Feb 14, 2024 Audit Committee Meeting Agenda and Notice

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GOOD AFTERNOON, AND WELCOME TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PLEASE STAND AND JOIN US FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE AND

[1. Notice and Return]

[2. Moment of Silence and Pledge of Allegiance]

UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

TEXAS. CITY.

TEXAS. ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE.

FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE IN ATTENDANCE.

[3. Acknowledgements]

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE ARE NON-VOTING COMMITTEE MEMBERS MONICA FRAZIER AND CHRIS LEWIS.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I AM NOT SEEING ANY OTHER TRUSTEES PRESENT.

WE'RE JOINED BY OUR SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, DOCTOR STEPHANIE ELIZALDE.

AND I AM EDWIN FLORES, THE COMMITTEE CHAIR.

DESPITE MY BETTER JUDGMENT, I WAS TOLD THAT I NEED TO READ ALL THIS STUFF.

SO IN ORDER FOR THE BOARD TO HOLD THIS MEETING IN AN EFFECTIVE MANNER, I WANT TO LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THE MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED IN AN ORDERLY FASHION AND ASK THE PUBLIC TO ABIDE BY THE RULES OUTLINED IN BOARD POLICY BED LOCAL PERTAINING TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE FOR A PERSON WITH INTENT TO PREVENT OR DISRUPT A LAWFUL MEETING, TO SUBSTANTIALLY OBSTRUCT OR INTERFERE WITH THE ORDINARY COURT CONDUCT OF A MEETING BY PHYSICAL ACTION OR VERBAL UTTERANCE, AND THEREBY CURTAIL THE EXPRESSION OF OTHERS.

FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.

SPEAKERS ARE CAUTIONED THAT WHAT THEY SAY COULD VIOLATE THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS UNDER THE LAW OF DEFAMATION OR INVASION OF PRIVACY.

IF THEY ARE UNSURE OF THE LEGAL EFFECT OF THEIR REMARKS, THEY MAY WANT TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE PRIOR TO THE UTTERANCE.

ANY PERSON WOULD BECOME BOISTEROUS, DISRUPTIVE, OR FAILS TO ABIDE BY THE RULES OF THIS ASSEMBLY.

WHILE ADDRESSING THE BOARD OR WHILE ATTENDING THIS MEETING SHALL BE ASKED TO LEAVE.

FAILURE TO LEAVE WHEN REQUESTED TO DO SO, MAY RESULT IN THE PERSON BEING ESCORTED FROM THE MEETING AND SUBJECT TO ARREST.

WE ARE NOW OUR AGENDA NOW CALLS FROM THE PUBLIC FORUM SEGMENT OF OUR MEETING.

HOWEVER, I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.

THEREFORE, WE WILL GO ON TO OUR ACTION ITEMS.

[5. Action Items/Reports]

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9TH, 2023? MOVE TO APPROVE.

OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

THERE ARE NO CORRECTIONS. TRUSTEES.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

ALL RIGHT. THREE ZERO.

OKAY. WE HAVE NOW ADOPTED THE MOTION APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER 9TH, 2023.

[6. Closed Session - The Board will retire to closed session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551 concerning the following sections:]

WE EXPECT IT TO BE VERY, VERY SHORT.

THE TIME IS 2:07 P.M., AND WE ARE IN CLOSED SESSION, AND WE'LL BE BACK AT THIS.

OKAY. ARE WE READY? OKAY.

THE TIME IS 2:15 AND WE ARE BACK IN OPEN SESSION.

THE BOARD TOOK NO ACTION IN CLOSED SESSION.

ALSO, TRUSTEE SARAH WEINBERG, DISTRICT TWO IS JOINING US ONLINE, I BELIEVE, JUST LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW THAT SHE'S HERE.

AND, SARAH, JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

JUST SINCE WE CAN'T SEE YOU, YOUR LITTLE HAND ON THE SCREEN, JUST YELL OUT AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

OKAY. SO THE NEXT ACTION IS TO CONSIDER AND TAKE POSSIBLE ACTION TO ACCEPT AND MAKE FINAL, FINAL INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS.

SO I GUESS WE'LL DO THE MOTION AND THEN WE'LL RECEIVE THE REPORTS THAT THE.

OKAY, MOVE TO APPROVE ANOTHER ONE.

MOVED BY TRUSTEE MITCHELL, SECONDED BY TRUSTEE FOREMAN THAT WE ACCEPT AND MAKE FINAL THE INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS.

THANK YOU TRUSTEE FLORES. TRUSTEES, SUPERINTENDENT, ROBERT RUBLE CHIEF INTERNAL AUDIT OFFICER.

WE'RE HERE TO PRESENT FOR AUDITS.

FIRST ONE IS TRUANCY, AND I HAVE MY AUDIT MANAGER, SAM WILSON, HERE WITH ME TODAY.

GOOD AFTERNOON TRUSTEES, SUPERINTENDENT.

MY NAME IS SAM WILSON, AUDIT MANAGER WITH THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT.

AND I'M HERE TO DISCUSS THE TRUANCY AUDIT.

ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GRAD DEPARTMENT AT DALLAS ISD IS TO MANAGE THE DISTRICT'S TRUANCY PROGRAM.

HAVING SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES WITHIN THE TRUANCY PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT PROMOTES ACADEMIC SUCCESS, HELPS REDUCE DROPOUTS, AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE SAFETY AND WELFARE OF STUDENTS. THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT DID NOT NOTE ANY OBSERVATIONS AS A RESULT OF THIS AUDIT.

AND WE WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND GRADS LEADERSHIP AND STAFFORD'S EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND TRACKING OF TRUANCY ACTIVITIES.

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TRUSTEES, ANY QUESTIONS? ADVISORY MEMBERS? OKAY. I WILL ACCEPT THE NEXT REPORT.

TRUSTEES, NEXT REPORT IS SOCIAL NETWORK MANAGEMENT AUDIT CHALLENGE.

THERE YOU GO. SAM IS HERE AGAIN TO HELP OUT.

YES. AND SO SOCIAL MEDIA HAS RAPIDLY REVOLUTIONIZED THE WAY INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS COMMUNICATE.

SOCIAL MEDIA, WELL MANAGED, PROVIDES THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE BRAND AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PUBLIC.

ONLINE COMMUNICATION HAS THE ABILITY TO EASILY AND QUICKLY REACH LARGE AUDIENCES.

ADDITIONALLY, IT ALLOWS FOR GENERALLY LESS EXPENSIVE FORM OF ADVERTISING AND MARKETING.

CURRENTLY, THE DISTRICT UTILIZES FOUR PRIMARY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, X, OR CURRENTLY OR FORMERLY KNOWN AS TWITTER AND YOUTUBE.

THESE PLATFORMS ARE USED FOR DISTRICT WIDE ACCOUNTS AS WELL AS FOR INDIVIDUAL CAMPUSES AND DEPARTMENTS.

IT IS ALSO COMMON FOR CAMPUSES TO HAVE FACEBOOK PAGES, GROUPS AND INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS FOR INDIVIDUAL CLUBS, SPORTS CLASSES, ETC..

THE COMMUNICATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY MAINTAINS THE CONTENT AND ENGAGEMENT, FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT ACCOUNTS, AND THE CAMPUSES AND DEPARTMENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THEIR INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AS WELL AS THE CONTENT POSTED TO THEM.

