Frequent turnover of superintendents and a lack of oversight by the Cuyama Joint Unified School District’s board of trustees led to irregularities and inefficiencies in the district's business office, a Santa Barbara County grand jury has found.
In a report published Monday, the grand jury — a 19-member panel of volunteers who oversee the more than 70 government entities in Santa Barbara County — called on district leadership to update its policies and training plans, revamp job descriptions and address negative audit findings after jurors were requested to investigate alleged inefficiencies that resulted in late payments, payroll errors and even the disappearance of district funds.
The district's board of trustees plans to review the jury's report, according to the superintendent's office, and has 90 days to formally respond. Due to an ongoing investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office into the possible theft of district funds, jurors narrowed the scope of their investigation into the policies and procedures that govern the business office's operations.
Located roughly 60 miles east of Santa Maria, the small rural school district serves 210 K-12 students from the surrounding towns of Cuyama, New Cuyama and Ventucopa. Only basic services are available in the remote community: residents must travel 31 miles to Taft — or further to Santa Maria or Bakersfield — for shopping, major purchases and banking services.
"The community of Cuyama is in a rural and remote area with a small population, resulting in a limited pool of candidates available for open positions," jurors wrote, suggesting the district's problems may stem from their relative isolation. They also point to a high rate of turnover among superintendents. Six superintendents have led the district since 2006, including three over the last four years.
"The frequent turnover at the superintendent position has negatively impacted critical functions," jurors wrote.
Jurors found a lack of knowledge, training and procedural guidelines within the district business office resulted in the alleged inefficiencies and errors.
The office maintains no calendar of significant events, according to the jury's report, and they found outdated job descriptions that assigned duties to the district's chief business officer unrelated to fiscal oversight. The office did not cross-train its employees to perform any essential functions in the event of an absence. When the district's account clerk abruptly quit, the business office racked up "substantial late fees" stemming from "the lack of knowledge in processing invoices."
Additionally, jurors found that board members had an "internal indifference" to updating standing policies.
They commended Superintendent Stephen Bluestein, who started last July, for implementing a new training program for business office employees and a new plan for policy updates.
May 20, 2019
Santa Maria Times
By Mathew Burciaga
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