCUSS COMMITTEE MEMBER TERMS]
SO I PLACE THIS ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE TYPICALLY, PER OUR POLICY, OUR TERMS ARE TWO YEARS EACH AND AS WE FOUND OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, IN THIS LAST YEAR, TWO TRUSTEES THAT WERE ON THE COMMITTEE. SO WE ACTUALLY HAD FOUR, WHICH WAS UNUSUAL.TWO OF US FINISHED OUR TWO YEAR TERMS, TWO WERE UNELECTED AND SO THAT LEFT US WITH A COMPLETELY NEW SLATE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, JUST CREATES CHALLENGES IN OF ITSELF.
SO WE ARE SUGGESTING FOR ONE OF Y'ALL AT LEAST ONE OF Y'ALL TO VOLUNTEER, TO JUST DO ONE YEAR TERM AND THEN THE OTHER TWO OF Y'ALL WILL COMPLETE THE TWO YEAR TERMS AND THAT WAY THEY'RE STAGGERED.
YOU KNOW, IT HELPS WITH KEEPING THAT CONTINUITY AND THE KNOWLEDGE.
I NOMINATE MYSELF TO ONLY BE ONE YEAR.
OK, SEEING. DO A COMMITTEE REPORT BACK TO THE BOARD WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION.
WE WILL REPORT THAT BACK TO THE BOARD AND HAVE THAT REFLECTED IN THE MINUTES.
THANK YOU, MS. MCBRIDE AND MS. JONES.
OK, SO THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE'S ANNUAL EVALUATION, AND
[CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE’S ANNUAL EVALUATION AND TIMELINE]
YOU HAVE TWO PAPERS ON THE DAIS THAT I PRINTED OUT AND ALSO HYPERLINKED IN LAST NIGHT'S EMAIL. SO THIS IS THE TIMELINE FROM LAST YEAR AND SO ESSENTIALLY, WE NEED TO UPDATE IT FOR THIS YEAR AND WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE DATES.NOW, IF YOU PULL UP YOUR CALENDARS, SO ESSENTIALLY JUST KIND OF LIKE LOOKING AT THE LAST PAGE AND BACKWARDS PLANNING.
WE HELD THIS SUMMIT OF ASSESSMENT THE DAY OF THE MAY GENERAL BOARD MEETING, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO BACKWARDS PLAN UP UNTIL THAT DATE.
SO LOOKING AT THIS YEAR'S CALENDAR, OUR MAY BOARD MEETING IS I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS THAT PULLED UP. IT IS MAY 12.
LOOKING BACK, THAT'S ABOUT TWO WEEKS PRIOR.
APRIL. SO I WOULD SUGGEST ON APRIL 25TH TO START THESE THIS TIMELINE.
SO ON 4/25 CHIEF BLACKWELL WOULD DO HIS SELF-REFLECTION AND PROVIDE THAT TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THEN ACTUALLY, IF WE HAVE IF WE HAVE AN AUDIT COMMITTEE IN APRIL, SHOULD WE HOLD LIKE, PUSH THIS UP A LITTLE BIT MS. MCBRIDE. YES.
I THINK YOUR NORMAL PRACTICE IS AT YOUR APRIL, WHATEVER THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IS MEETING RIGHT BEFORE THE BOARD MEETING, WHERE THE BOARD'S GOING TO DO THE ASSESSMENT OF THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE.
THIS COMMITTEE DOES THEIR CONFERENCE WITH HIM AS WELL.
I WOULD PUSH EVERYTHING BACK TO A WEEK BEFORE YOUR AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.
[00:10:02]
SO WE, WAIT TIME OUT.SO LISA. I JUST WANTED CLARIFICATION, MADAM CHAIR.
OK, SO WE IF WE HAVE TO DISCUSS SOMETHING WITH A FULL BOARD, WOULD WE THEN WANT TO MAYBE SET IT FOR APRIL 4TH FOR CHIEF BLACKWELL TO DO HIS SELF-EVALUATION, SO THAT WAY, IF WE HAVE SOMETHING TO DO, BRING TO THE BOARD ON THE 7TH OR ON THE 14TH, WE DON'T HAVE TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING. WELL, IF YOU'RE DOING IT IN MAY, WHAT YOU NORMALLY DO IS THAT AGENDA REVIEW YOU PREP THE BOARD AND THE BOARD HAS A WEEK TO GET THEIR DOCUMENTS IN ON MAY 12.
IF YOU HAVE AN AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING IN LATE APRIL, YOU'RE GOING TO WANT THAT AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING TO BE WHEN THE AUDIT.
SO THEN THE TWENTY FIFTH APRIL TWENTY FIFTH WOULD THEN BE.
SO WE HAVE AN AUDIT COMMITTEE SCHEDULED ON APRIL 19TH.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE SECOND LINE WHEN WE HOLD HIS PERFORMANCE REVIEW.
SO THAT MEANS THAT PRIOR TO THAT DATE CHIEF BLACKWELL NEEDS TO GIVE HIS SELF EVALUATION.
A WEEK BEFORE, SO 4/12? 4/12 YES AND THEN AUDIT COMMITTEE REVIEWS THE PERFORMANCE INDIVIDUALLY, AND THEN WE FILL OUT HIS PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND SEND IT TO MS. MCBRIDE. SO IF WE'RE DOING IT ON THE 19TH, APRIL 26TH, THAT GIVES US A WEEK AND ON THE 26TH, WHAT ARE WHAT WILL WE BE DOING? WE WOULD WE WOULD TURN IN OUR PERFORMANCE REVIEW TO MS. MCBRIDE BY THAT DATE.
NO. IT WOULDN'T BE A MEETING. WE'RE JUST WE'RE JUST TURNING IT INTO HER.
SO ON THE. SO THE SECOND LINE WHERE WE HOLD THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW WOULD BE ON 4/19, AND THEN WE TURN IN OUR PERFORMANCE REVIEW TO LISA TO MS. MCBRIDE ON 4/26 THE FOLLOWING WEEK AND CAN MADAM CHAIR? YES. POINT OF PRIVILEGE, PLEASE.
SO TRUSTEE BAKER AND TRUSTEE WADE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE PROCESS AND TIMELINE FOR THE 2020, THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEW.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND WE'RE CALENDARING THESE DAYS OUT ON FOR THE FOR THIS YEAR. SO WE ARE THIS IS THE SCRIPT AND THIS IS A LOT OF PAPERWORK.
SO JUST IN CASE Y'ALL WANT TO LOOK AT THIS.
SO WE'RE ON THE CAE'S ANNUAL EVALUATION BETWEEN 9/20 TO 9/25, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, THE TIMELINE.
SO JUST IN CASE I KNOW AS A FIRST YEAR BOARD MEMBER WHENEVER WE HAD THESE, YEAH, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO JUST.
COMMITTEE WILL BE MEETING CHIEF BLACKWELL WILL DO HIS SELF-ASSESSMENT BY, MADAM CHAIR, WHEN WILL HE DO HIS SELF ASSESSMENT? THE SELF ASSESSMENT WILL BE DONE BY APRIL 12TH, APRIL 12TH, AND THEN WE AS A AUDIT COMMITTEE, WILL HAVE HIS EVALUATION TURNED INTO ATTORNEY MCBRIDE BY APRIL 26TH.
SO AND THAT'S EVERY YEAR WE DO THIS.
SO WE'RE MEETING ON THE 12TH? WE ARE MEETING ON THE 19TH, ON THE 19TH, AND HE WILL HE BASICALLY HE WILL GRADE HIMSELF BY APRIL 12TH.
WE WILL TURN IN HIS FINALIZED GRADE ON APRIL 26TH AND THEN, BUT ON THE 19TH, WE'LL DO ANOTHER ONE OF THESE MEETINGS.
TRUSTEE SANTOS AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS A DRAFT AND THE NEW CHAIR WILL BE COORDINATING WITH MS. MCBRIDE AND THEN MS. JONES TO GET ALL OF THIS ON OUR CALENDAR AND FINALIZE.
SO WE'LL ALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE.
SO THEN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, THEN WE SHARE WITH THE FULL BOARD DURING THE MAY AGENDA REVIEW, WHICH WOULD BE MAY 5TH AND THEN MS. MCBRIDE WILL SEND TO AN EMAIL TO THE FULL BOARD THAT SAME DAY WITH THE TOOL AND ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS AND THEN THEY WILL COMPLETE THEIR EVALUATION. LET'S SEE, SO THE MEETING IS THE 12TH IS ONE DAY BEFORE SUFFICIENT, OR SHOULD IT BE TWO DAYS? LET'S DO THE 10TH SIMPLY BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE HAVE SOME STRAGGLERS AND THAT GIVES ME A
[00:15:02]
DAY TO GET [INAUDIBLE].PERFECT SO THEN WE'LL DO MAY 10TH AND THEN MS. MCBRIDE PROVIDES THE DE-IDENTIFIED COMMENTS THE NIGHT BEFORE TO US AND THEN ON MAY 12TH, THE FULL BOARD HOLDS A SUMMIT OF CONFERENCE WITH CHIEF BLACKWELL.
SO DON'T FEEL DON'T WORRY IF YOU DIDN'T JOT ALL THESE DATES DOWN, I'LL MAKE SURE TO UPDATE EVERYONE.
OK, SO YOU'RE BACKWARDS PLANNING ALL OF THESE DATES.
RIGHT. SO ULTIMATELY, MAY 12TH IS WHEN WE HAVE THE SUMMIT OF CONFERENCE, RIGHT, AND EVERYTHING IS IS COMPLETED.
THESE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE ON THE 12TH AND THE 13TH WILL.
ALL SHIPPED BACK ONE DAY, ONE TO TWO DAYS AND THEN ANYTHING THAT HAS TO BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FULL BOARD THIS TIMELINE WILL ALIGN WITH THAT? THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
OKAY AND I ALSO HYPERLINKED THE ACTUAL EVALUATION INSTRUMENT TRUSTEES SO FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE NEW, YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THE INSTRUMENT LOOKS LIKE AND THEN I ALSO HYPERLINKED THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EVERYTHING WE JUST WALKED THROUGH, BUT IT'S IN ONE DOCUMENT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT? THANKS FOR EVERYBODY'S FEEDBACK.
OK, THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE 2022-2023 AUDIT PLAN, CHIEF
[RISK ASSESSMENT AND THE 2022–2023 AUDIT PLAN]
BLACKWELL.GOOD MORNING, MADAM PRESIDENT, FELLOW TRUSTEES AND MR. HOUSE, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE AURORA BLACK.
YOU ALL MAY REMEMBER HER, SHE INTERVIEWED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
PERHAPS NOT THE TWO NEW TRUSTEES, BUT AURORA.
GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, TRUSTEES AND [INAUDIBLE].
THE PURPOSE OF THE RISK ASSESSMENT IS TO IDENTIFY.
AREAS WITHIN THE DISTRICT AND ALSO HELP MR. BLACKWELL WITH HIS ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN, AND THE WAY THAT WE ACCOMPLISH THIS IS BY.
WE INTERVIEWED SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING MANY OF THE TRUSTEES, AND WE ALSO CONDUCTED A SURVEY AND BASED ON THAT IS HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE HIGH RISK AREAS.
I WANTED TO POINT OUT SOME OF THE QUOTES THAT WE RECEIVED DURING SOME OF THE SURVEYS THAT WE DID. THE SECOND RED BULLET, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED IS NOT HAVING THE ABILITY TO OFFER SALARIES TO CANDIDATES THAT ARE COMMENSURATE WITH THE GENERAL MARKET.
THAT WAS A TREND THAT WE HEARD OVER AND OVER.
ALSO STAGNANT BUDGETS OVER MULTIPLE YEARS WITH INCREASING DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE RESULTS THAT WE HAD DURING THE DURING THE INTERVIEWS.
THERE ARE SEVEN KEY RISK AREAS THAT WE REVIEWED AND WE RANKED THEM IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT RANKED IT AS THEIR NUMBER ONE RISK.
FOR FINANCIAL BUDGET WITH THE NUMBER ONE RISK WHERE 65 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS RANKED THAT AS THEIR TOP RISK.
I ALSO COMPARED IT TO LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS ONLY AT 33 PERCENT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT RISK HAS INCREASED.
AS FOR OPERATIONAL EMPLOYEE ERROR WAS ALSO A VERY HIGH RISK.
THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT RANKED OUT AS A TOP RISK WAS 60 PERCENT VERSUS 15 PERCENT LAST YEAR. ALSO, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT INCREASED DRAMATICALLY.
FOR LEGAL REGULATORY LITIGATION ISSUES WITH 75 PERCENT VERSUS 66 PERCENT, SO THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IN LINE.
