So, the Dallas Independent School District audit is done -- and posted to the district's Web site, even, for those who can make heads or tails of the 133-page report that comes down on the district for its poor accounting and inability or unwillingness to track how it spends money, especially dough of the federal flavor. The Dallas Morning News, which has also done a quick read of the estimable document, has a few highlights -- chief among them, the note from consultant Carolyn Jones, who "said it will take three years to fully fix all of the problems brought to light by the audit." But God bless Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, who has this to say on the district's Web site:
As someone with a kid about to enter DISD, where I was edumicated from grades 3-12, I will, for now, hope for the best and keep drinking this very tall glass of bourbon. --Robert Wilonsky"At long last, I am pleased that this external audit is now complete. While it took a lot of time and effort to get this point, now the real work begins through financial transformation. Changes in Dallas ISD’s financial accounting system will not be achieved overnight, just as the issues raised by this audit did not occur over a short period of time.
It should be noted that this is the kind of audit that we requested and expected from Deloitte and Touche. It provides Dallas ISD with a roadmap for improvement, and the tone we intend to continue to set is that we want to have a financial accounting system that will be a model for other districts to emulate. Our goal is to provide as many resources as possible to where they are needed the most: in the classrooms, where our students are highly engaged on a day to day basis."
