SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, California Charter Schools Association President and CEO Myrna Castrejón issued the following statement regarding the Multi-Agency Charter School Audits Task Force Report and recommendations:
“CCSA would like to commend the State Controller’s Office for its leadership and guidance as state agencies and education organizations, including the CCSA, worked collectively and collaboratively to recommend changes intended to strengthen statewide audit standards and guidelines for charter public schools in the future.
As highlighted in the report, the recommended changes to statewide audit standards and guidelines should also be applied to school districts and county offices of education to bolster the audit functions across the entire local education agency system.
The recommendations in the SCO’s Multi-Agency Task Force Report are a good starting point, helping detect and curtail fraud before it happens. CCSA now looks forward to engaging in even deeper conversations about the implementation of many of these recommendations to improve the annual school auditing process in a comprehensive way to prevent any financial abuses or to identify and correct them as soon as possible.
CCSA has been an active and willing partner to state agencies and other organizations, including the Legislative Analyst’s Office, Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team, and the California Charter Authorizing Professionals, because charter public schools across California are deeply committed to being good stewards of state education dollars. Our work with the SCO sends another strong message to the state’s charter sector that any financial misconduct is intolerable, and we stand ready to raise the alarm should such transgressions come to light.”
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About the California Charter Schools Association
The vision of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) is to build great public schools of joy and rigor that prepare all California students for success in college, career, community, and life. The mission of CCSA is to meet parent, educator, and community need for great public school options by supporting and advocating for high quality non-profit charter schools and sharing their success throughout California’s public schools. Learn more.