Aug 30, 2022 Special Board Meetings / Audit Committee

[00:00:01]

TODAY'S AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER AS A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

[CALL TO ORDER]

SORRY, WRONG SECTION.

I'M STILL DRINKING MY COFFEE.

THE MEETING OF THE BOARD'S AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER FOR THE PURPOSE STATED AND THE DULY POSTED MEETING NOTICE.

THE TIME IS 9:05 A.M.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT IN THE BOARDROOM ARE LIZ LOGAN AND TRUSTEE WADE.

ADDITIONAL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM ARE TRUSTEE GUIDRY, TRUSTEE GUIDRY.

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON APRIL 19, 2022?

[CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS]

OKAY. SO MOVED, SECOND.

PLEASE VOTE.

YOU CAN DO IT BY HAND.

I'M NOT GOING TO VOTE BECAUSE I DIDN'T READ THEM.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

ANNOUNCED, PLEASE. MOTION PASSES.

ONE IN FAVOR, ONE ABSTENTION.

DID TRUSTEE GUIDRY VOTE? WE'VE NOW COME TO THE PORTION OF OUR MEETING WHERE WE HEAR FROM SPEAKERS TO SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEMS.

[SPEAKERS TO AGENDA ITEMS ]

THERE ARE SEVERAL ITEMS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR US TO DISCUSS IN THIS MEETING TODAY.

[DISCUSS THE DRAFT 2023 AUDIT PLAN]

SO IF CHIEF BLACKWELL AND MR. JIM GRADY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE IT AND IF YOU NEED TO BRING UP VIDEO LIKE HOWEVER YOU ALL WANT TO HELP, GIVE US THE COMMITTEE THE CLEAREST PICTURE OF WHERE WE'RE AT, WHERE WE'RE GOING ON THIS, THAT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL.

AND Y'ALL MIGHT FIGURE OUT HOW TO, I'M LOOKING AT MR. GRADY, WHO'S STANDING BEHIND YOU TO MAKE ROOM.

SO, MADAM CHAIR, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO JIM AT THIS POINT IN TIME, AND THEN HE CAN RESORT TO ME IF NEED BE.

GREAT. SOUNDS GOOD. THANKS.

MIGHT BE MUCH EASIER FOR YOU ALL.

THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIRMAN.

GOOD MORNING, TRUSTEE WADE.

GOOD MORNING. AS YOU KNOW, MY FIRM WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH WITH GARLAND AND HIS TEAM OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, REALLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON INITIALLY IS, NUMBER ONE, REVIEWING THE BDO RISK ASSESSMENT AND LOOKING AT CHIEF GARLAND'S AUDIT PLAN FOR 22-23, IDENTIFYING ANY SORT OF DIFFERENCES OR ANY SORT OF I DON'T WANT TO SAY HOLES, BUT JUST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RISK ASSESSMENT THAT BDO PUT TOGETHER IN FEBRUARY AND WHAT HE HAS PUT TOGETHER.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, BDO, WE NEEDED TO PEEL BACK THE BDO REPORT A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING THE WAY THAT THEY RATED THEIR RISKS, THE BUSINESS RISKS THAT THEY LOOKED AT, SPECIFICALLY HOW THEY RATED IT, AND JUST GET A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEIR UNIVERSE WAS WHEN THEY LOOKED AT THAT.

SO WE'VE DONE THAT.

WE'VE NOW AT THE POINT WHERE WE FOUND A FEW PLACES WHERE BDO HAS IDENTIFIED A RISK.

IT'S NOT NECESSARILY AN AUDIT PLAN AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING RECENTLY NOW WITH GARLAND AND HIS TEAM AND BDO JUST TO UNDERSTAND THE THE RATIONALE OR JUST WHY SOMETHING IS, IS ON ONE THING BUT NOT ON THE OTHER.

FOR AN EXAMPLE, COMPENSATION IS, I THINK, NUMBER ONE IN TERMS OF THE AUDIT RISKS THAT BDO ASSESSED LAST SPRING, THE COMPENSATION PLAN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY INCLUDED ON GARLAND'S PLAN JUST BECAUSE WE THIS BOARD KNOWS WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT COMPENSATION OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, I BELIEVE.

I'M TOLD THERE IS A COMPENSATION STUDY THAT HAS BEEN DONE AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF JUST RECONCILING THAT.

IF THAT'S BEEN DONE, DOES THAT SATISFY THE BDO RISK? WE CAN THEN MOVE ON.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE PURCHASING PROCUREMENT THAT BDO IDENTIFIED RELATIVE TO THE PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES AND POLICIES. THERE WAS AN ASSESSMENT DONE IN THE SPRING RELATIVE TO PROCUREMENT.

AGAIN, IT'S GOING BACK TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT ASSESSMENT SATISFIES THE RISK, IN WHICH CASE THEN WE WERE ALL SQUARE.

SO THAT IS THE WORK THAT'S BEEN GOING ON RIGHT NOW.

AND UP UNTIL THIS TIME NOW.

[00:05:01]

WE'RE THEN GOING TO ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF HOURS AND THE TIMINGS OF THOSE AUDITS RATHER THAN AN AUDIT OF THE BUDGET PROCESS FOR EXAMPLE, DRILLING DOWN INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICS IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FROM A MANPOWER PERSPECTIVE.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE INTERNALLY? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS BETTER DONE EXTERNALLY WITH OTHER FOLKS THAT WE HAVE THAT THE DISTRICT HAS? SO GOING THROUGH THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE THEN ANTICIPATE UNVEILING THAT PLAN OR ROLLING THAT PLAN OUT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

THEN CALL IT MID SEPTEMBER.

OKAY. ANYTHING INCORRECT FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? YEAH. SO, MADAM CHAIR, AS FAR AS BUDGETING HOURS FOR AUDITS, AUDITS HAVE THREE PHASES, PLANNING, FIELDWORK AND REPORTING.

AND IT'S USUALLY IN THE PLANNING PHASE WHERE WE DIG INTO THE INFORMATION, MEET WITH THE AUDITEES.

AND THEN FROM THAT DISCUSSION, THAT'S WHEN WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW MANY HOURS ARE WE REALLY GOING TO NEED TO DO THE AUDIT.

SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS, THEY DO IT THE WAY JIM DESCRIBED IT.

AND I'VE BEEN IN THOSE KIND OF AUDIT DEPARTMENTS.

BUT HERE AT HISD, WE DO THAT IN THE PLANNING PHASE OF EACH AUDIT IN TERMS OF DETERMINING THE HOURS THAT WE THINK WE NEED.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? AND I DON'T HAVE THE LITTLE Q THING, SO JUST TALK.

YOU'RE GOOD. I THINK THE PLAN LOOKS AND THE DELIVERABLE DATE IS VERY IT'S VERY NICE TO SEE. THANK YOU.

ANY THEMES TO SHARE TO DATE OR YOU WANT TO JUST WAIT AND DO THAT IN OCTOBER? NO, I WOULD I WOULD SAY WE'LL ROLL THAT OUT IN SEPTEMBER HERE WHEN WE PUT TOGETHER THE AUDIT PLAN.

BUT I DON'T THINK I THINK IT'S MORE OR LESS JUST TO TO GARLAND'S POINT ON ON WHEN THEY TYPICALLY ESTIMATE HOURS AND THAT AND THEY DO THAT IN THE PLANNING PHASE.

I GUESS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GIVEN THE LIMITED RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF HIS HIS MANPOWER AND WHO HE HAS AND THE BUDGET AND ALL THOSE GOOD THINGS, IT'S PROBABLY BETTER TO GO IN WITH A LITTLE SPECIFICITY ON THE FRONT END.

AND THEN YOU CAN DESIGN YOU CAN DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO SHIFT YOUR RESOURCES AROUND TO BETTER ADDRESS THOSE RISKS.

YEAH, NO, I LIKE THAT PLAN.

AND YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ELSE I'VE SEEN, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN AS WELL, IS TO TO HAVE A SUITE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUDITS THAT YOU CAN COVER, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOPICS. AND THEN YOU CAN AT LEAST GIVE SOME SORT OF GUESSTIMATE OF HOURS, RIGHT? AND THEN WHEN YOU GET IN THE PLANNING PHASE, IF YOU'VE GOT TO TURN IT UP, YOU CAN.

BUT WHETHER IT'S A DEEP DIVE, WHETHER IT'S JUST TOPICAL OR WHETHER IT'S WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT ALL THE CONTROLS AND FRAMEWORK END TO END AND THAT KIND OF STUFF.

THAT'S RIGHT. THAT THAT HELPS KIND OF GUIDE THE TIME AS WELL.

THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S RIGHT. IN ADDITION TO THE RISKS IN TERMS OF WHAT IS THE MONETARY TYPE RISKS INVOLVED IN HOW BIG THOSE COULD BE? PERFECT. DOES TRUSTEE GUIDRY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. AND JUST SO EVERYONE IS CLEAR, OUR ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO BE VOTING ON THIS AUDIT PLAN AT THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING.

BUT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME DELAYS JUST FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

SO NOW WE ARE SOLIDLY, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WE ARE SOLID ON A PLAN FOR EXECUTION, THAT THE BOARD WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE THIS FOR OUR FIRST THURSDAY IN OCTOBER AGENDA REVIEW AND TO BE ABLE TO VOTE ON IT AT THE OCTOBER REGULAR MEETING, THE SECOND THURSDAY, CORRECT? YES. IF I MAY ASK, IN THE MEANTIME, ARE THERE ANY BIG BUCKETS THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE THAT ARE A RISK THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD EYES ON? AS ALIGNED WITH THE BDO.

OKAY, SO WE HAVE DIFFERENT AUDITS EVERY YEAR WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT HIGHEST RISK POSSIBLE.

SO THE PLAN THAT YOU HAVE, WHETHER IT'S MY VERSION OR JIM'S OR A COMBINATION OF THE TWO, THEY'RE FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW.

IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

I THINK YOU WERE MAYBE THINKING ABOUT GAPS WHERE THERE ARE GAPS TO ARTICULATE AT THIS TIME.

YEAH. YEAH.

YEAH. NO, I DON'T I DON'T THINK NOT FROM THE AUDIT STANDPOINT.

WE CERTAINLY LOOKED AT HIS PLAN AND WE'VE LOOKED AT THE BDO PLAN AND THEN JUST MY OWN, GIVEN MY OWN KNOWLEDGE OF THE BACKGROUND OF BEING ON THE BUDGETING SIDE OF THE HOUSE, THE

[00:10:08]

I THINK WE HAVE IT SUFFICIENTLY COVERED.

GREAT. OKAY. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION TODAY IS AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 22 PLAN.

I KNOW YOU GAVE ME, AND I THINK I SENT IT TO THE WHOLE BOARD.

IF I DIDN'T, I APOLOGIZE.

HOW MANY HAVE BEEN COMPLETED? HOW MANY ARE IN PROGRESS? HOW MANY HAVEN'T BEEN STARTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 22? AND JUST FOR A REMINDER FOR EVERYBODY, THE FISCAL YEAR RUNS FROM JULY 1ST TO JUNE 30TH.

SO WE ARE NOW TECHNICALLY SITTING IN FISCAL YEAR 23.

OKAY. I'M TRYING TO GET TO THE SLIDE WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BE, MADAM CHAIR.

IN WHICH TAB WOULD THIS BE IN OUR BINDER ? IS THIS A TAB THAT YOU WANTED TO GO TO THIS SLIDE AUDIT PLAN STATUS? THIS WOULD BE PAGE 32 IN YOUR .. OKAY. THANK YOU.

IT'S OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

SO THESE ARE THE NUMBERS FOR EACH OF THE TWO FISCAL YEARS PRESENTED.

THE GREEN ARE THE ONES THAT ARE COMPLETED AND THE BLUE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE IN PROCESS.

SO WE STILL HAVE SOME TO GO IN 2021.

AND THEN WE HAVE QUITE A FEW THAT ARE LEFT FOR 2021 AND 2022.

OH, YEAH, GO AHEAD. SO IN THIS CIRCLE, I'M SORRY TO BE A LITTLE DEPTH ON THIS, BUT SO ON THE NOT PERFORMED ONE OF THAT DARK BAND.

AND SO IF WE GO BACK TO THE 34 AUDITS FROM 2020 TO 2021 AND THEN YOU MOVE TO THE NEXT CIRCLE.

SO THE ONES IN PROCESS ARE THOSE ADDED TO I'M LIKE, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND. A LITTLE BIT OF THE NOT STARTED AND THEN NOT PERFORMED.

ARE THOSE PARTS OF THE PRIOR AUDIT? THESE ARE ITEMS THAT WERE IN THE PLAN.

ONE HAS NOT BEEN STARTED YET.

THE ONE THAT'S NOT PERFORMED IS IT'S RELATED TO PROCUREMENT.

BUT THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT GOT A THOROUGH REVIEW BY JIM AND HIS TEAM, AND SO WE DIDN'T WANT TO DUPLICATE EFFORT FOR THAT ONE.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING.

