Advisory Panel Wants BHUSD to Hire Auditor

An independent advisory committee has recommended that the Beverly Hills Unified School District take several steps to improve its finances, including hiring a part-time CPA to conduct audits and evaluate the district's $60 million budget.

 The newly-formed Finance Committee presented its first report on Tuesday to the Board of Education. The Board took no action on the recommendations, but members said they would address the hiring of an auditor at a special budget study session later this month.

"No one at the district office has any experience as a CPA or an auditor," committee chairman Herb Young told Patch.  "A private business worth $60 million would have this experience."

Young, a former board of education member himself, is one of five private citizens appointed by the board to the committee. Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Alex Cherniss and Executive Director of Budget and Food Services Mary Anne McCabe are also on the panel.

The committee's other recommendations are:

• A review of the BHUSD special education budget of $9 million. "We believe there is some wasteful spending there," Young said.

• Replacing school copy machines with multi-function laser printers that can copy, fax and email. The district's current copy machines are outdated and break easily. The committee estimates that the new machines would cut operational expenses by 20 to 30 percent.

• An inquiry into the experience of the staff who work for Cherniss. The inquiry would not identify staff members by name.

This last suggestion caused some controversy as board member Myra Lurie questioned whether committee members had the authority to access personnel records.

"I don't believe you are empowered to do anything in excess that we are allowed to do," Lurie told Young on Tuesday. "I believe that you are overstepping what is an appropriate boundary and may unintentionally create a hostile work environment for which we could entail legal expenses."

Vice President Lisa Korbatov disagreed with Lurie, saying that she felt it was within the board's rights to question the experience of staff members. Korbatov, board member Brian Goldberg, , Young and one other committee member are meeting next week to discuss the recommendation and ensure that it complies with all laws, Young told Patch.

Young also took issue with Lurie's request that the five citizen members of the committee sign a conflict of interest policy. Their disagreement continued in a series of emails until Thursday evening, when Young said in an email to the board that he would comply.

"If it will make you feel more comfortable, I will sign a conflict of interest statement that says if a conflict or the appearance of one should become apparent I would recluse myself," he wrote to Lurie.

Much time and energy has been spent this week establishing proper procedures for the committee. This columnist is glad to see Young agree to Lurie's request, and now the committee should shift its energy to the important work of trying to improve the district's finances.

Furthermore, hiring a part-time auditor as the committee suggests would be a worthwhile investment. The BHUSD is facing many budgetary challenges, and eliminating wasteful spending—whether on faulty copy machines or staff salaries—would be a huge step in the right direction.

 The Finance Committee will meet next on Monday Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. in the . All of its meetings are open to the public.