Grand Jury Finds Cuyama Schools Business Practices Need Updating

Photo: Cuyama Joint Unified School District

Source: Santa Barbara County Grand Jury

The 2018-19 Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury (Jury) received a request for investigation of the Cuyama Joint Unified School District, specifically the District Business Office (DBO) operations.  The request for investigation alleged that inefficiencies in the office operations have led to the disappearance of District funds, late payment of bills, payroll errors, and failure to produce teacher contracts.  Additional concerns were that employees lacked necessary training and oversight.  There is an ongoing investigation relating to the missing funds by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The Jury found that past Boards of Trustees failed to provide proper oversight by not keeping Board policies and job descriptions current.  The Jury questioned the frequency of turnover in the Superintendent position.

During the investigation the Jury identified other concerns related to the operation and inefficiencies within the DBO, such as out-of-date job descriptions, disparate and unrelated duties assigned to the Chief Business Officer, payroll errors, and recurring financial audit findings. The Superintendent, hired July 1, 2018, has begun to address these issues.

The entire report, “Cuyama Joint Unified School District,” can be found on the Grand Jury’s website at www.sbcgj.org.              

The form and timeframe of the agencies’ responses ae required by California Penal Code §933 and §933.05.  All Grand Jury reports and responses are posted on the Jury’s website (www.sbcgj.org).

The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury is a basic part of government within the judicial branch.  The Grand Jury acts independently, yet is under the general control of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court Presiding Judge to assure that it acts in accordance with the Penal Code of the State of California.