Auditors Begin Review of School District Finances

Auditors began a special review of the Bonita Unified School District’s financial records Tuesday at the request of the school board, ratcheting up concerns about the district where last month the superintendent was placed on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into undisclosed allegations.

The La Verne accounting firm of Vincenti, Lloyd & Stutzman is conducting a special audit of the district’s financial records and results are expected in three to four weeks, school officials said.

“This has absolutely no connection to Supt. [Ron] Raya’s absence,” said district spokeswoman Barbara Ward. “It was determined by the board that an independent audit should be done beyond the regular annual audit. It has no connection to investigations we have ongoing.”

School district officials say the audit authorized by the board Sept. 25 targets no one individual employee, nor does it stem from a specific allegation. It will explore procedural problems as well as finances. The board said it feels justified spending up to $15,000 on the audit to ensure that the district is in good shape, Ward said.

Board President Ed Jones and an accountant conducting the audit did not return calls Tuesday. The district includes La Verne and San Dimas.

Earlier this year a school district official was the subject of an investigation by the district attorney’s office. In February, prosecutors declined to file charges against Bradley Patterson, the district’s then-assistant director of facilities and maintenance, after allegations of conflict of interest were made about his relationship with a firm used by the district.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Goul found that Patterson received a loan from the vendor who had contracts with the district, but concluded that it could not prove any reciprocal agreement existed, according to a prosecutor’s report. Patterson has since left the district.

The latest turmoil at the school district began Sept. 16 when the board placed Raya on paid administrative leave, saying he was the subject of an ongoing internal investigation. In a statement, the board said the district in June had hired an attorney to investigate allegations, but citing possible litigation and Raya’s privacy rights, refused to divulge details.