[00:20:02]
AND THIS WAS KIND OF STRATEGIC WAS VERY, VERY HIGH.SO PEOPLE ARE KEY RESOURCES WHICH INCLUDED HIGH TURNOVER, THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT RANKED THAT AS THE NUMBER ONE RISK WAS 70 PERCENT VERSUS 27 PERCENT LAST YEAR.
MS. BLACK, JUST A MOMENT, PLEASE.
YES, I WOULD JUST LIKE SOME CLARIFICATION, SO THIS RISK ASSESSMENT REPORT, IT WAS A SURVEY THAT WENT OUT TO EMPLOYEES OR HOW SO? YES, SO WE DID TWO THINGS.
SO WE INTERVIEWED SEVERAL TRUSTEES AND SEVERAL CHIEFS, AND THEN WE ALSO DID A SURVEY THAT WENT OUT TO MULTIPLE EMPLOYEES AND SO THAT WAS THE SURVEY PIECE.
THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS, NOT ON THE SURVEY.
OK, SO THIS WAS BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS.
SO IN-- YOU SAID IT WENT UP FROM [INAUDIBLE] 33 PERCENT.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU REFERRING TO? THE BUDGET THE BUDGET DOES NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF DISTRICT, SO THAT 33 PERCENT WAS IN 2020? OR WAS THAT IN 2021? SO THE FIRST COLUMN? IS THIS PRESENT YEAR AND THE SECOND COLUMN IS LAST YEAR.
YEAH, YEAH AND SO OUR FISCAL YEAR RUNS FROM JULY 1 TO JUNE, NO, JULY 1 TO JUNE 30TH.
ALL RIGHT, SO NEW TRUSTEES JULY 1 TO JULY TO JUNE 30TH.
SO THAT WAS 2021 2022 AND SO THIS IS THE STANDING YEAR, SO.
OK, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON BOARD.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
THE NEXT RISK AREA THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS SENSITIVITY OF DATA.
SO THIS WAS RANKED AT 50 PERCENT THIS YEAR VERSUS 8 PERCENT LAST YEAR.
ALSO, VERY HIGH PEOPLE IN CULTURE, THE INABILITY TO RETAIN QUALITY PERSONNEL.
ONCE AGAIN, THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT RANKED THAT AS THEIR TOP RISK WAS 85 PERCENT VERSUS 12 PERCENT LAST YEAR.
THE LAST RISK AREA THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS FRAUD.
THE MISCONDUCT AND ABUSE, THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT RANKED THAT AS A TOP RISK WAS 65 PERCENT VERSUS 45 PERCENT LAST YEAR.
OK AND THEN WE SUMMARIZED THE TOP RISK BASED ON THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INABILITY TO RETAIN QUALITY QUALITY PERSONNEL WAS A VERY HIGH RISK. AS YOU SAW, THE MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED THAT THE HIGH TURNOVER AND LOW PAY IN RELATION TO OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WAS A MAJOR CONCERN.
ALSO, WE HAD SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS TALK ABOUT THE LACK OF STRATEGIC DIRECTION.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED AT A PLAN IS NEEDED TO MEET THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE DISTRICT AND THEN BUDGETING, NORMALLY THOSE TWO WENT HAND IN HAND THE STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND BUDGETING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED THAT THEY NEED THE OVERALL REVIEW OF THE BUDGET TO BE IN LINE WITH THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE DISTRICT AND LASTLY, MISCONDUCT AND ABUSE. THANK YOU.
IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS? YES, PLEASE INDICATE IN THE QUEUE.
TRUSTEE SANTOS [INAUDIBLE] MS. LOGAN. THANK YOU.
PEOPLE CULTURE AND RETENTION RIGHT NOW.
A COUPLE OF THINGS I WAS SURPRISED ABOUT, SO I LOOKED AT THE INEFFICIENT OR INEFFECTIVE INTERNAL CONTROLS 45 PERCENT KIND OF HIGH.
IT'S ALMOST THAT'S ALMOST 50 PERCENT.
SO ALMOST ONE IN TWO PEOPLE THAT YOU INTERVIEWED SAID THEY THOUGHT INTERNAL CONTROLS WERE INEFFECTIVE AND THEN WHEN I MARRY THAT WITH UNDER FRAUD, THE MISAPPROPRIATION OF ASSETS AND THEN JUST THE MISCONDUCT AND ABUSE, THAT'S AT 65 PERCENT.
TO ME, THAT'S THIS IS REALLY CONCERNING FROM A RISK PERSPECTIVE.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS THERE ANY THOUGHT TO WHAT'S GOING TO GO TO THE AUDIT PLAN TO ADDRESS THIS, RIGHT? SO WHEN YOU KIND OF START SEEING THINGS COMBINED LIKE THAT, IT MAY BE CAUSE AND EFFECT BUT IS THERE ANY WILL YOU LOOK AT ANY SORT OF INTERNAL CONTROLS AROUND FRAUD AND
[00:25:02]
MISAPPROPRIATION OF ASSETS? AND EXCUSE ME, ONE SECOND, MADAM CHAIR, POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE, CAN YOU PLEASE INTRODUCE MS. LOGAN FOR THE PLEASURE? YES, AND I YES, I HAD IT AT THE BEGINNING AND I TOTALLY I TOTALLY HAD AT THE BEGINNING TO DO INTRODUCTIONS BECAUSE I REALIZED THE NEW TRUSTEES DON'T KNOW.MS. LOGAN, AND MS. LOGAN DOESN'T KNOW THE NEW TRUSTEES.
SO ACTUALLY, IF Y'ALL COULD ALSO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES MS. LOGAN, I'M SO SORRY. GO AHEAD AND GIVE YOU [INAUDIBLE].
MY NAME IS LIZ LOGAN I'M AN INTERNAL AUDIT PARTNER AT ERNST AND YOUNG, AND I GET THE PLEASURE OF BEING THE COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER AND TO SIT ON THE COMMITTEE AND JUST KIND OF BRING AND BRING THOUGHTS LIKE THIS.
SO HAPPY TO HELP. REALLY EXCITED TO BE HELPING THE DISTRICT BUT YOU KNOW, THESE ARE JUST AREAS THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATION WHEN YOU START SEEING THESE HIGHER NUMBERS. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE AUDIT IS LOOKING AT THOSE.
SO THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENT, MS. LOGAN AND GOOD MORNING.
THE ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT IS THE FIRST FORMAL STEP IN THE PROCESS AND FORMALLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. I CREATE KEEP A LIST OF IDEAS THAT COME TO MY ATTENTION.
SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF NOT ONLY THE RESULTS OF THE RISK ASSESSMENT, BUT ALSO INDIVIDUAL IDEAS THAT COME FROM ME, PERHAPS FROM MR. HOUSE AND HIS TEAM, PERHAPS FROM OTHER MEMBERS OF MY TEAM.
SO IT'S NOT JUST FROM THE RISK ASSESSMENT FOR SOURCES OF AUDIT IDEAS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
I KEEP A RUNNING LIST OF TOPICS JUST THAT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT.
NOT THAT THEY WILL END UP IN THE AUDIT PLAN, BUT BE CONSIDERED FOR THE AUDIT PLAN.
SO THE NEXT STEP FROM HERE TODAY IS TO PRESENT THE AUDIT PLAN TO THE BOARD AND MR. HOUSE BY MARCH.
I'M TARGETING MID-MARCH, BUT IT COULD BE A LITTLE BIT LATER THAN THAT, BUT MARCH FOR SURE. WE'D LIKE TO HAVE BOARD APPROVAL BY THE END OF JUNE, HOPEFULLY EARLIER THAN THAT, BUT CERTAINLY NO LATER THAN THE END OF JUNE PLEASE.
MADAM CHAIR SO I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING QUESTIONS THAT WE CAN ASK AND THE FUNCTION LIKE WHAT OUR DUTIES ARE AS AN AUDIT COMMITTEE, BUT LIKE, OH HI, MS. LOGAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VOLUNTEERING AND I'M GOING TO BE LEANING IN ON YOU BECAUSE, YEAH, BUT SO WITH THESE, THE FRAUD DISTRICT COULD BE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY INVOLVED IN MONITORING AND IDENTIFYING MISCONDUCT AND OR ABUSE.
THE FUNCTION OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, CAN WE RECOMMEND LIKE, HEY, WE LOOK INTO THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, THE SYSTEMS BEHIND THAT, SO THE AUDIT OF THE SYSTEMS AND HOW WE USE A PROCUREMENT PROCESS? IS THAT THE DISTRICT USES THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS? CHIEF BLACKWELL, DO YOU WANT TO RESPOND FIRST? I WOULD SAY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, I'M LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC AUDIT IDEAS, AND IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM THE OBJECTIVE OR MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES THAT YOU WANT FOR THAT PARTICULAR AUDIT IDEA, AND CHANCES ARE, SINCE IT'S COMING FROM A TRUSTEE, IT'LL BE IN THE AUDIT PLAN UNLESS FOR SOME REASON IT'S DECIDED FOR IT TO NOT BE IN.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, TRUSTEE.
SO I THINK WHAT SHE'S ASKING IS IS AN AUDIT OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS WITHIN, YOU KNOW WHAT THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT AUDITS WITHIN WHAT WE SHOULD ASK.
I MEAN, TRUSTEE, I MEAN, MS. MCBRIDE, WOULD YOU MIND WEIGHING IN? SO I THINK THERE ARE TWO. THERE ARE TWO QUESTIONS HERE.
NUMBER ONE, IS IT AN APPROPRIATE AUDIT FOR THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT AND MR. BLACKWELL, I'LL LET YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION BUT ASSUMING THAT IT IS, I THINK THE SUBTEXT OF YOUR QUESTION IS, WELL, HOW DOES A TRUSTEE THEN GET THAT AUDIT DONE? AND IF YOU'LL RECALL THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS CHIEF BLACKWELL, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD EVERY YEAR ABOUT WHAT THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT'S AUDIT PLAN IS GOING TO BE AND IN BETWEEN THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT FISCAL YEAR, IF THE COMMITTEE OR INDIVIDUAL TRUSTEES HAVE SOMETHING THAT COMES UP, IT'S FIRST DISCUSSED HERE AS A COMMITTEE AND THEN A RECOMMENDATION MADE BACK TO THE BOARD, EITHER ADDING SOMETHING TO THE AUDIT PLAN. IF WE THINK THAT WE CAN COMPLETE IT WITHIN A YEAR OR AMENDING THE AUDIT PLAN IN SOME WAY. SO MAYBE WE NEED TO ADJUST.
MAYBE A MORE IMPORTANT AUDIT CAME UP AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE AN AUDIT OFF OR
[00:30:02]
MAYBE ROLL IT OVER TO THE NEXT YEAR, BUT IT'S FIRST DONE AS A DISCUSSION WITH THIS BODY AND OUR RECOMMENDATION BACK TO THE BOARD.THANK YOU. SO, YEAH, I MEAN, THE ONLY OTHER RECOMMENDATION THAT I WOULD GIVE TRUSTEE CRUZ IS THAT THIS IS REALLY, REALLY EFFECTIVE, LIKE LIKE THE PROCESS AND TIMELINE.
SO MAYBE SOMETHING SIMILAR FOR THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS SO WE CAN LOOK AT IT AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, BUT IT WOULD DEFINITELY LOVE TO SEE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE DAIS BOARD MEETINGS ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS WITH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, AND THAT FURTHER CLARIFICATION WOULD BE GREAT SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE THAT. CHIEF BLACKWELL SO IF YOU CAN TAKE THAT FEEDBACK AND INCORPORATE IT INTO THE AUDIT PLAN THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO DRAFT.
ANY COMMENTS? LET ME SAY ONE THING THAT MAY BE HELPFUL.
THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS OF THE DISTRICT THAT I PUT IN THE AUDIT PLAN EVERY YEAR, AND PROCUREMENT IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS.
SO WE HAVE EITHER RECEIVED A TOPIC FROM A TRUSTEE OR WE HAVE CREATED TOPICS ON OUR OWN, BUT WE COVER ONE OR TWO ASPECTS OF THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT EVERY AUDIT PLAN YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, TRUSTEE.
AWESOME, THANK YOU AND I JUST WANT TO ECHO MS. LOGAN'S CONCERNS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE INCORPORATE AND NOT JUST INCORPORATE, BUT THIS IS KIND OF AT THE FOREFRONT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE CREATING NEXT YEAR'S AUDIT PLAN, THESE AREAS OF OF HIGH, HIGH RISK THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FROM THESE INTERVIEWS.
SO I'LL BE LOOKING FOR THAT IN THE IN THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN.
THANK YOU I'M JUST CONSIDERING ALL OF THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE STRUGGLES TO COMPLETE AUDIT, TO COMPLETE THE AUDIT PLAN.