WHEN THE CONDUCTING THE AUDIT IA INTERNAL AUDIT HEAVILY RESEARCHED THE BEST PRACTICES IN THIS SPACE, AS THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF REGULATIONS THAT PROVIDE SPECIFIC GUIDANCE ON HOW TO BEST MANAGE AND MITIGATE THE INHERENT RISKS THAT ACCOMPANY SOCIAL MEDIA.

AS A RESULT, INTERNAL AUDIT PROVIDED RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ADDRESS SOME OF THE IDENTIFIED RISKS.

THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION PROVIDES FOR GREATER OVERSIGHT OF THE CAMPUS SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS BY FIRST DETERMINING AN INVENTORY OF THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE ACCOUNTS THAT ALREADY EXIST, AND THEN TO SET UP A PROCESS FOR CAMPUSES AND DEPARTMENTS TO NOTIFY COMMUNICATION SERVICES WHEN NEW SOCIAL ACCOUNTS ARE CREATED, AS WELL AS WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING THE ACCOUNTS.

THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION SUGGESTS DEVELOPING SOME GUIDELINES AND POTENTIALLY SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFIGURING SECURITY SETTINGS ON VARIOUS, VARIOUS PLATFORMS BASED ON PLATFORMS CAPABILITIES.

THE THIRD RECOMMENDATION INVOLVES THE CONTENT THAT IS POSTED TO DISTRICT AFFILIATED ACCOUNTS, BECAUSE CAMPUSES ARE CREATING A LOT OF THE CONTENT ON THEIR PAGES, ACCOUNTS AND GROUPS, ETC.

AND BECAUSE SOME CAMPUS STAFF HAVE A BETTER GRASP OF SOCIAL MEDIA THAN OTHERS, WE RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES SHOULD BE ENHANCED TO REDUCE THE POTENTIAL FOR INEFFECTIVE, INAPPROPRIATE AND OR UNCOORDINATED MESSAGING, WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN INCREASED REPUTATIONAL RISK FOR THE DISTRICT.

THE LAST RECOMMENDATION IS TO HAVE SOME UNIFORM BRANDING GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS.

WHEN CONDUCTING THE AUDIT, WE NOTICED THAT THERE WERE OFTEN SEVERAL PAGES, ESPECIALLY ON FACEBOOK.

FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CAMPUSES, IT WAS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN WHICH PAGE, ACCOUNT, GROUP, ETC.

WAS THE OFFICIAL AFFILIATED ACCOUNT.

IF GUIDELINES WERE DEVELOPED THAT REQUIRED CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF THE ACCOUNTS, WERE CONSISTENT WITH DISTRICT IMAGING THAT ACCOUNTS CONTAINED A CLEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DISTRICT IN THE PAGE NAME OR PROFILE DESCRIPTION OR BIO, AND REQUIRED DEVELOPMENT OF A DISTRICT WIDE DIRECTORY OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, PAGES AND GROUPS, ETC.

THEN THE END USER WOULD BE A BETTER ABLE TO IDENTIFY DISTRICT AFFILIATED ACCOUNTS AND REDUCE ANY POTENTIAL CONFUSION.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. QUESTIONS, TRUSTEES.

ANY QUESTIONS? TRUSTEE FOREMAN.

YES. SO IN DOING THE AUDIT, DID YOU REACH OUT TO ANY OTHER PUBLIC ENTITIES TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA? WE DID SOME RESEARCH WITH OTHER DISTRICTS AND UNIVERSITIES TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

SO WE DID HAVE SOME BEST PRACTICES IN RELATED ENVIRONMENTS.

YES. SO I REFERRED TO PUBLIC ENTITIES AS NOT JUST SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND UNIVERSITIES.

I'M REFERRING TO CITIES, COUNTIES, PUBLIC ENTITIES OF A LARGE NATURE LIKE WE HAVE THAT IS DISAGGREGATED AS THIS DISTRICT IS, TO BE ABLE TO GET A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF, WE ALL KNOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS TRICKY, AND THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.

AND WE ALL KNOW WE HAVE TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA.

SO I JUST THINK IT'S REALLY GOOD FOR US, SUPERINTENDENT, TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT OTHER ENTITIES TO SEE HOW THEY ARE MANAGING, BECAUSE I'VE NOTICED OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE HAS BECOME MORE PREVALENT IN THE LAST YEAR.

MAYBE. AND SO LOOKING AT OTHER ENTITIES, I THINK IT'S A BEST PRACTICE FOR ME BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO RECREATE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.

THANK YOU.

TRUSTEE MICCICHE.

YEAH, I REALIZE THIS IS GOING TO BE A DIFFICULT TASK BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF ACCOUNTS THAT ARE SUPPORTIVE, SAY, OF A PARTICULAR

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SO YOU. YOU MIGHT HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE FOR, YOU KNOW, X ELEMENTARY, AND THEN YOU WOULD HAVE ANOTHER FACEBOOK PAGE THAT ARE FRIENDS OF X ELEMENTARY. AND YOU KNOW, SO THE ONLY ONES THAT, THE DISTRICT WOULD HAVE CONTROL OVER IS THE OFFICIAL CAMPUS ONE.

AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE USING THE WORD OFFICIAL OR SOMETHING WOULD HELP DISTINGUISH IT.

BUT I, I'M JUST RECOGNIZING THE PROBLEM.

AND I APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS TO BRING SOME ORDER TO THIS AREA.

THANK YOU. WELL, YES, TRUSTEE MICCICHE IF I MAY ADD, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE HAD DONE AN AUDIT IN THIS AREA.

A VERY COMPLICATED, AS YOU SAY.

COMMUNICATION STAFF IS HERE TO ANSWER MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

THEY'RE DEFINITELY THE EXPERT IN THIS, BUT I THINK IT WAS GOOD TO RAISE AWARENESS IN SOME OF THESE AREAS, AND THEY APPEAR TO BE WORKING TOWARD THAT GOAL.

THANK YOU. HEY, CHRIS.

I APOLOGIZE IF THIS ISN'T IMPORTANT, I JUST, ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC TOOLS OR SOLUTIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY USED TO AT LEAST TRY TO SOMEWHAT GET TO A POINT WHERE THEY'RE BURIED IN A BETTER POSITION TO CENTRALLY MANAGE, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS? I KNOW THERE'S TOOLS, SPRINKLR AND SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS ARE USING WHERE THEY CAN HAVE A BETTER GRIP ON THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS THAT THEY PROVISION AND PROVIDE TO THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF.

YEAH. SHELLY KELLY, AUDIT DIRECTOR WITH INTERNAL AUDIT.

YEAH. SO THAT CAME UP OBVIOUSLY IN OUR RESEARCH.

HOOTSUITE WAS A BIG ONE.

AND SO I THINK THAT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE BEST PRACTICE THINGS THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE BEST TO LOOK IN.

I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH SEGREGATED, YOU KNOW, AREAS ARE USING THAT.

SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT MENTION.

OKAY. TRUSTEE WEINBERG.

OKAY. NOW, SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS.

I THINK THESE THINGS POP UP EVERY NOW AND THEN THAT WE WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT OF DOING, OR REALLY KIND OF KEEPING AN EYE ON TO THE EXTENT THAT WE ARE.

AND THE MORE THAT WE DO USE SOCIAL MEDIA.

AND I ALSO NOTICED THIS, INFORMAL DATA, VERY SIGNIFICANT, VERY POSITIVE INCREASE IN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND ACCOUNTS.

