A forensic audit found that Nyssa School District leaders spent more than $700,000 in migrant education funds on expenses such as a van, supplies and office space that weren’t allowed for the program.
The long-awaited third-party audit conducted by Crowe LLP, a public accounting and consulting firm, reviewed five years of spending on the district’s migrant education program from 2017 to 2022.
State officials have been investigating the district’s migrant education program since 2022, when they discovered that 129 families with 277 children were improperly enrolled. State documents also revealed that 19 past and current district employees had 58 of their own children in the program, which allowed them to access government services they otherwise would not have received.
Among those with children inappropriately enrolled was Ryan Hawkins, now the district’s superintendent. During the audit years, Hawkins was Nyssa’s assistant superintendent.
Last year, the state Education Department said it intended to recover $350,000 in federal funding from the district’s migrant program by adjusting its allocation due to the enrollment of ineligible students.
Marc Siegel, a public relations representative with the Oregon Department of Education, said in a Wednesday, Sept. 25 email that the $736,126 identified in the Crowe audit refers to other expenses detailed in the report, and not the $350,000 from ineligible enrollments.
He said the state intends to recover $492,047 in federal funding from the Nyssa district, and will work with Nyssa to collect the money by decreasing its funding allocation or through repayment of non-federal funds.
The audit, which took months to complete, analyzed financial and business records provided by Nyssa employees, according to the report. Auditors also interviewed “certain current and former employees.”
However, the report noted that employees with firsthand knowledge of the program expenses from 2017 to 2022 no longer work for Nyssa. That includes the former superintendent, supervisor of the migrant program and lead recruiter.
Given that those employees were no longer with the district, the report said Crowe could not determine “the intent” behind the inappropriate expenses. Crowe wrote that it conducted “fact-finding and investigative interviews” with Charlie Bauer, an education programs manager with the state Department of Education; Matt Murray, the current federal programs director for Nyssa; Crystal Rideau, Nyssa’s business manager; and Don Grotting, former Nyssa superintendent. The Nyssa board hired Grotting to help oversee the state investigation of the migrant program.
Gabe Fuentes, who was supervisor of the migrant program during the years reviewed, was let go from the district’s migrant program in September 2023 due to funding constraints, according to district documents. During that time, he was hired as Nyssa boys basketball coach and continues to coach the team.
Fuentes declined to say if Crowe contacted him for an interview but said, “I am always available if someone wants to communicate with me regarding anything.”
Vincent Parker, a representative with Crowe, declined to comment, citing client contract confidentiality.
The report noted the documentation maintained by Nyssa leaders lacked “sufficient detail” to determine the scope of its expenditures.
“Narratives and supporting documentation were very generic in their descriptions of the use of funds,” the report noted.
The report pointed out that Nyssa officials could not provide the number of migrant students who received services such as after-school tutoring and other programs. Crowe added that two vehicles were purchased for more than $70,000 but were not used solely for migrant students.
The district could not provide evidence to the Crowe auditors to substantiate how the vehicles were used as it did not track that information during the audit years.
In a Wednesday, Sept. 11, letter, Charlene Williams, director of the state Department of Education, told Hawkins the district would now be in a “heightened risk” category, down from “high risk.”
This returns basic responsibilities to the district, including recruitment, family engagement activities and the ability to hire staff. Williams said the recruiter must have at least one year of experience with the migrant program. Nyssa leaders must also meet with state officials twice monthly, and migrant program employees must attend weekly meetings with state program officials.
The district also must submit a monthly expense report before any funds are approved. The district was required to submit a report before Monday, Sept. 30, describing how it intends to implement Crowe’s recommendations to improve documentation and adhere to rules for allowable expenses and asset tracking.
Williams said the state officials will visit Nyssa to monitor other federal programs.
Hawkins, who previously apologized to state officials for having his children in the migrant program but declined to comment publicly, said the downgrade from high to heightened risk is a “celebration” of Nyssa moving past the three-year investigation of its migrant program.
“We’re going to continue to improve,” Hawkins said. He said that since 2022, the district has been “under a microscope,” and that the state is willing to allow the district more leeway.
“It shows faith, and trust is being restored into our system,” Hawkins said.
However, he said, the district cannot afford to become complacent.
Hawkins said the district’s other programs are monitored every three years. During the last cycle, auditors found no issues.
“Our programs are operating functionally and we’re in compliance,” he said.
News tip? Send your information to Steven Mitchell at [email protected].
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