YISD hires auditing firm to ensure bond money is used correctly

The Ysleta Independent School District wants to make sure every penny approved in the 2015 $430-million bond will be spent wisely. The district has hired an independent construction auditing firm to help ensure the money is going to what was voted for.

“The board wants to make sure that we are totally transparent the public feels good. $430-million dollars is a huge amount of money,” Pat O’Neill, Associate Superintendent of Operations said.

The bond, which was approved last November, will help build new campuses and renovate others, including $93-million alone to redesigning Eastwood High School.
Townsend Associates, which does work across the state, presented to the school board Monday.

“We’ll be looking at all the contracting activity they’re doing, the higher contractors for the bond, how they’re spending the money essentially, making sure it’s done per Texas code,” Rich Townsend, Co-owner of Townsend Associates said.

“For example, I just did one for a university here in Texas, the contractor billed them for more than $3-million worth of labor for their people that managed the job, but their actual cost was $500,000 less,” Townsend said.

The company will also act as an extra set of eyes, alongside the board and the bond oversight committee, putting the taxpayer’s mind at ease.

“Bid reading is always a concern, bid manipulation, favoritism, those sorts of things, so we’ll be looking for any signs of problems like that,” Towdsend said.