SO. IT'S INSTAGRAMS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, WHICH I THINK ARE GREAT BECAUSE THEY PUT IN THE DISTRICT, LIKE SOMETIMES WE GET CLOSE TO THAT.

SO WE APPRECIATE YOU LOOKING AND INCORPORATING THIS AS PART OF THE AUDIT.

ALRIGHT. SO WE HAVE NO QUESTIONS ON THAT.

WE'LL MOVE ON TO REPORT NUMBER FIVE, BRISBANE CONTROLS.

THANK YOU. TRUSTEE. THIS WAS A REQUEST.

WE HAVE AUDIT HOURS IN THE PLAN FOR CAMPUS BASED AUDITS.

THIS WAS A REQUEST DIRECTLY FROM THE PRINCIPAL AT HEXTER.

HE RECOGNIZED SOME SOME ISSUES IN ACTIVITY FUNDS AND SOME OTHER OFFICE OPERATIONS.

SO WE WENT INTO THAT SCHOOL, IDENTIFIED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON DIRECTLY RELATED TO ACTIVITY FUNDS OR TO CONTROL OVERSIGHT BANK REX, CASH RECEIPTS, CASH DISBURSEMENTS, FUNDRAISER APPROVALS, DONATION ACCEPTANCE.

A LOT OF THINGS. I THINK SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, I'M GLAD SHE REACHED OUT.

WE WERE ABLE TO TO HELP OUT AND IDENTIFY THESE, A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE, YOU KNOW, FOR THEM TO MOVE IT TO THE NEXT STEP.

THERE WAS A QUESTION THAT CAME UP AND SOME ISSUES ON, YOU KNOW, TO TUITION COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, THAT RAISED SOME OTHER ISSUES ON, YOU KNOW, HOW BEST THAT MIGHT BE DONE, MORE CENTRALIZED OR CAMPUS BASED, A LOT OF WORK AND DISCUSSION STILL GOING INTO ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED.

WE HAVE MANAGEMENT HERE.

AND ALSO WE'D BE GLAD TO ADDRESS ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? TRUSTEE FOREMAN.

YES. THE TUITION COLLECTION.

WHAT IS THE TUITION COLLECTION FOR HEXTER? DO WE KNOW THAT TOTAL TOTAL NUMBER FOR THE YEAR YOU KNOW.

AND WHAT ARE THEY COLLECTING IN TERMS OF TUITION.

SO DO WE KNOW THE TOTAL.

YEAH. SO IT'S FOR, PRE-K TUITION, CERTAIN.

ONLY CERTAIN STUDENTS QUALIFY FOR IT.

I BELIEVE IT'S ON AN INCOME BASED SCALE.

AND EARLY LEARNING IS ACTUALLY HERE TO ANSWER ANY LIKE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.

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IT'S A CERTAIN NUMBER.

I BELIEVE THERE WERE TEN STUDENTS THAT OWED PRE-K TUITION, AND IT'S 5100 A YEAR FOR ANNUALLY.

SO THAT'S THE STATS FOR HEXTER SPECIFICALLY.

OKAY, IS PRE-K HERE BECAUSE IF THAT'S AN ISSUE AT THAT CAMPUS, WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER CAMPUSES? WE WE DID HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AS THIS CAME UP.

TRUSTEE FOREMAN.

AND SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND LET ANGIE, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.

I THINK THE TEAM WILL BE BRINGING ME SOMETHING BECAUSE THIS HIGHLIGHTED THAT WHILE THIS IS THE PROCESS AT THIS SCHOOL, THEN WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE ACROSS EACH OF THE CAMPUSES? CHIEF GAYNOR CURRENTLY THE OFFICE.

CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO PATHWAYS.

WE'VE GOT RED TRACK WHERE YOU CAN GO IN AND PAY YOUR TUITION ONLINE, OR WE HAVE THE OPTION WHERE YOU CAN WALK INTO THE CAMPUS AND PAY TO THE OFFICE MANAGER AND THE CAMPUS VIACHECK. AND SO FROM THAT, THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT AND EARLY LEARNINGWORKED TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING AN INVENTORY AND MAKING SURE ALL OF THE STUDENTS HAVE PAID THAT. IN THIS SITUATION, WE FOUND OUT THAT WE JUST NEED TIGHTER CONTROLS TO ENSURE THAT IT'S MORE CENTRALIZED ACROSS THE BOARD.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT 147 TUITION BASED STUDENTS, AND JUST MAKING SURE IT'S MORE AUTOMATED AND CENTRALIZED SO THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING TO FOLLOW UP ONE BY ONE EACH MONTH.

SO HOW MANY CAMPUSES? THEY'D HAVE TUITION.

I'D HAVE TO GIVE YOU THAT LIST.

IT'S ACTUALLY IN OUR IN OUR REPORT THAT WE JUST BROUGHT YOU, BECAUSE WE JUST BROUGHT YOU THE AMOUNT.

BUT WE'VE GOT A LIST BETWEEN ALL FIVE REGIONS OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE OFFERING THE TUITION BASED PRE-K.

DID YOU GET THAT FOR ME? OKAY, BECAUSE I JUST LIKE TO KNOW, BECAUSE ONE ONE OF THE I GUESS ONE OF THE CONCERNS IS, IS THAT, WHILE THE OFFICE MANAGER COLLECTS THE CHECK ALONG WITH THE STAY AT THE SCHOOL.

WHEN DOES THE WHEN DOES IT WHEN DO THE DISTRICT RETRIEVE IT? LOTS OF THINGS CAN HAPPEN WITH THAT.

SO I'M JUST INTERESTED IN WHICH CAMPUSES AND HOW MANY STUDENTS.

OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU.

YEAH. SO FIRST I DO WANT TO APPLAUD PRINCIPAL SMITH FOR ASKING FOR YOUR FOR YOUR HELP WHEN SHE CAME IN TO THE SCHOOL AS, AS THE NEW PRINCIPAL TO KIND OF GET THAT UNDER CONTROL.

AND THEN THANK YOU FOR THE AUDIT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

I THINK NOT ONLY WITH RESPECT TO TUITION, BUT PROBABLY ACROSS THE BOARD, WE NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT.

ALL SCHOOLS TO FOLLOW.

HEXTER PROBABLY IS HANDLES MORE MONEY GENERALLY AND FUNDRAISERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND THAN MOST SCHOOLS.

BUT IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO HAVE ALL SCHOOLS HAVE SOME SORT OF TRAINING AND REQUIRED PROTOCOL FOR HANDLING MONEY. I'M SURPRISED THAT THERE WERE AS MANY DEFICIENCIES IN WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT THIS CAMPUS, BUT I I'M GUESSING THAT THERE IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE OTHERS THAT ARE THAT IF YOU DID DID AN AUDIT, WOULD YOU FIND THAT SO YOU KNOW SO SO WHILE THIS IS JUST ON HEXTER, WE NEED TO TAKE ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE MADE ABOUT HEXTER AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THAT AS OUR REGULAR PROTOCOL ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

THANK YOU.

JUST THE MAN.

I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT.

THAT I DO KNOW THAT THERE ARE CONTROLS IN PLACE IN THE SCHOOLS TO HANDLE MONEY.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE CONTROLS.

I THINK THIS IS A SITUATION THAT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE EXTENUATING, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE ACTIVITY FUNDS AND EVERY SCHOOL AND NOT YOU'VE DONE AUDITS ON MANY SCHOOLS THAT HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS. SO I THIS IS JUST A BIGGER ROCK.

I THINK THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED.