AND SO IF WE HAVE WHAT I THINK I'M HEARING AND CORRECT ME, IF I'M NOT THAT THE AUDIT PLAN THAT GETS BROUGHT TO THE BOARD IS NOT JUST THE THINGS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED FROM THE RISK ASSESSMENT, THEY'RE NOT JUST THINGS THAT THE BOARD IS REQUESTING.
IT'S A HYBRID FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION MIGHT SAY WE'D LIKE YOU TO DO A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS BOARD. THAT'S CORRECT.
SO IT'S KIND OF A HYBRID OF THREE THINGS, REALLY.
SO IF THESE ARE THE KNOWN RISKS WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING AND NOT JUST BUILDING THE PLAN, BUT BUILDING THE PLAN TO EXECUTE THE PLAN, DO THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A RISK BY ITS BDO, RIGHT? ARE THOSE GIVEN A PRIORITY OVER OTHER AUDITS? THE RISK ASSESSMENT IS THE PRIMARY DOCUMENT THAT I USE.
THAT SAID, THE SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE HAS A TOPIC THAT HE WANTS CHANCES ARE, I'M GOING TO PUT IT IN BECAUSE HE'S THE SUPERINTENDENT.
SAME FOR A TRUSTEE, IF A TRUSTEE HAS AN AUDIT THEY WANT DONE.
FOR EXAMPLE, TRUSTEE BLUEFORD-DANIELS WANTS A SCHOOL BUDGET RELATED AUDIT DONE.
I NEED TO MEET WITH HER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS BUT SINCE SINCE SHE WANTS IT IN THE AUDIT PLAN, I'M LIKELY TO PUT IT IN.
I THINK LET ME REFRAME MY QUESTION.
THERE'S A FINITE AMOUNT OF STAFF.
THERE'S A FINITE AMOUNT OF TIME.
SO IF YOU START THE YEAR WITH BUILDING YOUR PLAN WITH THIS AND WHAT THE BOARD PUTS IN AND WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION PUTS IN.
IF THE BUCKET IS TOO BIG FOR THE CAPACITY THAT YOU HAVE FINANCIALLY AND STAFF WISE, HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE THE BUCKET? WELL, MY STAFF CAN ONLY DO SO MANY AUDITS.
WE HAVE THREE AUDIT MANAGERS, THREE AUDIT PRACTICES.
WE HAVE BDO WHO PREFERS THEIR OWN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AUDIT PLAN.
THIS IS WHAT WE'VE HEARD THEM TO DO BUT INTERNALLY, THREE MANAGERS, THEY EACH HAVE THREE AUDITORS. SO THAT'S NINE AUDITORS, NINE AUDITORS CAN ONLY DO SO MANY AUDITS, CORRECT? SO CHANCES ARE I WILL HAVE THREE TO FOUR AUDITS FOR EACH AUDITOR TO COVER OVER THE 12 MONTH PERIOD OF TIME.
SO IF YOU HAVE MORE AUDITS IN THE AUDIT PLAN, YOU PUT THESE IN THE BUCKET, THE
[00:35:06]
ADMINISTRATION PUTS SOME AUDITS IN THE BUCKET INTO THE PLAN, RIGHT? HEY, MR. BLACKWELL, WE WANT YOU TO DO THESE AUDITS.YOU BUILD THE PLAN WITH EVERYTHING THE BOARD WANTS AND EVERYTHING THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT WANTS, AS WELL AS EVERYTHING IN THIS RISK ASSESSMENT.
DO YOU JUST IS THAT THE WHOLE PLAN OR DO YOU PARE THAT DOWN OR PRIORITIZE IT OR TRIAGE IT IN SOME WAY ON WHAT BASED ON A RISK LIKE, OR MAYBE NOT EVEN BASED ON A RISK? WHAT HOW DO YOU WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR PRIORITIZATION? LET ME EXPRESS IT THIS WAY.
LET'S SAY THE LIST FROM WHATEVER SOURCES IS, IS THIS LONG, OK? AND I SENSE THAT MY TEAM CAN ONLY DO THIS MANY CORRECT.
THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU IN AN AUDIT PLAN.
HOW DO YOU DECIDE THE PRIORITIZATION? I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO USE JUDGMENT.
I MAY HAVE TO TALK TO MR. HOUSE OR SOME OF THE TRUSTEES AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT I'M THINKING.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? DO I NEED TO PULL THIS OUT AND PUT SOMETHING ELSE IN? YOU MAY SAY YES, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT BUT OVERALL, IF I HAVE THIS MANY TO CHOOSE FROM AND MY TEAM CAN ONLY DO THIS MANY, THIS IS HOW LONG THE AUDIT PLAN WILL BE.
SO WE THEORETICALLY COULD LAND IN A PLACE IN A GIVEN YEAR WHERE THE AUDIT PLAN IS DOES NOT INCLUDE THINGS THAT ARE ON A RISK ASSESSMENT OR IS IT DRIVEN BY A RISK ASSESSMENT? SO I'VE BEEN IN THIS CAREER FIELD MANAGING AUDITS AND AUDIT PLANS SINCE 1985.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE AUDIT PLAN CAPTURE EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE WANT.
RIGHT? IT'S NO EXCEPTION HERE.
IT'S NOT. YOU CAN ONLY DO SO MANY.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE AS A TEAM THAT WE'RE COVERING THE THINGS THAT ALL OF US COLLECTIVELY THINK IS THE BEST ONES TO DO.
OK, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF IT'S DRIVEN BY THE RISK ASSESSMENT OR IF IT'S DRIVEN BY ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT GET PUSHED INTO THE PLAN.
YES, ITS THE RISK ASSESSMENT AND OTHER THINGS.
YOU'RE WELCOME. DID YOU TRUSTEE SANTOS? THANK YOU. CHIEF BLACKWELL, SO DOES IT.
SO YOU BROUGHT IT TO OUR ATTENTION THAT TRUSTEES MIGHT ASK OR ONE PARTICULAR TRUSTEE MIGHT ASK FOR SOMETHING.
DOES IT GO THROUGH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IF ONE TRUSTEE REQUESTS SOMETHING? OR IS THAT JUST YOU'RE DOING THAT AT YOUR DISCRETION? WELL, WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT MANY REQUESTS SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, SO I'VE TRIED TO HONOR EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE HAVE ASKED FOR.
I'M DELINQUENT ON ONE FOR TRUSTEE DEIGAARD.
I HAVE TO REPORT FOR THAT AND MY MANAGER AND I HAVE GONE BACK AND FORTH WITH IT.
WE'VE ALSO TALKED TO PEOPLE IN THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT WE SHOULD BE GETTING THAT REPORT DONE FAIRLY SOON BUT THAT'S FOR THIS YEAR IN A WAY THAT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT I HAVE FROM A TRUSTEE. OK, THANK YOU.
TRUSTEE WADE, THANK YOU, MR. BLACKWELL. MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS BASED ON WHAT WE'LL FIND OUT ON THURSDAY, WHICH IS THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT LOOKS AS IF A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE IN THIS TOP RISK AREAS ARE PART OF THE PLAN, THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT'S MY GUESS. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD THINK THOSE WOULD BE THE PRIORITIES NUMBER ONE, WHICH THE TOP RISK AREA IS ALREADY STATE THAT AND IT SEEMS TO BE FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THAT, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME COMMUNICATION, ACCORDING ACROSS THE.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING WITH THAT SAID, SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE AND MYSELF HAVE NOT HAD THAT CONVERSATION YET ABOUT HOW THE RISK ASSESSMENT DOVETAILS WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND I THINK THAT'S MAYBE A CONVERSATION THAT WE COULD HAVE MR. HOUSE. I'D BE GLAD TO DO SO.
I THINK WHAT WE WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS DO THE ROLLOUT DO THE ROLLOUT FIRST.
OF COURSE, WE'RE GOING TO BE COMMUNICATING WITH THE BOARD ON THE 17TH AND THEN OVERLAYING THAT WITH THE BUDGET, WITH CONVERSATION ON THE 3RD BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT KIND OF THE AUDIT OVERLAY OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL.
YOU'RE WELCOME. TRUSTEE BAKER.
SO JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT TRUSTEE DEIGAARD WAS SAYING, IF YOU DO GET AN EXCEEDING
[00:40:04]
AMOUNT OF REQUESTS FROM TRUSTEES AND OTHER SOURCES, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU SAID YOU ONLY GET TO THAT, THAT MUCH OF IT VERSUS THAT MUCH OF A COLUMN DO YOU COMMUNICATE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SOURCE? AND IS THERE SOME TYPE OF CONTINGENCY PLAN TO GET WITH TO GET TO THOSE LATER? OR YOU JUST YOU JUST SAY THAT, OK, I'M NOT GOING TO DO THOSE AUDITS AT ALL.MAY I MAY I JUMP IN HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROPERLY FOLLOWING OUR GOVERNANCE. TRUSTEES CAN MAKE INDIVIDUAL REQUESTS FOR AUDITS AT THE TIME THAT CHIEF BLACKWELL IS BUILDING HIS AUDIT PLAN FOR REVIEW.
SO HE'S HEARING FROM INDIVIDUAL TRUSTEES, HE'S HEARING FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, HE'S HEARING FROM THE RISK ASSESSMENT, AND HE'S BUILDING THAT AUDIT PLAN THAT COMES TO THIS COMMITTEE. THIS COMMITTEE MAKES A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO THE FULL BOARD AND THEN IT IS ADOPTED. THAT IS YOUR AUDIT PLAN FOR THE YEAR AND ABSENT EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.
THERE SHOULDN'T BE INDIVIDUAL REQUESTS FROM TRUSTEES TO GO OFF THAT PLAN AND IF THERE IS, CHIEF BLACKWELL SHOULDN'T JUST BE WILLY NILLY DOING THAT AUDIT WITHOUT COMMUNICATING BACK TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND BACK TO THE BOARD THAT HEY, WE WE NEED TO AMEND THE PLAN.
WE'RE EITHER ADDING THIS AUDIT OR WE'RE CHANGING THAT PLAN IN SOME WAY.
SO I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE A CONFUSION THAT, YES, THERE CAN BE INDIVIDUAL TRUSTEE REQUESTS BUT THAT'S AT THE TIME OF PREPARING THE ACTUAL PLAN FOR THE YEAR AND THEN IF AN EMERGENCY COMES UP ONCE THAT PLAN HAS BEEN ADOPTED, THEN THAT'S A CONVERSATION WITH THE CHIEF AND THIS, THIS BODY AND THE BOARD ABOUT WHETHER THAT CAN BE ACCOMMODATED AND WHETHER SOMETHING ELSE IN THE PLAN NEEDS TO BE MODIFIED.
BECAUSE WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN IS WE'RE HOLDING THE CHIEF ACCOUNTABLE FOR COMPLETING THIS PLAN BUT HE'S HAD TO DO 10 OTHER AUDITS THAT NEITHER THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OR THE BOARD EVEN KNOW ABOUT WERE REQUESTED THAT YEAR.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE I WANT TO MAKE THAT CLEAR.
AND IF ANYONE DISAGREES THAT HAS NOT BEEN OUR PROCESS, PLEASE SPEAK, SPEAK UP BUT I DO THINK THAT HAS BEEN OUR GOVERNANCE PROCESS.
THANK YOU, MS. MCBRIDE FOR CLARIFYING THAT, TRUSTEE DEIGAARD.
SO THAT THIS PARTICULAR AUDIT THAT HE REFERENCED MY RECOLLECTION IS THAT WASN'T THE PROCESS THAT IT WENT THROUGH.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THIS WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED ISN'T THE PROCESS THAT IT SHOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH. I THINK IT WASN'T.
YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A FOUR YEAR PROCESS TO GET US TO HEAR FROM AN AUDIT FUNCTION THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH NONEXISTENT AS A BOARD AND THAT PARTICULAR AUDIT, YOU KNOW, YOU USED THE WORD EMERGENCY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS I WAS ON THE HISD FOUNDATION BOARD.
THE FBI THING HAD JUST HAPPENED AND IT WAS, HEY, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING HAS HAS COME TO LIGHT THAT WE SHOULD BE EXAMINING THE DONATIONS THAT COME TO THE DISTRICT UNDER $5,000 FROM ONE DONOR LIKE INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS, BUT IN THE AGGREGATE FOR THAT DONOR WAS MORE THAN $5,000 AND I THINK I WENT TO YOU AND DR.
LATHAN AT THE TIME OF LIKE THIS IS A CONCERN I HAVE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS MAY LET'S FIRST GET THE INFORMATION.
THIS MAY BE A POLICY THAT THE BOARD NEEDS TO TWEAK A LITTLE BIT, BUT THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST TO GIVE YOU ALL AN IDEA OF WHAT CAME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A YEAR LIKE THAT.
