Stockton Unified trustees ask state for more time to pass district reforms

The Stockton Unified Board of Trustees unanimously voted to ask the state for a deadline extension on revising their procurement policies.

The board had pledged to review and revise their policies and regulations on procurement, records retention, ethics and economic interest forms by May 31, a response to the Feb. 14 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team’s audit finding evidence that fraud likely occurred at Stockton’s largest school district.

The revamped policy subcommittee had crunched to meet their first major deadline to correct the dysfunction and poor business practices that plague the district, but an apparent miscommunication has now set the board back.

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Twelve of the 13 policies and regulations related to procurement did not make it to the policy subcommittee, according to Board President AngelAnn Flores and the board's attorney, Douglas Freifeld. Standard practice for adopting policies at a governing body is to read them at two different board meetings. Flores hoped to use the subcommittee review as a vehicle to waive the second hearing to meet deadline.

Freifeld said the law firm he works for, F3, had done the necessary legwork to update the remaining 12 policies and administrative regulations to be in compliance with state law. He advised the board to bring the 12 policies and regulations back to the board for the routine second reading or another policy subcommittee meeting.

“Procurement policies and regulations were stated as a general term,” Freifeld said. “In our opinion, these covered procurement policies and regulations that are before you on this list.”

Between graduations and interviewing superintendent candidates, scheduling has now moved the board to ask the state’s Division of Audit and Investigations for an extension to June 6, the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting.

Freifeld said the California Department of Education has said upon showing good cause, an extension could be granted. He could not give a guarantee or any “odds” of the state approving a deadline extension when asked by Trustee Cecilia Mendez, who voiced her concern over not meeting deadline.

“With good fortune (an extension) would allow time for the policy committee to meet,” Freifeld said. “We will certainly present the reasons for the extension, (which) I think primarily are the board’s and the district’s inclusive practice of involving the public … that’s an important step to take.”

The board successfully approved and waived second readings for updated policies and regulations on purchasing procedures, ethics, conflicts of interest, governance standards, professional standards for educational leaders and Statement of Economic Interest Form 700s.

Training progress

During Monday's meeting, Chief Business Official Joann Juarez told the board that executive management and all management that reports to the CBO have completed ethics, conflict of interest and Form 700 trainings.

The board had self-imposed a deadline of July 31 to begin all of the trainings recommended by the San Joaquin County Office of Education because of their concern over the district’s financial position and the state auditor’s Feb. 14 report.

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Juarez said procurement and records retention training will be held July 18-19. The board is scheduled to participate in conflict of interest, Brown Act and ethics trainings June 3, Juarez said.

Claudia Moreno, the district’s interim director of labor relations, said the whole onboarding process at the school district needs to be revamped.

“HR, in collaboration with business (department) should be planning these trainings, and we (should) just offer those maybe quarterly, so that way, (when) there are new employees coming through, they can go through that process,” Moreno said.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Unified to ask California for extension on district reforms