THAT WAS MY CONCERN.

TRUSTEE WEINBERG, YOUR QUESTION.

OKAY. I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN THAT THE PRINCIPAL ASKED YOU GUYS TO DO IT, AND I KNOW THAT IT GOES IN THERE AND. YOU CAN'T HEAR YOU, SARAH.

HOLD ON A SECOND.

[00:20:19]

YEAH. STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU.

NEED A JOB.

OH, NO.

OH, NO. OH.

DON'T WORRY. JUST GO. OH, YOU DON'T HAVE A QUESTION.

OKAY, SO SO JUST, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU GUYS FOR, YOU KNOW, DOING THE AUDIT, WHICH IS OUR JOB BUT YOUR JOB BUT ALSO FOR WORKING WITH THE CAMPUS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET THE TRAINING NECESSARY.

AND, YOU KNOW, THEY DO TRAIN EVERY YEAR AT EVERY CAMPUS JUST THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, NEW PEOPLE GET HIRED.

AND SO WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S WORKING WITH THE CAMPUS AS HELPING US VERY MUCH.

SO THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE REPORT NUMBER SIX, HEALTH MENTAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

JUST GOOD AFTERNOON, TRUSTEES AND SUPERINTENDENT.

MY NAME IS RICHARD QUINN AND AUDIT MANAGER AT THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT.

THE AUDIT FOCUS ON THE DISTRICT'S PROCESS AND CONTROLS OVER DATA MAINTAINED IN THE THIRD PARTY, WEB BASED ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEM.

WE REVIEWED INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER USER ACCESS, DATA, ACCURACY, IDENTITY AND HISTORY, AS WELL AS DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY.

WHILE THE CHANGES OVERSEEN BY THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THE PLATFORM IS USED TO PROCESS SENSITIVE STUDENT DATA, THEY MUST COMPLY WITH BOTH FERPA AND HIPAA PRIVACY LAWS. A RECOMMENDATION WAS MADE TO IMPROVE CONTROLS FOR RESTRICTING USER ACCESS AND ASSOCIATED AUTHORIZATIONS AND PRIVILEGES.

THAT'S MY PRESENTATION.

TRUSTEES. ANY QUESTIONS? TRUSTEE FOREMAN.

SO IS THIS A NEW SYSTEM FOR MENTAL HEALTH? YES, MA'AM. IT WAS IMPLEMENTED IN JANUARY OF LAST YEAR.

BECAUSE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF TALKING TO SOME OF THE CLINICIANS, THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF ISSUES WITH TRYING TO GET THE DATA IN.

SO ARE WE GOING TO GO BACK AND CHECK AND MAKE SURE THAT THE CLINICIANS ARE TRAINED APPROPRIATELY? IS THAT PART OF THIS PROCESS A PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION? I'M GOING TO ASK SOMEONE FROM MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES TO ADDRESS THAT.

YES. SO WE DID LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT THE APPLICATION CONTROLS, NOT NOT THE PROCESS BEHIND GETTING THE DATA IN.

SO I'M SURE WE CAN.

YEAH. SO I CAN START AND THEN DOCTOR BROWN CAN JUMP IN.

SO YES, IT WAS A NEW SYSTEM.

AND WE DID HAVE SOME CLINICIANS THAT STRUGGLED IN THE BEGINNING WITH GETTING THEIR DATA INTO THE SYSTEM.

AT THIS POINT, I BELIEVE WE'RE AT 78% OF OUR CLINICIANS ARE DOING REALLY WELL WITH THE SYSTEM.

WE STILL HAVE SOME THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS TO HELP THEM BE ABLE TO GET THEIR RECORDS INTO THE SYSTEM.

THE REASON I ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION IS BECAUSE SOME OF THE CLINICIANS HAVE HEAVIER CASELOADS THAN OTHERS, AND IT JUST SEEMS TO ME IT WOULD BE PRUDENT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE WITH THE HEAVIER CASELOADS, FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL AND AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR MAYBE A MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH CLINICIANS TO DO THE FORMULA THAT YOU ORIGINALLY THOUGHT WOULD BE WORKABLE.

SO YOU'VE NOW GOT SOME CLINICIANS THAT DOUBLE PASTE ON DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET ALL OF THAT DATA IN, ALONG WITH DOING THEIR DAILY WORK, SOMETIMES BECOMES A LITTLE BIT COMPLICATED.

SO I WAS ASKING THE QUESTION BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CONCERNS AND SOME CONCERNS, AND MAYBE DOCTOR BROWN CAN GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION.

YES, MA'AM. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE QUESTION, TRUSTEE FOREMAN.

AND WITH THOSE CLINICIANS THAT DO STRUGGLE, WE HAVE SENT OUR MANAGERS OUT TO THOSE CAMPUSES AND THEY HAVE WORKED ONE ON ONE WITH EACH ONE OF THOSE CLINICIANS TO WALK THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS.

AND I HAVE TO SAY, I JUST REVIEWED THE REPORT TODAY, AND EVEN THE 1 OR 2 THAT CONTINUED TO STRUGGLE, THEY'RE DOING QUITE WELL.

[00:25:09]

WE CONTINUE TO KEEP OUR EYE ON, ON JUST ALL OF THE INPUT INTO OUR SYSTEM.

AND IF WE SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS WITH AREAS, WE DO WORK WITH OUR MANAGERS TO GO OUT AND WORK WITH THOSE CLINICIANS ON THE CAMPUS TO ENSURE THEY KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE THE PROCESS, BECAUSE IT IS DIFFERENT.

PRIOR TO, WE HAD A SYSTEM THAT WE HAD HAD FOR A LONG TIME, WHICH WAS PACE.

AND SO THE TRANSITION TO THIS NEW SYSTEM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S GOING TO IT WOULD TAKE ALL OF US TO REALLY GET TO KNOW IT, TO NAVIGATE IT.

WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER THAT HAS HELPED TO CONFIGURE THE PROCESS FOR US.

AND THEN THE NEXT STEP WAS TO TRAIN THE CLINICIANS.

SO THEY'VE ALL BEEN TRAINED.

AND THEN LIKE I SAID, THE MANAGERS ARE DOING TAKING THAT ONE ON ONE APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY CLINICIAN WITHIN THEIR CASELOAD IS ABLE TO TO NAVIGATE THE SYSTEM.

THANK YOU. MR..

HE'S, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? JUST WANTED TO ASK THE SUPERINTENDENT.

ARE YOU IN AGREEMENT WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS? YES, SIR. OKAY.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

SO THAT CONCLUDES THE REPORTS.

SO WE HAD A MOTION BY TRUSTEE MICCICHE, SECOND BY TRUSTEE FOREMAN.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.

TO MAKE FINAL THE INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS AYE.

MOTION PASSES THREE ZERO.

THANK YOU. SO WE HAVE JUST ADOPTED THE MOTION AND MAKE FINAL INTERNAL REPORTS.

THE NEXT ITEM, 5.3 REPORT ON THE STATUS OF AUDIT.

FOLLOW UP. TRUSTEES, WE HAVE THE REPORT IN FRONT OF YOU.

I'M GLAD TO REPORT WE HAVE SEVEN OF NINE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE DUE WERE IMPLEMENTED.

WE HAVE TWO THAT WE BRING BACK TO COMMITTEE.

SO THEY ALL UNDERSTAND, ANY EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES OR WHERE THERE MIGHT BE WHY THERE MIGHT BE A DELAY.

