Report

Indicators of Systemic Malgovernance within the

Oxnard Union High School District

Prepared by the League of United Latin American Citizens

January 3, 2011

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 Executive Summary

Introduction

This report represents the efforts of LULAC to respond to numerous complaints from employees
of the Oxnard Union High School District and community members who believe that the
previous Board majority and certain district administrators were no longer acting in the best
interest of students, faculty, staff, and the community as a whole. It is important to our
organization that readers of this report fully understand that the current Board includes newly
elected Trustees John Alamillo and Wayne Edmonds, who were not in office when the following
events took place. It is also our firm belief that the new Board majority, including previous
Trustees Dick Jaquez and Socorro Lopez-Hanson who remained on the Board, are sincerely
committed to addressing the concerns presented in this report.

This document is organized into five sections which include an introduction, description of
methodology used to complete the report, findings, analysis of findings, and our
recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

Our organization would also like to share that our members initially met, in good faith, with the
president of the high school board, Mr. Robert Valles, to attempt to address and resolve our
concerns in a cordial manner. That meeting took place in August, 2009, and was attended by
LULAC representatives, as well as other community leaders (i.e. elected officials) from Ventura
county and the Oxnard area. The response to our concerns was an emphatic (and prophetic) “If
you don’t like what we’re doing, you can express your sentiments at the next election.” In the
ensuing months, district officials dismissed our concerns as lacking in evidence or we were
simply ignored. Our continued requests for Public Records Act information was also ignored and
required that LULAC engage an attorney in order to finally obtain the requested information.
The District finally admitted publicly that there was wrongdoing in management of the school
lunch program, (See story in Ventura County Star, 9/8/2010). At one public forum held by high
school officials and that was also chronicled by the VC Star on 9/27/2010, the Board directed its
legal counsel to publicly question and demean members of the community who attempted to
exercise their right to express their concerns regarding the district’s mismanagement of the
federal school lunch program. Indeed, the community made their sentiments known at the
November election and certain Trustees were unseated and our concerns regarding the school
lunch program were finally verified by district officials and external auditors. That audit report,
through the efforts of LULAC’s attorney, was finally released to our organization and the
community in late September, 2010. Because many of the public records that were initially
requested by LULAC, including the external audit, were not released to until late September,
this report was not completed at an earlier time. This report, in effect, provides a year-to-date
overview of our findings and concerns from the inception of our involvement in August 2009, to
the present, January 3, 2011.

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The specific purpose of this report is to showcase past and present practices of certain Trustees
and senior district managers that we believe serves as clear indicators of systemic malgovernance
and possible malfeasance.

Methodology

The report, analysis, and findings are based on our interpretation of numerous Public Records
Act documents released to LULAC by the high school district, other related documents shared
with us by other sources, interviews of current and former high school district employees, and
our observance proceedings at routine Board meetings.

Findings

 Senior administrators and Trustees routinely use district credit cards to make
questionable purchases of equipment, supplies, meals, and other items.

 Senior administrators and Trustees routinely use district credit cards to make purchases
that are not adequately documented or verified as a legitimate business expense.

 In one incident, Trustee Steve Stocks used a district credit card to expend $557.80 per
night for lodging while his colleagues, attending the same event, stayed at a hotel where
they expended less than half of what Mr. Stocks expended. During the same trip, Mr.
Stocks used a district credit card to pay for liquor.

 In another incident, Mr. Stocks submitted a reimbursement claim for mileage and meals
that he expended while traveling (or residing) in Montana where he reported that he was
conducting teacher recruitment.

 There was a finding of highly irregular expenditures for athletic promotional items, with
Mr. Rocky Valles being the highest spender in recent years.

 District personnel who attempted to “blow the whistle,” as far back as 2008, on the
perceived fraudulent activity involving the federal school lunch program, were ignored
and/or castigated for bringing attention to the matter.

 Local law enforcement, including the previous County Grand Jury and the District
Attorney’s Office, have thus far expressed virtually no interest in investigating the multi-
million dollar fraud incident involving the school lunch program.

