Jan 26, 2023 Special Board Meetings / Audit Committee

[CALL TO ORDER]

[CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS]

[00:00:18]

SO MOVED.

SECOND. OKAY. SURE. IT. OH, SECOND.

WE HAVE A MOTION BY TRUSTEE WADE AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE CRUZ.

IF WE DO NOT HAVE A QUORUM.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING.

[RFP/RFQ UPDATE]

WE HELD A PRE PROPOSAL CONFERENCE ON DECEMBER THE 7TH AT 10 A.M..

WE ALLOWED ABOUT TWO WEEKS FOR THE VENDORS TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE CLOSED THE PROJECT.

WE POST THOSE QUESTIONS ON THE SITE AND ALL VENDORS BIDDING HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE QUESTIONS AS AN ADDENDUM.

THE PROJECT CLOSED ON JANUARY THE 10TH AT 10 A.M., AND THEN THE EVALUATION PERIOD BEGAN.

WE SENT OUT AN EMAIL WITH A LINK TO ALL PROPOSALS RATHER TO ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO BEGIN THEIR EVALUATION.

THOSE EVALUATIONS ARE DUE ON JANUARY THE 31ST.

SO NEXT WEEK WE ARE GOING TO SHORTLIST THE VENDORS AND BRING THE SHORTLIST IN FOR INTERVIEWS AND THEN WE WILL MAKE A DECISION.

THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE WILL MAKE A DECISION AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE MARCH BOARD.

SO WE ARE ON TRACK AS LONG AS ALL OF THOSE DATES ARE MET.

WE'RE ON TRACK TO BRING YOU THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, A BOARD ITEM IN MARCH.

YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, ALEXIS.

QUESTION REAL QUICK ON THAT, ARE YOU SEEING RESPONSES, A DECENT AMOUNT OF RESPONSES SO FAR? I MEAN, YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY, I'M GUESSING BUT.

WE HAVE RECEIVED THE PROJECT IS CLOSED AND WE RECEIVED PROPOSALS.

IT'S STILL UNDER THE CODE OF SILENCE.

SO I CAN ANSWER IT THIS WAY.

YES. OH, THAT'S ALL I THINK.

I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU.

THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO KNOW. THANK YOU.

THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING READY TO PIPE IN TO SAY.

QUESTION. OKAY.

THANK YOU. SURE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT.

MOVING ON.

THE 2022 AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT.

[2022 AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2023]

I'M WAY OVERDUE ON IT.

AND I FINALLY HAD THE GOOD SENSE TO ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE AND DOING ALL OF THE NECESSARY RESEARCH TO FILL IN THE BLANKS.

SO THANK YOU, CHIEF BLACKWELL AND YOUR STAFF FOR FACILITATING THAT.

SO THERE IS A DRAFT OF IT AND THERE AREN'T ANY TABS, AND IF I JUST MAKE A NOTE, IT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL IN THE FUTURE TO HAVE THE TABS. BUT IT'S IF YOU LOOK AT THE THINGS WITH YEAH, THERE ARE DIFFERENT SETS OF PAGE NUMBERS.

THE THINGS WITH THE BLUE BAND ON THE BOTTOM IF YOU GO TO PAGE 14.

OF THE THINGS WITH THE BLUE BAND AND THEN THE REPORT IS SLIDE 15, BUT DOESN'T HAVE THE BLUE BAND.

OKAY, THANK YOU. SO COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

OH, IS TRUSTEE SANTOS? NO. HOLLER AT ME IF SHE.

OKAY THANKS SO COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND ALSO TRUSTEE CRUZ, SINCE YOU WERE BOARD CHAIR AND WERE PARTICIPATING IN THIS, TAKE A LOOK AT THIS RECOMMENDATION OR THIS DRAFT AND WE DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THE DETAILS OF IT TODAY, BUT GO THROUGH IT OVER THE NEXT WEEK AND THEN SEND ME ANY FEEDBACK AND WE CAN GET IT REVISED TO GET ON THE FEBRUARY AGENDA

[00:05:09]

THE THING THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WILL BE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSIDERATION FOR NEXT YEAR.

SO EVERYTHING PRIOR TO THIS TO PAGE 23 AS LOOKING BACKWARDS AND PAGE 23 AS LOOKING FORWARDS.

SO LOOK THROUGH THAT ESPECIALLY AND MAYBE LET'S JUST TAKE A MINUTE RIGHT NOW WHILE WE'RE ALL IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER TO TAKE A GLANCE AT IT AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING LIKE YOU REALLY FEEL STRONGLY NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED TO NOT BE A RECOMMENDATION OR SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON HERE.

THAT SHOULD BE A RECOMMENDATION.

THE ONE THING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN LIFTED UP TO ME THAT WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT TO RECOMMEND FOR CONSIDERATION IS HOW TO HANDLE CHANGES TO THE AUDIT PLAN MID-YEAR.

SO THE BOARD APPROVES THE AUDIT PLAN ANNUALLY IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER.

WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMETHING ARISES MID YEAR? HOW DO WE WANT TO PROCEED WITH THAT SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING ON TRACK WITH THE PLAN WHILE HAVING FLEXIBILITY WHEN NECESSARY? SO.

DO YOU WANT TO HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT? CORRECT.

POLICY ISSUES OR JUST A I DON'T THINK IT'S A POLICY ISSUE.

I THINK IT'S JUST A PRACTICE.

YOU WANT TO CHIME IN LISA? PRACTICE AND IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO SPECIFICALLY DELINEATE IN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE WILL BE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS ON OR IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD ULTIMATELY BELIEVES THOSE REQUESTS FOR CHANGES TO AUDIT TO THE AUDIT COME TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE FIRST FOR A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO THE BOARD.

IF THAT'S ULTIMATELY THE PROCESS THE BOARD WANTS TO ADOPT, WE'D PROBABLY BEST PRACTICE WOULD BE TO DELINEATE THAT IN YOUR AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER.

YES, MA'AM. WE WANT TO HAVE FLEXIBILITY.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE YEAR THAT THE FBI THING, IF THERE WAS AN AUDIT THAT, HEY, WE'VE GOT NEW INFORMATION, A NEW IDENTIFIED RISK, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE NIMBLE, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S IN BALANCE WITHOUT SUPERSEDING OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE DETERMINED ALREADY ARE PRIORITY. AND DOES THAT NEED TO BE ADDED? DO WE NEED TO TAKE SOMETHING OUT? DO WE NEED TO ADD IT TO THE FOLLOWING YEAR'S OR RECOMMEND YOU KNOW LIKE THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING.

TRUSTEES JUST BECAUSE WE ARE LIVE STREAMING WHEN YOU TALK JUST MAKE SURE TO MOVE THE MICROPHONE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE SO THEY CAN PICK UP YOUR VOICE.

THANKS. THANK YOU.

ANY THOUGHTS TO SHARE? YES. OH, SORRY.

OH, GO AHEAD. I DON'T THINK IT'S ON.

THE BUTTON'S AT THE TOP. THE BUTTON'S AT THE TOP.

THANK YOU. I'M NOT GOOD AT THIS.

BACK, I WANT TO SAY, BACK IN THE DAY, BUT THAT SOUNDS TOO BAD.

IN PREVIOUS MY PREVIOUS AUDIT EXPERIENCE, WE USED TO BUILD INTO THE PLAN CONTINGENCY HOURS, SAY 10 TO 15% UNDEDICATED HOURS, JUST IN CASE WAYNE DOLCEFINO OR SOMEBODY LIKE THAT CAME OUT WITH A NEWS STORY AND WE HAD TO DROP EVERYTHING AND PICK UP ON THAT.

THAT'S THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS IS JUST TO BUILD IN A PLAN SOME HOURS THAT WOULD BE JUST UNDEDICATED RIGHT NOW. BUT AS YOU PROGRESS IN THE YEAR, YOU CAN USE THEM.

AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN EMERGENCY, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A CHANNEL 13 STORY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, YOU CAN EXPAND IT TO OTHER PROJECTS.

OKAY. OKAY.

LISA YOU ALSO LIFTED UP A SUGGESTION A MINUTE AGO.

AND I ACTUALLY THINK IT COULD DOVETAIL INTO THAT SUGGESTION.

IF YOU DO THE CONTINGENCY APPROACH, THEN THE UNDERSTANDING IS THEN THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT CAN TAKE ANY ADDITIONAL REQUESTS, WHETHER IT BE FROM A TRUSTEE, FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, FROM PRINCIPALS AS A RESULT OF A NEWS ARTICLE UP TO THOSE CONTINGENCY HOURS, JUST LETTING THE AUDIT

[00:10:06]

IF SOMETHING IS AN EMERGENCY THAT COMES UP, THAT EITHER COMES TO THE FULL BOARD OR COMES FIRST TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE FOR A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO THE FULL BOARD.

HOW MANY HOURS DID YOU SAY THAT WAS? TEN? I SAID IT WAS BASICALLY A PERCENTAGE, BUDGET. GOT IT.

THANK YOU. WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DO IS, IS KNOCK OUT ALL THE TIME OFF AND EVERYTHING AND THEN JUST TAKE WORKING HOURS.

SO A PERCENTAGE. SO WHAT WOULD THAT APPROXIMATE? SO DO WE HAVE THAT NOW? CHIEF BLACKWELL. WHAT'S THAT? DO WE HAVE THAT IN THE BUDGET NOW? CONTINGENCY? NO.

AND WHAT'S YOUR TOTAL BUDGET EVERY YEAR? IT VARIES FROM YEAR TO YEAR, DEPENDING ON.

WHAT'S YOUR TOTAL BUDGET THIS YEAR? IN TERMS OF HOURS, IT'S A COUPLE OF THOUSAND.

SO. LET ME I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY THAT THE SUGGESTION IS CONTINGENCY.

THAT'S A PERCENT OF HOURS, NOT A PERCENT OF BUDGET? CORRECT. SO IF WE WERE TO BUILD IN A CONTINGENCY, WE EITHER WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THINGS OUT OF A PLAN LIKE REDUCE OUR PLAN, OR WE'D HAVE TO ADD TO THE BUDGET.

SO WHAT WOULD BE THE APPROXIMATE DOLLAR AMOUNT TO ADD TO THE BUDGET? I'D LOVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU.

