Clifton Unified School District

In fiscal year 2012, Clifton Unified School District’s student AIMS scores were lower than both its peer districts’ and state averages. The District’s instructional program needs improvement. For example, some students were not provided the statutorily required number of instructional hours, and one of its four teachers did not have a teaching certificate. The District’s operational efficiencies were mixed, with some costs higher and some costs lower than peer districts’. However, the District lacked proper oversight and adequate controls over nearly all of its operations. Poor business procedures, including budgeting errors and failure to monitor spending, have threatened the District’s ability to continue operations. Further, the lack of controls over areas such as payroll, purchasing, and student activities monies have increased the risk of errors and fraud and have contributed to unsupported payments and improper use of monies. The District has been unable to report its costs accurately to the State, and its accounting records were in such disarray that its contracted financial statement auditors were not able to express an opinion on the District’s financial statements. The District also failed to meet several transportation safety requirements. For example, its primary bus driver was not certified to drive a school bus. Lastly, the District did not meet its obligation to provide adequate supervision of inmate workers on its campus as we observed many occasions of unsupervised inmates and one occasion of unsupervised inmates talking with students.