THANK YOU. SO IS IT FAIR TO SAY WHEN I LOOK AT THE 2020-2021 PLAN, THE EIGHT THAT ARE IN PROCESS IN BLUE, DO THOSE EIGHT ALSO RESIDE IN THE TOTAL AUDIT COUNT? 38 IN 21-22.

YES. AND THEN DO WE KNOW ARE THOSE EIGHT NOW IN THE COMPLETED NINE OR DO WE KNOW WHERE THOSE FALL? NO, THOSE THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE.

THEY'RE NOT BLENDED TOGETHER AT ALL.

THEY'RE JUST TOTALLY SEPARATE FOR EACH FISCAL YEAR.

SO THEY'RE NOT.

OK. SO REALLY IN 2021-2022, YOU HAD 38 PLUS EIGHT.

YOU HAD 46 AUDITS TO DO.

[00:15:04]

YEAH. TRUSTEE GUIDRY.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DO NOT, THANK YOU.

SO IN THE LAST YEAR, SO HOW MANY OF THOSE 26 AUDITS FOR FISCAL YEAR 21 WERE COMPLETED IN FISCAL YEAR 22? LOOK, IF WE'VE BEEN IN ARREARS THIS WHOLE TIME.

YES, WE STARTED IN ARREARS IN 2017 WHEN I GOT HERE.

2016 WAS NOT COMPLETED AND SO I WAS IN ARREARS FOR 2016, WAS WORKING ON THAT.

AND WHEN I GOT TO A POINT WHERE I COULD I STARTED WORKING ON 2017 AND THEN SOME OF THAT WAS IN ARREARS IN 2018.

SO IT'S JUST BEEN..

OKAY. YOU KNOW. SO HERE'S MY QUESTION THEN AS IT GOES TO OUR NEXT AUDIT PLAN, ARE WE HITTING THE RESET BUTTON OR ARE WE JUST GOING TO KEEP TRYING TO CATCH UP? JIM AND I HAVEN'T DISCUSSED THAT, BUT I THINK THAT'S AN IDEA THAT WE REALLY SHOULD CONSIDER.

OKAY. YEAH, BECAUSE THE OTHER THING, TOO, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS AND YOU THINK, OH, IN 2021, 2022, THERE ARE JUST 38 AUDITS ON THE PLAN, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY THE CASE.

YOUR AUDIT TEAM WAS TOP WITH A LOT MORE THAN 38 AUDITS, BUT THERE'S NOT A GOOD WAY FOR US TO SEE THAT RIGHT.

SO ALMOST LIKE TAKE CREDIT FOR WHAT YOU HAVE TO GET DONE IN A YEAR.

YOU'RE DOING MORE. YOU'RE WORKING ON MORE THAN 38 AUDITS.

IT COULD BE 46. IT COULD BE MORE BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE COMPLETED ONES COULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETED LAST YEAR AS WELL.

AND SO I'M A FAN OF THE RESET BUTTON.

I WILL SAY FOR AUDITS THAT THAT YOU PROPOSE TO BE TAKEN OFF THE PLAN.

YOU KNOW, LET'S MAKE SURE IT'S NOT A GAPING HOLE RISK WHICH YOU KNOW, JIM, I THINK YOU YOU GUYS WILL WORK ON THAT.

BUT IF WE'RE ROLLING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, JUST TO ROLL AUDITS, JUST BECAUSE I THINK REALLY THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO HIT THE RESET BUTTON AND THEN GARLAND FOR YOUR TEAM TO BE FAIRLY JUDGED WITH HERE'S THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF AUDITS THAT THAT YOU HAVE.

I MEAN, I THINK PROBABLY NONE OF US HAVE A GOOD ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY AUDITS THEY REALLY TRY TO GET DONE IN ONE YEAR BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE ONES THAT ARE ROLLING.

IS THAT FAIR? YEAH.

NO, THAT'S A LONG HOW I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS IS IN TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER.

I THINK MY CONCERN IS HOW FAR HAVE WE ARE WE NOT? I WANT TO SAY THAT WE'RE NOT ALIGNED WITH THE BDO RISK ASSESSMENT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT TELLS ME YES OR NO.

BUT IF WE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO CATCH UP, WE'RE NOT COGNIZANT OF NEW RISKS OR UNMITIGATED RISKS.

AND IN MY HEAD, THESE ARE ALWAYS TRIAGED, RIGHT? THESE ARE THE BIGGEST RISKS.

THIS IS THE TIER ONE, TIER TWO, TIER THREE.

GOOD MORNING, WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY TRUSTEE CRUZ.

WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS ARE WE WORKING ON TIER THREE AUDITS FROM THREE YEARS AGO AS OPPOSED TO THIS YEAR'S TIER ONE AUDITS, WHICH MAYBE NEVER EVEN MADE IT INTO A PLAN? SO JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT OF WHAT THIS TRUSTEE IS GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR IN AN AUDIT PLAN THAT IS BROUGHT TO ME BY Y'ALL NEXT MONTH HITTING THE RESET BUTTON.

I MEAN, UNLESS THERE'S ANY DISAGREEMENT FROM MY COLLEAGUES, I THINK LET'S START ANEW WITH WHAT ARE OUR BIGGEST RISKS? AND IF THERE ARE SOME SMALLER ONES THAT ARE STILL CARRYING OVER A YEAR OVER YEAR OVER YEAR THAT WARRANTS STAYING ON HERE.

BUT IF WE'RE JUST ALWAYS TRYING TO CATCH UP, WE'RE NEVER, EVER GOING TO GET THERE.

AND I WORRY ABOUT THE RISK THAT THAT LEAVES US WITH IN THE MEANTIME.

SO ALL RIGHT.

WE HAVE DISCOVERED JUST SUPER QUICK CATCH YOU UP.

WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 23 AUDIT PLAN.

IT'S GOING TO COME TO US IN SEPTEMBER.

WE ARE ON TAB SEVEN OF THE CURRENT THE FISCAL YEAR 22 AND 21 COMPLETION STATUS.

ALL RIGHT. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD CHIEF BLACKWELL? NO, SO GOOD CONVERSATION, I APPRECIATE IT.

[00:20:01]

[DASHBOARD UPDATE]

I BELIEVE THAT'S TALKING ABOUT THE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DASHBOARD.

IF YOU WANT TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE'RE AT IN ALL OF THAT.

YEAH, WE HAD A SLIDE IN HERE FOR THE DASHBOARD, BUT THE COMMENT THAT WAS GOING TO BE MADE RELATED TO IT, THE DASHBOARD ITSELF IS UP AND RUNNING. AND BUT I THINK YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE DASHBOARD THAT NEED TO BE

[STATUS UPDATE FOR OPEN AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS]

SO WHICH TAB WOULD THAT BE? LET ME JUST SCROLL THROUGH.

SO THIS PROCESS ONLY REALLY HELPS US MITIGATE OUR RISK.

NOT THE FIRST STEP IS COMPLETION OF AUDITS, RIGHT? AND THEN THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS MADE TO THE ADMINISTRATION TO KNOW WHERE THE RISKS ARE.

THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDRESSING THEM.

AND THE ADMINISTRATION DECIDES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETE IT, WE'RE GOING TO PARTIALLY COMPLETE IT OR WE'RE NOT GOING TO COMPLETE IT, THAT RECOMMENDATION.

AND SO THIS IS ONLY REALLY WORTH ANYTHING IF THEY ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE ONES THAT THEY SAY THEY WILL, WHICH I THINK WE'RE DOING BETTER AT.

BUT I KNOW HISTORICALLY THAT WAS A GAP FOR OUR ORGANIZATION AND SO I'D LIKE FOR THE COMMITTEE TO GET AN UPDATE ON.

HOW MANY OUTSTANDING, NOT COMPLETED RECOMMENDATIONS THERE ARE.

OKAY. SO THE SLIDE THAT'S BEFORE YOU NOW I THINK ADDRESSES YOUR QUESTIONS.

SO WE STARTED OUT WITH 471 UNADDRESSED RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND TO DATE OUT OF THOSE, WE HAVE CLOSE 195 OF THOSE.

OKAY. OUR GOAL IS TO COMPLETE 207 MORE BY DECEMBER.

OKAY. AND THEN HAVE IT ALL WRAPPED UP IN MARCH WITH THE REMAINING 69 OR HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE THAT WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO IT AND JUST GIVE SOME CREDIT TO THE ADMINISTRATION.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING.

AUGUST IN PARTICULAR, I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR HELP.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE STAND RIGHT NOW, MADAM CHAIR.

OF THE 195 THAT ARE CLOSED..

PUT YOUR MIC ON..

OF THE 195 THAT ARE CLOSED.

DO WE KNOW HOW MANY WERE ACTUALLY ACCEPTED AND FIXED VERSUS DOES ADMINISTRATION HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT THE RISK AND SAY WE SEE THE FINDING BUT WE WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THE RECOMMENDATION.

WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE 195 TO PIN IT DOWN TO WHAT YOU JUST REQUESTED.

WE CAN WE CAN GET THERE FOR PROVIDE IT TO YOU, THOUGH.

THAT MAY BE GOOD I THINK FOR THE BOARD TO KNOW BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER PIECE OF AUDIT DID THIS GREAT PIECE OF WORK BUT MANAGEMENT OR MANAGEMENT SORRY ADMINISTRATION THERE I GO WITH MY PUBLIC COMPANY YOU KNOW ADMINISTRATION SAYS I SEE THE FINDING, BUT IT'S A RISK WE'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT BECAUSE WE'RE DOING SOMETHING OVER HERE TO MITIGATE THAT.

I THINK THAT WOULD THAT WOULD BE PARTICULARLY GOOD FOR EVERYBODY HERE TO KNOW.

YEAH. AGREE.

AND I THINK THAT'S ALSO A FINANCIAL IMPLICATION AS WELL.

YOU KNOW, FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT, IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO ADDRESS THE AUDIT OR WE FEEL THE FINDINGS ARE BEING ADDRESSED OR NOT BEING ADDRESSED, AND THEN THAT OBVIOUSLY IMPACTS OUR.

SURE. THE FINANCES TOWARDS THAT AS WELL.

SO YEAH. SO WE'LL GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.

AND THE NUMBER THAT ARE UNADDRESSED IS VERY SMALL RELATIVE TO THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.

MOST OF THESE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED AND BEEN UPLOADED.

CHIEF BLACKWELL IS THERE NOT A SECTION IN THE DASHBOARD THAT ADDRESSES THIS, LIKE THE OPEN FINDING FOR THAT PARTICULAR AUDIT AND HOW IF IT'S BEEN CLOSED AND WHAT THE STATUS IS? I THOUGHT THERE.. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THAT GRANULAR, BUT I'LL LOOK INTO IT.

I MEAN, I WONDER IF THERE CAN'T BE SOME KIND OF EVEN IF IT'S NOT VERY DETAILED, AT LEAST FLAGGING FOR THE BOARD, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S STILL UNRESOLVED OPEN AUDIT FINDINGS AND THEN THAT AT LEAST ALLOWS US TO DIG IN OR NOT.

[00:25:06]

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? SO A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE.

ONE IS, IS THE DASHBOARD UP AND RUNNING COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY AS WE WANT IT TO BE YET? IT'S FULL CAPACITY? YES. AND IS AND THE PUBLIC CAN ALSO ACCESS CERTAIN PARTS OF IT, CORRECT? THEY CAN SEE THE OPENING PAGE ONLY.

SO THEY GET A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF KIND OF PROBABLY NOT THAT DIFFERENT FROM THESE SLIDES.

BUT AND WE THEN AS BOARD MEMBERS CAN DO A DEEPER DIVE, WE CAN SEE ALL OF THE REPORTS, BUT ALL OF THOSE REPORTS ARE ALSO POSTED ON A WEBSITE SOMEWHERE PUBLICLY ANYWAY.

YES, MINUS ANY REDACTED INFORMATION THAT LEGALLY CAN'T BE SHARED.

OKAY. I HAVE A TECHNICAL QUESTION.

CHIME IN ANY AND ALL WHO WANT TO ANSWER THIS FOR ME.

SO I KNOW THAT WHEN THERE IS AN AUDIT REPORT THAT THE ADMINISTRATION CAN ACCEPT WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GOING TO REMEDY.

I'M LOOKING AT YOU JUST BECAUSE YOUR NAME WAS BROUGHT UP TO REMEDY THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THOSE FINDINGS.

BUT IT'S ALSO ALLOWABLE FOR ADMINISTRATION TO SAY, NO, WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT.

SO. WE KNOW THAT IN THE REPORT ALREADY IF THE ADMINISTRATION HAS ACCEPTED OR NOT RIGHT? NO, YES YOU DO.

IT'S IN THE REPORT.

IT'S IN THE REPORT. THERE'S LIKE FULL AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT WORDS, BUT IT'S LIKE FULL, PARTIAL OR NOT AT ALL, BASICALLY.

RIGHT. SO WE KNOW UP FRONT.