LISA ONE QUESTION THAT I WOULD HAVE TO SO I DO HAVE SOME CLIENTS WHO ARE REGULATED BY THE THE FINANCIAL SERVICES REGULATORS, WHICH TEND TO BE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST ONES THAT I'VE WORKED WITH.

THEY GOT ME. OKAY.

WHAT WE DO IN THAT CASE IS THAT WE HAVE A DOCUMENTED PROCESS WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE SUCH THAT IF WE HAVE TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THE AUDIT PLAN, IT'S A REALLY IT'S, A DOCUMENTED THIS IS HOW WE DO IT.

AND ULTIMATELY, WHEN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVES THE CHANGE, THEN THAT'S OKAY.

AND THAT SATISFIED THOSE REGULATORS.

IS IT COULD WE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT HERE SUCH THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE SUCH A SUCH A LARGE CONTINGENCY BUDGET BUT YOU COULD WORK THE PROCESS IF IT'S DOCUMENTED TO CHANGE THE PLAN IN THE MID-YEAR? WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO DO HERE? I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR BECAUSE I THINK MR. BLACKWELL IS SORT OF AT A LOSS, YOU KNOW, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I MIGHT GET A REQUEST EITHER FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AS A RESULT OF A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE OR FROM THE BOARD.

AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO.

AM I SUPPOSED TO ADD ON TO THE AUDIT PLAN AND TRY TO GET EVERYTHING DONE? OR AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGURE OUT BY TAKING AWAY FROM SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD HAS APPROVED? AND IS THAT DECISION REALLY MINE? SO I THINK THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF DOCUMENTED PROCESS.

AND DO YOU WANT TO GIVE SOME FLEX HOURS WHERE IT'S JUST THE CAE'S DISCRETION ABOUT HOW TO DO IT? BUT ONCE YOU'RE OVER THOSE FLEX HOURS, WE HAVE THIS RIGID, DOCUMENTED PROCESS THAT GROWS THROUGH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND GOES THROUGH THE BOARD.

HOW DO WE START? YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR BUDGET FOR HOURS AND ANYTHING OVER THAT, IT'S ACTUALLY COMING BACK TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND IT'S COMING BACK TO THE BOARD.

BUT I THINK YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

WE'RE TRYING TO GET THAT PROCESS TO PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE.

GOT IT. OKAY, PERFECT.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, TRUSTEES WADE OR CRUZ? I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS IS SUCH A.

I LOOKED AT THAT THIS MORNING AND I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH WHAT CAME OUT.

SO I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S EFFORTS ON THIS PLAN AND I LIKE THE FORMAT.

SO I APPRECIATE. I JUST WANT TO LET YOU ALL KNOW.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MADAM CHAIR.

IF I MAY COMMENT ON THIS TOPIC, WHAT I HAVE USUALLY DONE IS IF SOMEONE REQUESTS AN AUDIT THAT'S ON SCHEDULE, I USUALLY GIVE IT TO A FIRM BECAUSE I HAVE BUDGET TO GIVE MONEY TO A FIRM.

SO IF SOMETHING COMES UP, I CAN RESPOND QUICKLY BY GETTING A FIRM ASSIGNED TO THE AUDIT.

THAT'S THE ONE OPTION.

SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS YOU DO HAVE A CONTINGENCY PLAN AND IT'S? IF SOMETHING POPS UP, I'LL GO INTO MY BUDGET THAT I HAVE TO USE WITH FIRMS. SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS YOU HAVE FUNDS IN YOUR BUDGET EACH YEAR, WHETHER YOU'RE DOING IT IN HOUSE OR OUTSOURCING.

[00:15:04]

THAT'S CORRECT. AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE GET A LOT OF REQUESTS FOR AUDITS.

SO IF SOMETHING POPS UP, WE CAN USUALLY MANAGE IT.

NOW, IF WE GOT A LOT OF REQUESTS, THAT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT STORY.

BUT TO HANDLE ONE OFF REQUESTS, OUR BUDGET PERMITS FOR THAT.

OKAY. SO THAT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW.

AND THEN FROM TIME TO TIME I KNOW SOME AUDITS ARE REQUESTED THAT MAYBE AREN'T AUDITS. HOW DO WE HANDLE THAT? MAYBE BECAUSE I'VE KIND OF HEARD OVER THE YEARS WE ALREADY HAVE THAT RESEARCH, RIGHT? LIKE THE RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

LIKE A REPORT THAT'S ACTUALLY UNDER A TAB ON OUR WEB PAGE THAT ALREADY ANSWERS WHATEVER THAT REQUESTED AUDIT IS.

SO HOW DO WE HOW IS THE ORGANIZATION COLLABORATING? SO WHEN THOSE REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION STUDY, RESEARCH, AUDIT COME THROUGH, IF IT'S SOMETHING WE ALREADY HAVE THE INFORMATION ON LIKE, HOW ARE WE? HOW IS THAT PROCESS HAPPENING? THE EASIEST WAY TO ENSURE THAT THAT CONGRUENCY AND ALIGNMENT HAPPENS IS JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE AUDIT OFFICE COMMUNICATES WITH DR.

MATNEY'S OFFICE AROUND PARTICULAR THINGS THAT MIGHT HAVE ALREADY HAVE SO GARLAND WOULD SIMPLY REACH OUT TO DR.

MATNEY TO POSE THE QUESTION, HEY, HAS THERE BEEN ANYTHING DONE, PARTICULARLY AROUND THIS PARTICULAR AREA? AND AND DR.

MATNEY, I'M SURE, COULD IMMEDIATELY LET HIM KNOW.

YES, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE PRODUCE IT AND PROVIDE IT TO THE HEAD OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THE ENTIRE COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE.

YEAH, I MEAN, BECAUSE CORRECT ME IF I DON'T AFTER FIVE YEARS, STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS ACCURATELY.

LIKE AN AUDIT IS ABOUT IDENTIFYING AND MITIGATING RISKS.

RIGHT. WHEREAS OUR RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE WILL BE THE ONE TO DO RESEARCH ON OTHER THINGS? RIGHT. OKAY. OKAY.

I DID LEARN SOMETHING AFTER FIVE YEARS.

ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, COLLEAGUES, ON THIS OR ANYTHING ELSE AS YOU'VE SCANNED THROUGH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND RECOMMENDED CALENDAR, THE STUFF LOOKING FORWARD THAT YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT YOU THINK SHOULDN'T BE ON HERE OR THINGS THAT AREN'T ON HERE, THAT SHOULD BE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS HERE. I HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH, WELL, I GUESS IT'S MORE MAYBE A SUGGESTION, JUST THINKING ABOUT LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS ON HERE THAT REQUIRE TIME AND PLANNING AND IT'S ALWAYS HARD FOR US TO KIND OF STAY ON TOP OF EVERYTHING.

AND SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY TO MAYBE CALENDAR THESE OUT THINKING, OKAY, WE USUALLY HAVE FOUR AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS A YEAR, GIVE OR TAKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE GOAL FOR EACH OF THOSE MEETINGS IN TERMS OF THIS LIST AND THEN BACKWARDS PLANNING.

BECAUSE IF IF WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT A SELF EVALUATION TOOL IN MARCH AS AN EXAMPLE, THEN WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOME EXEMPLARS AND HAVE SOMETHING READY. AND SO THAT TAKES TIME AND SUPPORT FROM THE STAFF AS WELL.

SO MAYBE THE NEXT CHAIR WORKING WITH THE STAFF TO DO THAT FOR THE NEXT COMMITTEE FOR THE FIRST MEETING.

YES. OKAY. THANK YOU.

I DIDN'T LOOK AT THE NEXT PAGE.

BECAUSE YOU'RE COMING BACK TO THE COMMITTEE AND YOU'RE GOING TO CHAIR IT RIGHT? [LAUGHTER] ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY.

AND, MADAM CHAIR, AND TO TRUSTEE CRUZ'S POINT, MAYBE EVEN USING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS REPORT TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP THE AGENDAS FOR THE UPCOMING AUDIT, THE FOUR AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS OVER THE YEAR.

SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT AT LEAST ONE MEETING ADDRESSES EACH ONE OF THESE CONSIDERATIONS.

I MEAN, I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WE'RE SCRAMBLING OF WHAT HAVE WE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED? WHAT ARE WE COMING UP TO? WHAT ARE WE FORGETTING? AND SO THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON.

SORRY.

NEXT IS STATUS UPDATE FOR THE INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN.

[STATUS UPDATE FOR INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN]

[00:20:04]

YES MA'AM. GOOD MORNING TRUSTEES. GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU.

THANK YOU, GARLAND. AND GOOD MORNING, TRUSTEES AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN DURING THIS CHINESE NEW YEAR.

MY NAME IS LEE HUANG. I'M THE INTERNAL AUDIT MANAGER FOR THE AUDIT SUPPORT SERVICES.

SO MY MAIN ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY IS MONITOR OUR STATUS FOR THE AUDIT PLAN AND THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS AND ALSO HELP US HELP OUR TEAM TO IMPROVE, ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT ACTIVITIES.

SO I TRY TO GET TO THE SLIDE FOR THE AUDIT STATUS.

YEAH, THIS IS OKAY.

THANK YOU, JOHN. SO YEAH, LIKE WE SEE ON THE ON THE SLIDES.

SO THIS IS OUR STATUS AS OF MONDAY IS.

YEAH. AS MONDAY IS ACTUALLY AS LAST FRIDAY.

I'M SORRY. AS LAST FRIDAY JANUARY 20.

AND AS OF LAST FRIDAY WE ADDRESSED 395, OPENED ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS OUT OF THE 471 ITEMS IN THE PAST 2022 FEBRUARY, WE REPORTED TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD THAT WE HAVE 471 OLDER RECOMMENDATIONS OPEN.

SO WE NEED TO ADDRESS THAT BECAUSE SOME OF THEM WERE PRETTY OLD WHEN WE WENT BACK TO 2018 AUDIT PLANNED.

AND BECAUSE WE COMPLETE SOME OF THE OLDER AUDITS IN 2018, BUT WE STILL NEED TO ADJUST THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. SO [INAUDIBLE] TAKING THE ACTION SINCE FEBRUARY 2022 AND WORKING WITH THE MANAGEMENT DILIGENTLY.

SO AS OF LAST FRIDAY WE CLOSED MORE THAN 70, MORE THAN 75%.

