Paso Robles School Board votes to refer grand jury findings to district attorney
–The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) Board of Trustees met in a special meeting Tuesday afternoon and evening to continue the discussion of their response to the San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury report, “Paso Robles School District: A Cautionary Tale” that says poor leadership and management resulted in the district’s financial crisis. The meeting was held for only one purpose, and that was to work on the response to that report.
At the outset, several members of the public called in to provide input. Local resident Dale Gustin talked about the history of the budget problems with the PRJUSD, which he said occurred over several years. Residents Kim La Chance and Peter Byrne each encouraged the school board to turn the report and their response over to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney for review.
The board went item by item through the grand jury findings. They discussed the jury’s findings related to the rapid turnover of senior staff in the finance office, which contributed to poor management of district assets. They talked at length about various aspects of the proposed aquatic complex. They talked about the cost and the realities of the aquatic complex. The board said they cannot move forward with the aquatics project until construction estimates and funding are in place. The board agreed with the report that the annual operating costs of the aquatic complex were greatly underestimated. The board agreed they will continue to ascertain the viability of building the complex. That includes talking with city and county officials about other options than those already presented.
After drafting an answer to each finding in the report, the board discussed more than a dozen recommendations made by the jury.
The Paso Robles School Board voted 6-0 to send the report and the board’s response to the district attorney’s office. Trustee Tim Gearhart abstained.
The entire response will be reviewed by an independent attorney before it is sent to the Grand Jury. The PRJUSD Board of Trustees is required to send a response to the report back to the grand jury by the middle of February.
The full transcript of the grand jury report is at https://www.slo.courts.ca.gov/gi/jury-grandjury.htm
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