IS THERE EVER A REASON GIVEN OR IS IT REQUIRED? I MEAN, THIS IS LIKE BEST AUDIT PRACTICE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY'RE NOT GOING TO PURSUE.

REMEDYING THE FINDING.

YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT AS A FIRM RULE, BUT IN MOST CASES, MANAGEMENT PROVIDES SOME COMMENTS ABOUT WHY THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ACCEPT OUR RECOMMENDATION AND HOLD OR PARTIALLY OK.

SO. I MEAN, THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO YOUR QUESTION OF HOW MANY OF THESE WERE ACCEPTED.

WHERE DOES THE BOARD'S ROLE? THIS MIGHT BE A LEGAL QUESTION.

WHERE DOES THE BOARD'S ROLE COME IN THAT, THAT IF THE ADMINISTRATION SAYS WE'RE OKAY WITH THIS RISK, BUT THE BOARD SAYS, DOES THE BOARD OF AN OPTION OF SAYING THAT WE'RE NOT OKAY WITH THAT RISK? THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THROUGH THE SUPERINTENDENT, THE ADMINISTRATION HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE AUTHORITY FOR THE DAY TO DAY MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE DISTRICT BY STATUTE.

SO THAT'S THAT'S A SIMPLE PLACE TO START.

THE ACTUAL DAY TO DAY ADMINISTRATION.

HOW STAFF ARE ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY.

THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THE BOARD CAN TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION IN ITS EVALUATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, FOR EXAMPLE.

I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE BOARD INTERFACE IS, AS OPPOSED TO THE BOARD TRYING TO GET INVOLVED IN THE ACTUAL ADMINISTRATION ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.

I WOULD JUST NOTE, BASED ON PAST HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF REASONS SOMETIMES WHY THE ADMINISTRATION SAYS WE CAN'T IMPLEMENT THAT OR WE WON'T IMPLEMENT IT NOW.

SOMETIMES A RECOMMENDATION MAY HAVE BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS.

IT MAY REQUIRE THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS THAT SIMPLY AREN'T IN THE BUDGET AT PRESENT.

IT MAY REQUIRE PERSONNEL THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY EMPLOYED BY THE DISTRICT.

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF REASONS.

WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD A FEW INCIDENTS IN THE PAST.

THANKFULLY, IT'S BEEN A FEW YEARS WHERE FRANKLY SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE JUST LEGALLY INCORRECT.

THEY WERE NOT VETTED WITH WITH COUNSEL.

AND THEY WERE BASED ON INCORRECT READINGS OF THE STATUTE.

AND AN ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT HAD VERY DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON WHAT THE LAW ACTUALLY REQUIRED.

SO THERE ARE A VARIETY OF REASONS, MADAM CHAIR, AND MEMBERS, BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY CASES WHERE IT'S JUST

[00:30:02]

USUALLY IT IS PERSONNEL, IT IS BUDGET, OR IT MAY BE A DIFFERENCE IN AN UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY WHAT A RULE OR POLICY ACTUALLY MEANS.

BUT USUALLY IT'S A BUDGETARY REQUIREMENT OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.

IS THERE A PROCESS FOR, WHO ULTIMATELY APPROVES THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RISK. SO FOR A HIGH RISK FINDING, IS THERE A PROCESS WHERE DR.

HOUSE IS THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY OR WHAT'S THE PROCESS ON THAT? THOSE ARE DELEGATED TO EACH RESPECTIVE CHIEF AND THEN REVIEWED AS A CABINET.

I ALSO WANT TO JUST FLAG ONE ADDITIONAL THING.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT MANY OF THESE AUDITS ACTUALLY SPAN BACK TO 2016.

SO IN SOME CASES, WE'RE FINDING THAT THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT OR THE CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON WHY SOME OF THE AUDITS AND AGAIN, I THINK ALL OF THE WHEN YOU DON'T FOLLOW THROUGH WITH WITH A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION, THERE IS AN EXPLANATION ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

BUT A LOT OF THEM HAD TO DO WITH JUST TIMELINESS.

I MEAN, IT'S NO LONGER RELEVANT CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGE, ETC..

OKAY. YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? YEAH. SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT, BECAUSE I THOUGHT THESE WERE BACK JUST TO 2020.

SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THE TIMELINE.

AND THEN JUST AS A FOLLOW UP QUESTION ALSO TO MS. LOGAN, IS THERE A PROCESS NOW IN PLACE LIKE I KNOW THAT THESE WERE KIND OF LIKE WERE GOING WAY BACK.

IS THERE A PROCESS NOW THAT'S SET FOR ANYTHING MOVING FORWARD SO THAT WE DON'T GET THIS BACKLOG THAT WE HAD? SO WE GIVE DEADLINES ON EACH AUDIT FINDING DUE DATES AND WHAT DR.

LATHAM HAD IMPOSED WAS RESPOND WITHIN TEN BUSINESS DAYS AND ON A RECEPTION BASIS FOR LONGER TIME.

WE'RE STILL IN THAT PARTICULAR DIRECTION.

SO IF MR. HOUSE WANTS TO CHANGE THAT, HE CAN.

BUT WE HAVE DISCUSSED IT IN THE PAST, AND I THINK IT'S FINE TO DO IT THE WAY WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

OKAY. SO..

AND WORKING WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, THAT'S THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.

SO. OKAY.

SO LIKE THESE WERE ALL KIND OF CHUNKED INTO ONE REPORT.

SO MOVING FORWARD, IT'LL BE JUST KIND OF LIKE AS THE AUDIT COMES UP, CORRECT? OK AND THEN CAN YOU OR SOMEONE IN YOUR OFFICE PLEASE RESEND ALL TRUSTEES THE LINK TO THE DASHBOARD AND IF THEY HAVE TO LOG IN LIKE WHAT THOSE INSTRUCTIONS ARE, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE IF EVERYONE HAS DONE THAT AND THAT'S IMPORTANT.

THANK YOU. TRUSTEE GUIDRY, I'M GOING TO TRUST THAT YOU'RE JUST GOING TO YELL IF I IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE YOU IF YOU'RE RAISING YOUR HAND OR ANYTHING.

YES, MA'AM, I WILL.

I'LL LET YOU KNOW.

THANK YOU. SO LET ME MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY THAT ONCE THE SO ONCE AN AUDIT IS COMPLETE, BEFORE IT COMES TO THE BOARD, THE PROCESSES IT GOES TO THE ADMINISTRATION, THE APPROPRIATE CHIEF REVIEWS IT, MAKES THE RECOMMENDATION OF WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETE THIS IN FULL OR PARTIAL OR NOT AT ALL.

AND THEN THAT'S DISCUSSED WITH THE FULL CABINET, WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT BEFORE IT'S FINALIZED AND SENT TO THE BOARD.

IT MOSTLY STOPS AT THE CHIEF LEVEL.

THERE IS AN OVERALL REVIEW OF HOW WE ARE DOING WITH THE STATUSES, BUT REALLY THE CHIEFS THEMSELVES ARE THE ONES THAT TAKE OWNERSHIP IN DETERMINING YES, THIS IS FEASIBLE OR IT'S NOT. IF THERE ARE, IF THERE IS AMBIGUITY, ANYTHING WHERE WE NEED TO BRING IT UP, IT IS BROUGHT UP TO THE FULL CABINET, BUT IT REALLY IS AT THE INDIVIDUAL CHIEF LEVEL WHERE THE DETERMINATION IS MADE. SO IF IT'S NOT FEASIBLE, BUT SOMEBODY FEELS THAT IT IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO MAKE IT FEASIBLE, IS THAT EVER.

IS IT JUST NO, WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THIS OR IT'S OH, WOW.

THIS IS SOMETHING WE DIDN'T REALIZE.

WE NEED TO REMEDY THIS.

WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT, HOWEVER, TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, TO REMEDY IT.

IS THAT EVER A CONVERSATION? IT CERTAINLY IS, ESPECIALLY, AGAIN, IN THOSE AREAS WHERE, AGAIN, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE JUST VERY CLEAR.

I MEAN, IT'S JUST NOT RELEVANT ANYMORE, ESPECIALLY THE OLDER ONES, RIGHT? IT DOESN'T WE CAN'T DO THIS.

IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO DO IT.

IT'S NO LONGER POSSIBLE.

SO THOSE ARE PRETTY CLEAR CUT IF THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT MORE GRAY AREA, THOSE ARE WHERE THE CHIEFS HAVE EITHER INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND DISCUSS THAT WITH HIM OR WHERE THERE'S A BROADER CONVERSATION AMONG CABINET MEMBERS.

BUT REALLY, THERE IS A CONCERTED ATTEMPT, IF THE RECOMMENDATION MAKES SENSE, IF IT'S FEASIBLE, IF IT'S GOING TO HELP US IMPROVE AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

OKAY. COULD.

TOOK MY MIKE ON. DO YOU GET A CHANCE IN THE CLOSED PART OF THE AUDIT TO KIND OF MAYBE GO BACK AND FORTH WITH AUDIT AND COLLABORATE A LITTLE BIT?

[00:35:08]

IS THERE A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS THERE AS WELL? YEAH, I THINK THERE IS THAT.

AND A LOT OF TIMES IT COMES IN THE RECOMMENDATION WHEN WE RESPOND TO THE RECOMMENDATION, HEY, THIS IS JUST NOT FEASIBLE.

HERE'S THE REASON WHY. SO THAT'S JUST PART OF THAT PROCESS.

AND THEN, IF I HEARD CORRECTLY FROM WHEN IT LEAVES AUDIT AND GOES TO THE CHIEFS, THERE'S ABOUT A TEN DAY TURNAROUND, CORRECT? THAT'S WHAT IS REQUESTED.

SOMETIMES IT TAKES MORE THAN TEN DAYS, BUT WE WORK WITH THEM TO THE BEST OF EACH PARTY'S ABILITY TO RECONCILE WHAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF.

WHAT ARE SOME AND LET ME PREFACE THIS WITH THIS IS BEEN FOR ANYBODY WHO'S NEW IN THE ROOM, THIS HAS BEEN A FIVE YEAR JOURNEY.

RIGHT. WE WE WENT FROM WHEN MR. BLACKWELL GOT HERE TO BASICALLY NO AUDIT FUNCTION.

AND THE BOARD HAS BEEN SLOWLY BUILDING THIS OVER TIME.

AND SO I THINK THERE'S THERE'S STILL A LOT OF LEARNING THAT EVEN WE'RE DOING THAT WE'RE DOING AS AN ORGANIZATION TO BRING US WHERE A DISTRICT, ESPECIALLY THIS SIZE, NEEDS TO BE.

SO WHAT ARE SOME REASONS WHY IT MIGHT TAKE LONGER THAN TEN DAYS? ONE REASON IS.

BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS.

SOME PEOPLE MAY BE ON VACATIONS DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN WHEN SCHOOL STARTS TO RAMP UP, THEY'RE SUPER BUSY.

SO WE EXPERIENCED SOME DELAY DURING THOSE TYPE OF TIMES, BUT WE EVENTUALLY GET WHAT WE NEED SO.

AND TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, MAY I ADD I THINK IN SOME OF THESE CASES, ESPECIALLY THE OLDER AUDIENCE WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT HAPPENED FIVE YEARS AGO, IT'S A REALLY INTENSIVE PROCESS ON THE STAFF TO TRY TO GO BACK AND RECREATE RECORDS, GO INTO ARCHIVES, TRY TO FIND INFORMATION.

SO SOME CASES IT'S JUST THE ABILITY TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY.

IT JUST TAKES TIME TO GET ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION WE NEED.

OKAY. SO SORRY.

GO AHEAD. YEAH.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE AND PART OF OUR PROCESS, IF THERE'S AN ITEM THAT'S NO LONGER RELEVANT, THEN WE CLOSE THOSE OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST NOT IMPORTANT ANYMORE TO HAVE NO RELEVANCE TO THE DISTRICT ANYMORE.

SO WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AS WELL.

OKAY. SO HERE'S WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS, WHERE YOU AND JIM ARE WORKING ON OK.

Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON A PROPOSED AUDIT PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 23.

BY THE TIME WE GET PUT AN RFP OUT ON THE BOARD APPROVES THAT AN RFP GOES OUT IN THE STREET.

WE'RE GOING TO BE ABOUT ABOUT MIDWAY THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 23.

SO A FEW DIFFERENT QUESTIONS RELATED TO THAT.

NUMBER ONE, IN THE INTERIM, WE HAVE AUDITS THAT ARE FROM FISCAL YEAR 22 AND FISCAL YEAR 21 THAT ARE UNLIKELY TO ALL GET COMPLETED BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR ANYWAY.

SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS WHAT IS BEING DONE, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF IT'S NOT A GOOD USE OF ANYBODY'S TIME TO DO AUDITS THAT ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT.