WE ACTUALLY ADDRESSED THE SOME 83% OF THE 471 ITEMS AND WE CLOSED 77% OPEN RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THE OTHERS, THE REMAINING ARE IN THE CATEGORIES THAT THEY ARE THE OBSOLETE.

SO THERE'S NO VALUE TO ADDRESS THEM AND SOME OF THEM ARE FOR THE FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS SUCH AS THE CONSTRUCTION SERVICE AUDIT FOR THEIR CSP CONTRACTS BECAUSE THEY NEED TO HAVE THE 2023 BOND IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, THOSE LACK OF FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND AFTER OUR TARGET GOAL FOR COMPLETE OR FOR 71 OPEN RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE BY MARCH THIS YEAR.

SO BY THEN WE WILL HAVE A REPORT TO MR. HOUSE SHOWING THE ACHIEVEMENT WE MADE BY MARCH.

ANY QUESTIONS? I'LL CLARIFY ONE THING FOR LEE, AND THAT IS ON THE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES WHERE IT'S TALKING ABOUT FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS.

BASICALLY WHAT WE FOUND IS, LET'S JUST SAY AN IMPERFECTION IN THE EXISTING CONTRACTS TO WHERE WHEN THEY GO OUT FOR THE NEW BOND, THEY ARE ALREADY WORKING ON REVISING ALL THOSE CONTRACTS TO PICK UP ON RECOMMENDATIONS LIKE TREATING BONDING AND INSURANCE AS AN ALLOWANCE, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE, WHICH MEANS ON A CSP CONTRACT, WE CAN'T GET PROOF OF WHAT THEY SPENT, WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SPENT FOR BONDING AND INSURANCE. WE JUST HAVE TO TRUST THE NUMBER THAT THEY PUT IN IN THE ORIGINAL BID.

SO I JUST WANTED TO I MADE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE ALSO, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT OTHER NON-AUDIT SERVICES EARLIER, I HAVE DONE A FEW THINGS FOR THE BOND PROGRAM, ONE OF WHICH IS A LESSONS LEARNED REPORT ON FROM THE 2012 BOND THAT WAS REQUESTED BY ANDREAS PEOPLES.

HE SAYS HE HELD UP THE ONE I DID FOR THE 2007, AND HE SAYS, I WANT YOU TO DO ANOTHER ONE OF THESE.

AND THEY'RE TAKING IT AND RUNNING WITH IT TO USE FOR THE NOVEMBER BOND PROGRAM.

SO THAT WAS JUST A CLARIFICATION.

[00:25:01]

SO WE DON'T HAVE WE CAN'T SAY WE MADE THOSE CHANGES NOW.

IT'S JUST THAT ONCE THEY START ISSUING CONTRACTS FOR 2023, THOSE CHANGES WILL BE IN THE NEW CONTRACT DOCUMENTS.

THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE I OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS.

NO QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES.

MY QUESTION RELATES TO THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT CONSTRUCTION AUDITS, AND I WAS GOING TO MAKE THAT POINT.

IF WE'RE GOING TO BE HEARING BOND CONSIDERATION AND TRYING TO SUPPORT IT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE CLOSING OUT CONSTRUCTION AUDITS SO THAT WE KNOW THAT THOSE WERE FINISHED.

I WOULD THINK IN TANDEM WITH THE APPROVAL OF, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, AS MANY CONSTRUCTION AUDITS THAT WOULD BE THAT ARE STILL IN THE HOPPER.

YES, I WOULD BE INCLINED TO KNOW IF THEY CAN BE COMPLETED BEFORE WE ADDRESS ANOTHER BOND. SO YOU'RE SAYING, OKAY, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO NOW, I AM DOWN TO ONE SENIOR AUDITOR AND MYSELF.

YES. AND I UNDERSTAND THE CONSTRAINTS.

BUT WE ARE WE'RE STILL DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETE AS MANY AS WE CAN.

JUST A RECOMMENDATION THAT THAT WOULD GIVE US MORE SUPPORT.

FOR THE BOND. WE COULD IF WE DECIDE.

YES, MA'AM. I'M JUST MAKING THAT RECOMMENDATION, THAT'S ALL.

THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. I ALSO REALIZED I FAILED TO MENTION.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, LIZ LOGAN, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBER ON THIS COMMITTEE AS WELL.

QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES.

CHIME IN. IF YOU'VE GOT.

[LAUGHTER] YOU'RE PART, YOU'RE A VERY VALUABLE PART OF THIS COMMITTEE.

SO JUST JUST TO CLARIFY ON THE THIS SLIDE HERE, THE 76, ARE WE BASICALLY WRITING THIS OFF AS BEING TOO OLD TO? NO. SO HOW MANY DID WE WRITE OFF IS NOT THE RIGHT TERM, RIGHT? BUT I'M AN ACCOUNTANT. SO HOW MANY DID WE SAY? THEY'RE TOO OLD TO CLOSE.

AND THEN WHAT'S AND THEN WE THINK ALL 76 THAT ARE OUTSTANDING WILL BE ADDRESSED BY MARCH 2023.

SO TWO QUESTIONS.

WE ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE MANAGEMENT.

WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY INPUT FROM THE MANAGEMENT SAYING THOSE 76 ARE TOO OLD.

BUT ONE THING I'D LIKE TO BRING UP, WHICH IS FROM THE IT SIDE, THEY ARE NOT SAYING PART OF THEIR IT RECOMMENDATION IS TOO OLD, IT JUST STILL HAVE WORKFORCE REDUCTION.

THEY HAVE LIKE OVER 75% REDUCTION SINCE LAST YEAR.

SO THEY ARE LACKING RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THEM CURRENTLY, BUT THEY WILL PICK IT UP WHEN THEY HAVE THE WORKFORCE BACK TO THE REASONABLE EXTENT SO THEY CAN ADDRESS THE RECOMMENDATION.

SO NO, NONE OF THEM HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, OBSOLETE AND WE'LL BE A WRITE OFF.

OKAY. AND I THINK IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES ALSO PARTICULAR TO IT, SOMETIMES THAT TAKES A LONG TIME TO CLOSE SOME OF THOSE VULNERABILITIES.

RIGHT. RIGHT. SO I THINK AS LONG AS THERE'S A REALISTIC DUE DATE TIED TO THAT THAT YOU'RE TRACKING AGAINST AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND AND THE COMMITTEE CAN UNDERSTAND, AND WHEN IS A REALISTIC TIME FOR IT TO BE CLOSED, I THINK THAT THAT MAKES TOTAL SENSE.

SO MARCH 2023, YOU MAY NOT GET THEM ALL CLOSED BY THEN.

[INAUDIBLE]. BUT HOPEFULLY THERE'LL BE A GOOD FIRM DATE TIED TO THAT.

YEAH, WE ACTUALLY HAD THAT QUESTION FOR THE IT DEPARTMENT.

I THINK THEY HAVE NOT HAD A SOLID DEADLINE FOR US, THEY SAY, WHEN RESOURCES PERMITTED, SO WE WOULD CHECK THOSE ON THE DASHBOARD AND THEN TOUCH BASE WITH THEM BACK, YOU KNOW, PERIODICALLY.

BUT WE WON'T LET THOSE GO UNTIL FULLY RESOLVED.

AND MS. LOGAN, I DON'T LOOK AT RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO WHETHER THEY ARE TOO OLD.

I LOOK AT THEM IN TERMS OF ARE THEY STILL APPLICABLE.

SO IT COULD BE A 2015 RECOMMENDATION AND THAT DOES SOUND LIKE IT'S OLD, BUT IF IT'S STILL NEEDED, WE NEED TO ADDRESS IT.

SO. A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

SO FOR WHATEVER REASON, I AM UNABLE TO LOG INTO THE DASHBOARD.

I THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS CONNECTED TO MY HOME WI-FI, BUT HERE IT'S DOING THE SAME.

[00:30:03]

AND I WOULD WORK WITH IT BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH IT.

I DO KNOW THERE IS AN ACCESS ISSUE TO THE POWER BI DASHBOARD IS ONE OF THE ISSUE KEEPS POPPING UP BECAUSE OF THE ACCESS, YOU KNOW, THE LICENSE ISSUE.

SO MY ACCESS WAS BLOCKED EVERY, I DON'T KNOW, EVERY TIME WHEN IT HAD THE NEW PATCH.

SO MY ACCESS IS BLOCKED, SO I NEED TO CONTINUALLY WORK WITH IT TO RESOLVE THAT.

AND I CAN TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR ACCESS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FULL ACCESS TO DASHBOARD.

BUT GENERALLY ALL THE TRUSTEES HAD FULL ACCESS TO THE DASHBOARD.

THAT'S THE ORIGINAL DESIGN.

OKAY. SO YEAH.

SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, CAN I JUST ASK FOR YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF US CAN ACCESS THAT? AND BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THAT AND IT'S REALLY CRITICAL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO VIEW THAT INFORMATION.

SO MY SUBSEQUENT QUESTION IS, IS THERE A SECTION THEN FOR AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD, ALL OF THE OPEN FINDINGS? RIGHT. AND WE CAN SEE ALL THAT REAL TIME.

IS THAT CORRECT? I WOULD DEFINITELY WORK WITH IT.

I THINK I TOUCH BASE WITH THE IT MANAGER WHO IS DAMIEN RANDLE, AND I MAKE SURE THAT THE DATA PRESENT ON THE DASHBOARD IS UP TO DATE.

BUT SOME YOU KNOW, AS OF TODAY, WE STILL HAVE SOME BUGS WE NEED TO CLEAN UP.

SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE BUG, BUT I THINK HE'S WORKING ON IT.

BUT AGAIN, BECAUSE THEIR FORCED REDUCTION OUR PROJECT IS NOT LIKE THEIR FIRST PRIORITY.

THEY'RE PRIORITY IS ALWAYS FOR THE SCHOOLS AND THE KIDS AND THE TEACHERS.

SO THEY WOULD WORK WITH THOSE PROJECTS FIRST AND THEN COME TO OUR PROJECT.

BUT I WOULD, [INAUDIBLE] ABOUT THIS [INAUDIBLE] PERIODICALLY.

THANK YOU. SURE.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

I HAVE A LONG LIST.

SO THESE WHAT I'M SEEING ON THESE SLIDES ARE OLDER.

I'M SEEING 2021 AND 2022.

