STOCKTON — The 2014-15 San
Joaquin County civil grand jury has criticized Stockton Unified School District
officials and trustees for their handling of the purchase and sales process of
31 never-used special-education school buses.
In a report released Tuesday,
the grand jury said the decisions to spend $2.05 million to purchase the buses
in 2013 and to then sell them a year later were made with little documentation.
During its review, the grand
jury determined bus service for special-needs students was also managed
ineffectively. The grand jury found the district had been transporting on
buses reserved for special-needs students about 100 students who were not
qualified, based on their Individual Education Plans.
The Record previously
reported that in June 2013, trustees unanimously agreed to buy the buses.
Storer Transportation had previously handled that transportation on a
contractual basis.
Carlos Chicas, a former SUSD
transportation director, said last year the district would realize an annual
savings of at least $700,000 by using its own buses and drivers. Wayne Martin,
an ex-chief business officer, supported the proposal.
Both have since left SUSD.
The grand jury found
information provided to trustees was “too brief, inadequate and generated very
limited or no discussion.”
The grand jury recommends in
the future that any new purchase exceeding $30,000 should have a full
accounting and justification as required by board policies and the California Education
Code.
The recommendations, the
report states, are meant to strengthen SUSD operations.
Stockton Unified Board of
Trustees President Gloria Allen doesn’t believe the report is fair, saying the
grand jury didn't ask her or anyone else why the decisions were
made. Allen said the board members made the most appropriate decision with
the information they were given.
“At the
time, the buses were a good idea, and now it looks like they weren't a good
choice,” Allen said. “Things change and we went in another direction. It’s not
fair to say we didn’t do our job. We worked with what information we had.”
June 21, 2015
Stockton
Record
By Nicholas
Filipas, Record Staff Writer
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