SO HAS THERE BEEN AN ASSESSMENT OF THESE TWO BUCKETS OF YEARS ON WHICH ONES ARE THE MOST RELEVANT WITH THE BIGGEST RISK TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE COMPLETED BEFORE THE END OF THE CURRENT CALENDAR YEAR? SO LET'S SAY BY DECEMBER 31ST.

WAS THERE A QUESTION THERE FOR ME, TRUSTEE? YES, THE QUESTION IS SO YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW, SOMEBODY REMIND ME IT WAS TAB SEVEN, RIGHT? PAGE 32.

YOU HAVE EIGHT IN PROCESS FROM FISCAL YEAR 21 THAT HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED.

YOU HAVE 27 IN PROCESS FROM FISCAL 22 THAT HAVE NOT COMPLETED PLUS ONE THAT'S NOT STARTED.

SO. THAT'S WHAT, 36 IF I'M DOING MY MATH RIGHT.

SO THERE ARE 36 AUDITS THAT ARE EITHER IN PROCESS AND THEN ONE THAT'S NOT STARTED.

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO COMPLETE ALL OF THOSE BY THE END OF THIS BY DECEMBER 31ST? YES. ARE THERE ANY IN THERE THAT MAY NO LONGER BE RELEVANT? WE'LL FIND OUT AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, BECAUSE THIS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN US AND MANAGEMENT.

AND SO WE LISTEN TO MANAGEMENT VERY CLOSELY AND UNDERSTAND THEIR RATIONALE AS BEST AS WE CAN.

[00:40:07]

I THINK FROM THE ADMINISTRATION SIDE, IT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR OUR TEAM TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS THEIR TIME AND ENERGY ON THOSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY RELEVANT AND ARE GOING TO HAVE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT TO AUGUST POINT.

OUR TEAM IS SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ON THINGS THAT ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT GOING IN AND TRYING TO FIND RECORDS AND TALK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NO LONGER WITH THE DISTRICT FROM YEARS AGO. SO IF THERE IS A WILLINGNESS ON THE BOARDS FRONT, I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY BENEFICIAL FOR US TO FOCUS ON THOSE THAT ACTUALLY ARE GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE DISTRICT AS WELL. SO THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY NEXT QUESTION TO YOU.

TO TO BOTH PARTIES, I GUESS, OF THE 207 THAT WE THE FINDINGS SO NOT THE AUDITS BUT THE FINDINGS THAT WE EXPECT TO CLOSE BY DECEMBER AND THE 69 THAT WE EXPECT TO CLOSE BY MARCH.

HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE, LET'S JUST SAY, FROM 2019 AND FORWARD AND HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE BACK FIVE YEARS? BECAUSE THAT DO WE KNOW? WE MAY WE MAY NOT KNOW THAT, BUT THAT MAY BE GOOD PIECES OF INFORMATION TO GET.

YEAH, I WILL SAY JUST FROM YOU KNOW, WE RECEIVE A BIWEEKLY REPORT FROM THE INTERNAL AUDIT TEAM.

THE VAST MAJORITY ARE FROM YEARS PAST, I WOULD SAY 22, 23, EVEN 21, 22 ARE THE MINORITY OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET..

WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO CLOSE OUT.

OKAY. SO SO THE RESET BUTTON IS VERY CRITICAL TO EVERYBODY'S TIME AND OUR BUDGET AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

SO THE FASTER I HEAR THAT WE WILL DO THAT, OBVIOUSLY THE BETTER SO WE CAN GET UPDATED, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE NEW THINGS THAT.

JUST IN A IN REPORTING, BUT ALSO IN TECHNOLOGY AND ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED.

I THINK THAT MAKES SENSE. SO I'M ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT BEING DONE FAST.

THANK YOU. A RESET BUTTON AGAIN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION SIDE WOULD HELP SIGNIFICANTLY.

WE COULD CERTAINLY LOOK AT THE OLDER AUDITS AND THEN COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS OR ANY OF THAT THAT MAY STILL BE RELEVANT AND MAY ACTUALLY BRING POSITIVE CHANGE.

BUT QUITE FRANKLY, WE ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME AND RESOURCES ON ON ACTIVITIES THAT PROBABLY ARE NOT GOING TO YIELD MUCH WITH THE DISTRICT, IF ANY.

AND THAT'S WHAT I'M HEARING THROUGH THE COURT.

AND SO, JIM, I'D REALLY LIKE FOR YOU TO CHIME IN, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO COORDINATE A WHOLE LOT OF FINANCIAL STUFF AND PROCESSES FOR THE DISTRICT OF WHICH THIS IS ONE. SO I'M SEEING TWO BUCKETS.

I'M SEEING ONE BESIDES MOVING FORWARD WITH THE NEW AUDIT PLAN.

ONE BUCKET IS PAGE 32 RIGHT? THE AUDITS THAT THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING.

LIKE IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE PROBABLY A CONVERSATION BETWEEN AUDIT AND ADMINISTRATION OF HERE'S THE LIST OF OUTSTANDING AUDITS THAT ARE EITHER IN PROCESS OR HAVEN'T BEEN STARTED BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER SLASH JANUARY, RIGHT? YEAH. AND HOW TO PRIORITIZE THOSE.

WHAT I DON'T WANT US TO DO IS, ESPECIALLY IF ANY OF THEM HAVE TO BE OUTSOURCED OR WE'RE INCURRING A COST THAT ISN'T GOING TO BE HELPFUL TO THE ORGANIZATION.

JUST BECAUSE IT WAS ON A PLAN THAT THE BOARD APPROVED AT ONE POINT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME.

AND SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE COORDINATION ON THAT BUCKET.

WOULD THAT BE A CORRECT ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION IN THAT REGARD? YEAH, NO, ABSOLUTELY. I GUESS I GUESS I SEE IT AS THREE BUCKETS.

ONE IS THE IS THE IS THE PLAN FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.

YOU'VE GOT RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR THE NEXT BUCKET WOULD BE YOUR PAGE 32.

WHAT'S WHAT ARE THESE THAT ARE OUTSTANDING ARE THE ONES THAT ARE IN PROCESS.

MAYBE SOME OF THOSE ACTUALLY COVER THE RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, IN WHICH CASE THEN YOU CAN KIND OF PUT THOSE INTO THAT BUCKET OF LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING THIS NEXT YEAR.

AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THIS ISSUE OF OF OPEN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT MAY BE OLD, MAY NOT BE OLD, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE TO ME WE JUST NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME, PERHAPS MY TEAM, WE CAN JUST SPEND SOME TIME GOING THROUGH THOSE, WHAT THOSE ARE ASSESSING HOW OLD THEY ARE AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION AND GARLAND.

YEAH. AND THAT WAS THAT WAS THE OTHER BUCKET WAS THE FINDINGS BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE IS A, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TRYING TO DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE OF A PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN LAID OUT, BUT THEN SOME OF THEM ARE NOT RELEVANT AND HELPFUL TO THE ADMINISTRATION.

SO IT'S TAKING UP YOUR RESOURCES.

IT'S TAKING UP THEIR RESOURCES.

AND I HADN'T EVEN CONSIDERED THAT THERE COULD BE SOME THINGS IN THESE IN PROCESS ONES THAT ARE ADDRESSING A RISK THAT DON'T NEED TO BE IN THE FISCAL YEAR

[00:45:09]

AND SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE TWO OF YOU WITH THE ADMINISTRATION CAN WORK OUT? YEAH. WE CAN WORK TOGETHER MADAM CHAIR.

BUT ONE THING I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT WHEN WE DO FOLLOW UP AUDITS, WE MAY PICK SOMETHING FROM 2016, WHEN WE DO OUR REVIEW OF THE PROCESS TO SEE IF WE REALLY SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THOSE ISSUES AND WHEN WE MAKE THE DECISION TO GO FORWARD.

SOMETIMES WE HAVE REPEAT AUDIT FINDINGS ON THE FOLLOW UP AUDIT AND THERE'S STILL RELEVANT TO THE ADMINISTRATION.

THEY PROVIDE ANSWERS TO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WITH A DATE, THAT IT WILL BE FIXED AND THAT SORT OF THING.

SO JUST BECAUSE A FINDING IS IN 2015-2016, DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S NECESSARILY NO LONGER RELEVANT.

IT MAY BE. IT MAY NOT.

IF WE FIND IT, IT'S NOT RELEVANT.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO DOWN THAT PATH.

YEAH. I MEAN, AND I FULLY APPRECIATE THAT THERE COULD BE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE HAD OUR EYES ON FIVE YEARS AGO OR SIX YEARS AGO, THAT WE HAVE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, JUST HAVEN'T HAD EYES ON.

AND ABSOLUTELY THOSE SHOULD BE ADDRESSED.

NO QUESTION. ANOTHER QUESTION AND SORRY, I RECOGNIZE I'M TALKING ABOUT TWO BUCKETS OF OUR CONVERSATION TODAY, WRAPPED UP IN ONE.

SO THE BDO ASSESSMENT, BY THE TIME WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING THIS RFP WITH THE NEW AUDIT PLAN OUT IN THE STREET, WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH OR MAYBE A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH. WELL, NO, HALFWAY THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 23.

WILL IS THERE A REASON WHY WE MAY NOT CONSIDER THAT NEXT AUDIT PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 23 AND 24 SIMULTANEOUSLY AND JUST PUT SOMETHING OUT THAT'S BIGGER FOR THE NEXT 18? I MEAN, YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS? BECAUSE WE'RE EITHER ASKING TO TRY AND COMPLETE SOMETHING IN SIX MONTHS THAT WOULD NORMALLY TAKE A YEAR OR WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT ENOUGH STUFF.

I MEAN, IN THE BDO ASSESSMENTS OR ANNUAL OR EVERY OTHER YEAR'S ANNUAL.

YEAH. SO SPEAK TO HOW THAT'S GOING TO WORK WITH ALIGNMENT.

EITHER ONE OF YOU OR BOTH. I THINK THAT'S ONE WHERE AND JIM TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, BUT I THINK THAT'S ONE WHERE YOU AND I AND MY AUDIT MANAGERS GET TOGETHER AND JUST TALK THAT WHOLE PROCESS THROUGH.

I THINK IT WOULD TAKE A CONVERSATION TO BE ABLE TO ACCURATELY RESPOND TO MADAM CHAIR.

I THINK JUST MY INITIAL THOUGHT ON THAT.

LET ME GO BACK TO THE AUDIT PLAN, FOR EXAMPLE, OR THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED AND EVEN ONE OF THE RISKS THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY BDO IS THE DEPARTMENTAL AND DISTRICT WIDE BUDGETS.

WRITE THAT WHOLE BUDGETING PROCESS.

AS THE BOARD KNOWS, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE ADMINISTRATION ON ON PRETTY MUCH OVERHAULING THAT ENTIRE BUDGET PROCESS, HOW SCHOOLS ARE GET BUDGETED, HOW DEPARTMENTS GET BUDGETED, AND THERE'S MORE THAT'S GOING TO OCCUR OVER THESE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

WITH THAT RESPECT, I WOULD ALMOST SAY FOR DISTRICT WIDE DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS AUDIT, WE SHOULD PERHAPS LET THE ADMINISTRATION IMPLEMENT THE OVERHAUL THAT WE ARE WORKING ON AND THEN COME BACK AND AUDIT THAT IN 23.

24 WOULD BE AN IDEA THAT I WOULD HAVE IN TERMS OF THAT.

SO I GUESS WHAT I'M DOING IS I'M VALIDATING.

YES, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO PERHAPS THINK A YEAR OR TWO OUT IN TERMS OF AN AUDIT PLAN.

OKAY. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THIS? NO, I THINK THAT THAT MAKES SENSE, THOUGH, TO HAVE AT LEAST A TWO IF NOT THREE YEAR LOOK ON HOW DO WE COVER THE RISKS AND WHY? AND ALSO TO KNOW THAT INTERNAL AUDIT DOESN'T HAVE TO COVER EVERY SINGLE RISK AS LONG AS THE DISTRICT IS COVERING A RISK SOMEHOW.

RIGHT. SO EXACTLY.

YOU GUYS WERE WORKING WITH THEM ON THE BUDGETING PROCESS.

WELL, TO ME, THAT'S COVERED.

AND THEN YOU COME IN AND YOU AUDIT IT.

THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S THE OTHER THING.

I THINK THAT TO TO TO MAKE SURE TO CAPTURE IF INTERNAL AUDIT IS NOT COVERING THE RISK, WHO IS COVERING IT JUST TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO GAPS.

RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

MOVING ON, I KNOW, CHIEF BLACKWELL, YOU HAD SOME OTHER TOPICS YOU WANTED TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON TODAY.

OKAY. SO ON SLIDE 18, LESLIE LBB ITEMS.

[LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD (LBB) AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS FOLLOWUP UPDATE]

WE'LL TRY TO COVER IT IN THE NEXT AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING IF THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON THE LBW ITEMS. SO THERE'S BEEN PROGRESS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE AN UPDATE.

[00:50:04]

SO I DIDN'T WANT TO REPEAT THE SAME THING THIS TIME.