LAST OCTOBER WE PASSED THE 2022 23.

WELL, IT WAS AN 18 MONTH AUDIT PLAN, AND I STILL DON'T LIKE THE SETUP BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I'M TALKING THIS WAY AND NOT TO EVERYBODY EXCEPT THE SCREEN.

SO MY UNDERSTANDING, WHEN THE BOARD APPROVED THIS AND TRUSTEES, THIS WAS SENT TO YOU BY BOARD OF SERVICES.

IT'S ON PACKET PAGE ONE.

THEY SENT THE WHOLE AGENDA.

SO IT'S ON PACKET PAGE 127.

IT'S JUST THE PAGE I HAPPEN TO BE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW.

BUT MY UNDERSTANDING AT THE TIME WAS ALL OF THE OLDER AUDITS THAT WE FELT STILL CARRIED RISK AS WELL AS ANY NEWLY IDENTIFIED AUDITS THAT CARRIED RISK PER THE BDO RISK ASSESSMENT WERE THE NEW AUDIT PLAN MOVING FORWARD? I MEAN, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.

THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY.

SO WHY ARE THEY SEPARATED OUT IN THESE THREE BUCKETS? WHY IS IT NOT JUST THIS IS THE AUDIT PLAN? AND ARE THESE 76 THINGS THAT STILL HAVE TO BE DONE? ARE THOSE 76 AUDITS IN THE AUDIT PLAN THAT WE APPROVED LAST OCTOBER? NO, THESE ARE AUDITS THAT HAVE BEEN PERFORMED AND REPORTS ISSUED.

AND THEN WE EXPECT MANAGEMENT TO RESPOND TO THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, GIVE US EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED.

THEN WE UPLOAD THAT EVIDENCE INTO THE AUDIT DASHBOARD.

SO THESE ARE ISSUES THAT CAME OUT OF PRIOR AUDITS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OKAY. RIGHT.

OKAY. YOUR QUESTION STANDS ON THE NEXT SLIDE WITH THE PIE CHARTS.

I THINK THAT'S LIKELY WHERE YOUR.

YES, WHERE YOUR QUESTION IS, BECAUSE IT DOES SHOW MULTIPLE AUDIT PLANS AND NOT JUST THAT ONE.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

SO NOW I'VE GOT MORE QUESTIONS.

SO THESE 76 OUTSTANDING, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WERE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADMINISTRATION OUT OF AUDITS. CORRECT.

OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, THERE WERE 471 RECOMMENDATIONS.

THE ADMINISTRATION HAS ADDRESSED 395 OF THEM, BUT NOT 76 OF THEM YET.

[00:35:04]

OKAY. THAT'S HELPFUL.

THANK YOU. AND I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD.

THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS INHERITED AND IT WAS A MONUMENTAL TASK.

ON TOP OF COURSE, OUR BOARD MONITORING THE WORK THAT WE GO THROUGH ON A DAILY BASIS.

SO EXCITED TO SEE THE WORK THAT NOT ONLY THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT BUT ALSO THE ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE TO GET THIS DONE.

DEFINITELY.

THAT 395 IS A BIG NUMBER, YOU GUYS.

THAT'S I'M NOT GUESSING, JUST REALLY SEEING THAT CLOSED SO FAST BEFORE.

SO YOU GUYS DID A REALLY GOOD JOB.

YEAH. NO, THAT IS IMPRESSIVE.

SO THANK YOU. AND THAT SPEAKS TO A QUESTION THAT I HAD ADDED FROM AND JOHN, REMIND ME, PLEASE, OF YOUR LAST NAME? GERWIN. GERWIN. THANK YOU. OF THE BOND AUDITS IS THE IMPERATIVE TO NOT JUST FINISH THE AUDITS, BUT ALSO COMPLETE THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

YOU KNOW TO YOUR QUESTION. RIGHT? THAT I THINK IT'S FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO COMPLETE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE ON THE BOND IF WE'RE GOING TO BE CONSIDERING PURSUIT OF ANOTHER BOND. MADAM CHAIR, I HAVE COMPLETED 119 OUT OF 120 RECOMMENDATIONS IN MY AREA.

THE ONLY ONE I HAVEN'T COMPLETED IS BASICALLY LOOKING FOR COPIES OF SUBCONTRACT OR CHANGE ORDERS THAT WERE ISSUED IN LIKE 2016.

THAT VALUE IS LESS THAN $10,000.

I DON'T THINK IT'S MATERIAL ANYMORE.

OKAY. SO I'M DONE.

THAT'S FANTASTIC.

GOOD. THANK YOU.

YOU SAID YOU COMPLETED 119 OUT OF 121.

119 OUT OF 120 YES, MA'AM.

AND THE 121 IS THAT BECAUSE YOU JUST IT JUST HASN'T YOU'RE STILL IN PROCESS OF COMPLETING IT, OR IS THAT ONE? BECAUSE I KNOW FROM TIME TO TIME THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE ADMINISTRATION, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, MAY SAY, YEAH, WE DON'T ACCEPT THAT RECOMMENDATION.

WELL, THESE IT'S BASICALLY TWO CHANGE ORDERS FROM SUBCONTRACTORS.

ONE OF THEM IS A WHOPPING $78 THAT WE NEED COPY.

AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS LESS THAN TEN GRAND.

I THINK IT'S EVEN LESS THAN FIVE GRAND.

I'LL HAVE TO GO REFRESH AND LOOK.

BUT THESE ARE FROM SUBCONTRACTS FROM 2016.

I REALLY DON'T THINK IT'S WORTH THE TIME SPENDING PROFESSIONAL TIME TO TRY TO FIND THEM, CONSIDERING THE TURNOVER THAT THERE WAS IN THE BOND PROGRAM.

AND THAT WAS ONE THAT ON THE AUDIT REPORT YOU MADE THAT ALL I SAID ON THE AUDIT REPORT WAS PLEASE OBTAIN AND DELIVER COPIES OF THESE CHANGE ORDERS SO WE CAN ESTABLISH THEIR VALIDITY.

OKAY. BUT SINCE THEY'RE 2016, PROBABLY NOT WORTH IT ANYMORE.

BUT THAT'S MY OPINION.

I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO IF GARLAND WANTS ME TO PURSUE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, I CAN DO THAT.

I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT MOVING FORWARD IS WHATEVER CAUSED US TO WHATEVER SYSTEM WASN'T IN PLACE THAT CAUSED US TO NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT INCURRED THE RISK THAT THAT SYSTEM IS.

WELL, THAT'S A TYPICAL FINDING I HAVE SOME PROJECT MANAGERS ARE A LOT BETTER AND MORE DETAILED THAN OTHERS. ONE OF MY A COUPLE OF MY PET PEEVES ARE PEOPLE GOING BACK AND PENCILING OVER A CHANGE ORDER AND CHANGING THE AMOUNT.

BUT THE OTHER ONE IS LACK OF DOCUMENTATION AND IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHO DID THE ORIGINAL PREPARATION.

THE, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN THE ARCHITECT, THE PM, PM FIRM, ALL THAT.

BUT THEY HAVE GOTTEN A LOT BETTER IN RECENT TIMES.

THEY'RE PROBABLY ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A HIGHER EXPECTATION.

AND IF WE SET THE EXPECTATION UP FRONT WITH A SYSTEM OF IF YOU WANT TO BE OUR VENDOR, THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO.

YES. OTHERWISE THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT WOULD LIKE US TO SPEND OUR MONEY WITH THEM.

YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT.

OKAY. STIPULATIONS IN PLACE WOULD BE GREAT.

THANK YOU. I AGREE.

I AGREE. DITTO.

SO MY NEXT QUESTION THEN IS SO PAGE 30.

ARE THESE FOUR IN PROCESS AND THESE 23 IN PROCESS? ARE THEY ALL IN THE AUDIT PLAN THAT WE APPROVED BACK IN OCTOBER? YES. THESE ARE FROM PRIOR ORDER PLAN, NOT THE ONE THAT STARTED THIS MONTH.

[00:40:04]

SO ARE THERE ANY I'M GOING TO ASK OF THESE FOUR AND THESE 23 THAT YOU'RE STILL WORKING ON, ON SLIDE 30, ARE THOSE AUDITS IN THIS PLAN FROM THE FALL? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. YES.

YES THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. WE'RE NOT STILL WORKING ON THINGS THAT MAYBE WE DECIDED WE DIDN'T NEED TO DO BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN IN ARREARS FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS NOW.

AND WE NEED THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND THIS WAS TO HAVE A FRESH START, A NEW PLAN THAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS UNDERSTANDING AS WELL.

YEAH. AND SO, MADAM PRESIDENT, YES.

TO BE CLEAR. SO IF WE COMPLETE THE CURRENT PLAN THAT STARTED THIS MONTH, THAT'S 18 MONTHS, THEN IF WE COMPLETE IT, THEN WE'LL BE CAUGHT UP ON EVERYTHING, RIGHT, BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS DESIGNED.

CORRECT.

YEAH. SO I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE WE PROGRESS MONITOR WITH OUR STUDENT OUTCOME GOALS, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE OUR ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS FOR AUDIT THAT THE BOARD HAS AGREED TO.

RIGHT. I THINK IT WOULD BE YOU KNOW, IT'S NICE TO SEE THE PIE CHARTS AND SEE THAT SORT OF MACRO LEVEL OF WHAT'S BEEN COMPLETED. BUT I THINK THERE COULD BE VALUE.

AND I KNOW THE DASHBOARD EXISTS, WHICH I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT AS WELL.

BUT I THINK WHEN WE MEET AS A COMMITTEE AND HAVE THESE UPDATES AND IT DOESN'T, IF WE CAN HAVE RED, YELLOW, GREEN OR SOME FORM OF PROGRESS MONITORING OF THIS AUDIT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE START DATE, THIS IS THE COMPLETION DATE.

SO FOR THIS PLAN, WE CAN TAKE THAT GLANCE AND SEE WHERE WE'RE AT IN THIS PLAN.

SO THEN WE CAN HAVE THE QUESTION OF, HEY, YOU'RE ON TRACK, LET'S CELEBRATE THAT.

OR IF YOU'RE NOT ON TRACK, HAVE THAT CONVERSATION OF HOW WE MIGHT SUPPORT YOU TO GET ON TRACK.

SO IT MAKES SENSE.

