Board approves audit with no findings, affirms positive budget projection and dozens of routine contracts and resolutions

The East Whittier City School District Board of Education on March 18 approved an independent auditors report showing no findings for bond measures R and Z, certified a positive second interim budget for 2024–25 and approved a package of routine contracts, resolutions and personnel actions.

The auditor’s report from Christie White and Associates was presented to the board and accepted with no findings, a result Superintendent Patterson called a point of pride for district staff: “We once again have an audit report where there were no findings,” he said during the meeting.

Why it matters: the audit finding and the board’s positive second interim certification together signal that bond funds and the district’s operating finances were managed within the parameters presented to voters and the board, while the district continues to implement a fiscal stabilization plan.

The board’s action items on the consent and regular agendas were largely procedural: accepting the auditors report, approving the district’s second interim financial report and passing several resolutions (including proclamations for April) and infrastructure contracts. The board also recorded a closed-session personnel action and approved an internal staffing appointment.

Key details: - Independent auditors report for 2023–24 (measures R and Z): accepted; the audit firm was Christie White and Associates; the report included no findings according to the presentation. The board discussion highlighted the district’s Citizens Oversight Committee and business services work that produced the result. - Second interim report (fiscal year 2024–25): certified as positive for the current year and the two subsequent years after staff presented updated assumptions on attendance (ADA), COLA and a new behavioral-health grant (discussion item; formal certification was approved). The district’s presentation noted a modest improvement in the projected net change in funds driven in part by an ADA increase and updated COLA figures. - Contracts and capital: the board awarded a concrete/asphalt replacement contract to Eagle Paving LLC and approved multiple E-Rate and fiber/internet connection bids to improve district connectivity and build redundancy, with a plan to do work over the summer and at night to avoid class disruption. - Routine approvals: the board adopted resolutions proclaiming April 2025 as Public Schools Month and as Child Abuse Prevention Month; approved the 2025–26 infant program calendar; approved the district transportation services plan; and authorized filing applications for state allocation board administered programs (prop 2 / state matching funding steps). - Closed-session personnel action: the board reported it had voted, in closed session, to release/non-reelect a first‑year probationary certificated employee identified in the record as employee number HP5610634 pursuant to “ed code section 44,929.21 b,” effective at the end of the 2024–25 school year, and directed the superintendent or designee to send required legal notices. That resolution passed by a recorded 3–0 tally. - Appointment: the board voted 3–0 to approve Sean Jaramillo as Extended Learning Opportunity Program (ELOP) coordinator.

Board votes on these items were unanimous where recorded (tally: yes 3, no 0 for the listed action items unless otherwise noted in the record). The meeting included routine motions to approve minutes and consent‑agenda items; those motions passed without extended discussion.

Ending: staff said the district will continue to monitor the May revision of state funding and adjust the budget plan as needed; the business office indicated it will bring a nearly finished draft budget into May so the board can respond quickly to state changes.