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Chino Valley Unified responds to Auditor General 'approaching high risk' finding and outlines cost‑cutting steps
Summary
Superintendent Daniels told the board the district met with the Auditor General after a report flagged declining enrollment and unused facilities; she described steps — leasing unused space, outsourcing bus repairs and insurance changes — expected to produce roughly $600,000 in additional savings.
Superintendent Cindy Daniels told the Chino Valley Unified School District board the district met with the Auditor General after the office’s classroom‑spending report flagged the district as "approaching high risk" because of declining enrollment and maintenance of unused space.
Daniels said the office discussed several indicators, including declining student counts and a teacher‑experience index that affects calculated classroom spending. She told the board the meeting was "productive" and that district staff had documented steps already underway to address the report’s concerns.
Among the measures Daniels described: outsourcing major bus repairs to a neighboring district to save roughly $1,000 per repair; plans to lease unused classroom space to a private program (projected $140,000 in revenue); and a planned change to employee health insurance expected to save about $400,000. She told the board those items represent nearly $600,000 in additional savings since January.
Daniels also noted the Auditor General’s new categories — including "approaching high risk" — and said they do not correspond to statutory categories, suggesting political motivations in how the new statuses were framed. "There appears to be political motivation in these all these brand new categories," she said, adding that district officials were prepared and had answers for the Auditor General’s questions.
Board members asked for context on statewide trends; Daniels said classroom spending is down statewide because enrollment has declined and that some funding metrics (the "teacher experience index") raise or lower a district’s reported classroom spending depending on staff tenure. Finance staff later presented month‑end figures: an operating fund budget of about $19.3 million with $12.88 million spent through February and capital fund spending near $448,000.
Daniels said the district will continue pursuing efficiencies — including shared services with neighboring districts — and will return to the board with follow‑up items and contracts as appropriate.
