Legislators meeting with Washington County School District officials on Oct. 11 urged changes to how the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) reports and values its trust assets after an audit found gaps in financial reporting and valuation.

An unidentified legislator who briefed the group said SITLA "doesn't have audited financial statements," and that the agency "doesn't have any way or any requirement to measure the value of the portfolio that they manage." The speaker recommended adopting institutional investment measurement standards and producing audited statements so trustees and beneficiaries can evaluate performance.

The discussion included illustrative numbers to show why valuation matters: thirty years ago SITLA's trust fund was cited as roughly $150,000,000; 10 years ago the speaker said it was about $1.5 billion and that, after SIPFO was created, "now it's over 3 and a half billion." The legislator argued that without firm valuation metrics "you can't even have a discussion about should you keep a piece or should you sell a piece" and that the lack of audited statements prevents accountability.

District staff and board members raised practical concerns about how land-management decisions affect local beneficiaries. One board member asked if SITLA could transfer land directly to a district; the legislator responded that trust rules and beneficiary allocations prevent gifting parcels to a single county, noting the assets are held "in trust for all of the beneficiaries, not just you."

The legislator described examples — without claiming malfeasance — where poor dealmaking left "tens of millions of dollars on the table that should have benefited the schools" and said clearer metrics and public access to valuation would surface such problems.

The meeting concluded with a pledge to keep communicating and with legislators offering to follow up with examples and further discussion. No formal legislative action was taken at the session; the speaker said audit recommendations will inform bills and oversight work in the coming session.