TUSD audit committee addresses concerns over family ties

The TUSD Audit Committee is changing its charter after coming under fire for allowing members to be married to district employees.

The new charter is unlikely to appease some critics because it continues to allow for such relationships in most cases. The new rules would prohibit committee members to be married or related to district leaders. That would include principals, directors and members of the TUSD superintendent’s cabinet.

It also requires members to disclose conflicts of interest when necessary and removes voting power from two members of the committee: the district’s chief financial officer and governing board member.

The charter changes, approved by the committee Friday, come on the heels of the public learning that three of the audit committee members were related to TUSD employees.

Since then, two of those members have resigned. The third, Ricky Hernandez, remains.

Hernandez, who serves as the Pima County Schools Deputy Superintendent, is not related to someone in a leadership capacity.

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TUSD Governing Board members Mark Stegeman and Michael Hicks have voiced concern about the charter changes. They say the committee is not truly independent and that such connections could affect a member’s ability to serve in a watchdog role.

The audit committee was established to provide independent advice, assistance and recommendations to the governing board in the oversight of the internal and external audit functions of TUSD.

It also handles anonymous complaints of financial wrongdoing, theft of district assets, violation of procurement codes, fraud and other matters.

A portion of the revised charter will go to the governing board for study on Jan. 26.

A final revised charter for the committee will be up for a Governing Board vote on Feb. 9.