I THINK THAT WOULD BE A HUGE HELP FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.

OKAY. SO CLARIFICATION ON THAT.

SO THANK YOU.

SO ON THE AUDIT PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED, LIKE YOU SAID IN OCTOBER, THAT IS ALREADY MEASURED OUT ACCORDING TO.

SO YOU COULD EASILY ADAPT THAT TO THAT STEPS TAKEN RED, YELLOW, GREEN, IF I'M CORRECT? [INAUDIBLE] SPREADSHEET. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.

IT WOULD BE FAIRLY SIMPLE TO MAKE THAT ADDITIONAL.

OKAY. YEAH. START DATE END DATE.

YOU KNOW ARE YOU ON TRACK OR IS IT COMPLETED? IS IT NOT? AND BECAUSE THEN IT WOULD HELP US, I THINK ALSO SEE WHEN YOU SEE THE NUMBER THAT ARE OUTSTANDING.

WELL, YOU KNOW, THIS IS FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME.

YOU KNOW, WHAT MATTERS IS ARE YOU ON TRACK TO COMPLETE IT IN THE PRESCRIBED PERIOD OF TIME? NOT IN THIS MEETING.

ARE THEY ALL COMPLETE OR NOT? RIGHT. DOES IT MAKE SENSE? YES. I JUST THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SUPPORT THIS WORK.

OKAY. AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION IS ON.

WELL, LET ME ASK ABOUT THE DASHBOARD.

IT SOUNDS LIKE BOTH FROM THE EMAIL THAT WE RECEIVED AND ALSO I THINK I HEARD IT TODAY THAT THE DASHBOARD ISN'T NECESSARILY UP TO DATE AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

AND SO WHAT NOT UP TO DATE IS THAT MEANING IT GETS DONE ONCE A WEEK? IT GETS DONE ONCE A QUARTER.

LIKE, HOW OFTEN IS THAT? BECAUSE WHEN I SEE THINGS LIKE THIS ISN'T LIKE LITERALLY THE WORDS, THIS ISN'T A PRIORITY TO UPDATE IT, I GOT A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.

AND I THINK WHAT JUST WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM IT, A PORTION OF THE REASON WHY INDIVIDUALS HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET INTO THE DASHBOARD IS SIMPLY OF THE CONSISTENT, CONSTANT UPDATES, AND IT'S CREATING ERRORS WHILE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET IN.

SO YOU MAY YOU ALL MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT IN TERMS OF THE FREQUENCY AROUND UPDATES, BUT THAT'S JUST THE IT INSIGHT THAT I'VE LEARNED.

YES, COMMENTS TO MR. HOUSE, ACTUALLY, THE DASHBOARD IS REFRESHED EVERY DAY.

SO THERE'S LIKE EVERY TIME YOU CLICK ON IT AND REFRESH IT, THE THING IS THE IT REFRESHED JUST ONCE A DAY, BUT WE UPDATE THE DASHBOARD MULTIPLE TIMES A

[00:45:03]

BUT WE WISH IT'S A REAL TIME.

BUT IT'S I THINK WE CAN IMPROVE ON THAT.

BUT IT JUST THE TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, ALLOWED.

SO BUT CURRENTLY I KNOW IT'S LIKE ONLY LIKE REFRESHED ONCE A DAY.

OKAY. THAT MAKES SO DIFFERENCE. THAT MAKES SENSE.

SO THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT.

SO IF I WENT TO LOOK AT IT TODAY IT'S BEEN REFRESHED FROM YESTERDAY BUT IF YOU DID SOME WORK ON IT THIS MORNING, I MAY NOT SEE THAT.

CORRECT. YOU HAVE TO SEE, YEAH. OKAY. THAT'S THE TIMING DIFFERENCE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS AROUND.

WHEN AN AUDIT AND THIS I THINK, IS SOMETHING FOR US TO DISCUSS AS A COMMITTEE.

WHEN AN AUDIT IS COMPLETE, THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS MADE TO THE ADMINISTRATION, THE ADMINISTRATION DECIDES TO ACCEPT IN FULL, ACCEPT IN PARTIAL OR TO NOT ACCEPT.

AND IF THEY DON'T ACCEPT, THEN THERE'S A REASON.

AND SO WHAT ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY THEN, DO WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING AS A COMMITTEE OR DISCUSSION IN UNDERSTANDING WHY, LIKE, HEY, THERE'S THIS RISK, YOU'RE TELLING US WHY WE DON'T WE'RE NOT GOING TO MITIGATE THIS RISK SHOULD THERE BE A CONVERSATION? AND I'M REALLY LIKE LOOKING AT MY COLLEAGUES AND LIZ, LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.

SHOULD THESE BE THINGS ON FUTURE AUDIT AGENDAS? I DO THINK THAT'S A, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU GUYS TO HAVE AN UPDATE OF AREAS OF HIGH RISK OR CRITICAL RISK THAT ARE ACCEPTED.

I PROBABLY WOULD SAY LOW RISK ITEMS THAT ARE ACCEPTED.

YOU KNOW, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO WASTE YOUR TIME WITH, BUT IT IS GOOD TO HAVE.

I THINK IT'S GOOD FOR YOU GUYS TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW.

AND IF I CAN MAKE A COMMENT IN OUR CAREER FIELD, WE DON'T SEE 100% AGREEMENT EYE TO EYE.

AND THAT'S JUST NORMAL.

AS LONG AS WE'RE SEEING EYE TO EYE THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME, A SIGNIFICANT MAJORITY OF THE TIME WE'RE OKAY.

BUT THERE ARE GOING TO BE TIMES WHEN INTERNAL AUDIT AND MANAGEMENT JUST DON'T SEE EYE TO EYE.

AND WE JUST AGREED TO DISAGREE.

THAT'S JUST PART OF THE PRACTICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN IN THIS A LONG TIME, SO IT'S PREVALENT.

AND HERE AT HISD, WHEN WE DON'T AGREE, IT'S A ONE OFF.

IT'S NOT LIKE WE JUST HAVE TREMENDOUS AGREEMENT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

IT'S A SMALL PART OF THE PRACTICE.

SO THOSE WOULD BE. SO THAT'S GOOD NEWS THAT THAT'S GREAT NEWS THERE.

SO ALSO BECAUSE IT'S ONE OFFS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE EASIER TO REPORT.

RIGHT. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE HAVING TO THE MAJORITY OF THINGS OR YOU'RE HAVING TO REPORT DISAGREEMENTS ON.

CORRECT. BUT WHAT I'M FUNDAMENTALLY HEARING IS IF A REPORT COMES BACK WHERE AN ITEM WAS IDENTIFIED AS HIGH RISK, THAT IT WOULD AND THE ADMINISTRATION DOESN'T ACCEPT AND FOLD, THAT THAT WOULD WARRANT A CONVERSATION, JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND MORE COMPLETELY THE WHY AND THE RISK THAT WE SHOULD COLLECTIVELY DECIDE IF WE LIKE THAT LEVEL OF RISK AND ARE WILLING TO INCUR IT OR NOT.

[LAUGHTER] AND SO I'M GOING TO ADD THAT TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT WELL, THIS YEAR BUT THE NEXT COMMITTEE THAT'LL BE IN PLACE AFTER FEBRUARY, THAT HIGH RISK ITEMS WHERE THEY AREN'T ACCEPTED IN FULL BY THE ADMINISTRATION BE ADDED TO THE SUBSEQUENT AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS FOR DISCUSSION.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS ABOUT THIS AGENDA ITEM? MADAM CHAIR, ACTUALLY, I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU THE CHECKING SHEET THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY USED SINCE OCTOBER WHEN WE PASSED THE 18 MONTHS PLAN.

SO WE ACTUALLY HAD A PLAN THAT THE CURRENT TEAM WORKING ON THOSE OLDER AUDITS.

AND THEN WE HAVE THE NEW TEAM, WHICH MR. BLACKWELL ARE WORKING ON TO BRING MORE PEOPLE IN, WORKING ON THE OTHER NEW AUDITS.

SO THIS IS THE CHECKING SHEET WE USE TO CHECK THE OLDER AUDITS.

[00:50:02]

OH, JOHN, DON'T OVERLOAD THIS.

DON'T OVERLOAD THIS.

OH, YEAH. NO, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO INCLUDE, LIKE, WHO'S OWNING IT OR ANYTHING, BUT I THINK THAT THERE WOULD BE VALUE IN US, LIKE I SAID.

SO THEN WE CAN CELEBRATE WHAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.

AND, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING ISN'T ON TRACK, WE CAN SUPPORT GETTING IT ON TRACK.

SO THANK YOU.

WHICH I ACTUALLY HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.

SO. SORRY.

MY BRAIN IS THINKING AHEAD.

PUBLIC TRUST AND BOND.

SO THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADMINISTRATION THAT ADMINISTRATION ACCEPTS.

IS THERE A TIME FRAME ON BY WHEN THOSE WILL BE ADDRESSED THAT IS CODIFIED SOMEWHERE AND THEN FOLLOWED UP ON? YES. YES.

SO FOR THE EACH RECOMMENDATION MANAGEMENT TELLS US THE DATE BY WHEN THEY THINK THEY WILL GET IT DONE.

OKAY. ONCE IT'S DONE, WE LOOK AT THEIR EVIDENCE, ASSESS IT.

IF IT LOOKS GOOD, THEN WE UPLOAD IT INTO THE AUDIT DASHBOARD.

IF WE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH IT, WHICH IS VERY, VERY RARE, THEN WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.

OKAY. SO, BUT THERE ARE TIME FRAMES TO THAT? EACH RECOMMENDATION HAS ITS DEADLINE.

GREAT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

UNLESS THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM, LET'S MOVE ON.

THE NEXT ITEM IS INTERNAL AUDIT STAFFING.

[INTERNAL AUDIT STAFFING]

AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT.

WE'RE DOWN TO THREE AUDITORS IN THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW OUT OF 15 OR SO.

WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN THE INTERIM IS TO USE FIRMS TO HELP US OUT WITH AUDITS THAT STILL NEED TO BE DONE.

AND WE'VE GONE DOWN A PATH OF TRYING TO GET TEMPORARY AUDITORS.

THAT HASN'T REALLY WORKED OUT VERY WELL.

AND I THINK IT'S MORE DUE TO WHAT WE CAN AFFORD TO PAY COMPARED TO THE MARKET.

BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WRESTLING WITH RIGHT NOW.

WE HAVE AN AUDIT MANAGER THAT'S BEEN SELECTED TO START SOON.

WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.

BUT OUT OF THE VACANCIES FOR THE AUDITOR POSITIONS, IT SEEMS TO BE A TOUGH SELL.

AND LIKE I SAID EARLIER, WE NEED TO OUTSOURCE SOME OF THIS WORK TO FIRMS TO GET THE STUFF DONE.

IT IS MORE COMMON BASED ON WHAT I AM SEEING IN THE ORGANIZATION OF WHAT WE'RE RECEIVING IN THE AUDIT AND THE FINALIZATION OF THE AUDITS AND LIKE THAT THE TEAM IS FINDING A WAY AROUND SOME OF THESE CONSTRAINTS THAT YOU ALL ARE HAVING.

SO I'M JUST SQUARING THAT TOGETHER, IF THAT'S A COMPLIMENT OR NOT, I'M NOT SURE.

BUT ANYWAY, I'M JUST TRYING TO SHARE THAT.

CHIEF BLACKWELL AND JUST TO CLARIFY, IS THERE ANY ANYTHING THAT'S ARE THERE ANY BARRIERS TO RELYING COMPLETELY ON EXTERNAL FIRMS WITH THE LACK OF STAFF? IF WE'RE TALKING FROM A FUNDING POINT OF VIEW? WE HAVE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO BE ABLE TO OUTSOURCE TO FIRMS, AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO AGGRESSIVELY GO AFTER THAT OPTION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE CALENDAR, WE MUST DO THAT.

AND I GOT SUPPORT FROM MR. HOUSE YESTERDAY TO MOVE FORWARD IN THAT DIRECTION.

SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER BARRIERS, LIKE NOT ENOUGH FIRMS OR AVAILABILITY? NO THERE'S PLENTY OF FIRMS OUT THERE.

[LAUGHTER] OKAY. SO WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY IS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE AUDIT PLAN EVEN WITH THESE VACANCIES, BECAUSE WE HAVE PLENTY OF SUPPORT FROM EXTERNAL FIRMS.

[00:55:08]

NOW, ONE THING THAT I WILL HAVE TO DO IS MAKE SURE I GO THROUGH ALEXIS' PROCESS TO GET FIRMS THAT WE DON'T HAVE CONTRACTS IN PLACE WITH NOW.

AND YOU KNOW, THAT PROCESS IS IN PLACE.

WE JUST HAVE TO EXECUTE IT WITH ALEXIS AND HER TEAM.

SO OF THE CURRENT APPROVED VENDORS, YOU'RE LACKING SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT FIRMS IN OTHER AREAS OR WHAT? WHY WOULD YOU NEED MORE FIRMS? I GUESS BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE QUITE A FEW THAT ARE ALREADY APPROVED.

WELL, WE NEED MORE FIRMS BECAUSE WE HAVE FEWER AUDITORS, RIGHT? SO OF THE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY APPROVED, IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH TO FILL THE NEED.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO AGGRESSIVELY GO AFTER WORK FROM FIRMS NOW, GIVEN WHERE WE ARE IN THE CALENDAR, I DON'T SEE THAT AS ANOTHER OPTION.

RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

THANK YOU. OKAY. SO YOU HADN'T ALREADY STARTED TO USE EXTERNAL FIRMS TO BRIDGE THESE GAPS? WE HAVE CONTRACTS IN PLACE WITH TWO FIRMS RIGHT NOW.

WE HAD A THIRD FIRM, BUT THEIR CONTRACT LAPSED.

I NEED TO GET THEM RENEWED SOMEHOW.

BUT BEYOND THAT.

WAIT YOU ONLY HAD TWO FIRMS LIKE THE BOARD APPROVED A LONG LIST.

NO, I HAVE THREE FIRMS THAT I'VE BEEN USING SINCE 2018.

ONE OF THOSE CONTRACTS HAS LAPSED.

WE NEED TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND A WAY TO GET IT RENEWED OR HAVE A BRAND NEW CONTRACT.

BUT I'VE BEEN USING THREE FIRMS SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE.

SO THE LIST THAT WE APPROVED, LIKE WHAT ARE THOSE OTHER AUDIT FIRMS ON THERE? FOUR, IF I MAY.

SO YES, THE BOARD APPROVED EXCUSE ME, AUDITING FIRMS. I BELIEVE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I BELIEVE THERE WERE SEVEN OR EIGHT AUDITING FIRMS. THEY ARE APPROVED FOR THE INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT TO USE.

THERE WERE A COUPLE OF FIRMS THAT IN THE RENEWAL PROCESS DID NOT GIVE US BACK THE PAPERWORK.

WE HAD A CONVERSATION YESTERDAY.

I HAVE SINCE REACHED OUT TO THE TWO FIRMS, SO THERE MAY BE A PREFERENCE OF THE FIRMS THAT THE INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT WANTS TO USE, BUT THERE ARE AT LEAST 7 TO 8 THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, OF THOSE 7 TO 8, I THINK WHAT THE TRUSTEES ARE ASKING, IS THAT ENOUGH OR DO YOU NEED MORE? OR WERE YOUR COMMENTS SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU HAD ONLY BEEN USING THREE AND YOU HADN'T BEEN USING THE FULL CAPACITY OF 7 TO 8 OR IS 7 TO 8 NOT ENOUGH.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE TRUSTEES WERE ASKING.

NO. THE 7 TO 8 NUMBER IS A NEW NUMBER WE'VE BEEN USING THREE BEFORE WE STARTED THIS PROCESS OF LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL FIRMS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THE DISTRICT.

BUT BEFORE THIS PROCESS STARTED, WE HAD THREE IN PLACE SINCE 2018.

SO NOW THAT MS. [INAUDIBLE] HAS CLARIFIED THAT THERE ARE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SEVEN AND EIGHT FIRMS THAT ARE APPROVED, IS THAT SUFFICIENT? AND YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER NOW, BUT IS THAT GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON THIS AUDIT PLAN? OR DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO NEED ADDITIONAL FIRMS OVER ON TOP OF THAT 7 TO 8? BECAUSE I THINK THAT GOES TO THE HEART OF WHAT THE TRUSTEES WERE TRYING TO GET AT? FOR THAT SPECIFIC QUESTION, 7 TO 8 FIRMS, THAT'S FINE.

YEAH.

WELL, THAT BEGS A FOLLOW UP.

OKAY. IF THERE ARE 7 TO 8 THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU, BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE SOME HAVE FALLEN OFF, BUT WE STILL HAVE 7 TO 8, RIGHT? OKAY. BUT YOU'RE USING LIKE TWO OR THREE OF THEM.

IS THERE A REASON WHY YOU'RE NOT REACHING OUT TO THE OTHERS? ARE THEY NOT MEETING? ARE THEY NOT? DO THEY NOT MEET OUR NEEDS OR.

SO WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS FOR THE SEVEN, AS I UNDERSTAND IT.

I MEAN, I'VE GOT A FORM RELATED TO THE SEVEN THAT I'M WORKING ON THAT'S DUE JANUARY 31ST AS AN EXAMPLE, UNLESS I'M MISUNDERSTANDING ALEXIS'S POINT.

SO I BELIEVE IT'S PROJECT 210605 IS THE EXTERNAL AUDITING FIRMS. SO THOSE ARE THE CURRENT FIRMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.

I BELIEVE THAT THE BOARD APPROVED THAT.

I THINK WE'RE TWO YEARS INTO THAT CONTRACT.

THERE WERE SEVEN OR EIGHT FIRMS ON THAT PROJECT NOT TO OUTSOURCE THE EXTERNAL, THE INTERNAL AUDITING DEPARTMENT, BUT TO SUPPLEMENT.

RIGHT. SO THERE ARE SEVEN OR EIGHT FIRMS THAT CAN BE UTILIZED.

THE PROJECT THAT GARLAND JUST REFERENCED, THE JANUARY 31ST DATE IS TO THE EXTERNAL AUDITING FIRM FOR OUTSOURCING THE DEPARTMENT.

[01:00:04]

THERE IS NO NEED FOR HIM TO EXECUTE CONTRACTS.

WE DO THAT IN THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT WITH ALL SEVEN OR EIGHT OF THOSE FIRMS. I THINK WERE SOME OF THEM DROPPED OFF IS TO BE QUITE HONEST WITH YOU.

THE FEEDBACK WAS THEY WERE NOT RECEIVING ANY PROJECTS, SO THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE RENEWAL PROCESS.

AFTER WE HAD THE CONVERSATION YESTERDAY, I REACHED OUT TO TWO OF THE FIRMS TO OBTAIN THE DOCUMENTATION FOR RENEWAL, SO THAT WOULD BRING IT BACK UP TO THE ORIGINAL LIST THAT THE BOARD APPROVED THE TWO YEARS AGO.

SO THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN AVAILABLE FOR USE.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

THAT'S HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND.

I HAVE SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I WANT TO LEAVE SPACE FOR ANYBODY ELSE TO CHIME IN.

PERHAPS IT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR THE NEXT MEETING TO REVISIT THAT PLAN THAT WAS CREATED AND APPROVED AND SEE A MAPPING OF WHICH AUDITS WILL BE ASSIGNED TO WHICH FIRMS AND THEN WHICH WILL BE COMPLETED BY HISD.

I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR YOU GUYS? THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME.

AND THEN MAYBE IN DOING THAT EXERCISE, UNDERSTANDING FROM WHAT ARE THE CAPACITIES OF THE FIRMS TO HELP COMPLETE THOSE, TO COMPLETE THOSE AUDITS, KNOWING THAT IT'S NOT TWO NOW IT'S MORE.

I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A GREAT EXERCISE, AT LEAST FOR ME.

YEAH, NO, THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

SO ALEXIS JUST A QUICK CLARIFICATION ON THAT.

SO WHEN YOU WENT BACK TO THESE OTHER AUDIT FIRMS THAT HAD NOT COMPLETED DONE UPDATED THEIR PAPERWORK, WAS THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF APPROVAL FOR OUTSOURCING THE AUDIT FUNCTION? ARE THEY PART OF THAT CONSORTIUM? I GUESS ARE THOSE TIED TOGETHER? THE ONES THAT WE CURRENTLY ARE ABLE TO USE AND HAVE BEEN APPROVED.