OKAY. SO WHAT IS NEW FOR THIS TIME? SO AGAIN. SO WHAT? WHAT DO WE STILL NEED TO DISCUSS THAT IS NEW FOR THIS TIME? WELL, WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO INTO ESSER.

THAT'S OKAY. OH, OKAY.

I DIDN'T SAY. OKAY.

PHASE FROM WILLY PENN.

AND I SIGNED THIS PARTICULAR ESSER AUDIT TO.

TO THE FIRM. OH, TRUSTEE.

IF I MAY, JUST TO ADD, I BELIEVE YESTERDAY YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED AN UPDATE REGARDING LBW RECOMMENDATIONS PER THE LAST AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.

WE PROVIDED THEM MORE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION SIDE, A MORE DETAILED UPDATE IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDATIONS, SUB RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW THEY'RE BEING IMPLEMENTED.

SO HOPEFULLY YOU'VE ALL RECEIVED THAT.

IF NOT, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO GET THAT TO YOU TODAY.

YEAH. GOT IT.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE,

[ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL EMERGENCY RELIEF (ESSER) I AUDIT UPDATE]

MY NAME IS LUPE GARCIA.

I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE ESSER ONE AUDIT, WHICH WAS PART OF THE 2021-2022 AUDIT PLAN.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THAT AUDIT WAS TO ENSURE THAT THE FUNDS WERE INTENDED AS DESIGNED AND THAT THEY WERE COMPLIANT WITH ALL THE DIRECTIVE MATERIAL COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR ESSER AND THAT THE EXPENDITURES ACHIEVED THE DISTRICT STATED GOALS AND OUTCOMES AS APPLICABLE.

JUST SOME BACKGROUND ESSER WAS THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDS VERY BROAD PURPOSE TO PREPARE, PREVENT, PREPARE AND RESPOND TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. THE DISTRICT'S ALLOCATION UNDER ESSER ONE THE CARES ACT WAS JUST UNDER $82 MILLION.

OF THAT AMOUNT, 80.5 MILLION WAS SUBJECT TO TESTING.

IN THIS AUDIT, WE WANTED TO FOCUS ON THE EXPENDITURES THAT WERE REPORTED ON THE DISTRICT'S SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES, THE FEDERAL AWARDS AND FISCAL YEAR 2020 AND 2021.

WITH FEDERAL AWARDS, IT'S A BIT OF A MOVING TARGET, ESPECIALLY WITH PANDEMIC RELATED FUNDING, IDENTIFYING WHAT EXPENDITURES ARE ELIGIBLE AND ALLOWABLE, AND MAKING SURE THE DISTRICT IS STRATEGICALLY USING ALL ITS PANDEMIC FUNDING.

SO WE WANTED TO WAIT TILL THOSE FIGURES WERE FINALIZED AND AUDITED AND REPORTED IN THE DISTRICT'S SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS BEFORE BEGINNING OUR TESTING.

THESE FUNDS DO HAVE MULTIPLE FISCAL YEARS TO SPEND.

SO FOR ESSER ONE, THE PERFORMANCE END DATE IS SEPTEMBER 30, 2022, WHICH ACTUALLY IS IN FISCAL YEAR 23 FOR THE DISTRICT.

THE MAJORITY OF ESSER ONE WAS SPEND 2020 AND 2021.

THERE'S GOING TO BE EVEN A SMALLER PORTION IN 22 AND EVEN THE REMAINING PORTION OF ESSER ONE WILL EVEN BE SPENT IN FISCAL YEAR 23.

JUST AS A REMINDER WITH ESSER ONE, TEA DID USE IT TO SUPPLANT FOR STATE AID.

SO AND THEY DID THAT WITH ESSER TWO AS WELL TO A SMALLER EXTENT.

ESSER THREE WAS COMPLETELY SUPPLEMENTAL.

OUR APPROACH TO THE AUDIT.

WE REVIEWED THE DISTRICT'S GRANTS MANUAL.

WE REVIEWED THE DISTRICT'S COMPENSATION MANUAL BECAUSE FOR ESSER ONE, A BIG PORTION WAS USED FOR PAYROLL, SALARIES AND BENEFITS.

WE CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS TO DETERMINE WHAT INTERNAL CONTROLS THE DISTRICT HAD IN PLACE OVER THE EXPENDITURE OF ITS ESSER AWARD.

WE REVIEWED THE OFFICE MANAGEMENT BUDGETS COMPLIANCE SUPPLEMENT.

THAT'S THE FEDERAL AGENCY THAT PROVIDES ALL THE REQUIREMENTS THAT HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE AUDIT OF A FEDERAL AWARD.

ALSO, THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY HAS A VERY HELPFUL DOCUMENT, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS THAT THEY UPDATE IN REAL TIME.

AND SO THAT IS A USEFUL DOCUMENT DETERMINING THAT THE FUNDS ARE BEING USED APPROPRIATELY.

WE WORKED WITH THE ADMINISTRATION IN OBTAINING THE GENERAL LEDGER FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020 AND 2021 AND SELECTING THE TRANSACTIONS FOR TESTING.

TO DO THAT, WE USE TEAMMATE ANALYTICS.

IT'S A SOFTWARE TOOL WE USE INTERNALLY TO IDENTIFY RISKIER TRANSACTIONS.

WE RUN THE POPULATION THROUGH TEAMMATE ANALYTICS.

IT ASSIGNS A SCORE TO EACH TRANSACTION, BOTH PAYROLL AND NON PAYROLL, AND IT LOOKS FOR THOSE TRANSACTIONS THAT ARE RISKY FOR WHATEVER A VARIETY OF REASONS.

THEY DID OCCUR ON A HOLIDAY.

DID IT OCCUR? IS IT UNUSUAL FOR THAT VENDOR OR THAT EMPLOYEE TO RECEIVE THAT PARTICULAR PAYMENT? WAS IT A ROUNDED AMOUNT? AND SO THERE'S A LONG LIST OF THINGS THAT IT RUNS AND THEN GIVES US A SCORE ON TRANSACTIONS.

AND SO FOR FISCAL YEAR 20, 2021, WE SELECTED 72 TRANSACTIONS FOR TESTING.

FOR 2020, THOSE WERE ALL PAYROLL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021.

THAT AMOUNT WAS A MIXTURE OF BOTH PAYROLL AND NON PAYROLL EXPENDITURES, PAYMENTS TO VENDORS FOR GOODS AND SERVICES PROVIDED THAT WAS A TOTAL OF 30 TRANSACTIONS. SO OUR RESULTS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO THE ADMINISTRATION IN A MEETING THAT WILL BE HERE HELD IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

[00:55:01]

WE ARE STILL PENDING A RESPONSE ON TWO TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO PAYROLL, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL RECEIVE THOSE ANSWERS HERE SHORTLY.

AND WORKING WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, WE DO WANT TO THANK SHERRY ROBINSON AND ANN NGUYEN AND THEIR TEAMS FOR THEIR COOPERATION, BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE NOT THE ONLY AUDIT THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH. AND SO THEY MADE THEMSELVES AVAILABLE, ANSWERED ALL THEIR QUESTIONS, PROVIDED DOCUMENTS AND OTHER ITEMS IN A TIMELY MANNER.

SO WE APPRECIATE THE ADMINISTRATION'S COOPERATION WITH US.

JUST AS A PREVIEW, WE JUST WENT OVER ESSER ONE, ESSER TWO AND THREE.

ESSER TWO WAS $358.2 MILLION.

ESSER THREE IS $804.7 MILLION.

THAT WILL BE ON FUTURE AUDIT PLAN.

SO FOR FISCAL YEAR 2223, THAT WILL INCLUDE 300 AND POINT $7 MILLION OF ESSER TWO FUNDING THAT HAS A PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2023, WHICH IS FISCAL YEAR 24 FOR YOU AND THEN ESSER THREE OF $804.7 MILLION ACTUALLY TAKES YOU THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30 OF 2024, WHICH IS FISCAL YEAR 2025 FOR HOUSTON ISD.

THAT CONCLUDES MY PREPARED REMARKS.

IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR TESTING OVER ESSER ONE UNDER THE CARES ACT.

I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE THOSE QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? SO THIS WAS ESSENTIALLY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE, LIKE THE THINGS THAT YOU LOOKED AT WERE TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW OF ESSER.

IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.

TO MAKE SURE THE TRANSACTIONS WERE REASONABLE AND NECESSARY.

AND THEN THEY COMPLIED WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.

THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.

EVERYBODY ELSE. NO, ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR MY UNDERSTANDING.

ANYTIME IT'S SUPPLANTED FOR STATE AID, THAT'S BASICALLY HOLD HARMLESS ON ENROLLMENT, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. CORRECT.

CAN I ASK THAT QUESTION TO WHEN DOES THE DATE ON THE WHOLE, IS IT ACCORDING TO THE ESSER RELIEF THAT THAT HOLD HARMLESS DATE WILL BE EXTENDED OR IS IT EXTENDED? IT'S THE HOLD HARMLESS WAS FOR FISCAL YEARS, 2020.

AND THEN LAST YEAR IN FISCAL YEAR 2021 TEA DID THE SAME FOR A PORTION OF YOUR ESSER TWO AWARD.

BUT THAT'S IT. THERE'S NO MORE EXTENSION TO THAT.

ESSER THREE IS 100% SUPPLEMENTAL, THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATES THAT WE WENT OVER THAT ENDED SEPTEMBER 30 OF 2023, 24, 25, THAT IS SET BY THE BY THE FEDERAL AWARD ITSELF.

OKAY. SO THANK YOU.

SO IT WAS TEA THAT DECIDED TO HOLD THIS HARMLESS ON ENROLLMENT AND THEN THEY USE THE FEDERAL FUNDS.

IT'S NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THEY USE, BUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALLOWS IT.

SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE HOLD HARMLESS ON ENROLLMENT ANYMORE, WHICH IS A WHOLE OTHER QUESTION THAT BEYOND THE SCOPE OF AUDIT.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

[DISCUSS THE CAMPUS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AUDIT]

MORNING, JANET. GOOD MORNING, I'M JANET SMITH.

I'M A PARTNER WITH BDO AND I WAS GOING TO GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AUDIT.

WE WERE ENGAGED LAST SPRING TO CONDUCT REVIEW OF THE DISTRICT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES AND BECAUSE OF WE DID CONDUCT OUR PLANNING IN THE SPRING, BUT BECAUSE OF THE DISTRICT BLACKOUT DATES FOR TESTING AND END OF YEAR INTO SCHOOL YEAR, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO CONDUCT OUR ACTUAL AUDIT PROCEDURES ON CAMPUSES.

SO THAT IS ACTUALLY PLANNED FOR SEPTEMBER.

BUT HERE I'M GIVING I JUST WANTED TO UPDATE YOU ON THE PROCEDURES THAT ARE PLANNED AND WHERE WE WILL BE.

SO BASICALLY, THERE'S THREE BROAD AREAS OF SCOPE FOR THIS AUDIT.

ONE IS LOOKING AT THE DISTRICT WIDE PROCEDURES RELATED TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

[01:00:05]

AND THEN AT THE CAMPUS LEVEL, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THE REQUIREMENTS AROUND THE MANDATORY SCHOOL DRILLS AND THE CAMPUS COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE REQUIREMENTS.

SO THOSE INCLUDE THINGS LIKE THE SECURE DRILL, THE LOCKDOWN DRILLS, THE WEATHER DRILLS, ALL OF THOSE TYPE THINGS WILL BE LOOKING AT THE RECORDS THAT THOSE DRILLS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED, THAT THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WERE FOLLOWED, ETC..

AND THEN THE THIRD MAIN AREA THAT OUR AUDIT WILL COVER IS COMPLIANCE WITH THE NEW START OF SCHOOL MANDATES THAT WERE ISSUED OVER THE SUMMER.

THIS IS THE MULTI HAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATION PLAN PROCEDURES THAT WERE ISSUED OVER THE SUMMER.

SO THEY REQUIRED A SAFETY AUDIT, EMERGENCY OPERATION PLAN TO BE PUT IN PLACE, TRAINING DRILLS [INAUDIBLE] SOMETHING ELSE WILL REVIEW AS PART OF OUR AUDIT.

SO WE HAVE SELECTED 28 SCHOOLS THAT WE WILL BE REVIEWING AND SEVEN OF THOSE SCHOOLS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN PERSON.

THE OTHER 21 WILL BE REVIEWING INFORMATION THAT WE REQUEST FROM THE CAMPUSES, AND THOSE ARE SCHEDULED TO BE IN-PERSON.

SCHOOLS WILL BE VISITED AND WALKTHROUGHS DONE ON THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 12TH, AND THEN THE REST OF THE SCHOOLS WILL BE TESTED THE FOLLOWING TWO WEEKS.

SO CERTAINLY BY MID OCTOBER WE SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST A DRAFT REPORT OR FINDINGS READY TO GO.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE WILL BE DOING THIS? SORRY. YES, I HAVE A QUESTION.

