Janice Hanson, the district internal auditor, briefed the Audit Committee on the Office of Internal Performance Audit (OIPA) work plan, current audits and a set of proposed audit topics for 2026–27.

Status updates: Hanson said the English Learners audit draft was sent to staff for review that week. The Measure 98 audit is about two-thirds complete and likely to appear before the committee in January or February. Building security audit scoping is finished; OIPA plans to test a sample of building security plans and incorporate student engagement through the student representative to the board. Hanson said Career and Technical Education (CTE) has implemented a strategic plan since the audit was approved; she proposed rescoping the CTE audit and returning with a refined scope in November. Hanson also noted outstanding recommendations from the district's 2020 contracts audit remain unimplemented and suggested focusing on implementation before launching a new contracts audit but left that choice to the committee.

Topics and narrowing: Hanson presented a list of suggested audits collected from board members, staff and students and asked the committee to narrow the list to three or four topics for development. Committee members discussed choices and trade-offs and asked that Hanson include in future proposals how potential audit recommendations would support board goals and student outcome measures.

After discussion and an informal vote, the committee signaled strongest support for the following topics to be developed into formal proposals: (1) teacher absences and substitute protocols (framed by the committee as "support for substitutes and mitigation of learning loss"), (2) support systems for principals, and (3) a phased series of student performance–measure audits aligned to board goals. Several members also expressed interest in school-level audits (internal controls at school sites). Hanson said she will do a formal risk assessment, build proposals that describe objectives and expected student-outcome impacts, and present two recommended audits for board approval at a future meeting.

The committee did not make a final selection of audits for board approval; Hanson will return with scoped proposals, risk-assessment findings, and recommended priorities. Committee members asked for coordination with other reviews and state or federal audits to avoid duplication.

Ending: Hanson said she will circulate more detailed audit proposals and a formal risk assessment ahead of the next committee meeting. The committee scheduled an informational update on November 6 and expects to refer final audit additions to the full board for approval.