 Trustees often times over-ride the purchasing decisions of district administrators so that
their preferred vendors get the business, irrespective of the added cost to students and the
district or violation of standard purchasing procedures.

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  One Trustee that had a building named after him was nominated for that distinction by a
school principal, an act that would have been treated as highly inappropriate and a
conflict of interest in nearly any other school district.

Recommendations

The report culminates with recommendations to the Board of Trustees. In abbreviated form, they
consist of the following:

1. That the District reaffirm its commitment to general accounting principles.

2. That Trustees reaffirm their duty to not partake in direct school operations.

3. That the senior budget officer of the district hereafter refrain from approving any
expenditure deemed to be in violation of general accounting principles.

4. That the issuance of personal credit cards to Trustees and managers be discontinued.

5. That Trustees and district personnel be prohibited from using district credit cards to
directly make purchases of equipment and/or supplies.

6. That the Human Resource Department convert to a Purchase Order billing system to
purchase food for legitimate HR activities (i.e. committees), as opposed to using a credit
card to make on-the-spot purchases. While we found no evidence to support the
contention that malfeasance of any sort is occurring within this context, given the overall
systemic problems with the district’s current state of affairs pertaining to the fiscal arena,
this recommendation is designed to address the public’s perception that malfeasance is
rampant throughout administrative circles of the district.

7. That the Board direct senior district managers to cooperate fully with any law
enforcement agency seeking to probe the matter of the federal school lunch program.

8. That the Board initiate contact with local law enforcement authorities to ensure that
everything possible was done to identify the whereabouts of the $300,00+ that is still
missing from the Cafeteria program.

9. That the Board create and activate a neutral committee to review the process and criteria
used to name buildings after current and former Trustees, with the purpose being that of
making sure that improprieties and/or conflict of interest were not a factor in those
selections.

Summary

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It is a foregone conclusion that the matter of malgovernance within the Oxnard Union High
School District over the past two decades not only served to bring the community to its feet, it
served to galvanize the community in a manner that has not been seen in our area for a long time.
The response of the community, which was most telling on Election Day, amounted to a
concerted effort to reclaim our schools and the educational destiny of our youth. LULAC is
proud to have been a part of such a worthwhile cause and we are hopeful that, with the new
Board majority, our high school district will now have an opportunity to restore some semblance
of ethical, honest, and fair-minded governance.

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I. INTRODUCTION.

This report represents the efforts of LULAC to respond to numerous complaints from employees
of the Oxnard Union High School District and community members who believe that the
previous Board majority and certain district administrators were no longer acting in the best
interest of students, faculty, staff, and the community as a whole. It is important to our
organization that readers of this report fully understand that the current Board includes newly
elected Trustees John Alamillo and Wayne Edmonds, who were not in office when the following
events took place. It is also our firm belief that the new Board majority, including previous
Trustees Dick Jaquez and Socorro Lopez-Hanson who remained on the Board, are sincerely
committed to addressing the concerns presented in this report.

Our organization would also like to share that our members initially met, in good faith, with the
president of the high school board, Mr. Robert Valles, to attempt to address and resolve our
concerns in a responsible and cordial manner. That meeting took place in August, 2009, and was
attended by LULAC representatives, as well as other community leaders (i.e. elected officials)
from Ventura and the Oxnard area. The response to our concerns was an emphatic (and
prophetic) “If you don’t like what we’re doing, you can express your sentiments at the next
election.” In the ensuing months, district officials dismissed our concerns as lacking in evidence
or we were simply ignored. At one public forum that was chronicled by the Ventura County Star,
the Board directed its legal counsel to publicly question and demean members of the community
who attempted to exercise their right to express their concerns regarding the district’s
mismanagement of the federal school lunch fraud scandal. Indeed, the community made their
sentiments known at the November election and certain Trustees were unseated and our concerns
regarding the school lunch program were finally verified by district officials and external
auditors. That audit report, through the efforts of LULAC’s attorney, was finally released to our
organization and the community in October, 2010. Because many of the public records that were
initially requested by LULAC, including the external audit, were not released to us until recently,
this report was not completed at an earlier time, as initially planned. This report, in effect,
provides a year-to-date overview of our findings and concerns from the inception of our
involvement in August 2009, to the present, December 31, 2010.