SO THIS IS JUST THE AUDIT OF THE PROCEDURES AND THE MANDATES, OBVIOUSLY, WHICH YOU HAVE LISTED HERE. BUT THIS IS OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE DISTRICT IS DOING FOR AUDITING ALL THE OR GOING AROUND AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S SAFETY ON ALL CAMPUSES ACROSS THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.

THIS IS JUST AUDIT.

THIS IS NOT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS SAFE.

I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY.

YES. THIS IS JUST FOR THE FOR THE AUDIT THAT I'VE ASSIGNED TO THEM.

OKAY. IF I UNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY.

WELL, I DIDN'T VERY WELL ARTICULATE THAT.

I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IT MYSELF.

CAN I? YES, PLEASE.

BECAUSE I THINK I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.

SO I KNOW THE STATE WAS REQUIRED AND HELP CORRECT ME IF STOP ME IF I'M MISUNDERSTANDING YOU, BRIDGET.

BUT TRUSTEE WADE.

SO THE STATE, I THINK BEFORE THE END OF AUGUST WAS REQUIRING SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO DO AN AUDIT OF THEIR DOORS AND ALL THE ENTRANCES AND THAT KIND OF SAFETY.

BUT I THINK WHAT TRUSTEE WADE IS ASKING IS THIS SEPARATE AND APART? LIKE YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY DOING IT GOING AND CHECKING THE DOORS.

YOU'RE CHECKING IF THEY DID THE DRILLS, IF THEY IF THEY'RE COMPLYING WITH LAWS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THIS.

THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING, CORRECT? YES, THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING AS WELL.

YEAH. SO, TAMMY, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO WHAT WAS JUST SAID? IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY WERE RIGHT ON POINT, BUT I JUST WANT TO DOUBLE CHECK.

TRUSTEE CRUZ, IF I MAY ADD, THE AUDIT THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING IS ONE THAT INDEED THE STATE IS REQUIRING ALL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TO COMPLETE.

AND WE ARE A RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT ALONGSIDE OUR POLICE OFFICE.

THE DEPARTMENT IN OUR SCHOOLS OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT AUDIT.

SO IT IS AT THE INDIVIDUAL CAMPUS LEVEL TO ASSESS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT INDICATORS THAT THE STATE HAS IDENTIFIED AS IMPORTANT.

SO THAT IS A SEPARATE AUDIT OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THIS THAT WE ARE CONDUCTING ACROSS EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT.

I APPRECIATE THAT WE NEEDED THAT CLARITY FOR PUBLIC RECORD.

THANK YOU. SO I'M STILL NOT CLEAR.

SO THE ADMINISTRATION IS CONDUCTING AN AUDIT OR AN ASSESSMENT? IT'S REALLY ASSESSMENT.

WE ARE ON IT, BUT IT'S AN ASSESSMENT THE STATE REQUIRING AND THEN IT'S SUBMITTED THAT DATA IS SUBMITTED TO TEA.

SO WE HAVE TO PERFORM IT AT EVERY SINGLE CAMPUS.

AND AGAIN, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE ASKED TO ASSESS AT EVERY CAMPUS, AND THEN WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION DIRECTLY TO THE STATE.

SO WHAT IS DIFFERENT BETWEEN THIS AUDIT OF 28 SCHOOLS?

[01:05:09]

WE CAN PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THAT.

I SUSPECT THE THE SCOPE AND THE WHAT IS BEING LOOKED AT MAY BE DIFFERENT, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY GET YOU ALL PROVIDE YOU ALL WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AROUND THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TWO. ONE THING IS, AGAIN, IT IS JUST AS YOU REFERENCE 28 SCHOOLS VERSUS EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT.

SO IT'S A SCOPE AS WELL.

WELL, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS IS THIS AUDIT LOOKING AT AREAS THAT THIS OTHER ASSESSMENT ISN'T OR IS THIS A CHECK AND BALANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS COMPLETED WITH FIDELITY? LIKE, I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS WHY THERE ARE THESE TWO DIFFERENT BUCKETS AND I'M SURE THAT THERE IS A LOGICAL REASON.

I'M JUST NOT.

IT WOULD HELP TO UNDERSTAND MAYBE THIS IS LOOKING AT STUFF THAT YOU ALL AREN'T LOOKING AT, WHICH IS FINE TOO.

YEAH. I'M GOING TO INVITE TAMI MITCHELL TO DISCUSS FURTHER.

SHE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AUDIT AND OUR AUDIT PLAN THAT'S UNDERWAY UNDER HER.

SO THIS THIS AUDIT IS FROM, WHAT, FISCAL YEAR? GOOD MORNING. THIS AUDIT INITIALLY WAS IN OUR 2020 AUDIT PLAN, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORY.

OKAY. SO BEFORE THE STATE TOLD DISTRICTS THEY HAVE TO DO THIS.

GOT IT? YES, MA'AM.

AND SO WHEN WE STARTED THIS AUDIT BACK IN 2020, THAT IS WHEN COVID CAME INTO PLAY.

EVERYONE WENT HOME.

WE CAME BACK IN THE FALL.

IN THE SPRING, WE WERE STILL NOT VISITING CAMPUSES, SO WE MOVED IT FORWARD FROM THAT 20-21 YEAR TO 2022.

AND THEN WHEN WE WERE SUPPOSED TO START THIS IN JANUARY OF 2022, THERE WERE SOME STAFFING ISSUES AND WE MOVED IT.

WE BACKED IT UP A LITTLE BIT WORKING WITH BDO.

AND WHEN WE STARTED WE MOVED INTO THE TIME FRAME WHERE TESTING WAS BEGINNING AND THEN IT WAS THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

SO THAT BROUGHT US HERE.

SO THE POINT OF THIS AUDIT IS TO LOOK AT COMPLIANCE.

ARE WE CONDUCTING DRILLS? ARE WE DOING THEM WHEN WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO THEM? NOW, WHAT THE GOVERNOR HAS ASKED US TO DO AS DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE IS TO LOOK AT AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT LOOK AT FACILITIES, ARE DOORS LOCKED ? ARE THINGS IN PLACE TO TO PROMOTE SECURITY AND SAFETY ON THE CAMPUSES.

BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT PROCEDURES.

ARE WE FOLLOWING WHAT WE'RE ARE WE FOLLOWING THE PROCEDURES? ARE WE DOING THE DRILLS WHEN WE'RE SUPPOSED TO? ARE WE HAVING MEETINGS? ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INVITED TO THE MEETINGS? ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO BE THERE? SO THAT IS THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THIS AUDIT, AND IT SHOULD BE SEPARATE FROM WHAT THE STATE IS REQUIRING.

AND JUST TO JUST ADD TO THAT, THE STATE DOES REQUIRE, AS SHE INDICATED, IT DOES REQUIRE A CLOSE EXAMINATION OF FACILITIES, BUT IT'S ALSO PROCEDURES AND ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT THE STATE HAS IDENTIFIED. SO MY QUESTION GOES BACK TO IN LIGHT OF ALL OF THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS AND MANDATES, AS WE WERE SPEAKING TO EARLIER, ARE WE REHASHING SOMETHING THAT'S.

I'M GOING TO SAY OLD NEWS LIKE I'M JUST ASKING THE QUESTION.

ARE WE GOING BACK TO THAT SAME THING WHERE WE'RE GOING BACK TO OLD AUDITS? AND I DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU ALL WHAT YOU ALL KNOW THAT I DON'T KNOW, BUT I JUST WANT TO BE AS UP TO DATE AS WELL SO THAT WE'RE NOT JUST REHASHING OLD THINGS THAT NO LONGER ARE RELEVANT.

AND YOU ALL KNOW BETTER THAN I DO, BUT I JUST NEEDED TO MAKE THAT.

YES, MA'AM. I THINK THAT IT'S RELEVANT.

IT'S ALWAYS RELEVANT SAFETY FOR THE STUDENTS AND ON OUR CAMPUS.

AND THESE ARE DRILLS AND PROCEDURES THAT WE PUT IN PLACE TO PROMOTE SAFETY.

IT HELPS OUR STAFF TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE AT TIMES IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.

IT ALSO HELPS STUDENTS TO PERFORM THE WAY THAT THEY NEED TO TO PROMOTE SAFETY IN THOSE SITUATIONS.

SO FROM WHERE WE'RE SITTING FROM, WHERE WE'RE STANDING AS AN EDUCATION TEAM, WE THINK THAT IT MAKES SENSE.

I WOULD NOT SAY THAT THERE IS NOT ANY OVERLAP.

I'VE NOT SEEN THE DOCUMENTATION THAT YOU'RE USING IN ORDER TO CONDUCT THE AUDITS.

BUT IT APPEARS, FROM WHAT I'VE RESEARCHED, THAT WE'RE SEPARATE.

DR. CRUZ, DO YOU.

YES. I MEAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY CROSS REFERENCE WHAT'S THERE.

BUT AGAIN, THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, I THINK IS A LITTLE BIT BROADER.

AND IT DOES LOOK LIKE A FACILITIES, AS WAS INDICATED AS ONE AREA, BUT SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES AS WELL.

SO WHO IS LEADING? RIGHT. WE'VE GOT THIS AUDIT.

THERE'S A REASON FOR AUDIT FUNCTION TO BE INDEPENDENT.

RIGHT. SO.

WHO'S LEADING Y'ALL'S AUDIT? OUR RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT ALONGSIDE OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.

OK SO THIS IS ANOTHER AREA WHERE I'M SEEING THERE MIGHT NEED TO BE A LITTLE MORE COMMUNICATION LIKE ABSOLUTELY IF THIS IS SUPPLEMENTAL TO EACH OTHER.

BUT MY CONCERN IS, ARE WE USING RESOURCES IN A WAY THAT IS REDUNDANT?

[01:10:06]

BUT IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE YOU'RE USING ANYBODY OUTSIDE.

THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY UNCOMMON IN ANY ORGANIZATION TO SEE KIND OF RISK MANAGEMENT SILOS.

I DO THINK IT'S GREAT IF YOU TALK I'M GLAD THIS CAME UP BECAUSE YOU GUYS CAN TALK.

BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE DOING AN ACTIVITY TO COMPLY WITH THE STATE LAW TO TURN IN THE DATA AND YOU'VE GOT TO GO AND VISIT EVERY SINGLE CAMPUS. AND SOME OF WHAT YOU MAY BE LOOKING AT MAY BE COVERED IN THE AUDIT.

BUT I THINK A LOT OF WHAT THIS AUDIT COVERS IS THE SAFETY AND SECURITY.

HOW DO WE KEEP KIDS SAFE? I DO LIKE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS POST COVID BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A RESET NOW, TOO, RIGHT.

AND THEN GIVEN WHAT WE SAW HAPPENED IN UVALDE, I THINK THIS IS A PRETTY TIMELY AUDIT AND ONE I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE RESULTS OF.

BUT KNOWING NOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE BOTH DOING OR YOU'RE BOTH DOING SOMETHING, IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU CAN SHARE THAT, THAT'S GREAT.

BUT I SUSPECT YOU GUYS ARE YOU'VE GOT A TASK LIST THAT THE GOVERNOR WHOM A TEA WANTS TO SEE AND YOU'RE JUST YOU'RE GOING THROUGH AND YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT EVERYTHING TO DOCUMENT IT. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE GIVING IT.

AND QUITE FRANKLY, A VERY SHORT TIME FRAME WE WERE GIVEN BY THE STATE.

THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DO.

HERE'S THE TEMPLATE. FILL IT OUT, MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS ACROSS ALL SCHOOLS AND THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE THERE MAY BE OVERLAP IN SOME OF OR NOT.

MISTAKE ME IF I'M WRONG BUT I DON'T BELIEVE.

FOR EXAMPLE, JUST LOOKING AT THIS LIST, I DON'T THINK WE WERE LOOKING AT ALL AT SEVERE WEATHER OR EVEN FIRE EVACUATIONS.

IT WAS REALLY MORE IN THE CONTEXT OF OTHER KINDS OF SAFETY.

SO THAT'S.

U TRUSTEE GUIDRY.

YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU.

A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

SO HOW WERE THE 28 SCHOOLS SELECTED? AND AND WHAT IS THE FOLLOW UP TO THE BOARD TO DETERMINE THE FINDINGS AND HOW IT CAN BENEFIT THE DISTRICT AS A WHOLE? JANET, ARE YOU STILL ON? I AM. THIS IS AROYA, I WORK WITH JANET.

SO THE SCHOOLS WERE JUST SELECTED JUST RANDOMLY AND [INAUDIBLE] THERE WAS 275 SCHOOLS FOR THE TOTAL POPULATION.

AND WE SELECTED 10% OF THOSE SCHOOLS.

AND THAT'S HOW THAT LIST CAME UP.

AND THAT WAS REALLY IN CONSULTATION WITH THE HISD AUDIT TEAM.

