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The San Mateo County Office of Education has determined an external audit of the Las Lomitas Elementary School District is warranted. Assembly Bill 169 “extraordinary audits” occur when the county superintendent believes “fraud, misappropriation of funds, or other illegal fiscal practices have occurred that merit examination,” according to Education Code.
The Office of Education conducted a preliminary audit of credit card usage from 2022 to 2024 by 16 employees assigned U.S. Bank cards, reviewing statements and related documentation, but did not evaluate whether the charges were appropriate.
The Office of Education will hire a “Subject Matter Expert” to conduct the audit, according to a Friday, Jan. 10, letter sent to Las Lomitas officials.
County Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Kevin Bultema, who wrote the letter, was not immediately available for comment. The county has declined multiple interviews.
Update on Jan. 13: Winikoff told this news organization that Las Lomitas will “cooperate fully” with the extraordinary audit and the District Attorney’s investigation.
Board President Paige Winikoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the extraordinary audit.
The extraordinary audit comes after the District Attorney’s Office launched its own investigation into Las Lomitas’ credit card usage, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed to this news organization.
“[The investigation] relates to expenditures on a district credit card and whether there was any improper use of the credit card to pay for non-district business,” Wagstaffe said. He was unable to say which officials were under investigation.
Wagstaffe is hopeful that the public will have answers shortly.
“I would hope our investigation would be done in one or two months at most,” he said. “We just need to get the appropriate records and review them.”
He also added that the investigation was initiated due to a report from a citizen.
Winikoff declined to comment on the DA’s investigation and Superintendent Beth Polito has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment.
An Almanac investigation found that Las Lomitas district officials stayed at the Four Seasons and spent more than $39,000 on food through catering and delivery services in under a year.
Bultema will present at the board’s next meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at the La Entrada Middle School Atrium, 2200 Sharon Road in Menlo Park. Members of the public can also watch the meeting on Zoom.
Despite The Almanac reporting that the board may be violating the Brown Act by limiting public comment, the public agenda suggests the board has not made any changes.
Read the letter from the county here:
This is a developing story and will be updated.
When I emailed the County Office of Education expressing a potential concern that “Polito violated our District’s Board Policies and Administrative Regulations (BP 3350 and AR 3350), her own employment contract (attached), and likely state law with her extravagant, unnecessary spending on luxury hotels ($66k over 2.25 years), flight upgrades (flying premium and economy plus), extensive uber rides ($7.6k over 2.25 years), and excessive food spending ($35k over 2.25 years)” the County’s response was:
“I am responding to your email (included below) on behalf of the County Superintendent’s Office.
“All the concerns you describe are matters of the Las Lomitas School District. The County Office of Education has no jurisdiction or authority to act in these matters. I advise you to bring your concerns to the Las Lomitas School Board. They are [sic] governing body who can appropriately respond to the information you’ve shared. Sincerely, Nancy”
Does anyone understand why the County Office of Education would state that it has “no jurisdiction or authority to act in these matters” when clearly it does (and is now going so far now as to pursue an Extraordinary Audit)?
Nancy Magee, the San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools, and Beth Polito are reportedly close, frequently advocating for one another. Initially, LLESD parents reached out to Magee, requesting her to investigate the allegations. However, she declined and referred the matter back to the District’s Board of Trustees, led by Heather Hopkins—an ally and steadfast supporter of Polito.
Parents later discovered this through documents obtained via a request under the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
Now that the District Attorney’s office has begun investigating Polito’s actions, Nancy Magee’s office has shifted its stance. In an apparent effort to save face, it has now decided to look into the allegations. Let’s hope Kevin Bultema can maintain his independence and avoid being influenced by his boss’s relationship with Polito!