Cerritos : District Cleared in Audit

A special audit at the Cerritos-based ABC Unified School District, undertaken after allegations of mismanagement of funds were leveled, has not found any major problems in the fiscal management practices of the 22,000-student district.

Last month, the Board of Education requested that its regular auditing firm, Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co. of Ontario, conduct “an intense audit” of district management operations. The audit, which cost less than $8,000, came after two board members said they received a number of unspecified allegations of improprieties occurring at both staff and board levels.

The board was presented a 79-page report during a three-hour meeting in which the firm stated it had uncovered no major problems.

However, the report did not satisfy some critics. George Medina, one of four parents who in August asked the Los Angeles County Grand Jury to launch an investigation to determine if there had been mismanagement of funds and property in the district, said he was concerned that there was no formal bidding process on insurance coverage.

Virgil Hall, assistant superintendent, said the district hired a broker who actually brought bids before the board.

The auditing firm said there was no requirement mandating formal bidding.

Fran Evans, who chaired a seven-member, board-appointed budget committee, said the audit was limited and would not have uncovered fraud.