AND THEN SEPARATELY OR EQUALLY, THEY'RE ALSO ABLE TO BID FOR THE OUTSOURCING? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SURE.

SO LET ME ANSWER THIS WAY BECAUSE BECAUSE WE'RE [INAUDIBLE] THE CODE OF SILENCE, IT DOES NOT PROHIBIT SO THAT LIST OF CURRENT APPROVED THE SEVEN OR EIGHT FIRMS THAT ARE CURRENTLY APPROVED, IT DOES NOT PROHIBIT THEM FROM BIDDING ON THE EXTERNAL PROJECT.

THAT IS THE PERFECT ANSWER.

THANK YOU. SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THE RESOURCES, THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN THE DEPARTMENT EXIST. ACCESS TO EXTERNAL FIRMS EXISTS.

SO IS THERE ANY IMPEDIMENT AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE STAFFING CHALLENGE.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A CHALLENGE, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH TO ADDRESS, IS HOW DO WE GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE NOT ALWAYS UNDERSTAFFED, WHICH THE POTENTIAL SOLUTION IS TO COMPLETELY EXTERNALIZE THE FUNCTION.

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WHILE WE'RE SORTING THAT OUT, IS THERE ANY IMPEDIMENT TO YOU COMPLETING THIS AUDIT PLAN WITH THE RESOURCES AND ACCESS TO VENDORS THAT YOU HAVE? NOT CURRENTLY? OKAY.

SO YOU CAN STAY ON TRACK WITH THE AUDIT PLAN.

YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES YOU NEED, YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE EXTERNAL PROVIDERS.

YOU NEED TO SUPPLEMENT AND FILL IN THE GAPS WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE STAFF.

AND IF I GET TO A POINT WHERE I NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDS, SINCE FIRMS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN EMPLOYEES, I WILL LET THE LEADERSHIP KNOW AND WE SEE WHERE THAT TAKES US.

BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, BASED ON WHAT I CAN SEE, WE SHOULD BE OKAY.

OKAY. AND ADDITIONALLY, AND I THINK I LAID THIS OUT ON THE TABLE AT THE LAST MEETING, WE'RE ASKING EXTERNAL FIRMS, HERE'S THE PLAN.

HERE'S WHAT WE NEED.

YOU KNOW WHO'S INTERESTED? WHO CAN PROVIDE THESE SERVICES AND FOR WHAT COST? I THINK IT'S AN OVERDUE EXERCISE FOR US TO DO INTERNALLY AS WELL OF THIS IS THE AUDIT PLAN.

WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU TO STAFF TO COMPLETE THIS AUDIT PLAN? AND WHAT IS THE WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR STAFFING? WHAT FUNDS ARE GOING TO BE NEEDED IF THIS WAS TO STAY IN HOUSE? WHAT IS THAT BUDGET NEED TO LOOK LIKE FOR WHAT DIFFERENT THINGS TO FULLY EXECUTE ON TIME THIS AUDIT PLAN BECAUSE STAFFING IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.

SO THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE A PLAN FOR EXECUTING IT ANYWAY.

SO I THINK IF YOU CAN HAVE THAT, SO BY THE MARCH MEETING, WHEN WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM

[01:05:09]

OKAY. THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS FROM ANYBODY? OKAY. MOVING ON.

SEE THIS? YES, I HAVE IT UNDER HERE SOMEWHERE.

RIGHT HERE. I GOT IT. ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE THAT'S CLOSED SESSION, RIGHT? RIGHT. THREE SLIDES ARE OPEN.

AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK TO THE EVALUATION TIMELINE.

WE DON'T NEED TO HOLD EVERYBODY FOR THAT.

SO ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE, PLEASE.

[ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE UPDATE]

FIRST, WE'RE SHOWING THE OPEN CASES CURRENTLY BY DEPARTMENT WHO THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO.

WE HAD I HAVE LAST TIME'S SLIDE SHOW UP OPEN THERE WERE 183.

NOW WE HAVE 147.

SO WE'RE DOING GOOD.

BUT AS YOU CAN SEE.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS HAS 51%.

OPERATIONS 6%.

WE HAVE 15%.

WE'RE DOING THE FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETIES.

HISD, POLICE DEPARTMENT, 1%, LEGAL SERVICES 2%, AND SCHOOLS OFFICE 25%.

SO A LOT OF CASES THAT COME IN DO GET ASSIGNED TO THE SCHOOLS OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, AS YOU CAN SEE.

NEXT SLIDE IS OUR CASES FOR THE LAST THREE MONTHS UP UNTIL JANUARY 24TH.

YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY CASES HAVE COME IN VERSUS HOW MANY CASES WE'VE CLOSED.

AND IN NOVEMBER, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS ON CLOSING CASES BECAUSE WE HIRED A NEW ANALYST IN OUR DEPARTMENT.

SHE'S BEEN GREAT.

AND THE NEXT SLIDE IS WASN'T SURE WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR TODAY.

SO I'VE LISTED OUR GOALS AND WHAT ALL WE'RE WORKING ON AS A REMINDER OF WHAT OUR DEPARTMENT DOES.

SO A KEY GOAL IS TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF THE ETHICS HOTLINE.

SO WE DO DO HEAR ABOUT THINGS.

WE DID PLACE POSTERS UP IN ALL THE SCHOOLS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED THIS YEAR.

WE'RE COMMUNICATING ABOUT THE ETHICS HOTLINE IN OTHER WAYS AS WELL THROUGH TRAINING EVENTS, NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION AND THE HISD PORTAL ON THE BANNER THERE WHEN WE CAN.

ALSO, ANOTHER GOAL IS TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS THOROUGHLY AND EFFICIENTLY, ENSURING APPROPRIATE COMMUNICATION THROUGHOUT.

WE DO WORK WITH THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND WE TRY AND MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IS IN THE KNOW AS NEEDED.

WE THIRD ONE IS WE ROLL OUT AND TRACK COMPLIANCE WITH CIPA, WHICH IS THE CHILDREN'S INTERNET PROTECTION ACT, TO IMPROVE INTERNET SAFETY FOR STUDENTS.

AND WE'RE ALMOST AT 100% COMPLETION.

WE, THE PRINCIPALS, SEND IN CERTIFICATES CERTIFYING THAT ALL THEIR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN TRAINED ON THIS IMPORTANT ASPECT.

AND OUR GOAL FOR NEXT YEAR BEFORE THE SCHOOL ROLLS OUT NEW COMPUTERS, WE WANT IT TO BE EMBEDDED IN THAT.

SO WE'RE WORKING WITH TECHNOLOGY TO EMBED THAT SO THEY CAN THEY'LL BE TRAINED PRIOR TO THE LAPTOPS.

FOURTH IS ENSURING E-RATE COMPLIANCE WITH AUDIT READINESS.

SO WE ARE WORKING WITH PURCHASING AN I.T ON THAT ASPECT JUST TO MAKE SURE IF USAC AND FCC NEEDS TO CHECK ON US WHERE WE HAVE ALL OF OUR DUCKS IN A ROW, ALL THE DOCUMENTATION READY.

THE FIFTH SIX CONTINUE TO PREVENT AND DETECT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETIES AT HISD.

SO THE OFFICE OF TALENT ROLLS OUT THE SEMIANNUAL DISCLOSURE FORM TO EMPLOYEES AT A CERTAIN GRADE LEVEL AND ABOVE. AND SO WE GET THOSE, WE REVIEW THOSE.

AND YOU KNOW, ALSO DURING OUR VENDOR DUE DILIGENCE IN OTHER WAYS, WE CAN MAKE SURE THERE AREN'T ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.

WE ARE THE ADVISOR.

IF EMPLOYEES NEED TO HAVE QUESTIONS ON THIS.

THEY CAN CALL US TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE IN COMPLIANT BEFORE MAYBE ACCEPTING A GIFT OR HAVING A WEEKEND JOB OR SOMETHING.

SO WE PREVENT AND DETECT THAT AND FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETIES AT HISD.

SECOND TO LAST.

WE'RE CONSTANTLY STREAMLINING THE VENDOR BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS TO HELP IMPROVE DATA QUALITY AND A TIMELY TURNAROUND.

[01:10:06]

SO WE KNOW WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE WORKING AT SCHOOLS WITH STUDENTS BUT WE GET THE INFORMATION FROM PURCHASING.

AND WE WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF TALENT WHO HAS THE ACCESS TO REVIEW DPS RECORDS TO SEE WHO HAS A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND, AND THEN WE'RE THE LIAISON WITH THE VENDOR AND COMMUNICATING THAT.

AND ALSO GIVEN THE GO AHEAD TO PURCHASING THAT, THAT'S ALL CLEAR FROM OUR SIDE, JUST LIKE THEY GET FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON THAT.

AND IN CLOSING, WE EDUCATE EMPLOYEES ON RISK AND CONTROLS TO HELP SUPPORT ETHICAL COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS, REGULATIONS AND HISD POLICIES.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE DO WE'RE PART OF THE NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION.

WE HAVE OUR ONLINE ETHICS TRAINING.

WE TRAIN ON E-RATE.

WE'RE TRYING TO GET MORE INVOLVED WITH TRAINING WITH PRINCIPALS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THINGS HAPPEN AT THE SCHOOL, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WHAT EDUCATION THEY'VE HAD, THE FINANCIAL WE WORK WITH, THE FINANCIAL CLERKS AND THE PRINCIPALS.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET MORE INVOLVED WITH THE SSOS SO WE CAN HAVE JUST IN TIME LEARNING ON THAT.

SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

AND IT'S CORBIN OR CORRIGAN.

CORRIGAN. CORRIGAN.

OKAY, THANK YOU. QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, MS. CORRIGAN.

I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT ON SLIDE 34, THE OPEN CASES.

SO LOOKING AT THE PERCENTAGES, JUST THINK LIKE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE I MEAN, LIKE.

I MEAN, I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING ON JUST OPENING AND CLOSING OR TRACKING WHAT'S OPEN AND THEN MAKING SURE THEY'RE CLOSED.

BUT I MEAN, ARE THERE ANY HAS THERE BEEN ANY ANALYSIS DONE OR WOULD THAT BE MORE ON THE ADMINISTRATION SIDE AS TO WHY THERE ARE SO MANY UNDER PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS? WELL, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN INVESTIGATIONS, SO THEY'RE GETTING INVESTIGATIONS COMING IN FROM THE ETHICS HOTLINE.

