Forensic Audit Arrives: PSJA ISD will make it public

By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal

The PSJA ISD Forensic Audit has arrived. What’s in it, what did it find out about the way the previous superintendent, Jorge Arredondo, and his Houston-heavy administration spent money? We shall see.

In a story published in The Advance this past January, PSJA ISD Superintendent Alejandro Elias said that it usually takes anywhere from six to nine months to do a forensic audit the way the board wanted it done — from top to bottom. Approximately eight months later, the public should soon have one in hand.

This Monday, the district posted a notice for a called board meeting for Thursday at 6 p.m. at the PSJA Early College High School Lecture Hall (805 W. Ridge).

Only item on the agenda, besides the pledge and public comments — “Presentation and discussion on findings related to Forensic Audit conducted by Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P.”

It’s not an action item, only a discussion item. Meaning, presumably, after discussing the Forensic Audit on Thursday, the board will vote to accept it and make it public at a regular meeting Sept. 25.

Public Information Request for a copy, ready to submit.

When asked last January why the PSJA district was pursuing a forensic audit two months after a heated election that shifted the board majority, instead of simply laying everything aside and moving on, the past is the past, that sort of thing, Elias said: “Well, I think number one, it’s transparency to the whole community, and we owe it to our students as well. Transparency is, number one, where was this money really allocated? Was it justifiably spent or was it misused, or what was it that put us in this situation now? To me, transparency goes a long way, and I think we owe it to all our taxpayers to pursue it.”

News to a newspaper’s ear and the public in general: full transparency.