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SFUSD bond audit shows no findings as $383 million in school construction continues
Summary
Chief Facilities Officer David Golden told the Board the district has dozens of modernizations under way, auditors found no findings and issued unqualified opinions on the bond program; commissioners asked how savings and changing costs will affect future bonds.
David Golden, the San Francisco Unified School District chief facilities officer, delivered the bond program’s annual report and highlighted dozens of modernization projects under way across the city.
Golden listed recent work at Peabody, Hilltop, Wallenberg, James Lick and other campuses and said the district currently has roughly $383,000,000 in work under construction. He thanked voters for supporting bond measures and said the program supports the district’s Vision 2025 goals by improving accessibility, seismic safety and learning environments.
Representatives of the Bond Citizens’ Oversight Committee and the district’s independent auditor told the Board the annual audit found no findings and produced unqualified opinions. The auditor said the review included about 500 expenditures and covered payroll and pass-through items; “we did not have any findings and all of the opinions are unqualified,” the auditor reported.
Commissioners pressed staff on how bond-era market changes affected project costs. Golden said projects in the 2006 bond period frequently came in under the original estimates because of depressed construction costs then, while many projects in the 2011 bond are running 15–30 percent higher; as a result, some 2011 projects could slide into a future bond cycle. Golden told the Board staff would provide more detail on savings, under-budget projects and how those funds were used so the Board and bond campaigners can better explain outcomes to voters.
Board members praised the facilities team and the oversight committee for maintaining clean audit results amid rising construction costs. No formal action was required beyond accepting the report; Golden said staff will continue to monitor budgets and return with supplemental information on cost variances and program sequencing.
The presentation gave commissioners, members of the public and district staff a consolidated view of the bond program’s scope, current construction and the financial trade-offs that will shape future bond planning.