WE HAVE MANAGEMENT HERE TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION.

AND THE FIRST IS THE STUDENT RECORD SYSTEM.

THAT ORIGINALLY IMPLEMENTATION DATE WAS LAST SUMMER.

WE WERE GOING TO INCLUDE IN THE FOLLOW UP.

SO WE'RE HERE TODAY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT DELAY IN THE EXTENSIVE PROCESSES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE GOING THROUGH TO DIGITIZE THE ENORMOUS VOLUME OF STUDENT RECORDS.

AND I GUESS IF YOU ASK THE QUESTION, THEY'LL COME UP.

I'LL ASK THE QUESTION.

I'M ASKING YOU.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

IT'S AFTERNOON.

SO WHERE ARE WE ON THE, I'M STARTING WITH TELLING YOU, TRUSTEE FOREMAN, THAT THE SCOPE AND THE BREADTH OF THE PROJECT IS GREATER THAN ANTICIPATED.

SO LET ME SPEAK TO EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE AND THE STEPS FORWARD.

ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON.

SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE SECURED TWO VENDORS.

SO WE ARE USING NAB WHICH WE KNOW IS LASERFICHE AS WELL AS DATA BANK IMX TO SCAN OUR DOCUMENTS.

WE'VE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS FROM CAMPUSES TO BE SENT.

AND SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF BEGINNING THE SCANNING PROCESS FOR ALL OF OUR OVERREACH RECORDS, AS WELL AS THE CURRENT RECORDS ON CAMPUSES.

SO DID WE NOT HAVE A LOCATION IN WEST DALLAS WHERE WE HAD MOST OF THOSE RECORDS? THE LOCATION IN WEST DALLAS IS THE LOCATION FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS, AND SO THOSE RECORDS ARE DESTROYED AFTER A STUDENT REACHES THE AGE OF 23.

SO THE CAMPUSES STORE ALL THE RECORDS INDEFINITELY UNTIL STUDENT REACHES THE AGE OF 23, AND THEN THOSE RECORDS ARE SENT TO STUDENT RECORDS, WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY MICROFILMED AND THEN SENT FOR DESTRUCTION.

SO WHERE A STUDENT RECORDS IN THE COTTON BUILDING.

OKAY, SO THAT'S THE ONE I WAS SPEAKING OF.

YEAH. OKAY.

AND SO WHEN DO YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL REACH THE GOAL.

SO THE PHASING APPROACH IS THE SIX YEAR APPROACH.

AND WE'RE BEGINNING WITH WE'RE USING THE REGENTS.

AND SO WITHIN SIX YEARS WE SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.

AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS WITHIN DALLAS ISD.

SO WE'LL COMPLETE THE PROCESS IN SIX YEARS.

SO STUDENTS IN DALLAS ISD AND STUDENTS THAT LEFT DALLAS.

SO BOTH ACTIVE AND INACTIVE STUDENTS.

YES. THERE'S ONE WAY TO GET THAT OKAY.

THANK YOU.

SO SIX YEARS FROM NOW? WELL, YES.

IT'S A PHASED APPROACH.

YES. WOW, THAT'S A LOT OF WORK.

[00:30:06]

CHRIS IS A PART OF THE SCANNING PROCESS UTILIZING SOME TYPE OF OCR TECHNOLOGY WHERE IT IS ACTUALLY SEARCHABLE, BECAUSE I CAN IMAGINE THIS OUT OF A DATABASE OF ALL THESE WORKERS, BUT NO ABILITY TO SEARCH OR TO FIND.

SO THAT PART OF THE PROCESS, YES, IT'S AN EXCUSE ME, IT'S A CLOUD BASED REPOSITORY, USED, OF COURSE, INDEXING.

AND SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEARCH BY BIRTH DATE, STUDENT ID, ETC..

IT PUTS OUT NEW RECORDS COME EVERY DAY.

JUST. YEAH.

I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO HOW THESE RECORDS ARE SCANNED SO THAT SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, TAKING A PHONE, EACH ONE PIECE OF PAPER AT A TIME, ONE PAGE AT A TIME.

YEAH. THERE'S NOTHING, NO BETTER WAY THAT'S BEEN INVENTED.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

I CAN'T SAY IN OUR ORGANIZATION WE DO SOMETHING SIMILAR, AND I VISITED ONE OF THE FACILITY THAT SCANS A LOT OF OUR STUFF.

SO IT'S A TWO PART DATA VALIDATION PART WHERE THE MACHINE PICKS UP WHAT HE CAN AND ACTUALLY HAVE PEOPLE THAT GO AND VERIFY ALL THE INFORMATION.

SO THE SYSTEM WILL ACTUALLY SAY, HEY, I WAS ABLE TO READ THIS INFORMATION OR IT WILL SPIT SOMETHING OUT AND ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE PEOPLE TO VALIDATE THAT INFORMATION.

SO IT IS A PRETTY LABOR INTENSIVE PROCESS.

YES, CUMULATIVE AND TRANSCRIPTS HAVE TO BE RETAINED A LIFETIME.

WELL. PERMANENTLY.

PERMANENTLY. ONE.

PLEASE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS.

DIDN'T REALIZE THE SCOPE OF IT.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. SO THE NEXT ITEM, ONE MORE ISSUE THEN.

OH, OKAY. THAT WAS ALL THE TWO TOGETHER.

YEAH. ONE MORE ISSUE ON IT.

WE'VE MADE A RECOMMENDATION FOR A DISTRICT SOFTWARE, SYSTEM TO CAPTURE AND MAINTAIN THE MYRIADS OF SOFTWARE IT WOULD BE, WOULD HELP US IN SOME WAYS.

LOOK AT UTILIZATION, NEW STUFF COMING IN, WHAT HAVE YOU.

THERE'S BEEN SOME RECENT CHANGES IN THAT AREA ON BETTER FRONT END CONTROLS AND BETTER MANAGEMENT.

AND I DO HAVE THE IT PERSONNEL HERE, TO SPEAK TO THAT SPECIFIC ISSUE.

SURE. IF YOU ASK THE QUESTION, I ASK THE QUESTION, THEY'LL COME UP.

LITTLE FACED, A LITTLE TOUGH TO FACE.

GOOD AFTERNOON. SUPERINTENDENT AND TRUSTEES.

GOOD AFTERNOON. SO THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE OF CONCERN FOR ME FOR SOME TIME IS THIS THAT WE HAVE, A LOT OF SOFTWARE PROGRAMS THAT WE NO LONGER USE.

THEY OVERLAP.

AND, SO IT'S CLEAR THAT THAT THE PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED IN TERMS OF TRYING TO CAPTURE THE SOFTWARE. SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT SOFTWARE WE HAVE, WHAT SOFTWARE WE'RE USING, AND WHAT SOFTWARE WE'RE NOT USING.

YEAH. WELL, SOMETIME IT SEEMS LIKE THIS HAS BEEN ON THE BOOKS I'VE BEEN TALKING TO INTERNAL AUDITS ARE CERTAINLY HAVE AN APPRECIATION FOR YOUR QUESTION.

LAST YEAR, SUPERINTENDENT, AND WITH A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM HER DIRECT REPORTS BEHIND ME, WE WENT THROUGH AND DID A CONSOLIDATED EFFORT TO REALLY SKINNY DOWN ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

AND I THINK THAT WAS SORT OF THE JUMPING OFF POINT FOR THIS NEXT PART.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS YEAR, THE 2425 BUDGET TO ACQUIRE NEW SOFTWARE TO PLUG INTO SERVICE NOW THAT WILL HOUSE ALL OF THE SOFTWARE AND ALL OF THE HARDWARE IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE.

