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Inglewood Unified touts major gains in state fiscal review, two areas still under watchdog
Summary
A state review team told the Inglewood Unified School District board it has met benchmarks in three oversight areas and made steady gains in the other two, moving the district closer to regaining local control but leaving financial and facilities standards to address.
Board President Margaret Turner Evans and district leaders on Aug. 20 highlighted steady, multi‑year improvements in a state fiscal‑management review that officials say put the district “on the road out of receiverhip.” The report, the 13th review by the Financial Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FICMAT), showed that community relations, personnel management and pupil achievement reached the benchmark that allows the state team to stop annual review.
Superintendent and advisory officials presented the FICMAT scorecard and one‑page roadmap for remaining work. Dr. James Morris, who delivered the district’s summary, said the district achieved two consecutive years with area averages above the statutory benchmark and “two years in a row, no score below a four,” describing that progress as the reason some areas will no longer be reviewed.
Shayene Hart, deputy executive director of FICMAT, told the board the agency’s ratings use a 0–10 rubric, explained why two successive years at the benchmark are required, and urged the district to treat the report as a roadmap rather than a judgment. “The report provides a set of recommendations in procurement, audit follow‑up, and fiscal stabilization,” Hart said, while noting additional work remains in financial management and facilities.
Board members welcomed the progress but pressed for clarity on timing and costs of the next steps. Board Vice President Dr. Carlos McGee and counsel discussed statutory options for restoring areas of local control one at a time; Hart and Deputy General Counsel Patrick Sana said the county superintendent (not the board) makes final restoration decisions and that partial restorations have precedent but carry operational caveats.
District staff and FICMAT singled out priority actions: (1) bring remaining sub‑4 standards above the threshold (procurement bid practices, energy‑use tracking, fixed‑asset inventories), (2) finish a fiscal stabilization plan to end deficit spending, and (3) strengthen audit timeliness and repeat‑finding resolution. Hart and staff emphasized that sustaining changes—hence the return visit the next year—is the reason for the two‑year confirmation requirement.
The board directed staff to return with follow‑up materials on the timeline for the remaining standards, costs and staffing implications. No formal vote was required for the presentation; the board moved on to facilities and agenda business after the exchange.