AND IF I MAY ADD TO THAT, MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED VERY MANY REQUESTS FROM INDIVIDUAL TRUSTEES SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE.
I COULD COUNT THEM ON ONE HAND.
SO FOR ME, IT'S NOT AN ISSUE THAT I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT AND IF IT WAS, I WOULD BRING IT TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND SEE WHERE THAT LEADS US.
YEAH, I THINK THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE'S FEEDBACK AND I THINK JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE FOLLOW, YOU KNOW, GIVING THAT FEEDBACK PRIOR TO THE PLAN BEING DRAFTED SO THAT WE ALL HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU OVERALL FEEDBACK AND OF COURSE, THERE WILL BE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE'S NOT PULLING YOU IN 20 DIRECTIONS. UNDERSTOOD.
OK, SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO AUDITS OF CONCERN AND OPEN FINDINGS.
[DISCUSS AUDITS OF CONCERN & OPEN FINDINGS]
SO SOME OF THE SLIDES ARE OUT OF ORDER, SO WE'LL BE ON SLIDE 42.[00:45:01]
MADAM PRESIDENT, DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS ONE OR YOU JUST WANT ME TO DISCUSS IT? IF YOU WANT TO JUST SHARE WHAT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.OK. IN 2018, I WAS TASKED WITH CREATING AN AUDIT DASHBOARD FROM THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
[STATUS UPDATE FOR AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS]
WE CREATED ONE AND OVER TIME, WITH THE HELP OF CHIEF GIL HELSINN AND HIS TEAM, THE DASHBOARD HAS BEEN MODIFIED.FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S ON A NEW PLATFORM NOW COMPARED TO THE PLATFORM THAT IT WAS ON.
THE PROCESS IS ONCE AN AUDIT REPORT HAS BEEN FINALIZED.
WE TRANSFER THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THE DASHBOARD AND THEN WE EXPECT MANAGEMENT TO UPLOAD SOME EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THE RECOMMENDATION HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. IF WE EVALUATE THAT DOCUMENT AND FIND THAT IT DOESN'T MEASURE UP, THEN WE LET THEM.
WE LET THE DEPARTMENT KNOW AND THEN WHEN IT GETS REVISED AND SO FORTH.
IN ADDITION TO THAT PROCESS, MY AUDIT MANAGERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOOKING AT WHAT'S BEEN SUBMITTED AND MAKE SURE THAT IT DOES RING THE BELL AND IF NOTHING HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO REACH OUT TO MANAGEMENT, TO HAVE THAT DOCUMENT UPLOADED, IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION YESTERDAY THAT WE HAVE 471 OPEN ITEMS FOR WHICH NOTHING'S BEEN UPLOADED INTO THE DASHBOARD. SO THAT WEAKNESS IS SOMETHING THAT I STARTED YESTERDAY WITH MY TEAM SAYING, WE MUST TURN THIS AROUND.
THIS MUST BE TURNED AROUND AND THAT'S A COMBINATION OF US DOING OUR JOB, WHICH WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE NOT BEEN AND ALSO WORKING WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CHIEFS DO THEIR PART THROUGH THEIR MANAGEMENT TEAMS. SO WORKING TOGETHER, WE'RE GOING TO TURN THIS THING AROUND.
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THAT CONTEXT AND WITH THE PREVIOUS ITERATION OF THE DASHBOARD, THE YOU KNOW, SEEING IF THERE WAS EVIDENCE, AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHAT THE TRUSTEES COULD SEE. IT WAS PRETTY BURIED WITH THE NEW VERSION, WHICH WE WILL BE GETTING ACCESS TO VERY SOON, AND CHIEF [INAUDIBLE] WILL BE SENDING THAT INFORMATION TO US.
I'VE ALSO ASKED FOR THIS TO BE JUST PART OF EVERY AUDIT COMMITTEE.
I THINK THIS IS CRITICAL INFORMATION BECAUSE WE CAN DO A MILLION AUDITS A YEAR BUT IF WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY MAKING SURE THAT THOSE FINDINGS ARE ADDRESSED, IT SERVES NO PURPOSE, IN MY OPINION SO MS. LOGAN.
A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS OF THE 471 THAT ARE OPEN.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE OVERDUE? THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD METRIC FOR YOU GUYS TO ALSO ADD TO THE DASHBOARD JUST TO KIND OF TRACK AND WATCH THE OVERDUE ONES COME DOWN.
WELL, WE CAN GET THAT DETAIL, BUT AGAIN, THIS GOES BACK TO 2018.
YEAH, SO SO PROBABLY A LOT OF THEM, BUT IT MAY BE A GOOD WAY TO TRACK HOW YOUR, YOU KNOW, HOW THE DISTRICT IS DOING AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS ON THE STATUS OF REJECTED RECOMMENDATIONS. IS THERE A PROCESS FOR A CHIEF TO SAY, I WANT TO ACCEPT THE RISK, I'M GOING TO DO THAT AND DOES THAT IS THERE A PROCESS WHERE THAT COMES TO YOU AND YOU APPROVE THAT? OR DO THEY JUST TELL YOU I'M I'M REJECTING THIS RECOMMENDATION, I'M NOT GOING TO DO IT. IT'S A COMBINATION OF THINGS MS. LOGAN, SO LET'S SAY THE RESPONSE IS REJECTION WE MAKE, WE RECOMMEND THIS THAT'S NOT ACCEPTED, AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION IS NOT OFFERED.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT'S THE MINORITY OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN.
IT'S A VERY SMALL NUMBER, AS IT SHOULD BE.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS AN APPROVAL PROCESS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO REJECT IT. NO, THERE IS NOT AN APPROVAL PROCESS NOW IF SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE WANTS US TO CREATE THAT AND BEFORE IT CAN BE REJECTED, HIS TEAM HAS TO SAY THEY AGREE WITH THAT REJECTION OR NOT. WE CAN.
WE CAN ADD THAT IF DESIRED BUT THAT'S NOT PART OF THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
[00:50:01]
OR IT MAY JUST BE GOOD QUARTERLY TO SAY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, HERE'S YOU KNOW, THE THREE THAT GOT REJECTED. I JUST WANT YOUR EYES ON IT.OR, YOU KNOW, JUST SAY THAT HE'S AWARE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WHAT'S BEING REJECTED.
GOOD. TRUSTEE BAKER, OR WAS THAT FROM BEFORE? OK. TRUSTEE DEIGAARD SO THIS IS PIGGYBACKING ON MS. LOGAN'S QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I WAS THINKING SIMILARLY ACTUALLY BOTH ABOUT THE OPEN ONES AND THE REJECTED ONES ABOUT WHAT.
LET'S START WITH THE REJECTED ONES, WHAT THAT PROCESS IS, IT SOUNDS LIKE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE JUST SHOWING UP IN THE DASHBOARD AS REJECTED.
YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE REJECTED.
WE'RE SEEING IF THEY'RE REJECTED FOLLOWING THE AUDIT DASHBOARD BUT DOES THE SUPERINTENDENT KNOW IF YOUR STAFF HAS REJECTED IT? I ACTUALLY RECEIVED THIS THIS INFORMATION YESTERDAY, AND AGAIN, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THIS, IT GOES BACK FOUR YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, SIX MONTHS, SEVEN MONTHS NOW BUT AS MR. BLACKWELL INDICATED, WE CAN DEVELOP A SYSTEM AND PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, HE FLAGS CERTAIN THINGS FOR ME ON A CONSISTENT BASIS TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE NEED TO REBOOT THOSE ITEMS THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND IN PARTICULAR, CHIEFS ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE FEEDBACK AND THE DOCUMENTATION NEEDED, WE CAN DO SO.
THANK YOU AND YEAH, NO, I GET THAT.
THIS IS ALL AGAIN A BACKLOGGED SYSTEM AT THIS POINT.
SO MY QUESTION FOR YOU, MS. LOGAN, IS SO THE OTHER THING IN MY HEAD IS SHOULD THERE BE THE BOARD BE PART OF AN APPROVAL PROCESS, YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
DOES THAT LOOK LIKE QUARTERLY AT AN AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING THAT WERE AT LEAST TOLD, HERE ARE THE ONES THAT WERE REJECTED THE LAST QUARTER.
HOW DOES THE, YOU KNOW, DO WE SHOULD WE BE PART OF THAT REVIEW PROCESS? BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALSO ASSUMING THAT RISK AS THE BOARD OF THE ORGANIZATION. SO I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STANDARD PRACTICE IS WITH THAT.
YEAH, SO I THINK THAT I THINK I THINK IT'S VERY GOOD FOR YOU TO BE...
I THINK IT'S VERY GOOD FOR YOU TO BE AWARE OF OF WHAT, WHAT IS REJECTED.
I THINK MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT DR.
HOUSE GETS THE GETS THEM AND THAT HE'S OK WITH IT IN AND THEN HE COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD TO SAY, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE ONES THAT WERE REJECTED.
I AGREE WITH THESE. I DON'T AGREE.
I DON'T THINK THAT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE HAS TO APPROVE BUT I DO THINK YOU GUYS SHOULD HAVE OVERSIGHT TO SEE WHAT WAS REJECTED.
IS IT IMPORTANT? AND, YOU KNOW, DOES IN EFFECT DOES MANAGEMENT AGREE WITH THE REJECTION? SO OVERSIGHT ABOVE JUST BEING STATED IN THE DASHBOARD, BUT SOMETHING WE WOULD REVIEW LOOKED AT. YES, I WOULD.
I WOULD AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE OPEN ONES.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE MIGHT NOT HAVE THOSE REPORTS ALL HAVE A DEADLINE BY WHICH THE ADMINISTRATION IS GOING TO REMEDY THE FINDING OR TAKE THE ACTION THAT THEY'VE AGREED TO TAKE. SO THIS 471 IS PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF TWO GROUPS, SOME THAT ARE STILL OKAY TO BE OPEN, IF YOU WILL, AND OTHERS THAT AREN'T OKAY TO BE OPEN AND SO MY QUESTION WOULD BE WHAT? WHAT DOES? DID YOU? IS THIS SOMETHING YOU ALSO JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT? WE BOTH FOUND OUT YESTERDAY.
OK. ALL RIGHT, SO I'M GOING TO REFRAIN FROM ASKING MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT UNTIL YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIG INTO IT.
THANK YOU. I ALSO WANT THE BOARD AND MR. HOUSE TO KNOW THAT IF SOMETHING'S REJECTED, I DO SCRUTINIZE IT.
JUST THIS WEEK, WE HAD ONE RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS REJECTED IN ONE OF OUR AUDIT REPORTS AND IT WAS RELATED IN MY MIND, AT LEAST TO ME, REACHING OUT TO CHIEF GIL [INAUDIBLE].
I GAVE HIM THE DOCUMENT HE COULD SEE TO READ WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION WAS, WHAT THE REJECTION WAS AND THE COMMENTS.
OK, CHIEF [INAUDIBLE] WHAT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS? IS THIS OK? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO SO THAT THIS REJECTION CAN BE CONVERTED INTO ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE? SO SO WE HAVE THOSE KIND OF DISCUSSIONS WHEN WARRANTED? ALL RIGHT, TRUSTEE WADE.
MY QUESTION IS ON THE PARTIALLY CLOSED, ESSENTIALLY THOSE ARE STILL OPEN.
HOW LONG DO WE FORESEE THOSE STILL BEING IN THE PARTIAL BUCKET? I WOULD HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THOSE I DON'T KNOW, THE INDIVIDUAL ONES THAT MAKE UP
[00:55:04]
THOSE SEVEN. I'D HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THEM AND GET BACK TO YOU.OK, MAKES SENSE. THAT'S FINE AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS UNDER THE REVIEW BY THE INTERNAL AUDIT, THERE ARE 20.
SO WHAT MAKES THAT DIFFERENT THAN EVERYTHING ELSE? OK THESE ARE DRAFT REPORTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSES TO, AND WE HAVE TO EVALUATE THOSE RESPONSES.
WE CAN'T FINALIZE THE REPORT UNTIL WE DO OUR PART.
SO BASICALLY, THOSE ARE STILL ALSO OPEN? THEIR OPEN AUDIT REPORTS.
OK, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M.
SO THAT'S 27 THAT ARE STILL SORT OF IN THE OPEN BUCKET.
YES, BUT CHANCES ARE FOR THOSE 20, THOSE PROBABLY WILL NOT BE REJECTED ITEMS. OK, THANK YOU.
OK, SO THERE ARE MORE THERE ARE MORE YESES THAN THE REJECTIONS.
THANK YOU, EVERYONE, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS CONVERSATION THAT I THINK IS REALLY CRITICAL, ESPECIALLY MOVING FORWARD, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS THIS LIST ONGOING AND ON THE NEXT PAGE.
