Paso Robles school district needs accountability, transparency

November 5, 2026

District Trustee Kenney Enney

OPINION by KENNEY ENNEY

Statements issued by Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board President Joel Peterson and Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Superintendent Jennifer Loftus fail to address the substance of the credit card concerns. Instead, they focus on process complaints while ignoring the underlying questions about public expenditures.

I have regularly raised concerns about potential district credit card abuse during board meetings since 2023. President Peterson not only refused to meaningfully address the issue but at times even defended the expenditures and was dismissive of my concerns.

When leadership consistently protects the spending rather than examining it, outside review becomes necessary.

After meeting with citizens who identified potential criminal concerns in the records, I referred the matter to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division. This was the appropriate step because the district’s executive cabinet was potentially involved and members of the board may have benefited through gifts that appeared to have been paid with the credit cards.

As an elected official, I have a responsibility to ensure potential misuse of public funds is examined by an independent authority. The District Attorney had the authority to determine how the investigation should proceed.

Government Code section 54963 expressly authorizes such a confidential inquiry to a district attorney, and the board may not treat that referral as a violation.

I was only one of several people who reviewed the information obtained through public records requests. Whether, or how the information reached the media is moot, because the citizens of Paso Robles have a right to know whether their tax dollars are being used to educate children or to fund luncheons and daily coffees for administrators whose compensation ranges from $250,000 to $300,000 per year.

Public funds demand public accountability. Transparency is not optional when the questions involve the potential personal benefit of high-level officials.

I believe in transparency and will vigorously resist any effort by the board or district to chill my free speech or prevent me from keeping the citizens of Paso Robles informed. Referring good-faith concerns about public expenditures to the district dttorney is protected under Civil Code section 47(b) and the anti-SLAPP statute.

Any threats of litigation, attempts to revoke insurance, or other forms of intimidation will not succeed.

I welcome a genuine investigation. The community must be assured that any review is truly independent and under the direction of the District Attorney and the County Office of Education. A routine “audit” or internal review controlled by the district will not be sufficient.

At a minimum, an outside forensic audit is required that specifically identifies and analyzes suspected violations of state law, district policy, and PRJUSD CalCard rules.

The findings must be made public.

If nothing improper has occurred, then the district should have no concern about a thorough, independent investigation. The public deserves clear answers, not deflection.