By Charly SHELTON

At the first Glendale Unified School District Board of Education meeting for the coming school year, held on July 26, the board passed an item on the consent calendar that caught the eyes of some in the Crescenta Valley. The motion approved was to hire the accounting firm of Vincenti, Lloyd and Stutzman to provide “forensic accounting and financial investigative services” in the investigation of a district-affiliated group at Crescenta Valley High School, according to the contract.

Vincenti, Lloyd and Stutzman will look into the bookkeeping and business practices of a specific support group from CVHS which has been less than transparent, wrote GUSD Superintendent Winfred Roberson Jr. in an email response to questions by CV Weekly.

“Hiring an outside firm to conduct this audit helps the GUSD maintain objectivity and contain costs while looking at one non-responsive golf booster from two years ago,” Roberson said. “It’s important to know that this booster has stepped down and policies and administrative regulations have been updated to ensure better transparency. For clarity, there were no parents involved in that former golf booster organization. Other GUSD connected organizations have been responsive and transparent in their fundraising.

“We’ve established an internal audit process and boosters will be reviewed through random selection,” said Roberson. “For clarity, PTA is not a part of our audit process. They have established their own transparent and rigorous audit processes.”

The outside investigation is not occurring with any other school or any other organization.

Other booster groups and district-affiliated groups have been forthcoming with their bookkeeping and maintain a practice of transparent oversight. But when a concern was raised over this since-disbanded golf booster, action was taken to ensure that the funds raised for GUSD students and their activities were used responsibly.

“GUSD shares a healthy partnership with its school connected organizations. A hallmark of GUSD’s success is the unwavering volunteerism and financial support from parents and community members who care about their schools,” Roberson said. “We want all parents to know that GUSD values their financial contributions and we are committed to providing families the assurance that their dollars are being spent appropriately by school connected organizations.”

  Charly Shelton