THAT WILL PROVIDE US WITH THE OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY FOR THE CONSOLIDATION AND TO SEE EVERYTHING AT A GLANCE, BUT IT WILL ALSO GIVE US THE ABILITY TO DO MORE WORKFLOWS AND MORE AUTOMATION TO ALLOW EDTECH TO HAVE TO PROVIDE MORE VALUE ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

I DON'T WANT TO SOUND LIKE A SMARTY, BUT WE'RE BUYING MORE SOFTWARE TO FIX THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE.

I JUST THINK THAT WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WE KNOW BY DEPARTMENT WHO'S USING WHAT SOFTWARE.

[00:35:05]

AND I LOOKED AT THE SUPERINTENDENT, BUT I'M THE TRUSTEE.

NO, I'M NOT AT THAT PART.

AND I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW HOW DO WE FIX THIS PROBLEM OF DUPLICATION OF SOFTWARE, BUYING NEW SOFTWARE TO DO THE SAME THING THAT THE OLD SOFTWARE DOES.

AND WE ALSO HAVE, LEASE AGREEMENTS AND SERVICE AGREEMENTS WITH SOFTWARE THAT WE PROBABLY NO LONGER USE.

ON THE SOFTWARE SIDE, WE'VE RECENTLY PUT TOGETHER AN ACQUISITION PROCESS THAT WE'VE SOCIALIZED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.

FOR ALL THE SENIOR LEADERS THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED, I BELIEVE IN DOCTOR ALIZADEH'S MEETING WITH HER DIRECT REPORTS.

SO I DON'T BELIEVE THAT GOING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT SAME SITUATION PLAY OUT.

TRUSTEE FOREMAN WERE AT THE CAMPUS LEVEL OR EVEN A TIER ABOVE THAT.

INDIVIDUALS ARE JUST ACQUIRING THE SOFTWARE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, SOFTWARE THAT DOES SOMETHING SIMILAR.

I THINK THOSE DAYS ARE BEHIND US, AND I THINK THE WORK THAT WE DID LAST YEAR, JUST AFTER THE RIFF, TO REALLY NARROW DOWN AND HONE IN ON THOSE SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS AND HARDWARE FOR THAT MATTER, THAT WERE MOST IMPORTANT, I THINK THAT SETS US UP NICELY TO BE ABLE TO PUT ALL OF THIS AGAIN INTO A SINGLE SOLUTION WHERE WE CAN SEE IT AS WELL AS AS WELL AS OUR STAKEHOLDERS, LIKE IA.

OKAY. JUST KEEP ANYBODY ELSE? ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.

WE'LL KEEP IT. KEEP IT.

I GUESS THIS WILL STAY ON OUR.

YEAH. IS THERE A DATE FOR THIS ONE? REJECTED DATE? WELL, SO IT'S GOING TO TAKE ABOUT SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR TO DO THE IMPLEMENTATION, BUT IT'S ALL CONTINGENT ON WHETHER IT'S APPROVED IN THE 2425 BUDGET.

WE WILL KEEP TRACKING IT.

OKAY. THANK YOU. WE HAVE.

JUST FOR YOUR PERMISSION, WE HAVE THESE CLOSED.

WE HAVE 29 ISSUES OPEN AT THIS POINT IN OUR DATABASE.

OKAY. SO PRETTY MANAGEABLE CASE COUNT, RIGHT? SO THE NEXT REPORT, THE DISTRICT COURT.

GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON, TRUSTEES AND SUPERINTENDENT.

MY NAME IS ISAIAH HERNANDEZ, AUDIT MANAGER WITH THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT.

I'LL BE REPORTING ON THE STATUS OF DISTRICT COMPLIANCE.

PAGE ONE SHOWS THE TOTAL HOTLINE REPORTS RECEIVED FROM OCTOBER 14TH TO OCTOBER 22ND, 2023 TO JANUARY 19TH, 2024.

FOR A PERIOD, ONE 100 CASES WERE REPORTED.

PERIOD TWO FOR 101 CASES WERE REPORTED.

PERIOD THREE 551 CASES WERE REPORTED FOR A TOTAL OF 1052 CASES REPORTED.

SO ON PAGE TWO, THE HOTLINE REPORTS RECEIVED BY FISCAL YEAR FROM 2019 THROUGH 2023.

MOVING ON TO PAGE.

PAGE THREE SHOWS THE OPEN HOTLINE REPORTS AGING.

THE REPORT SHOWS 58 OPEN CASES AS OF JANUARY 19TH, 2024, FOR THE ONE CASE ASSIGNED TO THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT.

EIGHT CASES ASSIGNED TO LEGAL SERVICES, TITLE NINE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE AND 49 CASES WERE ASSIGNED TO THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OFFICE.

THIS CONCLUDES MY REPORT.

QUESTIONS. AND I'M LOOKING AT ON PAGE THREE OF THREE.

TURN YOUR MIC ON.

I'M SORRY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. SO I'M LOOKING ON THREE AND THREE, WHERE THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT ARE ASSIGNED FROM THE HOTLINE.

SO AM I TO ASSUME THAT THE OTHER CASES HAVE BEEN CLOSED? YES, MA'AM.

THERE'S ONLY OPEN CASES.

THERE'S ONLY OPEN CASES.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

OF ALL THE 551 THAT CAME IN, THERE'S 50.

OKAY. SO DO WE TRACK TO SEE WHICH CASES HAVE VALIDITY THAT WE CLOSE THEM? I DON'T HAVE A CURRENT REPORT, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF ENHANCING THIS.

SO WE CAN GIVE YOU TABULATIONS SUCH AS THAT.

CLOSE SUBSTANTIATED, CLOSE, UNSUBSTANTIATED.

WE MANUALLY HAVE TO DO IT.

NOW, IF YOU HAD A PERIOD, I THINK WE COULD GO BACK AND DO IT MANUALLY.

[00:40:03]

THIS GIVES US MORE REPORTING AND TREND ANALYSIS.

RIGHT. I MEAN, YOU CAN KIND OF SCAN ACROSS ON THE FIRST PAGE KIND OF WHAT WENT UP.

WE HAD A LITTLE BIT LONGER, PERIOD.

BUT YOU CAN JUST GO ACROSS AND YOU CAN SEE CERTAIN CATEGORIES THAT HAVE GONE UP, YOU KNOW, A LOT, A LOT MORE THAN OTHERS. ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK ABOUT OUR TRENDS, LOOKING AT TRENDS, YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT.

WHAT TRENDS, WHAT'S GOING UP, WHAT'S GOING DOWN, WHAT'S SUBSTANTIATED, WHAT'S NOT SUBSTANTIATED.

BECAUSE THESE NUMBERS JUST REFLECT CASES THAT WE HAD, BUT IT DOESN'T REFLECT THE PURITY OF WHAT THOSE CASES WERE.

THAT MAKES SENSE. YES, MA'AM.

YEAH. I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THE, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF THE PERCENTAGE OF COMPLAINTS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBSTANTIATED.

DO YOU HAVE A BALLPARK IDEA? ARE WE ARE WE GETTING A SITUATION WHERE 90% OF WHAT IS REPORTED IS SUSTAINED? OR IS IT 10% OF WHAT'S REPORTED THAT'S BEEN SUSTAINED? JUST JUST SOME SOME BALLPARK IDEA OF OF WHAT THE WHAT THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE.

