Facilities Spending: Letter to Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee
Buena Vista Horace Mann and other schools deserve answers
Reports about the facilities conditions at Buena Vista Horace Mann from last month and 2019 are heartbreaking. Where is the transparency and accountability for facilities spending? Please find below my letter to the President of the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC), dated a month ago. Opinion piece.
Facilities Spending is in focus at 3 Board of Education meetings this week.
- Buildings and Grounds Committee, Monday 9/27 5 pm- Buena Vista Horace Mann, Ventilators, Status of bond projects.
- Board Meeting Tuesday 9/28 5 pm, item J2, next $284 million bond draw proposal.
- Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, Wednesday 9/29, 12 pm, 2018 and 2019 audit review
August 19, 2021
President Hsu,
Thank you and the entire CBOC membership for all the dedicated hard work into bringing Citizen Oversight back to the SFUSD facilities spending. The work of District staff is appreciated but can be much more forthcoming.
I have been one of the public to get this Committee relaunched after its sudden and long hiatus. I have attended, by video, almost every CBOC meeting these past few months. This email letter is my collection of thoughts as the Committee approaches the time to write the Board of Education about their review of 2018 and 2019 audits. You are welcome to share this document with other CBOC members.
Audits. The audits are adequate in that they cover the work asked of them. It is hard to tell if the auditor is trying to protect his relationship with an organization which provides him audit work of the general budget, facilities, peef and parcel tax. I would encourage the auditor to do more in terms of looking into items brought up in the meetings that can reassure the public.
Financial statements. The annual documents provided by the Bond staff are helpful. Further details per site are needed. They have not been delivered. There is no explanation about how projects are chosen. There is no explanation of expected project expenses prior to initiation. There is little information about technology spending, the proposed Arts Building, the new schools, nutrition, or teacher housing.
Other scope of CBOC. There has been no explanation or proof of efforts to reduce construction costs. There has been no explanation or proof of efforts to reduce administration costs. There have been no site tours. Contract modifications appear to routinely green light unnecessary additional work. With the disclosure that facility bonds were used for operational efforts in one instance, more instances are suspected.
CBOC membership. Two members appear to have no interest in attending. Certain members appear less than prepared. More members, esp. professionals with construction or architecture backgrounds, are needed now.
I encourage your report to include all the areas that are within the CBOC scope that need improvement to reassure the public. Time is passing. The 2020 audit is late by several months. If there is indeed a commitment to make a “best practice” CBOC, much needs to improve. At this point, people I speak to see poor or insufficient documentation, avoidance of answers, and warm promises to do better someday. Many have their doubts about approving another facilities bond proposal.
Laurance Lee