September 10, 2024
Dear Jag Community,
As many of you are already aware, the State Auditor's Office (SAO) recently completed and released an Accountability Audit of Easton School District. The Accountability Audit covered the school years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22. During the course of the audit process, current Easton staff alerted the State Auditor's Office (SAO) to additional areas of financial concern. This led to the auditor completing a Fraud Investigation on former Easton School District employees. The Fraud Investigation covered the school years 2011 to 2021.
Both reports can be found on the SAO website at https://www.sao.wa.gov/reports-data/audit-reports or below:
Accountability Audit Report(2019-2022): HERE Fraud Investigation Report(2011-2021): HERE
Along with the reports, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has required Easton School District to outline the policy and operational changes that have taken place to ensure compliance with the SAO’s audit report and to safeguard the district from future fraud activity. The requirements from OSPI and Easton School District’s response are below.
Accountability Audit
OSPI to Easton Audit Letter (8.19.24)
Easton to OSPI Audit Letter Response (9.6.24)
OSPI to Easton Audit Resolved (9.9.24)
Fraud Investigation
OSPI to Easton Fraud Investigation Letter(8.19.24)
Easton to OSPI Fraud Investigation Letter Response (8.19.24)
OPSI to Easton Fraud Investigation Resolved (8.22.24)
The Easton School Board and I are committed to being open and transparent with our community. We are working to regain the lost trust in the school district caused by former Easton employees.
As I have mentioned before, since arriving at Easton in July 2022, along with our new business office team, we have "cleaned up" and are continuing to fix past school financial and staffing issues. As a result, our fund balance (school savings account) has gone from less than $40,000 to well over $800,000. This is due to the hard work and dedication that our team has done and continues to do. With that being said, all Board meetings, Board agendas, and meeting videos can be found on our online school board platform, BoardDocs, which is available at:https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/eastonsd/Board.nsf/Public If you are unable to attend a live meeting, recordings of Easton School Board meetings can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/@eastonjaguars
As a result of the audit and fraud investigation reports, Easton School District has submitted a fraud claim with our district’s insurance provider to recover lost funds and has filed criminal charges with the Kittitas County Sheriff's Department. I will keep the community updated as this progresses.
Thank you, and don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions regarding the Accountability Audit and Fraud Investigation.
Aaron Kombol, Superintendent