IT'S JUST YOU CAN LOOK AT IT BY AUDIT PRACTICE AND KIND OF SEE WHERE WHERE THOSE OPEN AND CLOSED FINDINGS ARE.
[LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD (LBB) AUDITS “CHANGE AND APPROACH” AND AUDIT PLAN IMPACT]
OK, SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE LBB AUDITS, I THINK.I DON'T THINK THERE'S INFORMATION.
I MEAN, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO SHARE THE INFORMATION CORRECT? YES, MA'AM. SORRY, TRUSTEE SANTOS.
SO, CHIEF [INAUDIBLE] CAN YOU EXPAND SO WE HAVE 10 REJECTIONS AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, 6 IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND ONE IN IT, SO IS THERE A REASON WHY CONSTRUCTION SERVICES HAS MORE REJECTIONS THAN OTHERS? IS THAT IS THERE? ARE THERE POLICIES GUIDED A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THAN OURS? NO, THE POLICY IS THE SAME AS A MATTER OF HOW THEY ARE APPLIED AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES A FAIRLY UNIQUE PROCESS THAT WE DON'T SEE IN INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTIONS, EXCEPT FOR IN AREAS WHERE THERE'S CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY.
SO I MEAN, BECAUSE YOU SAID THEY'RE ABNORMAL, REJECTIONS ARE ABNORMAL, BUT 10 SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED TO CONSTRUCTION SERVICES SEEMS PRETTY I WOULD SAY IF THERE THAT NUMBER WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED DIFFERENTLY AMONG THESE AREAS OF AUDIT, RIGHT? IF IT WERE ABNORMAL BUT 10 THERE SEEMS PRETTY.
WELL PUT IT IN THE PROPER CONTEXT OF THERE'S A LOT OF AUDIT FINDINGS IN THE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES AREA, SO 10 IS FAIRLY MINUTE.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S NOT THAT IT'S UNIMPORTANT.
THAT'S NOT MY POINT, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO PUT IT INTO CONTEXT.
THE MAJORITY OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IN THE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES AREA ARE EITHER FULLY ACCEPTED OR PARTIALLY ACCEPTED AND IF CONSTRUCTION SERVICE LEADERSHIP FEELS THAT IT MUST BE REJECTED, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO SO.
WE DO TRY TO WORK WITH THEM ON IT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY CONSTRUCTION SERVICES UNDER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER IS THAT.
OK, AND THEN EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE GOING TO BE UNDER ACADEMIC OFFICER ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
GO AHEAD. TRUSTEE WADE, SORRY.
THANK YOU, MR. BLACKWELL. I HAVE A QUESTION TO YOU AND THIS ALSO PROBABLY SPEAKS TO THE COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE. SO BASED ON WHAT I'M LOOKING AT HERE WITH THE FINANCE AND OPERATIONS WITH OPEN, THERE'S 216 AND THEN OBVIOUSLY IN CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, WE'RE LOOKING AT 120.
I'M LOOKING AT THESE OPEN CONCERNS.
I WOULD THINK THAT EDUCATION PROGRAMS, IF WE'RE KIND OF PUT THINGS IN BUCKETS TO WHAT'S PRIORITY WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN PRIORITIES IN THE AUDIT SO THAT WE'RE TALKING A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE ACROSS THE, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING SO THAT EDUCATION
[01:00:04]
PROGRAMS ARE PROBABLY FIT INTO THAT, BUT ALSO THAT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE THE FINANCE AND OPERATIONS AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES WOULD BE IN THE SECOND TIER PRIORITIES.IF WE'RE GOING TO PICK PRIORITIES, SO I'M JUST LOOKING AT THIS AND IT'S CONCERNING TO WITH A BOND, AS A POSSIBLE FUTURE IDEA.
THANK YOU. ONE THING TO ALSO KEEP IN MIND IS I HAVE A NUMBER OF AUDIT REPORTS THAT ARE ON MY DESK TO REVIEW, AND I BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE IN THESE POCKETS, TOO.
SO ONCE I GO THROUGH MY REVIEW PROCESS, SOME OF THESE WILL LIKELY CHANGE.
THANK YOU. CHIEF BLACKWELL, I THINK, JOHN.
THANKS, [INAUDIBLE]. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW ME, I'M JOHN GERWIN I'M THE CONSTRUCTION AUDIT MANAGER.
GETTING BACK TO THE REJECTED FINDINGS ON CONSTRUCTION AUDIT REPORTS, USUALLY AND FIRST OF ALL, THE BOND PROGRAM HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS.
SAY WE FIND WE GO THROUGH AND WE FIND A $6,000 ERROR IN A CONTRACT THAT THEY ARE ALREADY HAVE NEGOTIATED TO CLOSE OUT.
THEY WILL BASICALLY COME TO ME AND SAY, JOHN, IT'S NOT WORTH OUR TIME AND MONEY TO GO COLLECT THAT WHEN WE FORMALLY CLOSE THIS PROJECT OUT.
ALL I CAN DO IS MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND EXCUSE ME, BUT I'M CHOKING ON THIS MASK.
ALL I CAN DO IS MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND I HAVE TO RESPECT THEIR DECISIONS, AND I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT THOSE 10 ARE INSTANCES LIKE THAT.
THE OTHER THING IS, OF THE 120, I'VE GOT TO GO BACK AND LOOK BECAUSE WE HAVE A PROCESS OF DOING FOLLOW UP AUDIT REPORTS.
SO WE'RE FOLLOWING UP ON FINDINGS FROM PREVIOUS REPORTS.
I HAVE TO LOOK AND SEE IF THE RESULTS OF OUR FOLLOW UPS HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THIS CHART, AND I CAN GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT.
BUT THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT IT IS I WAS MAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE 10 THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT WAS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, I HAVE A WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.
I HAVE TO RESPECT THEIR DECISIONS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE PLAYING WITH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BUILDING TOP NOTCH SCHOOLS AND IF THEY SAY, JOHN, WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE SIX MILLION OR SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS OR WHATEVER WE'VE NEGOTIATED, THEY DID A GOOD JOB FOR US.
THEY COULD COME BACK AND THEY COULD SAY, WELL, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HIT ME WITH THIS, WE INCURRED ALL THIS OTHER COSTS OVER HERE THAT WE DIDN'T BRING TO THE TABLE.
SO THEY'RE PLAYING A FINE LINE RIGHT NOW, AND I HAVE TO RESPECT IT FOR 99 PERCENT OF THE FINDINGS. THEY RESPECT ME AND THEY USUALLY COME THROUGH ON THEM.
TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, THANK YOU, AND I APPRECIATE THIS DATA BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN AN EVOLVING PROCESS, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, WE STARTED IT PRETTY MUCH ZERO FOUR YEARS AGO.
THIS WHAT I'M SEEING HERE IS THIS IS SORT OF THE NEXT STEP OF THE PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO PUT OUR EYES ON, AND WE NEED TO WORK WITH INTENTION OF BUILDING OUR PRACTICE AROUND OUR INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION AND SO THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS I'M LOOKING ESPECIALLY AT THIS, THIS GRAPH IS, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.
WOULD IT BE REASONABLE TO HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT ARE OPEN, WHICH ONES, YOU KNOW, HAVEN'T DEADLINE EXPIRATION DATE, WHATEVER IT'S CALLED IN THE FORGETTING IN THE AUDIT REPORT, BUT THAT THE DEADLINE HASN'T COME BUT FOR THE ONES THAT IT HAS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN, JUST LIKE WITH THE
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POLICY REVIEW THAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH AND CATCHING UP ON THAT.WHAT IS THE ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN ON THIS TO GET US CAUGHT UP? WOULD IT BE REASONABLE AT THE APRIL MEETING TO HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT? OR IS THAT TOO SOON? THE APRIL BOARD MEETING OR THE APRIL AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING? I'D LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH MR. BLACKWELL AGAIN.
A LOT OF THIS IS BRAND NEW AS OF ABOUT 8:07 LAST NIGHT.
OKAY? SO I'D LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH HIM TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS REASONABLE SO THAT WE CAN SET OUT FOR A TIMELINE.
SO I'D BE GLAD TO CONNECT WITH HIM AND HE AND I CAN CONNECT WITH PRESIDENT CRUZ TO ENSURE THAT WE LET YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE BEST ORDER OF ACTION WILL BE IN TERMS OF TIMING FOR FOR UPDATES. OKAY, THANK YOU.
TRUSTEE DEIGAARD I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST THAT AFTER WE HAVE OUR CONVERSATION INTERNALLY, WE MAY FIND THAT GOING BACK TO 2018, IT'S NOT VERY FRUITFUL BECAUSE IT'S SOMEWHAT STILL IN ORBIT AT THIS TIME.
SO MAYBE WE WILL AGREE THAT WE NEED TO PARE IT DOWN, MAYBE NOT GO AS FAR BACK AS 2018 UNLESS IT'S THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DESIRE THAT WE DO SO AND WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT LEADS US.
OKAY. I THINK MY FUNDAMENTAL INTEREST HERE IS, YOU KNOW, THIS SHOULDN'T JUST BE AN EXERCISE TO SAY WE HAVE AN AUDIT FUNCTION.
IT'S NOT REALLY FUNCTIONING IF THE WHOLE LOOP DOESN'T WORK AND SO I I'M ALREADY IDENTIFYING, I THINK AND COLLEAGUES, CORRECT ME IF YOU SEE OR SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY OR DISAGREE THAT THIS IS AN AREA OF FOCUS THAT WE COULD WORK ON AS A COMMITTEE THIS YEAR OF IMPROVING OUR PRACTICE AS A COMMITTEE AROUND THE FULL PROCESS.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THOSE SUGGESTIONS, TRUSTEE SANTOS, CHIEF BLACKWELL, SO I KNOW AGAIN, AND IF AT LEAST IF I'M NOT WITHIN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, PLEASE STOP ME.
SO WE HAVE HERE IN CONSTRUCTION SERVICES SAM HOUSTON HIGH SCHOOL, THE STATUS OF AUDITS, IT'S STILL REPORTING.
SO WHEN WE'RE FACTORING COVID 19, THERE WAS A BUILD.
THE BUILDING WASN'T. WE CLOSED DOWN IN 2020.
THE BUILDING HAD JUST OPENED AND APPARENTLY THEY WERE OUT OF THEIR WARRANTY OR WHATEVER THE CONSTRUCTION WARRANTY BUT BECAUSE THE BUILDING WASN'T USED IN 2020 AND 20, HOWEVER LONG IT WASN'T USED OR THAT SECTION OF THE BUILDING WASN'T USED AND THEN THEY WENT BACK AND PARTS OF THE BUILDING WEREN'T WORKING.
YEAH, SO SO ARE YOU FACTORING COVID LIKE THAT ABSENCE OF THE USAGE OF BUILDING FOR THE FIRST FOR THE 2020 YEAR ADDITIONALLY.
WHEN WE ARE EXAMINING, YOU KNOW, AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THE BOND BACK TO TRUSTEE WADE'S POINT, LIKE IF WE'RE GOING TO ASK THE COMMUNITY FOR A BOND TO, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE GOING TO ASK FOR MORE MONEY WHEN THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE SPENT HASN'T BEEN UTILIZED? I'M GOING TO KIND OF PARAPHRASE IT AND SEE IF I GOT IT RIGHT.
YOU'RE SAYING THAT SAM HOUSTON HAD JUST OPENED EVERYTHING GOT CLOSED DOWN FOR COVID.
THEN WHEN EVERYBODY GOT BACK, OH, WARRANTY AND WARRANTY SERVICES WERE NOT PERFORMED OR YOU FOUND STUFF THAT WAS DEFICIENT THAT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY.
OK, I WILL HAVE TO DEFER THAT AND GO ASK DAN BANKHEAD OR ON VARIOUS PEOPLES THAT SPECIFIC QUESTION, BECAUSE I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT.
WE MAINLY LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL SIDE OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS BUT I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO RELAY THAT QUESTION.
OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I GUESS THAT GOES NOW TO OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'D WANT TO, LIKE HOW THIS THE AUDIT IS CARRIED OUT? LIKE, I'D LIKE TO KNOW.
I KNOW YOU'RE SAYING THESE ARE THE AREAS IN WHICH YOU'RE LOOKING AT BUT WHAT IS THAT SCOPE THAT CARRIES YOUR AREA LIKE? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THESE FINDINGS, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU'RE LOOKING INTO FINANCE AND OPERATIONS AND THEY HAVE ZERO REJECTS, BY THE WAY.
BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS IT LIKE THAT YOU'RE AUDITING? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE BEFORE OR? BEFORE SO.
UM, WHAT WE DO IS NOT JUST THE AUDIT TOPIC.
