A school district managed by a candidate running to be Merced County’s top education chief is coming under scrutiny after a recent audit raised questions.
Richard Lopez is the longtime superintendent of Merced River School District, a small district with roughly 300 students located in the unincorporated community of Winton.
Lopez is one of four candidates on the June 2 primary ballot for Merced County Superintendent of Schools, in a race to take the leadership reins from Steve Tietjen, who is retiring.
On March 4 of this year, the Merced County Office of Education referred an “allegation of misappropriation of funds” to the state Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, otherwise known as FCMAT, according to an email from Michael H. Fine, the team’s chief executive officer.
The referral to FCMAT came after an audit conducted by the San Diego-based firm Christy White, Inc., noted significant deficiencies in the district’s financial statements.
KVPR and The Merced FOCUS received a copy of the audit report by the Merced County Office of Education through a public records request.
Among the findings, the audit revealed the school district showed issues with the disbursement and recording of student body funds, vacation accruals for employees and cash deposits.
FCMAT officials said the team is still in the process of reviewing the allegation.
FCMAT is an independent entity that was created in 1991 by a state Assembly bill and is administered by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. It provides management assistance, fiscal advice and training to local education agencies, including school districts.
“The district welcomed the opportunity for further collaboration and transparency, and FCMAT conducted a more comprehensive assessment of district operations,” Lopez wrote in an email in response to questions from KVPR and The Merced FOCUS. “We find the timing of the filing to FCMAT somewhat questionable, with the election around the corner.”
The referral was made just a few months before the June 2 primary election. The top two vote-getters in the race will advance to the general election in November. Lopez’s opponents include El Nido Superintendent Paula Heupel, Atwater Elementary Assistant Superintendent Ana Boyenga and retired superintendent Alberto Velarde.
The superintendent of schools leads the Merced County Office of Education, which works as a support system for school districts and schools throughout the county. The office also oversees and assists with school district finances, including receiving and assisting with audit findings.
Audit reveals funds used for payroll, untimely deposits
The audit report, dated June 30, 2025, addressed six total findings, four of which fall under the district’s finances. The findings start on pg. 67 of the audit.
One primary finding showed issues with student body funds. Several of the transactions were allegedly not used for student activity purposes, but were instead used for district purposes related to payroll.
The auditor found that some of the district’s transactions were not accompanied by an invoice or documented approval. The auditor could not confirm that all funds collected for the activities were accurately recorded or if they made it to the bank on time.
The audit could not confirm that the check totals matched invoice amounts or if approvals were maintained for the transactions. At Washington Elementary School, the Associated Student Body activity was not being recorded in the district’s student activity fund. According to the report, the bank reconciliation for June last year was not yet prepared by October.
Beyond student body funds, the report revealed employees were able to request payouts of their vacation accruals at any point in the year, and rates for accruals were not streamlined across the district. The audit said this action could result in “the potential for gift of public funds.”
“Some employees appear to have 10 vacation days accrued in one year and then 20 days the next, without an approval or documentation for change in vacation accrual rates,” the auditor report stated.
Plus, the district continued with untimely deposits and insufficient internal controls on financial reporting. The audit revealed Merced River was depositing cash receipts in the bank several months after receiving them, and prior year balances were not cleared as of the date of the audit.
According to the auditor, these actions could lead to the loss of funds or for accounting irregularities to go undetected.
The audit laid out recommendations and a corrective action plan for all of the findings.
Lopez responds
Lopez did not respond to a request for an interview, but in a written response, he said “Merced River has resolved these findings without a need for FCMAT to intervene because the County Office of Education has been available for support.”
In his email response, the district took the audit findings seriously, he said, and submitted a corrective action plan. He highlighted that the audit did not identify any misappropriation of funds.
Lopez pointed out that MCOE submitted its referral to FCMAT before receiving Merced River’s corrective action plan.
“We believe this highlights a missed opportunity for additional collaboration between MCOE and the district,” he wrote. “As the agency responsible for providing fiscal oversight and guidance, MCOE plays an important role in supporting districts as they work through challenges and implement improvements.”
“Merced River has resolved these findings without a need for FCMAT to intervene because the County Office of Education has been available for support.”
Richard Lopez, Merced River School District Superintendent and candidate for Merced County Superintendent of Schools
The district remains committed to transparency, accountability and continued improvement, Lopez said, adding that he’s confident the district can strengthen its fiscal practices.
Lopez also challenged KVPR and The Merced FOCUS to reach out to other district superintendents for their input on the matter.
“As a county, we are supposed to work together, address problems together, and find solutions together,” Lopez wrote in bold font.
Opponents stick to their campaigns
KVPR and The Merced FOCUS reached out to all three opponents in the superintendent race with questions regarding their thoughts on the audit.
Heupel did not respond to specific questions regarding Merced River’s audit findings, but she did say managing a school’s finances correctly is “paramount.”
“The trust in our taxpayers that they have in our schools is essential, and that’s our charge,” Heupel said. “It’s our charge to ensure that we have safe environments, that our students are given every opportunity to excel and achieve, and the financial resources are the means to that.”
When it comes to any candidate coming under scrutiny for their experience and record, Heupel said “it’s the voters’ responsibility to be educated on who they are voting for and the reasons why they would be voting for a particular candidate.”
Boyenga didn’t respond directly to questions about the audit findings, either, and instead said she’s focused on running a “positive and ethical” campaign.
She did, however, say it is the role of the county superintendent to “ensure fiscal solvency and accountability at each of the 20 school districts.” Boyenga was recently endorsed by the current superintendent, Tietjen.
Velarde declined a request to interview or to comment.