AND THEN IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATING, OUR RESULTS WILL ISSUE OUR AN AUDIT REPORT SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO WITH ALL OF OUR OTHER AUDIT REPORTS THAT WILL ISSUE IT AND THAT WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND TO THE BOARD AS A WHOLE.

PERFECT. THANK YOU.

AND SO THE 10% CAN I ASSUME THAT IT'S SPREAD ACROSS THE DISTRICT AND NOT CONCENTRATED IN ONE PARTICULAR AREA? YES, IT IS SPREAD ACROSS.

ALSO, THERE'S WE MADE SURE THAT WE HAD ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOLS INVOLVED AS WELL.

SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD A GOOD SELECTION.

PERFECT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IS 10% THE SAMPLING RULE FOR INTERNAL AUDIT OR HOW DO WE ARRIVE AT THAT? THERE'S REALLY NO STANDARD RULE 10% JUST WE FELT LIKE GAVE US A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF THE [INAUDIBLE] SO FOR OUR TEAM, IT VARIES FROM AUDIT TO AUDIT.

THERE'S NOT ONE SET RULE THAT SAYS FOR EVERY AUDIT WE'RE GOING TO DO X PERCENT.

WE LOOK AT EACH AUDIT INDIVIDUALLY AND WE IN THE PLANNING PHASE, WE DETERMINE WHAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT, HOW MUCH WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND FOR WHAT PERIOD OF TIME. AND THAT'S ON AN AUDIT BY AUDIT BASIS, NOT SOME BLANKET STANDARD RULE.

THIS ISN'T A THIS ISN'T SPECIFIC TO THIS TOPIC BUT IS MORE GENERAL IN THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD A CHALLENGE OF THE TIMING OF AN AUDIT WITH OTHER STUFF THAT THE LIKE CRUNCH TIMES FOR THE DISTRICT.

SO I'M JUST KIND OF LIFTING THAT UP FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE FUTURE AUDIT PLAN AND HOW THE PLAN FOR

[01:15:06]

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

WHAT'S NEXT, CHIEF BLACKWELL? SO HERE IS THE CHOICE WE WERE LOOKING AT EARLIER.

[DISCUSS AUDIT TRAINING FOR THE BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE]

[AUDIT PLANS STATUS UPDATES]

WE WOULD LIKE TO TOUCH ON A TOPIC WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE AS FAR AS PROVIDING TRAINING TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.

AS YOU KNOW, WE USUALLY PROVIDE A COURSE OR TWO EACH YEAR TO THE COMMITTEE, AND WE HAVEN'T DONE ONE YET SO FAR THIS YEAR IF IT'S STILL DESIRED THIS YEAR. HERE ARE A COUPLE OF TOPICS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT GIVEN THE SOMEWHAT NEWNESS OF TRUSTEES ON THE BOARD.

BUT WE'RE OPEN TO ANY TOPIC THAT THOSE THAT'S YOUR PLEASURE THAT YOU LIKE TO FOLLOW.

SUE IS ONE OF ONLY TWO BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE HERE.

WELL, DID YOU GUYS DO A TRAINING LAST YEAR? WE DID AN ONLINE TRAINING, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS 2020 OR 2021.

IT WAS A YEAR BEFORE..

OK 2020. 2020, AND I KNOW MY FIRST TWO YEARS ON THE BOARD, WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT LIKE ALL DAY TRAININGS.

I'M GOING TO JUST CHIME IN WITH MY OPINION HERE.

I THINK THIS IS ALSO A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR A RESET IN HAVING I LIKE BOTH OF THESE TOPICS BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY GENERAL TO HELP THE BOARD UNDERSTAND WHAT THE AUDIT, WHAT THE FUNCTION IS, WHAT OUR ROLE IS IN IT, WHAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING IN ALL OF THESE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS. AND I THINK IF THEY CAN EITHER BE COMBINED AS ONE ALL DAY OR TWO SEPARATE, SHORTER ONES, I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE OPTIONS EXIST FROM OUTSIDE, BUT I KNOW IT GETS REALLY CHALLENGING FOR TRUSTEES TO COMMIT A FULL DAY TO ONE OF THESE TRAININGS.

AND I'D BE PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE, ACTUALLY, COLLEAGUES, IF THE ADMINISTRATION WERE WILLING TO WORK WITH THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT, SEE WHICH TRUSTEES WERE INTERESTED IN ONE OR BOTH OF THESE KINDS OF TOPICS, AND JUST SORT OF SOME GENERAL WHAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND OR, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHAT I JUST EXPRESSED, A FULL DAY GETS A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT.

AND I THINK THAT THESE MIGHT BE THINGS THAT WE JUST OFFER UP EVERY OTHER YEAR, JUST AS A REGULAR COURSE OF OF OUR FUNCTION.

GO AHEAD TRUSTEE CRUZ. YEAH, SO I'M REMEMBERING NOW THAT WE HAD SCHEDULING CONFLICTS.

WE HAD SCHEDULED IT A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TIMES LAST YEAR WITH I THINK IT WAS SELENA.

RIGHT? SO I THINK MAYBE DOING A DOODLE PULL BOARD SERVICES AND THIS IS NOT MAKING IT CLEAR IT'S NOT JUST FOR THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, BUT IT'S REALLY OPEN TO THE FULL BOARD. I MEAN, I THINK IT EVEN BE GREAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS WANTED TO COME AND JUST LEARN ABOUT HOW THIS IS PART OF OUR WORK AS A BOARD.

SO I THINK IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE THAT SCHEDULED.

I WOULD EVEN SAY PROBABLY EVERY YEAR WE NEED TO DO IT JUST AS A REFRESHER.

AND THAT WOULD ALSO CAPTURE FOLKS THAT MAYBE COULDN'T HAVE GONE THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

BUT YEAH, I THINK DOING IT.

PROBABLY THIS FALL BEFORE WE START THE NEXT SCHOOL, THE NEXT CALENDAR YEAR, WE MAY HAVE SOME NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IN THE SPRING OR PEOPLE THAT MAY BE COLLEAGUES THAT MIGHT COME TO THIS TRAINING AND SAY, OH, I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE REALLY BORING AND THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING AND I SEE ITS IMPORTANCE, RIGHT? I THOUGHT THIS WOULD ALL BE REALLY, REALLY BORING AND THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF BEING ON THE BOARD.

SO ANYWAY, SO WE TARGET BEFORE NOVEMBER.

YEAH. I'M GOING TO SELFISHLY SAY OCTOBER BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY DANCE CARD IS ALREADY PRETTY FULL UP IN SEPTEMBER.

LATE OCTOBER, PROBABLY.

I'M SORRY. AND WOULD IT BE SELINA PROVIDING THAT TRAINING? WE'LL HAVE TO SAY WHO'S AVAILABLE.

YEAH, I THINK IF YOU CAN GET A COUPLE OF DATES, WHOEVER'S GOING TO DO IT, AND THEN PROVIDE THAT TO BOARD SERVICES OF OPTIONS, AND THEN THEY'LL THEY'LL BE ABLE TO SEND THAT AS A DOODLE POOL TO ALL OF US, I THINK WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AND THANK YOU FOR THE EFFORTS IN TRYING TO GET THAT SCHEDULE LAST YEAR.

[01:20:05]

WE'LL GET AFTER IT. AND I ALSO WANT TO THROW IT OUT THERE FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBER.

IF THERE ARE TOPICS THAT YOU'RE AS YOU SIT IN OUR MEETINGS LIKE OK, YOU ALL HAVE A GAP IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING ON THIS OR THIS KIND OF TRAINING WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.

PLEASE LIFT IT UP.

AND I WOULD ALSO I THINK THERE COULD BE VALUE IN TRYING TO CREATE MORE COHESIVENESS BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE ADMINISTRATION WITH THIS AUDIT FUNCTION OF WHAT KINDS OF TRAININGS MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO ADMINISTRATORS THAT INTERACT WITH THIS PROCESS AND HOW TO HELP BUILD A STRONGER TEAM FUNCTION AROUND THIS WORK.

ALL RIGHT. YOU KNOW, NOBODY'S YELLING AND SCREAMING TO TALK, YOU KNOW.

I WASN'T SURE IF WE WERE GOING TO GO BACK AND TALK ABOUT THE BDO IT AUDITS THAT WERE ON SLIDE 33.

OR IS THAT CLOSED SESSION? MAYBE THAT'S CLOSED SESSION.

I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEIR THEIR PLAN FOR 23.

MORNING. HELLO.

GOOD MORNING.

SO WE DID COMPLETE, I'M JAMIE LOOP, I'VE MET PRETTY MUCH ALL OF YOU.

I'M THE MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR I.T.

RISK ADVISORY SERVICES.

RICHARD NGUYEN IS ON MY TEAM AND PERFORMS A LOT OF OUR AUDITS.

HE'S OUR IT SPECIALIST, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME CYBERSECURITY SPECIALISTS ON OUR TEAM AS WELL.

WE DID COMPLETE OUR 2021 AND 2022 AUDIT PLAN.

YOU CAN SEE THE DATES THAT ALL THE REPORTS WERE ISSUED.

WE DO HAVE ONE REPORT THAT'S STILL IN PROGRESS.

IT'S APPLICATION INTERFACES.

SO BASICALLY HOW SAP AND OTHER APPLICATIONS WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT COMMUNICATE AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT DATA COMMUNICATION IS SECURE.

AND THEN WE DO HAVE THE LBB ISSUE FOLLOW UP.

THAT IS ACTUALLY A CARRYOVER FROM 2021 AUDIT PLAN.

WE PUSH IT TO 2022 AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE IT ON THE 2023 AUDIT PLAN AS WELL.

CHIEF GIL HAUSEN HAS ACTUALLY REPLIED ON FRIDAY WITH SOME RESPONSES.

SO WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT TO SEE IF WE CAN CLOSE SOME OF THEM OUT.

BUT AS YOU ALL KNOW, IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS THAT LBB REPORT IS.

AND SO IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS TO ADDRESS THOSE RISK.

CAN I TURN TO THE NEXT SLIDE? AND SO FAR 2023 FISCAL YEAR AUDIT PLAN, WE HAVE PATCH AND VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT THAT WAS DELAYED.

WE STARTED THE CAMPUS.

IT'S A NEW LMS SYSTEM.

WE STARTED THE AUDIT ON THAT.

IT'S THE POST IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW OF THAT TO ENSURE THAT IT WAS SET UP CORRECTLY.

WE ARE PERFORMING THE ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT AND THEN WE'RE ALSO DOING OUR IT RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THE 2024 AUDIT PLAN.

WE ALL SPOKE ABOUT THE RISK ASSESSMENTS AND THE AUDIT RISK ASSESSMENT.

WHEN WE DO THESE RISK ASSESSMENTS, WHAT WE TYPICALLY DO IS A REFRESH EVERY YEAR AND THEN EVERY THIRD YEAR WE DO A FULL SCALE RISK ASSESSMENT.

SO WE'LL GO IN AND REDEVELOP OUR UNIVERSE, HAVE LIKE BASICALLY REPERFORM OUR APPROACH.

SO WE HAVE A STANDARD APPROACH, BUT EVERY THREE YEARS WE KIND OF REDEVELOP OUR APPROACH TO HOW WE LOOK AT THE RISK.

AND WE DID SPEAK WITH JIM WHAT WAS IT LAST WEEK JIM I BELIEVE AND TEAM ON HOW WE PERFORMED OUR AUDIT PLAN.

AND SO I FELT LIKE THERE WAS SOME SOME AGREEMENT THERE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING THE TOP RISK WITHIN OUR AUDIT PLANNING THE LOT OF BUDGET.

SO I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE, ANY QUESTIONS OR? ONE QUESTION.

THE PATCH AND VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT AUDIT, HOW DELAYED IS THAT GOING TO BE? DO YOU HAVE A START DATE GIVEN THE CRITICALITY OF CYBERSECURITY? THAT IS THAT THAT'S WAS MY ONE QUESTION WHEN I READ THE SLIDE.

ABSOLUTELY. AND THAT IS WE TRY AND GET A CYBER ORDER ON EVERY YEAR AUDIT PLAN.

CHIEF GIL HAUSEN AND I WERE AND RICHARD AND I WERE SPEAKING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.

HE'S LOST SOME CRITICAL STAFF IN THAT AREA.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO OPINE ON WHEN WE CAN START THAT.

SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE A RESOURCE STARTING ON SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH.

BUT LIKE JAMIE HAD MENTIONED HERE, THIS THERE'S A SERIES OF ELEMENTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED.

AND WITHIN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, WE LOST ABOUT 70% OF THE STAFF DURING THE LAST SIX MONTHS DUE TO THE OFFERS THAT ARE OUT THERE.

AND THEN BIG DRIVER AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME IS IS REMOTE DRIVING THAT FUNCTION.

BUT WE ARE ABLE TO TO ONBOARD A PERSON HERE AT SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH.

THAT'S GREAT NEWS.

YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY PERSON THAT LOST I.T.

AUDIT PEOPLE OR IT PEOPLE.