WE ALSO CREATE AUDIT OBJECTIVES AND ITS THOSE OBJECTIVES THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE
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BOARD THAT WE ENDEAVOR TO SATISFY.SO IT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT AS WE BEGIN THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT OBJECTIVES IN THERE.
SO WHEN I BRING YOU AN AUDIT PLAN AND HERE ARE THE OBJECTIVES FOR EACH AUDIT.
THAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, WELL, WAIT A MINUTE, CAN WE LOOK AT THIS AS AN OBJECTIVE INSTEAD OF THIS THAT YOU OFFER? WE CAN HAVE THAT DIALOG AND SEE WHERE IT LEADS US.
OKAY, AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
SURE AND JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE SO IN TERMS OF LIKE THESE OPEN FINDINGS IN TERMS OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE LOOKING AT THESE, THIS IS NOT BEEN OUR COMMON PRACTICE, BUT SOMETHING WE WILL BE DOING MOVING FORWARD.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE A DIFFERENT STANCE ON LBB ITEMS. BEFORE THAT AGREEMENT WE WERE LOOKING AT LBB ITEMS BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATION HAD COMPLETED IMPLEMENTING THE LBB ITEM, SO THAT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT THE CONVERSATION, SHOULD WE STAY THE COURSE THAT WE'RE ON OR DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO WAIT UNTIL THE ADMINISTRATION IS OUT OF TIME TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATION? TELL US THAT IT'S READY TO LOOK AT AND THEN WE AUDIT IT.
I AGREED TO GO WITH THE ADMINISTRATION'S RECOMMENDATION, AND BESIDES ON THE PATH THAT WE WERE ON BEFORE THE AGREEMENT THAT MAY HAVE CAUSED IN SOME INSTANCES FOR THE SAME LBB ITEM TO BE LOOKED AT AGAIN AFTER IT'S COMPLETE, SO WE COULD DUPLICATE EFFORT.
SO THAT'S THE CHANGE THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET, AND I PRESENTED THAT STANCE TO SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE AS WELL AS THE CABINET.
SO NOW WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE THAT'S THE APPROACH GOING FORWARD.
HOW MANY AUDITS IS THIS AFFECTING OUT OF THE WHOLE PLAN? THERE ARE, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, 97 OR SO LBB, NO SORRY, LIKE WITHIN YOUR 2022 AUDIT PLAN, HOW MANY OF THOSE AUDITS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS? THIS IS JUST A HANDFUL.
I'LL HAVE TO GET THE SPECIFIC NUMBER AND GIVE IT GIVE IT TO YOU, BUT IT'S LESS THAN 10.
HAS THIS COMMITTEE BEEN MONITORING THE ADMINISTRATION'S IMPLEMENTATION OR RESPONSE OF THE LBB AUDIT FINDINGS? SO WE'VE GOTTEN A COUPLE OF UPDATES.
I THINK THE LAST UPDATE, I DON'T THINK IT WAS IN NOVEMBER, IT WAS IN THE MEETING PRIOR TO THAT AND WE ASKED, SO IN THE DASHBOARD, OR I GUESS, THE WEBSITE, THE PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE THAT HAS THOSE AUDIT OR THE SORRY, THE LBB RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE ASKED FOR A LITTLE MORE DETAIL I HAVEN'T GONE BACK TO SEE.
SO WE'VE GOTTEN UPDATES WE HAVEN'T BEEN AUDITING IT, PER SAY, IN MY OPINION.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE PREVIOUS COMMITTEE DISCUSSED WANTING TO DO, OR IS THERE A REASON WHY THE COMMITTEE WASN'T? I THINK IT WAS JUST LACK OF INFORMATION FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, RIGHT I MEAN, THAT WAS SOMETHING I THINK THE FULL BOARD EXPERIENCED.
THIS COULD BE ANOTHER BUCKET THAT WE ADD FOR CONSIDERATION OF OUR WORK THIS YEAR.
SO CHIEF BLACKWELL, YOU'RE BASICALLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THESE AUDITS WILL BE IMPACTED.
OBVIOUSLY, YOU CAN'T COMPLETE THEM IF THE ADMINISTRATION HASN'T DONE THEIR COMPLETION.
SO YOU'RE PROPOSING WHAT? I WILL BE PROPOSING THAT IN OUR NEXT AUDIT PLAN, THAT WE IDENTIFY THOSE LBB ITEMS THAT WE'RE CARRYING FORWARD INTO THE NEXT AUDIT PLAN OUT OF THE CURRENT AUDIT PLAN.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE THE ADMINISTRATION TOLD ME ABOUT ONE LBB ITEM THAT I HAD INQUIRED ABOUT WHEN IT WOULD BE COMPLETE IF I RECALL THE RESPONSE CORRECTLY IS BEFORE THE
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END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, PERHAPS LATE SPRING WAS A TERM I THINK WAS USED, AND THAT LEAVES US SUFFICIENT TIME TO COMPLETE THAT ONE.WE WILL DO OTHERWISE THAT WILL BE CARRIED FORWARD INTO THE NEXT YEAR'S AUDIT PLAN.
ONE OTHER THING TO TELL YOU IS THAT WE IN THE AUDIT PLAN, WE DON'T LIST EACH LBB ITEM ALL THE WAY, 1 THROUGH 97.
IT'S JUST A BROAD TOPIC, BUT I THINK THAT INTERNALLY WE NEED TO KEEP THAT DETAIL NUMBER 1 THROUGH 97 AND THE STATUS OF EACH ONE AND PERHAPS REPORT THAT TO THE COMMITTEE GOING FORWARD. MR. HOUSE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SHARE IN TERMS OF THE LBB AND THE TIMELINE? SURE, I'D LIKE FOR DR.
ALLISON MATNEY TO COME UP AND SHARE WE DISCUSS SOME SOME INSIGHTS AROUND THIS THIS MORNING, AND I'D APPRECIATE IF YOU'D SHARE SOME OF THOSE INSIGHTS.
YEAH, THE WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH MR. BLACKWELL ON SOME OF THAT NEGOTIATION, LIKE WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN THIS FIRST BEGAN, THERE WAS REALLY NOT DIRECTION FOR MY GROUP THAT IS KEEPING TRACK OF OF THIS AND THE TIMING AND SETTING TO REALLY GATHER THAT DETAIL.
SO WE'RE WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CURRENT AUDITORS IN TYPES OF THINGS THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR AND LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN REVISE THE ITEMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED YET SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THOSE THINGS IN THAT DETAIL THAT SPECIFICITY MOVING FORWARD BUT IT WAS NOT THE EXPECTATION AT THE TIME WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THE LBB PROCESS.
SO, CHIEF BLACKWELL, LET ME MAYBE YOU SAID THIS, AND I'M SORRY.
IF SO, ARE YOU PROPOSING OTHER AUDITS IN LIEU OF THOSE AUDITS FOR THIS AUDIT PLAN? OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU STILL NEED TO? YOU'RE STILL CATCHING UP FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, I GUESS.
HELP ME UNDERSTAND WE'RE STILL CATCHING UP FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
THEY'RE MOSTLY IN THE REPORTING PHASE, AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF THEM THAT I'M GOING THROUGH ONE BY ONE.
I ISSUED ONE OR TWO YESTERDAY AS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
SO WE'RE IN CATCH UP MODE FOR FOR THOSE IN 2021 BUT I HOPE TO HAVE THOSE ALL BEHIND US BEFORE THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
THE UPDATE OF THE STATUS OF THE 2021 INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN, THIS WILL BE SLIDE 46.
[STATUS UPDATE FOR 2021 INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN]
2021 AND 2022, JUST GO AHEAD AND GO THROUGH ALL OF IT, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE QUESTIONS.OK, SO HERE'S A PICTURE OF WHERE WE STAND WITH 2021 IN A GRAPHIC PRESENTATION WITH THE COLOR CODING THAT YOU SEE, ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON THESE? SO I ANSWERED LIKE THE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BAR GRAPH, WHERE ITS SEVEN IN BLUE, TWO IN GREEN.
THAT'S THE ONES THAT I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, THAT I'M CURRENTLY ON MY DESK FOR REVIEW, SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THOSE COMPLETED BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR.
SIMILARLY, FOR THE OTHER ONES THAT ARE SHADED BLUE, THE TWO FOR EDUCATION AND ONE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, THE ONE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS A COVID RELATED REPORT.
MR. HOUSE AND I NEED TO CONTINUE OUR DIALOG ON ON THOSE COVID ONES YOU KNOW WHAT SHOULD WE . THE COVID ONES THE MAIN ISSUE IS, SHOULD THE DISTRICT HAVING WORKED FROM HOME PROCESS? AND I DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE RELEASING THAT AUDIT REPORT WITHOUT ENGAGING THE SUPERINTENDENT AND GETTING HIS VIEWS ON THAT BECAUSE THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO IS NOT BE PLAYING AS A TEAM AND WORKING TOGETHER AS A TEAM, WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT WE SHOULD DO WITH THIS CONCEPT OF WORK FROM HOME.
IF IT'S A NONSTARTER, I DON'T WANT TO REPORT IT.
IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO WHATEVER DEGREE THAT MAKES SENSE, THEN, AT THE
[01:20:04]
SUPERINTENDENT'S PLEASURE, THEN WE WOULD DO THAT.I WANT TO WORK WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND FOLLOW HIS INSTRUCTION ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM AND SEE WHERE THAT LEADS US AS FAR AS THE OTHER PARTS OF THE AUDIT REPORTS, WE CAN ISSUE THOSE LIKE WE DID THE ONE YESTERDAY, BUT WE HAVE TO THAT HAVE TO WORK FROM HOME ISSUE IN IT AND WE JUST NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THAT PIECE.
DO YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL OF YOUR SLIDES FOR 2021 AND 2022 AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK FOR QUESTIONS? OKAY. OR SORRY? IT IS. WHEN'S THE START, WHEN'S THE FINISH FOR THE PLAN CALENDAR-WISE? THE PLANS ARE WE CHANGED FROM FINISHING DECEMBER 31 TO JUNE 30.
THAT WAS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN THAT CHANGE WAS MADE.
OK, SO AN ANNUAL PLAN GOES FROM JULY 1ST OF 2021 THROUGH JUNE 30TH OF 2022. CORRECT. OK, THANK YOU.
2021 AUDITS IN PROCESS, THAT'S FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH.
THIS IS JUST A QUICK LIST OF THE PHASES THAT THOSE 2021 AUDITS ARE AND YOU CAN SEE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEM ARE IN THE COMPLETED PHASE, AND THEN I MENTIONED THAT SOME ARE WAITING FOR MY REVIEW.
THAT'S THE NUMBER 10 THAT YOU SEE AND MY EXPECTATION'S TO GET THE 10 DONE BEFORE WE'RE THROUGH WITH THIS FISCAL YEAR BUT YOU CAN SEE THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THOSE.
HERE'S ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE 2021 AUDIT PLAN.
IN THE EDUCATION SPACE, WE HAVE TWO THAT ARE IN THE REPORTING PHASE.
THAT MEANS EITHER THE AUDIT TEAM IS DOING THE DRAFT REPORT OR IT'S ON MY DESK TO REVIEW.
ASSIGNMENT OF LONG TERM TEACHERS, THAT'S WITH ME.
IMPACTS FROM COVID THAT WAS ISSUED YESTERDAY, FINALIZED, SO IT'S REALLY THE ONE YELLOW UP ABOVE FOR [INAUDIBLE] LONG TERM TEACHERS WHICH SHOULD GO OUT, PERHAPS THIS WEEK.
THE FINANCE AND OPERATIONS TEAM, THEIR AUDIT PLAN WAS COMPLETED IN JULY OF THIS FISCAL YEAR AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, THOSE ONES THAT ARE IN YELLOW ARE WHAT I MENTIONED EARLIER ON A PREVIOUS SLIDE THAT THOSE ARE FOR ME TO REVIEW, AND ONCE I GET THROUGH THAT REVIEW PROCESS, THOSE WILL BE COMPLETED AND PART OF THE DELAY ON THIS ONE FOR TRAINING PURPOSES.
I HAD A CONSULTANT WORK WITH MY CONSTRUCTION SERVICES TEAM TO HELP THEM TO IMPROVE THE WRITING OF AUDIT REPORTS.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
IT ALSO WOULD HELP ME TO GET MY REVIEWS DONE QUICKER.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY WE HAVE THAT MANY IN YELLOW RIGHT NOW AND THE ONE IN YELLOW, I MENTIONED THAT EARLIER, IT'S ONE OF THE COVID AUDITS THAT MR. HOUSE AND I CAN HOPEFULLY DISCUSS AND GET A [INAUDIBLE].
AS IN PREVIOUS AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS, YOU'VE SEEN THE LIST OF PRODUCTIVITY THAT WE HAVE. SO FAR FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR THAT WE'RE IN NOW, WE'VE ALREADY ISSUED 21 AUDIT REPORTS. NUMBER 21, AT THE BOTTOM IS ONE I WAS REFERRING TO THAT WAS ISSUED YESTERDAY.
