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State Board hears Claremont finance probe as Department says problems appear to be mismanagement, not fraud
Summary
The State Board of Education was briefed on Claremont School Districtfinancial problems, including missing bookkeeping and delinquent audits; the Department said an interim business administrator is rebuilding records and that "no evidence of fraud or malfeasance has been presented to the department. It's mostly just mismanagement."
The State Board of Education on Tuesday was updated about serious financial shortcomings in the Claremont School District and told the board the Department of Education is working with local leaders to stabilize operations.
Commissioner Caitlin Davis said the district had "very little to no financial records that could be relied on from the last school year" and that the department helped arrange a comptroller who is now serving as interim business administrator to rebuild the general ledger. The district has opened schools after local fundraising and other stopgap measures, she said.
Jim O'Shaughnessy, general counsel working with the district, and the interim business administrator, Matt Angel, were reported to be conducting the immediate remediation. Davis told the board the district was delinquent on audits and that significant bookkeeping work was required to create reliable accounts for the prior year.
Davis said the department is partnering with the district and local stakeholders on plans to address the problems and is prepared to offer statutory and operational support if needed. She emphasized the largely local nature of many decisions, including a proposal under consideration to close one elementary school and shift students among the remaining buildings.
On whether the irregularities suggested criminal activity, Davis told the board, "no evidence of fraud or malfeasance has been presented to the department. It's mostly just mismanagement." Board members pressed for more details about student counts and potential class‑size impacts; department staff said the district had indicated class sizes would increase and that the department would continue to assist.
The board asked the Department to consider whether expired rules or gaps in local board training contributed to oversight failures and discussed potential statewide guidance and best practices to strengthen fiscal management for local boards and superintendents.
Next steps: the Department will maintain regular updates to the board as Claremont completes its ledger reconstruction and audit work and will coordinate with associations to develop fiscal management best practices for districts.