[01:25:02]

SO IT'S GOOD THAT YOU'VE GOT THAT STARTING.

WE'VE GONE THROUGH IT AS WELL, EVERYONE.

IT'S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WE FACE.

IT'S THE TOP RISK IN THE IT REALM RIGHT NOW IS STAFFING.

SO. YOU DO.

THANK YOU. I HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION, WHICH MAY NOT BE FOR YOU, MAYBE FOR SOMEONE ELSE, BUT WE GOT THE REPORTS AND EMAIL AND LIKE MOST OF IT'S REDACTED.

SO THERE ARE TWO REPORTS WE'RE GOING TO SPEAK ABOUT IN CLOSED SESSION.

THERE'S JUST SENSITIVE AS USUAL.

THERE'S SENSITIVE INFORMATION THAT IF WE RELEASE THE PUBLIC, IT WOULD IT WOULD ALLOW SOME POTENTIAL VULNERABILITIES.

GOT IT. I APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY.

IF YOU'RE STILL THERE. TRUSTEE.

GUIDRY. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

MOVING ON. SO WE'VE LOST ABOUT

[DISCUSS THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE TEAM VACANCIES]

WE HAVE A COUPLE OF VACANCIES IN ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE.

BUT MY MAIN CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS THE VACANCIES IN INTERNAL AUDIT.

WE'RE CONTINUING TO FUNCTION AS BEST WE CAN WITH THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE.

AND AND TO THE EXTENT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO OUTSOURCE TO FIRMS THAT HELP US, WE DO THAT AS WELL AS YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN.

SO THAT'S BASICALLY IT IN A NUTSHELL FOR THAT TOPIC.

SO YOU'RE DOWN STAFF, BUT YOU DO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO OUTSOURCE TO MITIGATE THAT IN THE SHORT TERM, CORRECT? TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, YES.

SO WHAT TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, WHAT ARE THE IMPEDIMENTS? WELL, WE'RE EARLY IN THE FISCAL YEAR, SO I'M NOT SENSING THAT RIGHT NOW.

BUT AS WE CONTINUE ON THROUGH THIS FISCAL YEAR, THE DOLLARS ARE GOING TO START, YOU KNOW, DWINDLE AND DWINDLE AND DWINDLE.

AND SO BUT RIGHT NOW, WE'RE OK BUT WE'RE EARLY IN THE YEAR, SO WE USUALLY SEE CHALLENGES, MAYBE LATE THIRD QUARTER, EARLY FOURTH QUARTER. AND THEN IF IF THAT'S A CHALLENGE THAT NEEDS TO COME TO YOU, I'LL PRESENT IT TO YOU.

AND THEN WE SEE WHERE THAT LEADS US.

OKAY. QUESTION TO MY COLLEAGUES.

THANK YOU. FOR OUR STAFF VACANCIES YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE I JUST MENTIONED THOSE..

ACTUALLY LET ME BACK UP A SEC.

OKAY SO ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE IS NOT BECAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN OUTSOURCE.

YOU'VE GOT TO VACANCIES.

ARE YOU TRYING TO FILL THOSE TWO VACANCIES OR.

THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING FOR INTERNAL AUDIT, I'M NOT DOING FOR ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

WHEN THE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE TEAM.

I WANT TO INTRODUCE ANTONIO.

[ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE UPDATE]

AND YOU CAN EITHER USE THIS OR YOU CAN USE THE MIC.

THANK YOU, MR. BLACKWELL. GOOD MORNING TRUSTEES AND GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.

I'M FILLING IN FOR THERESA CORRIGAN THIS MORNING.

SHE HAD A FAMILY EMERGENCY.

AND MY NAME IS ANTONIO HARADA, AND I'M WITH THE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE TEAM.

GOING TO PRESENT TO YOU THE ETHICS HOTLINE UPDATE FOR OPEN CASES, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 130 CASES CURRENTLY OPEN, AND THAT IS THE BREAKDOWN.

AS FAR AS THE THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND FUNCTIONS THAT THOSE ARE CASES OR CONCERNS AS THEY COME IN WE REFER THEM TO THE MOST APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT PROFESSIONAL STANDARD HAS 41% OTHERS ARE 3% BUSINESS OPERATIONS AT FIVE.

ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE, WE KEEP ABOUT 12% RELATED TO POTENTIAL FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND OTHER ITEMS THAT WE OVERSEE AND SUPERVISE.

ETHICS, E-RATE FOR INSTANCE, WILL BE ANOTHER ONE.

OF THE CASES REFERRED TO THE HISD PD 5%, LEGAL SERVICES 2%, AND THE SCHOOLS OFFICE AS WELL.

THEY GET A GOOD NUMBER OF CASES AT 32%.

THE CASES BY MONTH.

SO WE HAVE DURING THE MONTH OF MAY, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

WE DO HAVE AN UPTICK IN REPORTS 51 CASES OPEN, BUT WE ALSO CLOSE 45 DURING THE SUMMER, JUNE AND JULY, 26 CASES OPEN, CLOSE 24 AT JULY AGAIN 12 OPEN.

WE CLOSED 25.

[01:30:01]

WE HAVE A NEWLY REDESIGNED POSTER FOR THE ETHICS HOTLINE.

IT HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO ALL SCHOOLS.

SOME DEPARTMENTS ARE STILL PENDING.

WE WORK PRETTY HARD THIS SUMMER TO WE PERSONALLY FIX THEM AND PLACE THEM IN THE IN THE SCHOOLS WITHIN LIMITED TO ONE OR TWO POSTERS WE PLACE IN STRATEGIC PLACES AS NEEDED A MORE IF NECESSARY.

THE MAIN THING IN THE NEW POSTER AND THE REDESIGNED POSTER, IT CONTAINS A QR CODE THAT THE REPORTER CAN ACTUALLY JUST SCAN WITH THE CELL PHONE AND COMPLETE AN ONLINE REPORT.

AS FAR AS THE TRACKING OF THE ONLINE ETHICS AND E-RATE TRAINING, THE ETHICS TRAINING IS EVERY OTHER YEAR.

AND WE ARE TRACKING THAT AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE DIFFERENT WITH EMPLOYEES WHO ARE BEHIND OR HAVE NOT COMPLETED THAT TRAINING.

SAME FOR THE E-RATE TRAINING.

THE E-RATE TRAINING IS FOR ALL E-RATE RELATED STAFF OR ASSOCIATED STAFF EVERY YEAR.

AS FAR AS OUR CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE FORM, IT COMES IN SEPTEMBER AND IN MARCH, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH LEGAL AND COMPENSATION AS FAR AS UPDATING THE FORM, ENHANCED DISCLOSURES AND MORE TO PROVIDE MORE CLARITY TO THE FORM.

AND SO WE HAVE ALSO ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS TO ENSURE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS ARE COMPLETED TIMELY.

WE'RE COMMUNICATING, REFINING OUR WORKFLOW WITH PURCHASING SERVICES, THE VENDORS AND ALSO WITH HUMAN WITH THE OFFICE OF TALENT, AS FAR AS FINGERPRINTING.

WE ALSO HAVE TWO OPEN POSITIONS.

I THINK MR. BLACKWELL HAS ALREADY COVERED THAT AFTER TWO RETIREMENTS.

AND THAT'S IT FOR ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE.

IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I MAY ANSWER..

AND I HAVE A QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO THE QR CODE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OUT OF MY LEAGUE, BUT WHEN IT GOES TO THE AUDIT ON HOW THAT WORKS, AS FAR AS FROM A TECHNOLOGICAL STANDPOINT IN THE SAFETY OF THOSE, HOW IS THAT BEING PROTECTED? I GUESS IS IS THE BEST WAY.

HOW IS THAT INFORMATION BEING PROTECTED THROUGH THAT QR CODE? IS THAT A BETTER WAY TO ANSWER? ABSOLUTELY. AS FAR AS WE UNDERSTAND, WHEN SOMEONE SCANS THAT QR CODE, IT TAKES YOU TO OUR HISD ETHICS HOTLINE LINK MANAGED BY [INAUDIBLE] THIRD PARTY VENDOR.

AND SO THAT LINK TAKES YOU SECURELY TO THAT ETHICS HOTLINE LINK THAT IS EXCLUSIVELY FOR HISD, AND IT'S A SECURE LINK.

AND SO THERE YOU CAN FILE YOUR REPORT AND JUST GO THROUGH THE REGULAR PROCESS THAT ANYONE WOULD DO AS FAR AS SUBMITTING A CONCERN OR A REPORT IF I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.

BUT THE LINK IS SECURED IS BASICALLY THE QR CODE TAKES YOU TO THAT LINK AND THEN IT GOES ON TO OUR EXCLUSIVE AND IT'S A DEDICATED LINK THAT [INAUDIBLE] HAS FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. AND NOW AS FAR AS PHONE SECURITY ISSUES, YOU KNOW THAT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NO CONTROL OF.

BUT THE LINK IS SECURE.

EXCELLENT. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

I ACTUALLY DO HAVE A QUESTION.

SO IS THERE AN AVERAGE AMOUNT OF TIME LIKE OR PROCEDURALLY LIKE HOW QUICKLY DO THESE INVESTIGATIONS HAPPEN? WHAT ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE ACCUSATIONS ON AN EMPLOYEE LIKE I KNOW OUR DIA LOCAL SAYS THEY SHOULD BE COMPLETED WITHIN TEN DAYS.

ARE YOU FINDING IT YOU'RE ABLE TO STAY WITHIN THOSE TEN DAYS OR THERE ARE A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU'RE NEEDING TO GO OUTSIDE OF THOSE TEN DAYS.

AS FAR AS THE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE CASES, THE CASES THAT REMAIN WITHIN ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.

WE HAD A SENSITIVE ISSUE OF POTENTIAL FRAUD, AND WE HAD IT DONE IN TWO DAYS.

SO WE SUBSTANTIATED THAT THERE WAS THERE WASN'T ANYTHING BAD GOING ON NOR WRONGDOING.

SO WE ENDED UP.

WE COMPLETED THAT IN TWO DAYS.

SO SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO GO BEYOND THE TEN DAYS AS FAR AS ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE CASES.

BUT SOMETIMES WE ARE ABLE TO GET THEM DONE WITHIN TEN DAYS, AND THAT IS A METRIC THAT WE CAN WORK ON AND HAVING A TIMELINE OR OR HAVING HAVING THAT NUMBER FOR YOU ALL AS FAR AS WE'RE COMPLETING THIS MANY CASES IN THIS MANY DAYS.

BUT IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE DEPARTMENT THAT THE CASE IS REFERRED TO.

AND SO IF IT'S REFERRED TO ANY OTHER OFFICE OR FUNCTION, THEN IT WILL DEPEND ON THEM AS TO HOW FAST THEY MOVE AND WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION THEY'RE LOOKING

[01:35:04]

YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE WANT Y'ALL TO DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND NOT WE DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING IN TEN DAYS, THERE MUST BE NOTHING THERE WHEN THERE MIGHT BE THAT YOU JUST HAVEN'T THE BREADCRUMBS.

YOU JUST HAVEN'T RUN OUT OF THE BREADCRUMBS YET.

BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THINGS AREN'T JUST LINGERING OUT THERE THAT COULD BE INCURRING A RISK.

AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE BIGGER CONCERN HERE THAT IS BEHIND MY QUESTION.

IT SOUNDS LIKE MOST OF THE TIME YOU'RE THEY'RE DONE PRETTY QUICKLY.

YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ADDRESS THEM IN THAT TIME SENSITIVE WAY.

BUT OCCASIONALLY THEY'RE THAT SERIES OF BREADCRUMBS.

YOU'RE LIKE, YEAH, WE'RE PAST THE TEN DAYS, BUT WE'RE STILL FINDING STUFF THAT WE NEED TO DIG DEEPER.

SO WE PRIORITIZE.

AND IF IT'S AN ISSUE THAT HAS THE HIGHEST CONCERN, WE'LL STOP A CASE MOMENTARILY.

AND WE WILL FOCUS ON THAT AND GET IT DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, HOPEFULLY WITHIN TEN DAYS.

AWESOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. 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 ACT,

[CLOSED SESSION]

SUCH FINAL ACTION VOTE OR DECISION SHALL BE TAKEN AT THE OPEN MEETING COVERED BY THIS NOTICE.

UPON THE RECONVENING OF THIS PUBLIC MEETING OR AT A SUBSEQUENT PUBLIC MEETING OF THE BOARD UPON NOTICE THEREOF.

THE COMMITTEE IS ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION AT 10:43 A.M.

AND COLLEAGUES, I'M GOING TO SAY LET'S TAKE A QUICK FIVE MINUTE BREAK.

AND SO LET'S BE READY TO WORK AT 10:48.

THANK YOU. AND WE'VE RECONVENED.

THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION AT 11:56 A.M.

WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO DISCUSS, THIS MEETING OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW ADJOURNED AT 11:56 A.M..

THANK YOU, EVERYBODY.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.