[STATUS UPDATE FOR 2022 INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN]
[01:25:01]
ANOTHER PICTURE OF WHAT 22 LOOKS LIKE.ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE BEFORE I MOVE FORWARD? TRUSTEE DEIGAARD.
QUESTION ABOUT 2021, WHAT WERE THE IMPEDIMENTS TO COMPLETING 2021 ON TIME? THE IMPEDIMENTS WERE WE HAD SOME VACANCIES TO SOME DEGREE.
WE HAVE FOUR VACANCIES IN THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT RIGHT NOW, TWO ON THE INTERNAL AUDIT SIDE, TWO ON ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE.
THE ONES ON THE INTERNAL AUDIT, WE HAVE TWO, ONE WAS RECENTLY VACATED.
THE OTHER ONE HAS BEEN VACANT SINCE NOVEMBER.
IN MY EXPERIENCE HERE TAKES TIME.
IF WE'RE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE OUR SELECTEE'S PREFERENCE FOR SALARY, THEN WE CAN DO THAT BUT OFTENTIMES I GO DOWN TO SECOND CHOICE, THIRD CHOICE, FOURTH CHOICE TO GET SOMEONE ON OUR TEAM.
IT'S RARE THAT I GET MY FIRST CHOICE.
SO ON AVERAGE IN THESE PAST FOUR YEARS, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME HAVE YOU BEEN FULLY STAFFED? LET ME GIVE YOU BY WAY OF A CONCRETE EXAMPLE.
I'VE A JUNIOR AUDITOR POSITION IN OUR FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONS AUDIT PRACTICE.
I'M ABOUT TO GO ON MY FOURTH CANDIDATE.
HAVE WE ADVERTISED THAT JOB YET? THE ONE THAT [INAUDIBLE].
OKAY. SO ALL OF OUR VACANCIES HAVE BEEN ADVERTISED, ALL FOUR OF THEM BUT HISTORICALLY SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, UNLESS WE GIVE THE CANDIDATE WHAT HE OR SHE ASKED FOR, IT GETS REJECTED, THEN I GO TO NUMBER TWO AND OFTENTIMES IT'S REJECTED.
SO I END UP USUALLY GETTING MY THIRD OR FOURTH CHOICE CANDIDATE TO FILL MY VACANCIES AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF SALARY.
SO WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE IN THESE FOUR YEARS ARE YOU USUALLY FULLY STAFFED, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT WITH THEIR FIRST CHOICE CANDIDATE? OR DO YOU USUALLY HAVE A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF VACANCIES? I USUALLY HAVE TWO TO FOUR VACANCIES AT ANY GIVEN TIME OF THE YEAR.
WHAT PERCENT I DON'T KNOW IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE, BUT IT'S A HIGH PERCENTAGE.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, TRUSTEE, THIS IS A TOPIC WE TEND TO I UNDERSTAND I'M JUST TRYING TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO WHAT I KNOW HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM. SO MY OTHER TWO QUESTIONS ARE DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO COMPLETE THE 2021 AUDIT BY ONE? THIS IS FEBRUARY.
OK, SO YOU THINK YOU'RE CLOSE TO FINISHING THE 2021 PLAN? SO THE 2022 PLAN, DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BE COMPLETED BY JUNE 30TH? THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT IT WON'T AND THE REASON ONE MAIN REASON WHY IS BECAUSE WE'VE EXPERIENCED A LOT OF COVID IMPACTS IN THE DEPARTMENT.
OUT OF TWENTY THREE POSITIONS.
I THINK THERE IS ONLY TWO, INCLUDING MYSELF, WHO HAVE NOT MISSED A DAY BECAUSE OF COVID.
THIS IS JUST WHAT WE'RE LIVING WITH.
SO AND THAT COMBINED WITH THE FOUR VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE AS A DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW.
YOU PUT THOSE TWO TOGETHER AND IT PAINTS THAT PICTURE.
THANK YOU. OK, TRUSTEES, WE'RE RUNNING A LITTLE BEHIND SCHEDULE.
JUST BE MINDFUL, BUT PLEASE ASK YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU. SO IN 2019, WE PASSED A BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT FULLY FUNDED THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT AND YOU'RE SAYING YOU HAVE FOUR CURRENT VACANCIES NOW? THAT'S CORRECT. SO HOW MANY TOTAL POSITIONS DO YOU HAVE? 23 TOTAL POSITIONS? THAT'S CORRECT. OK, AND WHAT IS THE BUDGET FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT, CURRENTLY? IT'S AROUND TWO MILLION, OK? AND SO IN THAT SAME AMENDMENT AND THAT SAME POLICY, WE ALSO PASSED A COMPENSATION STUDY.
[01:30:06]
WHAT ARE COMPETITIVE SALARIES FOR POSITIONS IN YOUR DEPARTMENT AND WHAT WOULD THAT MOVE YOUR BUDGET TO? I'M GOING TO PUT THAT IN AS A REFERRAL.YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT NOW, BUT AND ALSO, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED FLOATING STAFF, MAYBE HIRING FOUR PART-TIME POSITIONS TO BE ABLE TO COME IN AND FILL THOSE VACANCIES DURING COVID ABSENCES? SO TRUSTEE THE NUMBER IS FOUR RIGHT NOW AND ACTUALLY, IF IT WASN'T FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S HELP, IT'D BE SIX BECAUSE TWO OF OUR POSITIONS WERE PAID ABOVE WHAT H.R.
SO WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEES HELP, WE WERE ABLE TO GO UP HERE TO GET THOSE TWO PEOPLE ON BOAR, BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF THING WE'VE HAD TO DO TO GET PEOPLE ON RIGHT. SO, SO IN THAT 2019 POLICY, WHEN WE GAVE YOU THE MONEY TO ADD ADDITIONAL POSITIONS, DID YOU STRATEGICALLY PLACE THAT MONEY SAYING, OK, WELL, I NEED PAY LEVEL THIS. SO I'M GOING TO COMBINE THESE TWO SALARIES AND FILL THIS POSITION HERE AND MAYBE THE LESSER THE POSITION THAT YOU CAN GO WITHOUT, USE THAT MONEY TO FIND IT LATER ON.
SO I WOULD HAVE NEVER I SHOULDN'T SAY THAT.
I THINK HAVING YOUR FIRST AND SECOND PICKS ARE PRIORITY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD HAVE FILLED FIRST AND THEN FILLED IN THOSE LATER GAPS.
BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE, THAT CAN DO A LOT OF WORK.
THAT'S JUST ANYWAY, SO I'M GOING TO PUT THIS IN AS A REFERRAL FOR NOW BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE LIMITED ON TIME AND I WANT MY COLLEAGUES TO BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS BUT THAT'S SO AGAIN WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THE COMPENSATION STUDY? WHAT'S THE MARKET VALUE FOR YOUR POSITIONS? AND WHAT WOULD YOU NEED THIS BUDGET TO BE FROM US TO MAKE YOU WHOLE? AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST WHOLE.
I'M TALKING ABOUT FIRST-TIERED CANDIDATES.
TRUSTEE WADE. THANK YOU, AND THANK YOU, TRUSTEE CRUZ.
QUESTION ON, I'M ASSUMING THIS TEACHER APPRAISAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM CARRY OVER TO TWENTY THREE IS BECAUSE OF THE NEW SYSTEM THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN PLAY FOR MONITORING.
I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THESE CARRY OVER AUDITS.
WHAT SLIDE ARE YOU ON? I'M LOOKING AT PAGE 49 TEACHER APPRAISAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM FOLLOW UP 2023 CARRYOVER AUDIT. SO, ASSIGNMENT OF LONG TERM TEACHERS IS UNDER REVIEW.
AT THE BOTTOM, THE TEACHER APPRAISALS ON PAGE 49.
[INAUDIBLE] OK, THANK YOU. [INAUDIBLE] TRUSTEE BAKER.
YES, I HAVE A QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO PAGE 51 AND FIRST OF ALL, I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THIS I THINK I GOT TO FIGURE IT OUT.
CONSTRUCTION CMAR MEAN CONTRACT COMPLIANCE AND COST RECOVERY.
I BELIEVE IT'S JUST WHAT THAT IS, RIGHT? CMAR STANDS FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK.
IT'S A TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT.
MOST OF THE CONTRACTS HERE AS HISD ARE THAT TYPE.
OKAY, MY SECOND QUESTION IS MOSTLY GEARED TOWARDS YOU AND MY TENURED COLLEAGUES THAT ON THAT SAME PAGE, IF WE SEE A SCHOOL IN OUR DISTRICT THAT'S LISTED THERE, IS THERE AN APPROPRIATE INTERACTION THAT SHOULD TAKE PLACE OR IS THAT JUST FOR MY INFORMATION ONLY? UM, WHICH SLIDE ARE YOU ON, TRUSTEE?
[01:35:01]
I'M STILL ON PAGE FIFTY ONE.LIKE, I SEE SHARPSTOWN INTERNATIONAL ON THERE AND IS THAT JUST FOR MY INFORMATION OR IN THE PAST IS THERE ANY TYPE OF APPROPRIATE INTERACTION THAT SHOULD TAKE PLACE OR ANY INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC OR ANYONE? OR IS THAT JUST FOR ME ONLY.
SO THIS THESE THAT ARE IN YELLOW, THEY'RE IN THE DRAFT REPORT PHASE.
THEY'RE UNDER MY REVIEW NOW AND ONCE IT'S FINALIZED, IT'LL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE FULL BOARD, INCLUDING YOURSELF.
AFTER READING THAT REPORT, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME, WE CAN CERTAINLY ENTERTAIN THOSE. OK, THANK YOU.
JUST A QUICK NOTE TO GARLAND ALSO JUST TO THE COMMITTEE.
SO ONE OF MY OTHER ROLES AT THE FIRM IS THAT I'M THE RECRUITING PARTNER OR THE PARTNER IN CHARGE OF RECRUITING AND I DON'T MEAN TO BE THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, BUT I THINK WHATEVER COMPENSATION STUDY THAT YOU GUYS DID, YOU MAY HAVE TO ADD SOME DOLLARS TO IT.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW WITH THE COVID ABILITY TO WORK FROM HOME IS THAT A LOT OF THE TECH COMPANIES ON THE WEST COAST ARE HIRING OUR HOUSTON BASED RESOURCES, LETTING THEM WORK FROM HOME AND STILL PAYING THEM CALIFORNIA BASED SALARIES.
SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH EVERYBODY.
I'M SURE MY COLLEAGUE AT BDO WILL SAY IT'S A STRUGGLE FOR THEM.
SO JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT IN AND YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOU THINK THAT YOU MIGHT NEED TO PAY YOUR FIRST CHOICE, IT MAY GO UP IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
SO AGAIN, NOT TO BE THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, BUT THAT'S JUST A TREND THAT WE'RE SEEING.
HOPEFULLY THAT'LL SLOW DOWN, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW.
SO THE AUDITOR THAT WE JUST RECENTLY LOST FITS RIGHT IN THE BUCKET THAT MS. LOGAN JUST DESCRIBED.
SHE FOUND A POSITION THAT IS REMOTE AND IS BETTER FOR HER FAMILY, IT'S BETTER FOR HER SALARY WISE. IT'S BETTER FOR HER ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT IT.
SHALL I ENTERTAIN HIS QUESTION, MADAM PRESIDENT? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
PEOPLES. ONE OF THEM WAS DONE IN SEPTEMBER AND IT WAS GIVE ME A LIST OF THE TYPICAL FINDINGS YOU FIND IN OUR BOND PROGRAMS AND SO I WENT BACK AND DATA MINED.
OUR REPORTS GAVE THAT TO HIM AND THEN HE SAID, I WANT A LESSONS LEARNED REPORT ON WHAT YOU'VE NOTED THAT WE CAN USE TO IMPROVE IN THE EVENT WE GET ANOTHER BOND PROGRAM, WHICH I JUST DISCUSSED WITH HIM LAST WEEK.
GARLAND HAS A COPY ON HIS DESK FOR REVIEW AND ONCE THAT GETS REVIEWED BY GARLAND, DAN BANKHEAD AND ANDREAS EACH HAVE A DRAFT COPY.
ONCE THAT GETS REVIEWED BY GARLAND, THAT WILL GO OUT AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION.
CHIEF BLACKWELL, YOU CAN PROCEED.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS SLIDE? OK, THIS IS JUST A CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
THIS IS A COVID RELATED AUDIT THAT'S IN YELLOW AND IT FALLS IN THAT BUCKET WHERE SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE AND I NEED TO DISCUSS IT FROM A CORPORATE POINT OF VIEW OR FROM HOME POINT OF VIEW SPECIFICALLY AND SEE WHERE THAT LEADS US.
