You may recall from past Jag News newsletter articles that Easton School District has been under audit by the State Auditor's Office (SAO) since the Spring of 2023. The audit covered the school years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.
The audit was finally released to the District and the public on August 13, 2024. During the audit process, current Easton staff alerted the State Auditor's Office (SAO) to additional areas of financial concern, which in turn led to the auditor completing a fraud investigation on former Easton School District employees.
For transparency and clarity, I have attached our Accountability Audit (LINKED HERE), which also includes the steps that the District has already taken, and the Fraud Investigation report (LINKED HERE), both of which can also be found on the SAO website at: https://www.sao.wa.gov/reports-data/audit-reports In addition, on August 15, 2024, the Daily Record published an article on the audit and the investigation on the former Easton Superintendent.
Since my arrival at Easton in July 2022, along with our new business office team, we have "cleaned up" and are continuing to fix the issues of the past in the areas of finance and staffing.
As a result, our fund balance (school savings account) has gone from less than $40,000 to over $800,000 as of last month. This is due to the hard work and dedication that our team has done and continues to do.
If you would like to learn more about school finance and how school districts operate, please see our online School Board platform at: https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/eastonsd/Board.nsf/Public
As a result of the finalized audit and fraud investigation, Easton School District is already working with our District’s insurance provider to recover these funds and has also filed criminal charges with the Kittitas County Sheriff's Department.
While I can't fix the actions (or inactions) of individuals from the past, as we move forward, my goals at Easton remain the same: to ensure that Easton School District provides the absolute best opportunities for our students while being financially stable and following the law.
Please contact me if you have any questions at superintendent@easton.wednet.edu or 509.656.2317
Aaron Kombol
Superintendent