This report is organized into five sections which include an introduction, description of
methodology used to complete the report, findings, analysis of findings, and our
recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

The specific purpose of this report is to showcase past and present practices of certain Trustees
and senior district managers that we believe serves as clear indicators of systemic malgovernance
and possible malfeasance.

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METHODOLOGY

Following is a description of the activities and/or steps that LULAC conducted to complete this
investigation:

 We elicited and analyzed several hundred documents released to us by the OUHSD per a
California Public Records Act request.

 We reviewed additional documentation provided to our organization from other district

sources.

 We interviewed current and former employees of the district who provided our organization
with testimony regarding the fiscal and human resources practices of the district.

 We observed all Board of Trustee meetings during the past twelve months, either in person or
in telecast form.

 We consulted internal and external experts on the subject of public school accounting
principles and general administration in order to interpret our findings in a congruent manner.

 In the matter of sitting Trustees naming buildings after themselves, LULAC conducted a
survey of public schools outside the area to determine the prevailing practice and/or custom
for naming school buildings.

 On the matter of unexplained credit card expenditures, we consulted local law enforcement
agencies and District Attorney’s Office.

II. FINDINGS

Following is our interpretation of the findings that we uncovered through our review of the
Public Records Act documents that the district provided to LULAC in late September. A
significant part of our inquiry included a review of credit card expenditures by all sitting
Trustees prior to November 2, 2010. We assumed that if the district failed to provide itemized
receipts for a given expenditure, that receipt is not in the possession or control of the district or it
would have been released to us, pursuant to the requirements of the Public Records Act. In
addition, at this point in time, our organization is only commenting on what it considered to be
the most glaring areas of concern and not every single item perceived to be a questionable
expenditure. The attached table (Item A) includes a listing of what we perceived to be the most
significant findings. We also feel it is important to clearly state that our organization reviewed
the credit card usage of all Trustees and several senior administrators.

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1. There were a significant number of office supply (4300 object number) purchases by
Trustee Steve Stocks, Ken Benefield, and Assistant Superintendent Rocky Valles. For
example, in one case Trustee Benefield used a district credit card to expend $224.94 to
directly purchase a LaserJet PC printer and other items. The question that immediately
comes to mind is why is a Trustee using district resources to purchase office equipment
and supplies for his use at home? While to the uninformed person it may seem more than
appropriate for a Trustee to conduct themselves like an employee, a review of the
standard, expected conduct for an elected school trustee is to review and create policy
and nothing else.

2. On March 7, 2008, Trustee Stocks used a district credit card to purchase gasoline from a
local Arco station. There was no business related reason documented and provided by
Mr. Stocks or, in this case, provided by the District per our public records request. In any
event, it is our understanding that the standard operating procedure for this type of
activity is for the employee or district official to submit a mileage reimbursement form to
the district, with a noted business related reason for the expense. Barring extreme
emergencies, direct purchases of gasoline are not considered to be within the accounting
guidelines of a public agency.

3. On March 11, 2008, Trustee Stocks submitted to the district a reimbursement claim for a
Super 8 expenditure for lodging in Bakersfield. The sales receipt is in the name of a
Virginia E. Stocks, in the amount of $85.60. Again, there was no itemized business
related reason provided to the district for the expenditure, such as a Travel Requisition
and Expense Claim form which would have made the expenditure consistent with the
district’s policy nor was there any explanation as to why Trustee Stocks would request a
reimbursement for an expenditure made by a family member.

4. On October 18, 2007, Trustee Stocks submitted an Expense Claim Sheet in the amount of
$126 for “Teacher Recruitment” activities in Montana. Again, we are concerned that an
elected official would be using district resources to directly assist with the operational
responsibilities of the district Human Resources Department. We won’t even get into the
absurdity of going to Montana to look for teachers when the State of California, even as
far back as 2007, had an abundance of unemployed credentialed K-12 teachers looking
for work. We were informed by numerous individuals, including district staff, that
Trustee Stocks resides in Montana which may or may not explain his travels to Montana.
If he was traveling to Montana on official district recruiting business, where are the
additional travel documents, including air-fare receipts, lodging, etc. for this trip?

