Pasadena : Attendance Data Unverified

An audit has found that the Pasadena Unified School District is sending unverified data on student attendance to the state, which could result in less funding for the district. The audit, conducted by the Los Angeles-based accounting firm of Quezada Navarro & Co., was made public at the district’s Jan. 14 school board meeting. The attendance records are used by the state to determine how much state money each school district receives, and inaccurate reporting could cost the district money.

Peter Hagen, business manager for the district, said that schools are supposed to work with the district in cross-checking attendance figures. However, he said, some schools had placed a low priority on attendance checks, and district figures that should be verified by the schools are not. “I can’t pinpoint how much has been lost,” Hagen said.

The audit also showed that the district cannot account for all of its equipment because it is not maintaining an accurate inventory. Hagen said that the opening and closing of schools within the district and the moving of equipment between schools could explain why some of the equipment cannot be traced.

Hagen said the district is working to correct the deficiencies revealed by the audit. He said he has assigned a staff member to monitor the attendance reports and is introducing new computer systems in some schools to track attendance. He said he also will propose that the school board either hire an outside agency to inventory the school district equipment or ask district employees to inventory the equipment over a three-year period.