Board hires forensic auditor after $16.8M budget-gap dispute

What happened

On July 9, 2026 the board approved an engagement letter with PKF O'Connor Davies to act as the district's forensic auditor, and a separate letter for the 2026-27 outside audit. At the April 14, 2026 meeting, trustees said the gap between projected revenue and spending at the end of February was about $16.8 million, compared with about $3.3M (2023), $5.6M (2024) and $3.6M (2025). Administrators called it a 'snapshot in time' and said the 2026-27 shortfall of about $3 million was closed with cuts.

Why it matters to families

A forensic audit asks what went wrong, not just whether the numbers add up. Trustees disagreed in public about where the large gap came from. The review is not a finding of wrongdoing, and its results are not in the records we collected.

The evidence

July 9 minutes: 'Appointment of Forensic Auditor ... engagement letter dated July 9, 2026, with PFK O'Connor Davies' and 'Appointment of External Auditor ... for the 2026-2027 School year'. April 14, 2026 recording (auto-captions): trustees cite the $16.8M figure and call for a forensic audit; the business official calls it a snapshot in time. The 2024-25 audit also shows a $5.49M deficit in the capital projects fund.

The source