HART DISTRICT'S BOND SPENDING QUESTIONED OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE SEEKING FULLER ACCOUNT.Byline: CONNIE LLANOS llanos (yä`nōs), Spanish American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. Staff Writer The Hart Union High School District has failed to disclose all of its spending of a 2001 voter-approved bond fund, a board-appointed panel charged late Wednesday. Speaking out at the district's board meeting, members of the Measure V Citizen's Oversight Committee charged with overseeing the spending said the district has failed to comply with bond fund requirements. "We cannot stress the immediacy im·me·di·a·cy n. pl. im·me·di·a·cies 1. The condition or quality of being immediate. 2. Lack of an intervening or mediating agency; directness: the immediacy of live television coverage. for these recommendations," said Renee Sabol, chairwoman of the 15-member group, which was mandated by state legislation. The committee's most pressing concern is a $14 million deficit in the amount of Measure V funds audited by long-used firm Moss Adams Moss Adams LLP is the 12th largest public accounting firm in the United States and provides accounting, tax and consulting services to public and private middle-market enterprises in many different industries. LLT LLT Low Latency Transport LLT Long Lead Time LLT Link Local Inhibit Test (SS7) LLT Liberty Lines Transit, Inc LLT Link Layer Topology LLT Low-Level Terminal LLT Limited Licensed Technician LLT Low Level Trajectory LLT Local Loop Technologies in fiscal year 2005. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. committee members, by June 30, 2005, the district had used $26.4 million of bond funds for school construction. The Moss Adams performance audit said the total bond expenditures were $12.4 million -- a shortfall of about $14 million. The committee is asking the district for an annual audit that includes all bond spending. But Rob Gapper, Hart's chief operations officer, said the district promptly contracted Moss Adams to conduct a follow-up review of the unaudited $14million after it read the committee's executive summary. "The audit firm found no misspending and full accounting of the $14 million," Gapper said. Moss Adams partner Curtis Matthews said the committee is confusing a performance audit with a fiscal audit. But the committee stood behind its recommendation for annual performance audits. "We can only take reports at face value," committee member Phil Ellis said. "We are not questioning the appropriateness of the expenditures. We are not saying this money is lost or we can't find it. We are just saying that it needs to be accounted for." The committee strongly suggested the district revisit re·vis·it tr.v. re·vis·it·ed, re·vis·it·ing, re·vis·its To visit again. n. A second or repeated visit. re its master plan and seek input from all stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. . It also recommended it increase staff, adopt better accounting systems, and look into alternative delivery methods of construction. The committee also asked the Hart board to take better precautions in implementing recommendations with clear timelines for goals. connie.llanos@dailynews.com (661) 257-5254 |
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