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5. On November 28, 2006, Trustee Steve Stocks and a guest checked into the W San
Francisco hotel to attend what appeared to be a CSBA Conference. The daily rate for the
hotel room, including tax, was $557.80 per night. The total cost of the lodging for three
nights was $1,704.30. According to the public records provided to LULAC, other
Trustees and district personnel that attended the same event obtained lodging at the
Marriott San Francisco Hotel at $269 plus tax per day. Any tax payer would consider Mr.
Stock’s choice of alternative hotels, at the noted cost, to be highly excessive and
unreasonable. A review of conference and travel lodging history for Trustees over the
course of the period 2005 to 2009 will show that the average cost for one night of hotel
lodging is about $185, ranging from a low of $102 to a high of $269. In addition, on the
following day of checking into the W Hotel, Trustee Stocks visited Chevy’s Restaurant,
where he used a district credit card to pay for food items and an alcoholic beverage.
There was no adjustment notation made by him to the receipt indicating that he had
removed/deducted the item which means that taxpayers paid for the beer. It is our
understanding that according to district purchasing guidelines, alcoholic beverages are
not an authorized expenditure under any circumstances.

6. According to public documents provided to LULAC, Mr. Robert Valles senior expended
$1,202.29 for a new PC in May of 2009 (P.O. #A0904004, 5/18/09). Was the PC returned
to the district office in November when he was not re-elected as a Trustee? We ask this
question not to insult the integrity of the district in terms of how it manages its business
but we are concerned about what appears to be an overall systemic problem in how the
district manages its overall fiscal responsibilities. This particular matter, we believe, is an
indicator of what may be a form of malfeasance. Again, the question as to why a school
district would provide office equipment to an elected Trustee comes to mind.

7. Assistant Superintendent Rocky Valles also appears to have unbridled access to a district
credit card which he routinely uses for office supply purchases at such places as Staples
and Fry’s in Oxnard. Per the records provided, it was found that he also uses the credit
card to make routine purchases of food at local restaurants and fast food outlets, in
particular the Burrito Express which is located a few blocks from his office. The notes on
most of his receipts list the names of district staff that were reportedly provided working
meals on days that they participated in such activities as hiring committees. While this
practice may not constitute any improprieties, we are concerned at what appears to be a
rather low-accountability, free-wheeling credit card operation within this district.

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 8. A review of senior manager and Trustee expenditures for staff shirts, letterman jackets,
and t-shirts raised some serious questions. For example, during the 12 month period of
September 2007 to September 2008, Assistant Superintendent Rocky Valles expended
$9,638.98 for an assortment of t-shirts and jackets which reportedly went to staff. In one
case, he expended $195.62 for an embroidered letterman’s jacket which was apparently
gifted to a Mr. Cvijanich. Our organization was quite startled to find this information
because it is our understanding that a former high school principal was severely
reprimanded during the spring of 2010 by Superintendent Bob Carter for making a much
smaller but identical purchase for about $1,100 in t-shirts for his high school. We were
informed that the principal in question was told by Superintendent Bob Carter that
making such purchases was in violation of district purchasing policies and, as a
consequence, there were severe ramifications to the credibility and career of that
individual. In all, according to public fiscal records in our possession, the high school
district has made nearly $50,000 in such purchases over the course of the past eight years.
Individuals who requisitioned the purchases include nearly every principal of the district,
along with Mr. Rocky Valles, and certain Trustees. Our concern is best put in the form of
a question - why was this one principal singled out? According to the fiscal record in our
possession, which includes a listing of all related Purchase Order numbers, the bulk of
those purchases in recent years have been made by Mr. Rocky Valles. Why were these
other administrators and Trustees not reproached for making such purchases? The
community’s outrage over the treatment of this particular school principal was clearly
demonstrated at a certain Board meeting and, in certain respects, on Election Day.