THIS IS A REPORT [INAUDIBLE] FOR THE CURRENT OR THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR.
[01:40:05]
WE'RE STILL IN THE BEGINNING PHASE OF THE PLAN IDENTIFYING RISK AND WHAT KIND OF TOPICS DEPARTMENTS OF THE DISTRICT FALL WITHIN THOSE RISK AREAS AND GO THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS OF LEADING OURSELVES TOPICS THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE AUDIT PLAN FOR THE TEAM OF 10 TO CONSIDER. I WANTED TO PRESENT THAT PLAN TO YOU NO LATER THAN THE SECOND HALF OF MARCH AND HOPEFULLY GET BOARD APPROVAL NO LATER THAN JUNE 30, HOPEFULLY BEFORE THEN, BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME PRELIMINARY WORK IN JUNE AS WE ENTER INTO JULY TO START WORKING ON THE AUDIT PLAN. ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE 21-22 AUDIT PLAN STATUS.THESE ARE A PICTURE BY AREA OF AUDIT CONSTRUCTION SERVICES ON THE LEFT TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON THE RIGHT.
THIS IS ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE SAME, BUT IT LISTS EACH INDIVIDUAL PORTRAIT TOPIC AND THE STATUS IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND FOR THE ONES THAT ARE NOT STARTED, AS YOU WILL SEE, IT GETS BACK TO THE FACTORS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES AND FINANCIAL AND OPERATION AUDIT TEAM.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AUDITS BOTH INTERNALLY FOR MY TEAM, AS WELL AS THE EXTERNAL FIRM BDO, WHO AUDITS CHIEF G'S AREA.
TRUSTEE SANTOS, THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.
THIS QUESTION IS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND I GUESS WE'LL KEEP GOING.
SO THE IMPACT OF DECENTRALIZATION ON PRINCIPAL SUPPORT AND RETENTION, THIS PART OF THE AUDIT, WOULD THERE BE A COULD THERE BE ON YOUR BEHALF, AND MAYBE GARLAND'S LIKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN ATTENDANCE-BASED FUNDING AND ENROLLMENT-BASED FUNDING? AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LOOK INTO MOVING FORWARD TO SOMETHING THAT WAS BROUGHT UP IN THE STATE [INAUDIBLE] LAST SESSION.
SO AND I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE AND MAYBE THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE IMPACT ON PRINCIPAL SUPPORT AND RETENTION.
SO THERE'S AN AUDIT COMMITTEE WITH AUDIT FINDINGS, BUT HOW ARE WE WORKING TO IMPROVE AND OR HAVE WE LOOKED ELSEWHERE TO BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE OUR DOLLARS? I THINK DURING OUR UPCOMING BUDGET WORKSHOP, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION. ACTUALLY, PRESIDENT CRUZ AND I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN OUR IN OUR LAST MEETING, BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE SOME INSIGHT AROUND WHERE SOME OF THE SAVINGS MIGHT LIE AND WITH SOME OF THE PLANS THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD TO THE TABLE.
OKAY. BUT I BELIEVE FROM FROM CHIEF BLACKWELL'S STANDPOINT, WE'D BE GLAD TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC IMPACT AROUND DECENTRALIZATION ON PRINCIPAL SUPPORT AND RETENTION.
THANK YOU, THIS IS A TIMELINE QUESTION.
SO CHIEF BLACKWELL, I KEEP HEARING YOU SAY THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE BRINGING US THE 2023 PLAN BY THE MIDDLE TO END OF MARCH WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF THE BOARD APPROVING IT, YOU SAY BY THE END OF JUNE, BUT FROM A TIMING STANDPOINT, THAT WOULD BE THEN OUR JUNE BOARD MEETING. IT WOULD BE AN AGENDA ITEM.
SO IT'S NOT END OF JUNE, IT WOULD BE MIDDLE OF JUNE.
OK AND THEN BRINGING THE INITIAL PLAN BY MID TO END OF MARCH, WOULD THAT PLAN BE BROUGHT
[01:45:04]
TO THIS COMMITTEE FIRST? OR THAT'S ACTUALLY A CLARIFYING QUESTION THAT'S BROUGHT TO THIS COMMITTEE FIRST, RIGHT, TRUSTEE CRUZ? THAT'S CORRECT. BUT OUR NEXT MEETING OF THIS COMMITTEE IS NOT UNTIL APRIL 19TH.SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS YOU ACTUALLY WANT US TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT BY THE END OF MARCH IN ORDER TO HAVE YOU ON A TIMELINE FOR THE FULL BOARD TO APPROVE IT BY THE MIDDLE OF JUNE.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I PUT IT IN YOUR HANDS BY THE END OF MARCH.
OK, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A MEETING.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEND IT TO US BY THE END OF MARCH.
THEN WE CAN DISCUSS IT AT OUR APRIL 19TH MEETING, AND THAT'LL KEEP US ON TRACK TO HAVE IT APPROVED BY THE SECOND WEEK IN JUNE, CORRECT? CORRECT. OK, THANK YOU. TRUSTEE SANTOS.
CHIEF BLACKWELL. SO ON PAGE 67, THE ETHICS HOTLINE CASES, AND I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN A BIT
[ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE UPDATE]
CONFUSED. IT'S MY FIRST YEAR ON THE BOARD AS A FIRST YEAR TRUSTEE.SO THE CASES THAT I RECEIVED FOR THE ETHICS HOTLINE CASES.
DOES THE COMMUNITY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE THIS HOTLINE OR IS IT JUST AN INTERNAL HISD INTERNAL USE? I'M GOING TO INVITE TERESA, TO ADDRESS ALL THINGS ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE AND WHILE SHE'S UP HERE, I GUESS IF WE WANT TO GO AHEAD AND SHE CAN SHARE HER SLIDES.
HELLO. WILL YOU TURN THE MIC ON, MISS CORRIGAN? OH, RIGHT HERE? NO, I THINK THERE'S A BUTTON ON THE SIDE ON THE BOTTOM.
I'M TERESA CORRIGAN, DIRECTOR OF ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE.
YES, SO THAT IS AN INTERNAL SYSTEM.
SO WHAT ARE YOU ASKING? SO IF A COMMUNITY MEMBER HAS A CONCERN WITH SCHOOL, WHY A PRINCIPAL IS DOING SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
THEY WOULD THEN REPORT THAT TO WHOM? YES, THEY CAN REPORT IT.
YOU'RE RIGHT. A CONCERNED CITIZEN CAN ALSO REPORT THROUGH THE HOTLINE.
OK. AS WELL SO THEY CAN ALSO USE IT SO IT'S BOTH FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL.
YES. AND HOW MANY OF THESE ETHICS HOTLINE CASES ARE FROM LIKE FROM THE COMMUNITY? I DON'T KNOW THAT OFFHAND, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO AND REPORT BACK.
OK, I MEAN, A LOT OF TIMES AS TRUSTEES, WE GET REPORTS AND THAT'S NOT OUR LANE.
SO WE'D BE ABLE TO, [INAUDIBLE].
THAT'S RIGHT. MM HMM. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
YOU'RE WELCOME. DID YOU WANT TO PRESENT? YES. PLEASE GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR SLIDES.
OH, OK, SO THIS SLIDE? WELL, THIS FIRST.
IS THIS THE FIRST OR THE SECOND? THIS IS THE FIRST. OK, SLIDE 68.
THANKS. OK, SO THIS SHOWS BY MONTH HOW MANY CASES CAME IN AND HOW MANY WE CLOSED THAT MONTH. MAY NOT HAVE BEEN OPEN THAT MONTH, BUT THAT'S HOW MANY WE CLOSED THAT MONTH.
SO WHEN CASES COME IN, WE WILL ASSIGN THEM TO THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT.
OUR DEPARTMENT ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE WILL HANDLE ANYTHING THAT'S FRAUD RELATED AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE WORK WITH THESE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND THEN WE WILL MANAGE THE PROCESS AS WELL. WE WILL ASK FOR A STATUS UPDATE WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME AND FOLLOW UP EACH QUARTER SO THAT WE CAN REPORT ON THIS IF THEY DIDN'T GET BACK TO US AND SEE WHERE THEY ARE AND WE UPDATE THE SYSTEM AS WELL WITH OUR CASE NOTES AND WHO HANDLED THAT.
TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. SO JUST SO I CAN UNDERSTAND THE DATA I'M LOOKING AT ON PAGE 67.
OK, SO THE BLUE LINE FOR EACH MONTH, THAT'S THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NEW CASES YOU RECEIVED IN THAT MONTH.
OR IS IT THE CUMULATIVE NEW CASES PLUS THE ACCUMULATION OF PREVIOUS CASES THAT WEREN'T CLOSED? NEW CASES.
SO PURELY NEW CASES? OK, SO THE NEXT SLIDE WILL SHOW HOW MANY WE HAVE OPEN AT THE MOMENT.
[01:50:09]
I GUESS WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS, IT WOULD APPEAR JUST FROM THESE FOUR MONTHS IS THAT YOU HAD A BACKLOG, BUT YOU'VE CAUGHT UP.WOULD I BE READING THAT CORRECTLY? THAT OVER THOSE FOUR MONTHS YOU HAD ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY NINE NEW CASES.
YOU'VE CLOSED ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE.
I GUESS WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS, YOU KNOW WHAT WAS STILL OPEN PRIOR TO NOVEMBER BUT IF I JUST LOOK AT THESE FOUR MONTHS, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE CATCHING UP ON A BACKLOG.
OK, NEXT SLIDE. OK, SO HERE'S AN UPDATE FROM THE LAST AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.
I KNOW I MENTIONED SOME OF THESE, THEN WE HAD SOME E-RATE POLICIES BEING UPDATED.
SO THE CAA LOCAL, THE BOARD APPROVED AND NOW THE CAA REGULATION IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH E-RATE. IS HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED AND IT'S THE CABINET APPROVAL.
WE DO HAVE TRAINING SCHEDULED FOR YOU GUYS LATER THIS WEEK, AND I MENTIONED LAST TIME ABOUT A NEW PROCESS IN PLACE TO ENSURE VENDORS WITH DIRECT CONTACT WITH STUDENTS ARE COMPLETING THEIR CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AND THAT PROCESS HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
THE FORMS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY LEGAL AND THEY ARE IN OUR NEW E-BID SYSTEM AND SO THAT PROCESS IS WORKING WELL AND RELATED TO THE LAST TWO BULLETS, OPENINGS, WE DID FILL OUR ANALYST POSITION.
UNFORTUNATELY, OTHER ANALYSTS RETIRED, SO NOW I HAVE THAT ONE OPEN BUT THAT'S RECENT AND OUR SENIOR ANALYST HAS ACCEPTED OUR OFFER AND SHOULD BE HERE NEXT WEEK.
TRUSTEE SANTOS. MY QUESTION IS ON PAGE 69 BULLET POINT THREE NEW PROCESS TO ENSURE VENDORS WITH DIRECT CONTACT WITH STUDENTS COMPLETE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.
SO IS THAT THE VENDORS AND WHOMEVER COMES IN CONTACT WITH THEIR KIDS? I MIGHT BE THE VENDOR; I'M A NAIL SALON AND JUDITH IS COMING IN TO DO THE NAILS.
AM I THE ONE WHO'S VETTED OR IS JUDITH VETTED OR BOTH? ALL EMPLOYEES AND SUBCONTRACTORS OF THE VENDOR? SO THEN YOU WOULD. OK, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. CHIEF BLACKWELL, I THINK THAT CONCLUDES THE OPEN SESSION.
AT THIS TIME, THE COMMITTEE WILL ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION IN THE BOARD SERVICES CONFERENCE ROOM UNDER CHAPTER 551 OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE OPEN MEETINGS.
[CLOSED SESSION]
SUBSECTIONS 551.004, 551.071, 551.072, 551.073, 551.074, 551.076, 551.0812, 551.0821, 551.083, 551.089 . SHOULD BOARD FINAL ACTION VOTE OR DECISION ON ANY MATTER CONSIDERED IN THE CLOSED SESSION BE REQUIRED.SUCH FINAL ACTION VOTER DECISION SHALL BE TAKEN AT THE OPEN MEETING COVERED BY THIS NOTICE UPON THE RECONVENING OF THIS PUBLIC MEETING OR THE SUBSEQUENT PUBLIC MEETING OF THE BOARD UPON NOTICE THEREOF.
THE COMMITTEE, BOARD HAS ADJOURNED INTO CLOSED SESSION AT 10:57 A.M..
THE BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE HAS NOW RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION AT 12:08 P.M., WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO DISCUSS.
THIS MEETING OF THE BOARD AND AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW ADJOURNED AT 12:08 P.M..
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.