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Union members and community question superintendent’s statements after auditor’s management letter
Summary
Union members, parents and community speakers at the May 12 Evergreen Public Schools board meeting urged greater transparency after a Washington State Auditor management letter prompted renewed scrutiny of September 4, 2023 supplemental contracts; speakers accused Superintendent Dr. Maloney of misstating that the SAO had reviewed those contracts and called for independent review.
At the May 12 Evergreen Public Schools Board of Directors meeting, multiple union members and parents challenged Superintendent Dr. Roberta Maloney’s earlier statements about the Washington State Auditor’s Office review of September 4, 2023 supplemental contracts and urged the board to pursue outside scrutiny.
Adam Aguilera, speaking for the Evergreen Education Association, said the superintendent “made a false statement that the superintendent had made and the SAO had had done no such thing,” and accused district leaders of missing opportunities to report alleged internal-control problems. Aguilera cited the statutory reporting duty under RCW 43.09.185 when urging the board to assess whether required reports were filed.
Angie Bunda told the board she understood SAO auditors held an exit interview on May 8 and said public records she reviewed showed the supplemental contracts were not included in the FY24 accountability audit. “So Dr. Maloney’s February 10th, 2026 statement regarding those contracts was false,” Bunda said, and she urged board action under district policies GC1 and GC7.
Camille Lman, who said she works in accounting, said email records exchanged during the audit process warrant public review and called the timing and wording of the SAO management letter “very, very interesting” and a reason to request an independent audit.
In her superintendent report earlier in the meeting, Dr. Maloney told the board that Evergreen received a clean audit overall and that the SAO “did not issue a finding of fraud, misuse of funds, or intentional wrongdoing.” She said the auditor’s office issued two management letters: one recommending that supplemental contracts be executed prior to work and documented to show the work was outside the employee’s regular duties, and another noting the district’s declining fund balance and recommending steps to strengthen controls and restore fiscal stability. Dr. Maloney said the district accepts those recommendations and is implementing procedural refinements.
Several public speakers said they interpret the SAO follow-up as an indication the September 2023 supplemental contracts were not previously examined and that the superintendent’s February statements were inaccurate. Board discussion later in the meeting indicated directors had attended the SAO exit conference and expected the SAO to post a public report to its website this week; a director said the board had received the final report by email shortly before the exit conference.
No formal board action (motions or votes) addressing the supplemental-contracts issue or superintendent’s statements occurred at the meeting. A board member asked whether the SAO management letter could be posted on the district website; another director requested an impartial legal review outside the district’s usual counsel.
The matter remains disputed in public comment and the board awaits the SAO’s public release of its report for additional details.