9. The matter of the federal school lunch program and the related fraud that took place over
a period of about ten years was finally publicly admitted by district staff in late
September, 2010. (See details in the Introduction of this report). What has yet to be
remedied is the behind-the-scenes harm that was done to certain district employees who
sought to blow the whistle on this fiasco several years back. There is a belief among
certain district staff and other observers that senior district staff and former board
members allowed for a cover-up of the fraud and mismanagement of the lunch program
in order to avoid public embarrassment, especially during an election year.

10. One of the most alarming findings by our organization was what appeared to be very
limited interest on the part of the County of Ventura’s Grand Jury and the District
Attorney’s Office regarding the matter of the federal school lunch program. Documents
that we were provided clearly showed that a senior staff person from the high school
district, as far back as January 2010, attempted to reach out to both of these agencies to
alert them about what s/he considered to be highly questionable and possibly illegal

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 conduct on the part of food service personnel and certain district staff. This individual
also made direct contract with the Oxnard Police Department. There was one incident
verified by local police in which a district food service supervisor was arrested for theft
of more than $20,000. Reportedly, the person wound up leaving the country. There is still
over $300,000 missing and to the best of our knowledge no one is seemingly concerned
about investigating its whereabouts. While federal auditors did engage the district to
address what they considered to be over-billing, to date no individual has been charged
with any crime in connection with the fraudulent activity that led to the more than four
million dollars in false claims. To date, the individual who sought to alert authorities has
not been interviewed by any law enforcement agency. His reason for reaching out to
external agencies, as opposed to advising his supervisors, was that he had witnessed the
treatment bestowed on John Kim, a colleague who had earlier attempted to alert his
supervisors within the district. Mr. John Kim, an account technician for the district, early
on discovered what he perceived to be fraudulent activity on the part of food services
personnel. However, when he attempted to alert senior district managers, according to
insiders, he was reportedly severely castigated by supervisors and he wound up on
medical stress leave for nearly 39 months. We cited Mr. Kim’s name because he has
already spoken publicly about his ordeal. It was not until the new Board members took
office recently that Mr. Kim was allowed to return to his position of employment. In
effect, it is the perception of LULAC and many other observers that district personnel
who attempted to conduct themselves in a responsible and law abiding manner, by
attempting to report the perceived fraud, were seemingly abandoned by the previous
Board of Trustees, senior managers of the district, and various County investigative
agencies that appeared to turn a blind eye to one of the most flagrant acts of fraud and
fiscal mismanagement in the history of our local public school system

11. Present and former district staff informed our organization that one Trustee was very
involved in personally directing the purchasing decisions of the district, something that in
most public settings would be considered highly unethical and an act of malfeasance. In
one case, this Trustee reportedly overturned the decision of a school principal who sought
to use a less costly vendor to order and purchase school rings for his senior class. In
effect, students and their parents wound up paying more than needed in order to appease
the one Trustee who directed the school principal to engage a different, more costly
vendor. Our research tells us that districts that adhere to what is considered acceptable
purchasing guidelines would never allow a Trustee to direct the purchasing decisions of a
district. This practice also brings into play the professional integrity of senior fiscal
officers of the district who ultimately approve and/or disapprove all fiscal decisions.

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12. Our organization, like so many other observers, has been very concerned about the fact
that certain sitting Trustees had school buildings named after themselves without any
regard to the perception or sentiments of the community they were elected to serve. In an
effort to identify and better understand the prevailing standard and criteria for naming
school buildings after individuals, LULAC conducted a random survey into districts
across the country to determine if there is a standard policy for this process. Following is
an abbreviated description of our findings:

 Our research revealed that the process of naming buildings within public high
schools is usually tied to the overall naming of the school itself and not buildings.
The naming of buildings seems to be a preoccupation of colleges and universities
which use that opportunity to raise significant levels of funding that they receive
from respective donors. For example, Duke University requires that the sponsoring
donor or the candidate pay for a minimum of half the costs of constructing the
building to be named.