AND YOU CAN GIVE ME A RANGE IF YOU DON'T.

I DO NOT HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF THESE CASES GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW.

SO FOR ADJUDICATION INVESTIGATION I ONLY DO A VERY LIMITED, LIMITED FINANCIAL AND RELATED FRAUD.

SO I CANNOT TELL YOU TODAY I COULD PROBABLY GET THAT INFORMATION AND GET IT BACK TO YOU.

I'M HOPING IN THE NEAR FUTURE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE DEBTS AND THAT WOULD HELP US A LOT.

WHEN THIS NEW SYSTEM WAS IMPLEMENTED A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, IT WAS THE CHEAPEST ONE THEY COULD BUY.

SO WE DID GET MORE SOFTWARE.

WELL, THE SAME SOFTWARE, BUT AT THIS TABLE I GOT IT TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.

I'VE GOT TO I NEED IT AND I USE IT EVERY DAY AS YOU CAN TELL.

OKAY. WELL YEAH, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW IF A HOTLINE IS IS MOST OF WHAT WE'RE HEARING ON THE HOTLINE IS IS VALID OR IF MOST OF IT'S NOT VALID, I MEAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY DOCTOR LEAR CAN WORK WITH BOTH.

SO AND I WOULD EVEN AS YOU'RE TALKING, I'M EVEN THINKING, HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LIKE, JUST IN, IN ALL OF THOSE BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY GO TO HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, SOMETIMES IT'S A CAMPUS.

BUT GETTING A COLLECTION OF WHAT HAS COME THROUGH, WE CAN DIFFERENTIATE THAT THAT'S COME THROUGH A HOTLINE AND THEN WE CAN GENERATE THAT.

I DO THINK IT WOULD HELP US WITH PATTERNS AND IDENTIFYING WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE.

DO WE REALLY HAVE AN INCREASE IN EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT, OR IS THIS STILL PERHAPS SOME REMNANT OF COVID AND AND PEOPLE AS WE'VE COME BACK TOGETHER AND HOW HOW WE MAYBE AREN'T AS RESPECTFUL TO EACH OTHER.

THERE COULD BE A VARIETY OF THINGS.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND WE'LL DEFINITELY WORK ON THE LEADERSHIP SIDE TO GET THAT FOR YOU, FOR ALL OF THE TRUSTEES.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

BECAUSE THIS IS JUST NOT CORRECT.

THERE ARE OTHER AVENUES IN WHICH CSO GETS DONE.

YES, SIR. OKAY.

MOVING ALONG THEN THE STATUS REPORT ON STATUS OF AUDIT PLAN AND SUFFICIENCY OF DEPARTMENT RESOURCES.

HOWEVER, REPORT ATTACHED FOR THE 2324 AUDIT PLAN, WE CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM WE'VE COMPLETED 715 ARE IN PROCESS AND SIX HAVE NOT STARTED YET.

THIS IS THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR.

SO YOU SEE, AS WE WORK TOWARD MAY AND THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR IN JUNE TO, YOU KNOW, COMPLETE EVERYTHING ON THE PLAN.

WE HAVE A REQUEST FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE PLAN HERE.

WE'LL TALK TO YOU IN JUST ABOUT IN A MINUTE.

BUT ORG CHART IS IT ON THE SECOND PAGE.

AND IT SHOWS I HAVE ONE OPENING AT EMPLOYEE LEAVE, JUST TWO WEEKS AGO.

SO WE'LL BE RECRUITING FOR THAT.

TRUSTEES. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE, LET'S SEE, I GUESS THE AUDIT PLAN IS THAT THE NEXT AND THEN THE AMENDMENT OR DISCUSSION OF CONSIDERATION OF AMEND THE AUDIT PLAN.

OH OKAY. SO THEN WE'RE UP TO 5.6.

SO CONSIDER AND TAKE POSSIBLE ACTION TO AMEND THE FISCAL YEAR 23-24 ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN.

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO AMEND THE FISCAL YEAR 2324 ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN?

[00:45:04]

OKAY. SO NOW WE CAN DISCUSS IT.

GREAT. THANK YOU SIR.

SO DURING THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR, WE WE, FOUND OUT THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAD, REVIEWED OR AUDITED, STUDENT STUDENT NUTRITION.

AND THAT WAS THE SAME AREA WE WERE GOING TO COVER IN OUR AUDIT.

SO WE HAVE ATTACHED THAT REPORT.

AND OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO DUPLICATE RESOURCES.

SO I BRING THAT BACK.

THAT'S ONE ISSUE. AND THE SECOND ONE THE SOFTWARE ISSUE AND THE INVENTORY THAT AFFECTED THE SCOPE OF A DIFFERENT AUDIT.

I WOULD PROPOSE I HAVE TWO, TWO PROPOSALS.

ONE IS TO TAKE OURS AND ADD THEM INTO CAMPUS BASED AUDITS.

WE THINK THERE'S A NEED THERE.

AND WE'VE ALREADY GOT SOME IDEAS ON HOW TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SCHOOLS THAT ARE MORE AT HIGH RISK.

WE'RE WORKING ON THE RISK ASSESSMENT NOW, BUT.

ADD MORE HOURS INTO THAT.

WE'VE GOT ROUGHLY 10 TO 15 PLAN.

I KNOW WE CAN BEAT THAT UP AND GET MORE ON THE PLAN.

I THINK IT WOULD HELP PROVIDE A BROAD BASED, LOOK AT DO WE HAVE TRAINING ISSUES? DO WE HAVE OVERSIGHT, SUPERVISORY ISSUES? DO WE HAVE SYSTEM ISSUES? SOME OF AND ALL OF THOSE WERE IDENTIFIED IN THAT EXTRA AUDIT.

SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO THE DISTRICT.

AND THE SECOND, TO ADD A AUDIT IN BASED ON EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS, HR RELATED HR AND PAYROLL, TWO OF OUR BIGGEST AREAS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

SO I WOULD PROPOSE THOSE THOSE TWO CHANGES AND YOU CAN SEE THEM AT THE BOTTOM.

PART OF IT WOULD INCREASE CAMPUS BASED CONTROLS FROM 1300 TO 2500 AUDITS.

AND IT WOULD ADD AN AUDIT OF EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR 1000 HOURS.

AND THEN WE'D REMOVE SOFTWARE LICENSING AND FOOD AND CHILD NUTRITION.

OKAY. JUSTICE, ANY QUESTION ABOUT THE YES.

TRUSTEE. SO ON THE FOOD AND CHILD NUTRITION, WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THE CAP PLAN? SO THE SCOPE OF WHAT THEY DID OR WHAT WE WERE, WHAT THEY DID, AND THEN WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO.

SO DO I HAVE.

YES. DO I HAVE A MANAGER THAT CAN HELP ME BECAUSE SOME THEY COME IN AND THEY'RE IN AND OUT, GONE. AND BEFORE WE REALLY KNOW KIND OF WHAT ALL THEY'VE DONE.

AND I'M NOT SURE THE REPORT GIVES US A WHOLE LOT OF FEEDBACK.

ZERO AND ZERO ISSUES IS GOOD.

IT DOESN'T REALLY TELL US MUCH.

SO DO WE HAVE SPECIFIC SCOPE AREAS? RICHARD. YEAH, THE PDA LETTER DIDN'T SPECIFY THE SCOPE.

