School District Deficit Sparks Probe in O.C.

Orange County prosecutors will investigate a $49-million shortfall that auditors found in the Anaheim Union School District’s construction program, Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Friday.

The inquiry stems from an audit of the district’s $330-million construction and modernization program, which blamed the shortfall on overspending.

Auditors concluded that some new schools and renovation projects promised to Anaheim voters when they approved a $132-million bond measure in 2002 might not be completed.

The audit also found a lack of oversight on projects, lengthy delays and a failure by the district to secure tens of millions of dollars in state matching funds.

School board members Thursday night ordered Supt. Joseph M. Farley to turn over the audit to the district attorney’s office. Farley said the audit contains no suggestion of illegality, but trustees wanted prosecutors to review it to be thorough.

Rackauckas said in a written statement that the audit “especially concerns me because there is a suggestion of criminal wrongdoing,” although he was unavailable to elaborate.