Sunday, March 12, 2023

SOMETIMES EVEN IDIOTS RECOGNIZE PROBLEMS RIGHT IN THEIR FACE

By Bob Walsh

 

Stockton Unified School District interim superintendent Dr. Traci E Miller, left, board president Cecilia Mendez, board members Ray Zulueta and Scot McBrian attend a town hall meeting about the critical grand jury report at the SUSD headquarters in downtown Stockton.

 

Regular readers will remember I have written more than once recently about the trials and tribulations of the Stockton Unified School District.  The people managing, or more properly mismanaging, the district have for years replied to various oversight and audit recommendations with a thunderous silence.  

This time around, with the possibility of the district going into receivership in the near future (and a few people maybe being prosecuted) the movers and shakers on the board have decided that just maybe they should listen and heed.  

The district is about to review and revise (or at least they SAY they are about to review and revise) ALL of their procurement policies and regulations and record retention policies and regulations.  They are also going over Form 700 (personal financial interest and disclosure) rules as well as Brown Act and conflict of interest training for board members on an ongoing basis.

The problem with all of this is of course what is REALLY going to happen.  If you get middle and upper management that WANT to circumvent or ignore procedure they will figure out a way to circumvent or ignore procedure.  The people in charge of watching to make sure this does not happen have to be willing to do their jobs, and the board has to be willing to listen to them.  

For the last two years the district board has disputed the civil grand jury reports and recommendations and has asserted that the grand jury was paying too much attention to a "disgruntled minority."  The November 2022 board elections MAY have given the three new members of the board and one existing member that was the voice in the wilderness enough oomph to actually get things done to keep the district out of receivership.  Maybe.  We will see. 

No comments: