SAN BENITO — It is what it is. That’s what Superintendent Dr. Adrian Vega had to say about the district’s efficiency audit findings.
Texas Association of School Business Officials project director Rebecca Estrada presented the findings to the school board and the public during a special meeting Tuesday evening.
The comprehensive report analyzed the areas of accounting, finance, payroll, purchasing, personnel management, maintenance and operations, transportation operations, and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) data management.
The efficiency audit is just one part of the Re-Imagine 2021 Strategic Plan.
Vega said he will present a final draft of the strategic plan to the public when it’s ready – hopefully in July, he added.
“I hope in what everyone is hearing that this isn’t a bad thing. It is what it is,” Vega said Tuesday night about the audit results.
For Vega, this is about being more transparent with the community.
“This is historic by way of us to get our house in order to do great things for the district. Some of it might be shocking but its data,” he said.
By being onsite and within the district for three days, TASBO officials were able to gather information, look over records and paperwork and interview staff.
What they found varied in topic. Estrada touched only on the major findings of the report.
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• The district has implemented fraud protection measures such as Positive Pay for payroll and finance disbursements.
• Under the new leadership of the HR director, the department offers a high level of personal service with regard to attracting new employees, assisting with benefits issues, updating and maintaining certification records and responding to individual employee and campus/department employment needs.
• The energy department has controls in place to monitor the HVAC at each facility.
• The transportation department ranks 2nd among the area and like-sized districts assessed in lowest transportation cost per student rider, and has the 2nd-lowest total expenditures, while transporting the 2nd-highest percentage of enrolled students.
• Campus administrators have an overall understanding of PEIMS.
• Staff members were courteous, accommodating and helpful to the review team.
• The district is in the process of developing a comprehensive five-year strategic plan.
• The district has taken the initiative to conduct reviews related to compliance issues and/or operational efficiencies such as: TASBO management review and curriculum audit
• According to the 2014 Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), all district campuses received a Met Standard rating.
