A senator’s request for the California State Auditor’s office to review the administration practices of the Orange County Board of Education has been approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

The audit was requested in response to a series of actions by the Board of Education that Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, said have raised concerns about “governance, legal risk and the use of taxpayer resources.”

As examples, Umberg cited opposition by the board to implementing the California Healthy Youth Act; board members’ efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to reopen schools “without public health safeguards” and entering into litigation over the issue; “controversial charter school approvals;” and lawsuits the board has filed over state policy and the county district’s internal governance.

“The people of Orange County deserve transparency, accountability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” he said in a statement. “For years, serious concerns have been raised about the board’s governance, litigation practices and policy decisions. This audit is an important step toward ensuring that public resources are being used appropriately and that the focus remains on serving students and families.”

A statement on the board’s website said it will cooperate fully with the audit process in respect of the public’s right to accountability.

The audit request, submitted by Umberg on March 3, was approved following a public hearing that included testimony from Umberg, the state auditor, people who opposed and supported the idea and members of the public.

“The notion that the Orange County Board of Education has engaged in improprieties is an absurdity,” Jorge Valdes, the board’s District 1 trustee, said. “The only things the audit will reveal are what someone with a pre-determined outcome wants to find.

Valdes said that he and his fellow board members will make the entire process very transparent by posting the auditor’s requests and the answers that the board sends back on the OCBOE website so the public can see for itself.

He argued the audit request includes no identified complaints in key legal areas over the past five years, no verified legal findings that match claims raised publicly, and that there is a clear legal distinction between the roles of the board and county superintendent, which is an elected position.

The board often clashed with then-Superintendent Al Mijares, who retired in early 2024 amid health issues. Superintendent Stefan Bean, who was appointed by the board in 2024 to fill a vacancy, is facing no challenger in June’s primary election.

Valdes said he believes that Umberg’s primary motivation is the lawsuits the board has been involved in.

“What he leaves out is that we have zero litigation costs for the past year,” Valdes said.

Among the lawsuits during the timeframe the audit will look at is the 2020 litigation when the board sued Gov. Gavin Newsom, challenging state school mask mandates and closure orders; and litigation from 2019 through 2022 when the board sued Mijares and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, arguing they violated the board’s right to control its budget and that the board had the right to hire a separate attorney. At least one of those lawsuits cost taxpayers nearly $3.2 million.

“We had a significant legal disagreement,” Valdes said over control of the approximately $450 million budget. “(Mijares) was taking a position, I think, that was contrary to law, and once again, I thought it was a significant enough issue to see that litigation to its fruition, which we settled with Dr. Bean in a very satisfactory way for the board.”

“When I vote, I always look to how am I going to protect parents and kids in Orange County,” Valdes said. “That’s central to me in every vote I make. If you take away our ability to manage the budget, then I’m taking away the voice of someone who elected me. If we’re not allowed to hire our own lawyer, you’re taking away our voice. People elect us to be their voice; I take that seriously.”

Valdes also said, after hearing Umberg’s testimony, it’s clear to him that “he doesn’t like the way we approve charter schools.”

“This is a policy debate (charter schools) that’s going on throughout California,” he said. “Having walked hundreds of homes in Santa Ana and Anaheim in the past election. the issue of parental choice is probably a 70-30 issue with Sen. Umberg being on the 30% side. This is a widely popular belief that parents should have the right to control and direct where their children go to school. Many of my constituents are unhappy with their local school district, and they want these other options.”

Ken Williams, the vice president of the school board, said he believes the audit is purely a political effort by Umberg, who is running in the June primary for the Board of Equalization, and opponents of the conservative-leaning county board.

“Why are they investigating a local county board of education, which has never happened in the last 20 or 30 years, and has probably never happened by the state auditor?” Williams asked. “Why are they investigating a county board of education that does all of its decision-making in public, rather than looking at something they can audit for waste and fraud?”

Along with reviewing the Board of Education’s litigation activity, and whether it is fiscally prudent, the audit’s approved scope includes whether the board’s decisions comply with federal and state laws and transparancy requirements and assessing effects on student outcomes; whether its use of “public resources” comply with laws and grant requirements; whether contracts it’s awarded follow rules and best practices; review of charter school approvals and oversight; and review handling of employee complaints, among other issues.

The state auditor’s office has not given a timeline for the review, but it is expected to take at least six months.

Read more here: OC Register