Resident accuses Corona-Norco USD of redacting audit records; board hears repeated public concern

At the Sept. 2 meeting, local resident Joe Morgan used public comment time to press the district for disclosure of two audit reports related to a parent center and alleged the district was not transparent.

Morgan identified himself as a local resident and former teacher, and said he had filed records requests and expected a finished audit report to be released. "The district was lying about what was going on," Morgan said, alleging the district "is going to redact the hell out of it" and urging trustees to release records to donors and the public.

Morgan said donors who gave to the parent center — citing one month's donations that amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in his records — are owed accountability about how money and donated items were spent. He asked the board whether gifts and donations related to the parent center had been presented to the board as required by policy.

Board members did not provide an immediate response during public comment; the board's public-comment rules were read at the start of the period and staff may follow up with speakers after the meeting. Morgan said he will return to future meetings to press the issue.

Context: earlier in the meeting the board's closed-session report noted personnel actions (including a 15-day suspension for classified employee #17440), and several consent and personnel items later were adopted on the agenda. Morgan tied his request for records and transparency to those personnel and donation matters but did not identify the employee by name during public comment.

Next steps: The district's public records process governs disclosures and any attorney-client or privacy exemptions would be weighed; Morgan indicated he will pursue further records requests and attend subsequent meetings to seek release of the audit documents.