RICHMOND -- West Contra Costa
school trustees pledged to provide accurate reports to the district's bond
oversight committee, despite the superintendent's complaints that staff spends
too much time preparing information for the group.
At a joint school board and
bond oversight committee meeting last week, Superintendent Bruce Harter warned
that district staff could fall behind on summer construction projects because
they devote so much time compiling reports for the bond committee and its
various working groups. He also suggested that the committee might be
overstepping its responsibilities.
"What I can't tolerate
is a delay on our projects," Harter said. "It's important to get
these done as opposed to giving staff time to 10 subcommittees."
Committee Chairwoman Ivette
Ricco said that most of the recently formed oversight groups don't require much
additional staff time. And she said the panels' inquiries are vital because
they review costly change orders, "soft costs" related to architects
and construction management, committee training and whistle-blower Dennis
Clay's complaints of financial mismanagement in the bond program.
Kelvin Love, who serves on
the change order subcommittee, said he doesn't want to slow down projects, but
he does want to be able to explain to the public why the district spends so
much on construction budget increases. He expressed frustration by the
appearance of an adversarial relationship between the district and committee.
Trustee Liz Block initially
said she the committee didn't need to spend much time on change orders, since
the board is beginning to look more closely at those. But committee member Don
Gosney disagreed.
"We're here to look over
your shoulder, so don't tell us, 'Trust us,' " Gosney said. "Please
don't suggest that everything is fine, because we don't know that."
The board has also recently
agreed to pursue a forensic audit to investigate Clay's allegations.
Orlandus Waters, chairman of
the audit subcommittee, said the district is supposed to provide resources to
help the committee publicize its conclusions. A recent Contra Costa County
civil grand jury report said the district "stymied" the committee by
providing inaccurate, incomplete reports.
Trustee Madeline Kronenberg
recommended the district hire more staff to respond to committee inquiries, and
the other trustees agreed it was a priority.
"We will staff up,"
Harter said.
June
22, 2015
San
Jose Mercury News
By Theresa
Harrington
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