I KNOW THE DISCUSSION WITH MANAGEMENT, THIS THEY DID REVIEW AS PART OF THEIR SCOPE, THE [INAUDIBLE] PLANS. BUT WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND LET YOU KNOW IF THE SPECIFIC SCOPE THAT THEY ALSO REVIEWED.

SO WHAT DID THEY ACTUALLY LOOK AT? SO THEY TOOK A LOOK AT ALL THE POSSIBLE PROCEDURES.

AND THEN THEY VISITED CAMPUSES.

THEY I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY CAMPUSES THEY VISITED.

AND THIS WAS BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2022.

AND THEN THIS LETTER WAS IN FEBRUARY OF 2023.

SO IT'S A TWO YEAR OLD.

IT'S IT'S A LAG TIME BEFORE THEY EVEN TELL US WHAT THE RESULTS WERE.

AND WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WHAT THE PROGRAM WAS.

CORRECT. SO I'VE STRUGGLED WITH FOOD AND NUTRITION.

AND BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY STUDENTS THAT WE ARE FEEDING ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS, AND I THINK THE SUPERINTENDENT PROBABLY KNOWS THIS, I TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE.

IT'S NOT NEW NEWS.

IT'S A LOT OF THE PRE PROCESSED FOODS I'VE HAD A REAL SERIOUS ISSUE WITH IN TERMS OF OUR CHILDREN AND AND HOW THAT WORKS.

AND WE NEVER TOOK A REALLY GOOD LOOK AT HOW WE ARE ENSURING, FROM A NUTRITIONAL STANDPOINT, THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GETTING EVERYTHING THEY NEED.

THAT'S WHY I WAS TRYING TO ASK EXACTLY WHAT DID THEY LOOK AT? BECAUSE IT MIGHT ANSWER MY QUESTIONS, BUT AT THIS POINT IT DOES NOT ANSWER MY QUESTION.

SO FOR ME, I WOULD NOT BE IN FAVOR NOT THE H CAP PLAN, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

[00:50:01]

SO THERE'S A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING IN TERMS OF OUR PROGRAM.

I DO REALIZE THAT WE ARE REIMBURSED FEDERALLY FOR THE, THE THE FOOD THAT WE, PROVIDE FOR OUR KIDS AND SOME OF THE STAFFING I GET THAT.

BUT I'M ALSO CONCERNED AS TO IT IS DOING WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO.

AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD A REALLY GOOD LOOK AT OUR PROGRAM FOR YEARS.

AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BECAUSE A COUPLE OF YEARS, JUST BECAUSE I'M OLD SO I CAN FORGET.

BUT I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE THAT LOOK AND PROBABLY MORE TIMES THAN WE WANT TO.

WOULD IT BE ACCEPTABLE TO THEN CONSIDER FOR 26 YEARS AUDIT PLAN EARLY IN THE YEAR, UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE SCOPE OF WHAT THEY'VE COVERED OVER THE BECAUSE THEY COME IN AND DO CERTAIN THINGS EVERY YEAR.

YOU KNOW, ONE, IT'D BE HELPFUL IF THEY NOTIFIED ME AND WE COULD WALK THROUGH WITH THEM TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT.

THAT WOULD BE A GOAL OF MINE.

BUT YOUR TO YOUR POINT, GO MORE TOWARD, YOU KNOW, OPERATIONAL QUALITY, SATISFACTION, ETC..

SO IT, IT WOULD BE OKAY WITH ME IF YOU PUT IT AT THE TOP OF THE LIST FOR NEXT YEAR, 2024.

THAT WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE.

AND AT THE SAME TIME, GETTING WITH THAT DEPARTMENT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT HCAP PLAN WAS, BECAUSE YOU SHOULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION.

SO THEY WILL BE EFFECTIVE.

WAS THERE SOMETHING THAT POPPED OUT THAT LED YOU TO PUTTING THE BACKGROUND CHECKS? I MEAN, IS THAT A HIGHER RISK THAN WHAT SHE'S BRINGING UP RIGHT NOW, DO YOU THINK? JUST THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, THE VOLUME HIRING.

AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT OUTWEIGHS IT.

I COULDN'T SAY THAT. BUT THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE PROJECT.

BECAUSE THIS IS ABOUT AMENDING THE AUDIT PLAN AND BASICALLY 1000 HOURS ON THIS FOOD AND NUTRITION.

AND MR. SID MILLER, COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SAYS THAT WE HAD A NOTICE OF ZERO FINDINGS AND ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSURE.

THERE WERE NO CONGRATULATIONS ON ACHIEVING COMPLIANCE IN ALL AREAS OF THE PROGRAM.

PLEASE ACCEPT THIS LETTER AS CONFIRMATION THAT THE REVIEW HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY CLOSED.

THANK YOU AND YOUR STAFF.

WE APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO HELP FEED TEXAS CHILDREN.

SO IT'S LIKE A REALLY NICE, CLEAN AUDIT.

THE QUESTION IS WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.

YEAH. WHAT DID THE DOES THAT MEAN.

SO THAT SAYS NOTHING TO ME BUT A NICE LITTLE LETTER THAT SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN REGARDS TO WHAT I'M SPEAKING ABOUT.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE I MEAN, IF YOU PUT IT ON THE PLAN FOR EARLY NEXT YEAR, IT'LL GIVE YOU TIME TO INVESTIGATE WHAT THE SCOPE IS AND ALL OF THAT.

AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, PUT YOU ON NOTICE, LIKE, OH, WE NEED TO GET ON THIS BACKGROUND AUDIT RIGHT AWAY.

YOU KNOW, THAT WAS MY ONLY POINT BRINGING THAT UP.

BUT IF NOT. OF COURSE.

NO, I WAS JUST THINKING.

WHAT? MISS FRAZIER AND WHAT YOU HAVE PROPOSED.

GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT STEPS, WHAT AREAS THEY LOOK AT.

KIND OF BUMP THAT UP AGAINST WHAT YOUR PLAN WAS GOING INTO IT, AND THEN MAYBE CONSIDER PUTTING IT ON THE PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR.

I ALSO HAD ANOTHER QUESTION BECAUSE ON THE SOFTWARE LICENSING, IS THE CENTRALIZED SOFTWARE ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SIMILAR OR RELATED TO WHAT IS OUTSTANDING OR THE TRACKING SYSTEM THAT WAS IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE STILL BEING WORKED ON? THERE IS ONE IN THE SAME.

OKAY. LET'S SEE.

YEAH, I'M OKAY WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS THIS ONLY COVERS 23-24 AND AN AMENDMENT TO 23-24.

SO I'M OKAY WITH THE AMENDMENT AND THE AND THE PROPOSAL THAT WE'LL BE VOTING ON.

AND THE WHEN WE GET AROUND TO THE LOOKING AT THE 24-25 AUDIT PLAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THIS ISSUE WOULD BE IN ORDER AND MAYBE, FURTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON WHAT THE TEXAS AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION

[00:55:01]

OKAY.

SO THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

I WAS CHECKING ON TO SEE WHAT TRUSTEE WEINBERG HAS.

SO WE HAVE HAD A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE PLAN.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR CAST THEIR VOTES BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN.

THE MOTION PASSES.

YES. ONE ABSTAIN.

ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ADOPTED THE MOTION TO AMEND THE FISCAL YEAR 23-24 ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN.

WE HAVE ALREADY DONE THE CLOSED SESSION, SO THE TIME IS NOW 3:08 P.M.

AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.

THANK YOU EVERYBODY.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.