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District grants specialist urges transparency over Medicaid administration and $7 million in contracted spending
Summary
Crystal Rumba, the district's grants and Medicaid specialist, told the Sierra Vista Unified School District board her employment ends June 30 and urged transparency after raising concerns about Medicaid administration, separation of duties and oversight while the board considers more than $7 million in contracted expenditures.
Crystal Rumba, who identified herself as the grants and Medicaid specialist for Sierra Vista Unified School District, told the governing board on Monday evening that she has repeatedly raised concerns about the administration of the district’s Medicaid program and related oversight issues.
"Accountability is not criticism. Transparency is not conflict," Rumba said during the public comment period, stating she had provided documentation, participated in human resources meetings and made herself available to answer questions. She told trustees her employment with the district ends on June 30 and asked that the board apply the same scrutiny to personnel and programs as it does to major financial decisions.
Rumba said the board was being asked to approve more than $7 million in contracted expenditures for the coming year while the district simultaneously is closing three schools and eliminating positions. She urged the board to explain how those staffing reductions were evaluated, what alternatives were considered and how the district determined the reductions served the best use of public resources.
Rumba listed specific governance issues she said remain worthy of review regardless of personnel changes: workload, operational necessities, separation of duties, compliance, oversight, continuity of services and the administration of public funds. The board did not engage in discussion during the public comment period; the board’s stated rule for public comment is that members listen and do not respond during the comment.
The transcript does not specify which contracts make up the $7 million total, nor does it document a formal administrative response to Rumba’s claims at the meeting. Several district agenda items later in the meeting were approved by voice vote, including a recommended food service contract and other routine agreements; the transcript does not link those approvals to Rumba’s public comment.
The board may review the matters Rumba raised in future public sessions or in staff reports; at the meeting trustees moved on to the consent agenda and then to scheduled action items, including procurement and intergovernmental agreements.
