An overlooked section in a recent state audit called out San Diego Unified and other districts across the state for their use of jargon, over-complicated explanations and redundant information, all of which “reduced transparency” in the state funding process. A state audit released in late 2019 slammed school districts for making the LCAP process impossible for parents to understand. The audit called out San Diego Unified School District, as well as other districts across the state, for their use of jargon, over-complicated explanations and redundant information, all of which “reduced transparency” in the LCAP process, the audit revealed.
Richard Barrera, a San Diego Unified board member, acknowledged that the jargon of top district workers can be a big problem. Barrera said part of the fault lies with the state Department of Education for creating an LCAP template that is complicated and not user-friendly. But ultimately, he acknowledged that the responsibility rests with districts like San Diego Unified to communicate with parents in a way that is easy to understand.