 The most common criterions used to select an individual to have a school or building
named after them usually include having made significant contributions to the
school, the community, and in many cases, the nation (i.e. Presidents). For example,
the community of Columbia, Missouri recently (November 2010) named their new
high school after Muriel Williams Battle (1918-2003). Ms. Battle and her husband
are credited with leading the charge, decades ago, on desegregation of Columbia’s
schools. According to a related story in the local press, The Missourian, the high
school district’s “Board has a policy against naming buildings after living people.”

 At school districts that we examined, school board members still in office are not
eligible to be considered for having a building named after them because, at a
minimum, it is considered a gross conflict of interest since the sitting official has a
say in the overall budget of the institution. In effect, most institutions reserve the
naming of buildings for individuals who are retired from public life or deceased.

 In the state of New Mexico no living person can have a state owned building named
after them.

 In the state of Washington critics of elected officials who have buildings named after
them are referred to as partaking in an indulgence referred to as “Monuments to
Me.”

 In Texas, congressional leaders have called for a ban on the practice of legislators
orchestrating the naming of buildings after themselves.

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  Our review of Board minutes pertaining to the nomination of Robert Valles as the
name that would be given to the Performing Arts Building at Pacifica High School is
of great concern to our membership. Per Board minutes, the naming of that building
after Mr. Valles was initiated per a public request to the Board by Bill Dabbs, the
principal of Pacifica High School, an act that in any other school district would have
been treated as a major conflict of interest since Mr. Dabbs essentially works for the
Board. Mr. Dabbs has since been promoted to Assistant Superintendent of
Educational Services, an achievement that caught the attention of many observers
who were startled by the fact that he does not possess the advanced degrees usually
required of districts for this type of position.

 We understand there are other buildings within the district named after other current
and/or former Board members and that the process to orchestrate those namings was
similar to our interpretation of what transpired with the naming of the Performing
Arts Center at Pacifica High School.

III. INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

Our interpretation of the noted findings, in aggregate form, is that they serve as clear indicators
of a system of malgovernance that was maintained by the previous Board majority. In other
words, leadership and leading by example really does start at the top. If the individuals elected
by the public to lead our school districts are using their power to act in such a self-serving and
unethical manner, what can we expect from the district’s senior managers who are subject to a
power dynamic that tells them to do the Board’s bidding or risk losing their position? While
this lack of courage (or collision) to do the right thing and stand up to malgovernance does not
excuse the conduct of senior administrators, it clearly explains the culture of cronyism and
clonism that has dominated the district for so many years. The findings that we uncovered in
Public Records documents clearly illustrate an attitude of outright arrogance and total disdain
towards the voters who put them in office. Ultimately, the victims of this malgovernance are the
students. The reimbursement to the federal government alone for the mismanaged lunch
program will cost the district millions of dollars, a set-back that will no doubt be felt in the
classrooms across the district.

At a more specific level, we were quite concerned to find that Trustees are allowed to use
district credit cards to make direct purchases for such items as stationary and office equipment.
It is our understanding that Trustees are supposed to be far removed from the actual and
operational scene of a school district and should they justifiably ever need access to supplies or
technological equipment, the purchasing department of the district, per approval of the
Superintendent, is more than able to provide those types of items - - while at the same time
adhering to all general accounting principles. On the other hand, why are Trustees being

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allowed to use district credit cards to personally and directly purchase computer equipment and
office supplies? Also, have former Trustees Robert Valles and Ken Benefield returned to the
district all equipment purchased for their personal use at home? In addition, it was also quite
alarming to find that Trustee Steve Stocks is routinely allowed to use district resources without
providing itemized receipts, as was detailed in Attachment A. Our concern has merit. The
absence of complete and itemized receipts for expenditures made by a school Trustee in a
neighboring school district has resulted in an aggressive criminal investigation by local police
authorities.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on our completed review of documents received thus far, we would like to present the
following recommendations and/or observations to the Board of Trustees. Again, it is not our
intent to insult the integrity of the district and the Board by meddling in what the new Board
majority may already be addressing. It is our intent to address what we perceive to be a long-
standing condition of systemic malgovernance and misconduct.

