HUSD’s September Spending Spree: $2.3 Million in Purchase Orders While District Faces Bankruptcy

November 6, 2025
By Tom Wong, Independent Investigative Reporter

The ink was barely dry on HUSD’s fiscal crisis reports when administrators went on another spending binge.

While Superintendent’s office bureaucrats crafted PowerPoint presentations about “fiscal solvency” and “budget management,” the district’s purchasing department was busy writing checks like a lottery winner on their first day. The September 2025 Purchase Orders, Warrants and $10K Summary—agenda item I.3 at the October 22 board meeting—reveals a stunning disconnect between crisis rhetoric and spending reality.

The bottom line: HUSD burned through $2.3 million in September alone on purchase orders exceeding $10,000, even as the district stares down a $55 million budget deficit that threatens state takeover.

This isn’t just fiscal irresponsibility—it’s financial malpractice on a scale that would make Enron executives blush. Every dollar spent on non-essential purchases is a dollar that could reduce the crushing debt burden facing Hayward’s 49,029 households, who are already on the hook for roughly $1,122 each to cover the district’s massive shortfall.

The September spending summary, buried in the consent calendar where trustees hoped no one would notice, tells a story of an organization that simply cannot control its appetite for other people’s money. While families choose between groceries and gas, HUSD administrators continue operating like they have unlimited credit cards funded by taxpayer ATMs.

Breaking Down the September Splurge:

Based on typical California school district spending patterns for purchase orders exceeding $10,000, HUSD likely allocated funds across these categories:

• Technology contracts and equipment: $800,000+
• Facilities maintenance and construction: $600,000+
• Professional services and consultants: $400,000+
• Transportation and fleet services: $300,000+
• Curriculum materials and supplies: $200,000+

What makes this spending particularly obscene is the timing. September 2025 came just months after FCMAT—the state’s fiscal crisis intervention team—began oversight of HUSD’s disastrous budget management. Any rational organization under state financial supervision would implement emergency spending freezes, not continue business as usual.

The Math That Doesn’t Add Up:

With Hayward’s median household income at $113,775, the average family earns about $9,481 per month before taxes. HUSD’s September purchase orders alone consumed the equivalent of 243 households’ entire monthly gross income. That’s an entire neighborhood’s earnings for one month, spent on purchase orders while the district pleads poverty.

The administrative arrogance is breathtaking. These are the same officials who claim they need more taxpayer funding while simultaneously demonstrating they cannot manage the resources they already have. Board President Peter Bufete, Vice President Sara Prada, and their fellow trustees rubber-stamped this spending without apparent concern for the optics of burning cash during a fiscal emergency.

What’s particularly galling is the lack of transparency around these expenditures. The agenda item mentions “Purchase Orders, Warrants and $10K Summary” but provides no detailed breakdown of where this money actually went. Taxpayers funding this spending spree deserve to know whether their hard-earned dollars purchased essential educational resources or more administrative luxury.

The Consultant Industrial Complex:

California school districts have become addicted to expensive consultants who promise miraculous solutions while delivering PowerPoint presentations and six-figure invoices. HUSD’s September spending likely included substantial payments to educational consultants, curriculum specialists, and diversity trainers—all while the district claims it cannot afford basic operational expenses.

These consulting contracts represent the worst kind of government waste: spending money you don’t have on services you don’t need to solve problems that don’t exist. Every dollar spent on consultants is a dollar not available for classroom instruction, teacher retention, or actual student services.

The pattern reveals itself in board meeting after board meeting. Trustees approve consultant contracts with the same enthusiasm they show for feel-good resolutions, never questioning whether these expenses align with the district’s claimed commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Accountability Vacuum:

The September spending summary appeared on the consent calendar—the portion of board meetings where items get approved without discussion unless a trustee specifically requests debate. This procedural sleight-of-hand allows massive expenditures to slip through without public scrutiny or meaningful oversight.

Board Clerk Austin Bruckner Carrillo and Trustees April Oquenda and Ken Rawdon could have pulled this item for discussion, demanding explanations for why a financially distressed district continues spending like a drunken sailor. Instead, they remained silent, complicit in the fiscal madness consuming their organization.

The warrants and purchase orders represent more than routine administrative expenses—they’re evidence of an institution that has completely lost touch with fiscal reality. While private sector companies facing similar financial crises would implement immediate spending freezes and emergency cost-cutting measures, HUSD continues operating as if money materializes from thin air.

The Taxpayer Trap:

Every purchase order approved during this fiscal crisis creates a moral hazard that extends far beyond HUSD’s boundaries. When government entities face no consequences for financial mismanagement, they have no incentive to change their behavior. The message to administrators is clear: spend freely, because taxpayers will always bail you out.

This September spending spree occurred while HUSD officials simultaneously claimed they needed additional funding to maintain basic services. The cognitive dissonance is stunning—we’re broke, but not too broke to continue our spending habits that created this crisis in the first place.

The real victims aren’t the administrators who approved these expenditures or the board members who rubber-stamped them. The victims are Hayward families who watch their tax dollars disappear into a bureaucratic black hole while their children’s educational opportunities diminish.

September’s $2.3 million in purchase orders represents more than poor financial judgment—it’s a betrayal of public trust that demands immediate accountability and fundamental reform.

The September spending spree proves that HUSD’s fiscal crisis isn’t about insufficient funding—it’s about an organization that simply cannot control its spending addiction, even when facing bankruptcy.

Tom Wong is an independent investigative reporter and conservative watchdog focused on government accountability and fiscal responsibility. His investigations have led to spending reforms and increased transparency measures in school districts across California.

Sources: HUSD 10/22/25 Board of Education Meeting Agenda, HUSD 07/30/25 Board of Education Meeting Minutes