After months of putting procedures and practices into place to address deficiencies, Globe Unified School District received word from the Arizona Auditor General’s office that they are “no longer in noncompliance” with the Uniform System of Financial Records. This is significant because the noncompliance had resulted in the Arizona State Board of Education voting in December to withhold three percent of the district’s state funding, which represents about $300,000.
During the period of time the funding was withheld, GUSD Superintendent Christa Dalmolin-East said, “We worked to ensure there was no disruption in our day-to-day operations that would directly impact students, parents, and our school community at large as we worked through the process that began with audit results from FY23.” She said with the issue resolved, the funding should be reinstated and the withheld funding should be paid to the district after the September State Board of Education meeting. She added, “The reinstatement of our funding will allow us to continue to operate at current staffing, instruction and student support levels.”
In a letter dated July 27, 2026, the auditor general explained that they conducted a followup of the 2024 performance audit and reviewed the district’s fiscal year 2026 records and procedures. Based on available information, the three percent state funding loss can now end.
In a letter to district employees on Aug. 13., superintendent Christa Dalmolin-East wrote, “This is a result of significant work and effort on behalf of so many and specifically everyone in the Business Office, IT, Transportation, all front office staff, all student club advisors, and our ADs” (athletic directors).
GUSD received negative statewide publicity because of this situation, but Dalmolin-East assures that steps have been taken to address the issue and ensure the district maintains a positive standing in the future. She said, “Our students and families can and should expect financial transparency and excellence in financial reporting from us. We are demonstrating that currently as evidenced by the Certificate of Financial Excellence awarded to us in April. Our district has no indicators of high financial risk per the last auditor general’s report for all schools in Arizona. Our hard work is evidenced and our district has a bright future ahead.”
In January 2024, an audit found Globe Unified School District to not be in compliance with the USFR, according to the Arizona Auditor General’s Office. Audit findings included: The district failed to conduct and document the required number of random drug and alcohol tests for school bus drivers, purchasing and credit card controls lacked adequate documentation and oversight, cash-handling procedures were inconsistent, and accounting system access was overly broad, which created cybersecurity and financial reporting risks.
The district was given 90 days to correct the deficiencies. The district submitted a corrective action plan in August 2024, but the status review found that the district had not made adequate progress correcting the issues. In December 2025, the Arizona State Board of education voted Dec. 5 to withhold three percent of its state funding.
In a letter to state officials, Dalmolin-East explained that every dollar was crucial to the rural community and that the issues were “human error” in part due to employee turnover and vacant positions. She emphasized that there were no findings of fraud or financial mismanagement and that changes had been made to help reduce deficiencies.
“As a district we had to take a critical look at all processes and procedures from a business perspective including procurement, cash handling, student auxiliary operations, HR, payroll, and IT functions. We worked to improve all internal controls and made sure that there are checks and balances, separation of duties and standard procedures that force accurate and thorough record keeping,” Dalmolin-East said. “We had to identify our constraints, add and automate systems, and even buy new safes and door locks.”
Dalmolin-East said the FY27 USFR was recently released and contained new guidance and updated best practice recommendations. She said, “We are adjusting to be in-line with the new guidance and updated USFR. For example, we released a new multi-factor authentication update for all employees this week as part of our continual efforts to be in compliance.”
The district hopes to only move forward. Dalmolin-East added, “We encourage our students to work towards excellence by becoming a little better each day and we are doing the same.”
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