1. That the district issue a Resolution reaffirming its duty and commitment to abide by the
general accounting principles expected and usually required of public agencies.

2. That the Board of Trustees issue a Resolution reaffirming its commitment to the standard
duties and responsibilities of an elected school official, with a reassertion that managing
or partaking in the direct operations of the district, in particular dealing with vendors, is
not an appropriate function for such individuals.

3. That the Assistant Superintendent of Fiscal Services be directed by the Board to refrain
from approving any expenditure, from any employee or elected official, deemed
disallowable or inappropriate for a publicly funded agency.

4. That the issuance of credit cards to Trustees and district personnel be discontinued as a
practice of the district. Other districts that we consulted in the area use travel agencies to
book airline tickets. These firms then bill the district office for the cost of the flight. In
addition, nearly every hotel in the country honors the use of Purchase Order numbers to
pay for lodging if arranged with due notice. Registration for most associations and
conferences can also be procured through the assistance of the district’s fiscal office and
purchase orders numbers. In effect, with exception to meals, district personnel who must
travel would not have to use much in the way of personal funds to attend conferences and
other similar events, for which they would be reimbursed later by the district.

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5. That district personnel and/or elected officials be prohibited from using any credit card to
make personal purchases of equipment (i.e. computers), supplies, gasoline, or other items
and that such items, if deemed appropriate, be procured through the district’s purchasing
department. Again, if Trustees are not involved in the day-to-day work needed to operate
the district, why are they being issued equipment and supplies?

6. That the Human Resource Department convert to a Purchase Order billing system to
purchase food for legitimate HR activities (i.e. committees), as opposed to using a credit
card to make on-the-spot purchases. While we found no evidence to support the
contention that malfeasance of any sort is occurring within this context, given the overall
systemic problems with the district’s current state of affairs pertaining to the fiscal arena,
this recommendation is designed to address the public’s perception that malfeasance is
rampant throughout administrative circles of the district. The purchase order process
establishes a process of ‘checks and balances.”

7. That former Board members Robert Valles and Ken Benefield return all equipment and
unused supplies that they purchased during their time on the Board through the use of
district funds.

8. That the Board investigate what appears to be a highly irregular process for the
purchasing of T-shirts, jackets, and other items for the district’s athletic programs. We are
specifically recommending that the Board make an inquiry as to the matter of the high
school principle who was reprimanded for doing what all other principals and Trustees
apparently do with little restraint. It is our belief that an investigation into this incident
will serve to cast light on what is nothing more than a highly abusive personnel system
designed to castigate managers and staff who fall out of favor with the Superintendent
and/or the previous Board majority.

9. That the Board of Trustees direct the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent of
Fiscal Services to cooperate fully with any law enforcement agency seeking to probe into
the matter of the school lunch situation.

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 10. That the Board of Trustees initiate contact with local law enforcement personnel, the
District Attorney’s Office, and the Grand Jury to ensure that all key personnel within the
district office were interviewed regarding first-hand information that they may have
regarding the theft of money involving the school lunch program, deliberate fraud that
may have been committed, internal investigations that were never unveiled to authorities,
and any other information that authorities may want to investigate.

11. That the Board of Trustees form a neutral, objective committee made up of community
members, community leaders, and faculty to review the process and the criteria that were
used to select and name school buildings after current and former Trustees. If the inquiry
and the process serves to validate the perception that the process previously used was
tainted with conflict of interest, we would strongly recommend that a process to rename
the pertinent buildings be initiated so that the district’s integrity is restored.

SUMMARY

It is a foregone conclusion that the matter of malgovernance within the Oxnard Union High
School District over the past two decades not only served to bring the community to its feet, it
served to galvanize the community in a manner that has not been seen in our area for a long time.
The response of the community, which was most telling on Election Day, amounted to a
concerted effort to reclaim our schools and the educational destiny of our youth. LULAC is
proud to have been a part of such a worthwhile cause and we are hopeful that, with the new
Board majority, our high school district will now have an opportunity to restore some semblance
of ethical, honest, and fair-minded governance.

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