I MEAN, CASES COMING IN FROM US.

AND THEN THEY HAVE THEIR OWN WHERE PEOPLE CALL IN.

AND SO THEY'RE I DON'T KNOW, THEY UPDATE US AS THEY CAN AND WE UPDATE THE SYSTEM WHEN WE CAN.

SO I DON'T KNOW.

YEAH, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO FORMULATE MY QUESTION.

THANK YOU. I MEAN, WHEN I SEE THAT MANY IN ONE SPECIFIC AREA, THEN IT'S LIKE, SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED? AND SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, MAYBE THIS IS JUST A QUESTION FOR YOU TO CONSIDER AS WELL.

SO I THINK IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I CAN THINK OF IS IT'S PROBABLY THE LARGEST BODY OF INDIVIDUALS THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY BE REPORTING.

SO IT'S WHERE YOU WOULD SEE A BIG, BIG NUMBER THAT WOULD COME IN? I CAN GET WITH OUR TALENT DEPARTMENT AND GET SOME MORE SPECIFICS, BUT JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD THINK.

YEAH. I THINK ALSO THEY'RE NOT AGAINST PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.

THEY DO THE INVESTIGATIONS FOR ALL ALLEGATIONS AGAINST EMPLOYEES.

SO IT'S A REFLECTION OF THE VOLUME OF REPORTS THAT WE'RE GETTING.

YOU KNOW, THEY MAY NOT BE ALLEGATIONS THAT ARE WARRANTED, BUT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND DO THE INVESTIGATION.

AND THEN WE HAVE TO DETERMINE IF THERE'S AN EMPLOYMENT ACTION THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN AS A RESULT OF THE INVESTIGATION.

DO YOU ALSO FEEL LIKE BECAUSE OF THIS ADDED TRAINING AN THIS ADDED EXPOSURE TO THE HOT LINE, THAT THAT IS ALSO CREATING MORE A HIGHER VOLUME? I MEAN, THEY GO HAND IN HAND, I GUESS MORE EDUCATION, THE MORE INPUT.

RIGHT. YOU KNOW, THIS IS A BIG ORGANIZATION.

SO WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON.

AND SURE, BEFORE IT GOES INTO THE WRONG HANDS, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, GET INVOLVED AND GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE INVOLVED TO ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS APPROPRIATELY AND TIMELY. THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE THE GOALS.

I ALWAYS LIKE GOALS.

OBJECTIVES. SO DO YOU HAVE A WAY OF INTERNALLY MONITORING, LIKE HOW YOU KNOW THAT YOU'VE INCREASED AWARE? I MEAN, THERE'S THE OBVIOUS.

MAYBE MORE PEOPLE ARE CALLING IN, BUT YOU KNOW THAT YOUR METHODS, LIKE WHEN PEOPLE DO MAKE A REPORT, IS THERE A QUESTION OF HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS ETHICS HOTLINE? RIGHT. TO KNOW WHICH METHODOLOGIES ARE ACTUALLY WORKING AND WHICH ONES AREN'T OR, YOU KNOW,

[01:15:05]

I HAVE A PROCESS IMPROVEMENT BACKGROUND, SO IT'S INGRAINED IN ME.

AND WE HAVE WE'RE RELYING ON OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL, AND WE FIND OUT WHAT THEIR TIME CONSTRAINTS ARE.

AND THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS COMMUNICATE.

SO WE TRY AND COMMUNICATE WELL WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHAT WHY WE NEED THIS WHEN WE NEED THIS, AND THEN THE VENDORS AS WELL ON THAT SO THAT THEY HAVE WE HAVE THEIR EXPECTATIONS SET AS WELL.

BUT THEN WHEN WE ROLL OUT, FOR INSTANCE, THAT ONE IN GENERAL, THEY HAVE TO GO GET FINGERPRINTED AND WE TELL THEM GO IN ENOUGH TIME BECAUSE IT COULD TAKE 3 TO 5 DAYS BEFORE IT ACTUALLY SHOWS UP ON OUR SIDE TO CONFIRM THAT YOU'RE CLEAR AND JUST, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATION IS KEY.

GREAT. THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE IT. ANYTHING ELSE? AND DO WE NEED TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION ON THIS ITEM? YES. OKAY. SO LET'S BEFORE WE GO INTO CLOSED SESSION, INSTEAD OF BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH THE TIMELINE FOR THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE

[CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE’S ANNUAL EVALUATION AND TIMELINE]

[INAUDIBLE] PULL IT UP. LISA.

YEAH, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND REALLY QUICK.

YOU'RE ALWAYS FASTER ABOUT THIS THAN I AM.

MADAM CHAIR, ARE WE IN CLOSED SESSION NOW? NO WE'RE NOT DISCUSSING YOUR [INAUDIBLE].

WE ARE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE TIMELINE.

OKAY. AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION AND WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO THE CONFERENCE ROOM FOR CLOSED SESSION.

FOR ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE.

SO I FOUND IT.

OKAY, SO.

WE JUST WANT BACK. WE ALWAYS WIND UP CRUNCHED, RIGHT? AND SO WE THOUGHT IF WE PLANNED AHEAD AND PUT DATES IN THIS NOW, WE WON'T BE SO CRUNCHED.

DID YOU SEND IT? OKAY.

DID I SEND THIS TO YOU? OKAY.

OKAY. SO.

SURE. OH, GOSH.

ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU.

YES, PLEASE. SO I WOULD RECOMMEND ASKING BOARD SERVICES TO PUT THESE DATES ON OUR CALENDARS TO HELP KEEP US MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. GREAT SUGGESTION.

THANK YOU. SO THE FIRST THING IS.

SO THERE ARE ALREADY SOME DATES IN HERE.

I DON'T KNOW WHY WE WOULD DEVIATE FROM THIS.

IT'S WORKED WELL FOR US IN THE PAST.

THERE ARE THREE DATES, HOWEVER, THAT WOULD NEED TO BE FILLED IN.

ONE WOULD BE WE NEED AN APRIL AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE.

SO BOARD SERVICES, IF YOU COULD COORDINATE THAT IN THE NEXT WEEK OR.

WELL, WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING WHEN WE KNOW WHEN OUR NEXT.

GO AHEAD. LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUST GET IT SCHEDULED NOW.

AND IF WHOEVER THAT NEW PERSON IS CAN'T MAKE THAT DATE, THEN WE CAN CHANGE IT.

BUT LET'S JUST START WITH HAVING A DATE FOR AN APRIL BOARD MEETING.

SO ARE WE THINKING, DO YOU THINK, LISA, THAT NEEDS TO BE EARLY OR LATE OR.

SO THE IDEA IS THINK ABOUT THAT MAY 4TH DAY, WHICH IS WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH THE BOARD.

SO YOU WANT TO BE COMPLETELY DONE WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEES EVALUATION PROCESS, AND YOU NEED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MR. BLACKWELL TO TURN IN HIS SELF REFLECTION FOR YOU TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HIM AT AN AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.

AND THEN BASED ON THOSE TWO THINGS, TO DO YOUR EVALUATION WELL IN ADVANCE OF THAT MAY 4TH DAY, BECAUSE THAT INFORMATION HAS TO GO TO THE FULL BOARD.

[01:20:02]

OKAY. THEN WHY DON'T WE SAY APRIL 1ST FOR THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE TO PROVIDE THE SELF REFLECTION, ETC., TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THEN THE SECOND OR THIRD WEEK WOULD BE THE TARGET WEEKS FOR THAT MEETING OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THEN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE BY THE END OF THE OR BY THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST WEEK IN APRIL.

GIVE US A WEEK TO THEN SEND IN OUR THING.

DOES THAT WORK? DO YOU MIND REPEATING THOSE DATES? THAT FIRST DAY. I SHOULD LOOK AT A CALENDAR WHILE I'M DOING THIS.

THAT APRIL 1ST IS A SATURDAY.

CAN WE PUSH THAT TO THE THIRD THAT MONDAY? YES. OKAY. SO OR ACTUALLY, LET'S DO MARCH 31ST.

AND THEN IF AND THEN THE BOARD, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, JUST SO WE'VE GOT WIGGLE ROOM.

I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THE FIRST OR SECOND WEEK.

YEAH, LET'S. IS THAT OKAY.

SO OKAY, SO SCHEDULE THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING DURING THE FIRST OR THE SECOND WEEK IN APRIL AND THEN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE HAS UNTIL THE 21ST TO COMPLETE THEIR FILLABLE PDF OF THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND SEND IT TO LISA BECAUSE THAT THEN GIVES US A LITTLE BIT OF WIGGLE ROOM IF WE HAVE TROUBLE SCHEDULING OR SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BUFFER IN THERE.

ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR OBJECTIONS TO THAT PLAN? NO? FOR CLARIFICATION, WHAT IS THE MARCH 31ST DATE FOR? THE DATE FOR, DO YOU MIND SENDING THAT? SURE.

MARCH 31ST IS A DISTRICT HOLIDAY, SO CAN WE MOVE IT TO JUST MAKE IT MONDAY THE THIRD? OKAY. SO MS. [INAUDIBLE], FOR THE RECORD, YOU YOU WORK WITH BOARD SERVICES TO GIVE US THOSE DATES AND THE EVENT.

I ALREADY EMAILED ONE VERSION OF IT, AND THEN BASED ON THESE TWO DATES THAT SHE JUST GAVE I'LL SEND THE SECOND VERSION.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, EVERYBODY, FOR SHARING YOUR TIME THIS MORNING.

I ALWAYS APPRECIATE THESE CONVERSATIONS.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THOSE OF YOU WHO TAKE TIME OUT OF WORK AND TRAVEL AND THANK YOU.

SO AT THIS TIME, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE WILL ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION IN THE BOARD'S SERVICES CONFERENCE ROOM UNDER CHAPTER 551 OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE OPEN MEETINGS ACT

[CLOSED SESSION]

THE COMMITTEE IS ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION AT I CAN'T SEE THE CLOCK.

IS THAT 10:25 A.M..

THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION AT 10:56 A.M.

CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO DISCUSS.

THE MEETING OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IS NOW ADJOURNED AT 10:56 A.M..

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.