Board News & Communications

Dear Timpanogos Families, Some of you may have seen recent news coverage about a financial matter at the school. I want to write to you directly — not through a third party, not after the fact — and share what you should know.
Your children's classrooms, teachers, and programs are unaffected. Instruction has continued without interruption. Whatever you have read about the school's finances, the day-to-day work of educating your children has remained steady, and our teachers have remained focused on the work that matters most.
WHAT THIS IS ABOUT More than a year ago, concerns were raised about how employee benefit withholdings — HSA and retirement contributions — were being reconciled by the school's bookkeeper. The Board took those concerns seriously. Rather than wait for an outside agency to ask, the Board voted to self-initiate a state audit and removed the bookkeeper from her role while the review was underway.
The State Auditor's final report was issued on December 8 and is publicly available. The auditor did not find evidence of theft. The report identified administrative errors — discrepancies caused by poor reconciliation practices — over a multi-year period. The Board's December 6 response to the audit committed to specific corrective actions and is part of the public record.
Two affected employees have already been made whole. Others are in process. Every employee whose records show a shortage will be made whole based on documentation and an interest calculation reviewed by an independent accounting firm.
WHAT THE BOARD HAS DONE • Self-initiated the state audit before being asked. • Removed the bookkeeper and ended her contract. • Transitioned financial services to Red Apple, a firm specializing in charter-school finance. • Engaged an independent accounting firm to verify employee records. • Committed in writing to corrective actions with named deadlines.
WHAT COMES NEXT The state audit was, by design, a Limited Review — focused on the specific allegations raised in the original complaint. It looked at a piece of the school's finances, not the whole.
That is why the Board is finalizing the decision to commission a comprehensive third-party financial audit of the school's complete financial records. The firm is being selected now. This audit is not required by law, and the Board is not waiting to be asked to do it. We are doing it because your family deserves the confidence that comes from a full independent review, not a partial one — and because being thorough is the standard this Board is committing to going forward. When the firm is selected and the work begins, we will tell you. When the work concludes, we will share what was found. We are not doing this quietly.
WHY YOU ARE HEARING THIS FROM US There are people outside the school who have made it their work to talk about this issue. Some of what has been said is accurate. Some of it is not. I am not going to spend this letter responding to other people's framing. What I will tell you is what the audit actually says, what the Board has actually done, and what comes next — and let you decide for yourself how it compares.
You deserve to hear it from the school first.
WHAT DOES NOT CHANGE The reason your child is at Timpanogos Academy is what happens in their classroom every day. That has not changed. The teachers, the curriculum, the daily experience of school — none of that has been altered by this work, and none of it will be. The Board's job is to handle the harder questions in the background so that the everyday work of educating your children remains the center of everything we do.
If you have questions, please reach out to me directly. I would rather hear from you than have you hear from someone else.
With gratitude for your trust, Chris Wilson Chief Administrative Officer Timpanogos Academy

- Please click here to view the Timpanogos Academy Board initiated audit reults.