Just a few questions ...

Although the School Committee hasn't met in two weeks, they won't be meeting today either. Apparently because today is the 5th Wednesday -- and they only meet on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday -- God forbid we disrupt "routine" for something as silly as a projected $2.5 million deficit!

They will, however, be meeting with their counsel on the 30th to discuss the latest chapter in the Superintendent Saga -- now that her counsel has called them out on the fact that they had no apparent understanding of the Open Meeting Law.

They'll probably also be discussing the Minkoff case -- maybe they could do a "two-fer" -- settle both contracts and then sue the school attorney for bad advice and collect an equivalent settlement from his malpractice carrier. Somebody told them they could fire Minkoff and someone told them they could disregard Johnson's contract. IF that advice was in error, then "somebody" should pay for that error -- other than the students & taxpayers of Sandwich!

While we're waiting for some great revelations, here's a few questions I would like to see answers for:

1)    If the budget needs to be cut by $2.5 million next year, what is the Board's plan?  A majority of the Committee has made it clear that they have no confidence in the Superintendent -- yet the magnitude of these budget cuts will require a tremendous amount of collaboration with the Superintendent to ensure the District properly balances public expectations and fiscal realities in the next budget.  To date, there has been no such discussions.  This budget is unlike the other budgets for the past several years -- there will be serious cuts and program eliminations.  The Committee can't sit back and wait for a proposal so they can shoot it down -- like they do everything else proposed by this administration.  There is not enough time to play these games and still get a budget in front of Town Meeting in May.  And there is no way on God's green earth that those antics will ever help pass an override -- if anybody is actually contemplating asking for one.

Does anyone on the Committee have the, ah ... guts, to take on the Athletic boosters -- or are we just going to cancel the art, music, drama, and history classes, fire a few janitors, secretaries and librarians, and implement bus fees?

How Bad is the Budget Going To Be ?

A picture is worth a thousand words ....

Walt Disney has Mickey, We have George The Weasel

George The Weasel
Our NEW Official Mascot!

NotThePTA earned a penny so far today from ad revenue (click those damn ads -- I have a kid in College!).  To be a greater commercial success, I decided to follow Walt Disney's lead and adopt a mascot!

Disney had Mickey, Exxon had The Tiger (and The Exxon Valdez!), Sesame Street has Kermit, and Mercury has that (soon to be unemployed) brunette that has been trying to sell me a car for years.  And then it hit me -- the mascot should be an illustration of something we deal with on a regular basis.

Hence, the birth of George The Weasel!

I am not sure what George's new duties will be --- maybe he will have his own float in next year's Fourth of July Parade! (There's always room for one more weasel at that event!).

Details to follow....  (I need to go click some ads!)

Even More Clarification

Somebody asked:   "Please show me where in the cct where they said the town clerk filed with the court.  It was a formal complaint to the DA'S office."  (It was an anonymous post, but I bet you a nickel his paycheck has "Cape Cod Times" printed at the top!)  Attached please find:

Copy of Inquiry Letter from Town Clerk to DA's Office 


Copy of the letter from the Supt's attorney to School Counsel.

As you can see from the attached, the filing was made with the DA's office -- but it was NOT a "complaint" --  it was an "inquiry".  The letter was even clearly labelled as an "inquiry", and I do not believe the word "complaint" is included anywhere therein.  If he had actually read the letter, he would have understood WHY the term "complaint" would have been significant.


The term "complaint" specifically means a filing seeking court action.  Under law, a "complaint" must be sought within 21 days.  Apparently, neither School Counsel nor certain members of the School Committee read the rules before they dug in their heels -- because (as pointed out several times previously) nobody thought to file one!


I actually received a series of 3 emails from this anonymous person -- but I delayed a response until I had a chance to publish these documents.  Humorously, his final post ended with "To bad you like to slant things to the negative thinkers".  


Holy Catfish, you'd think I was the one working for the Cape Cod Times!!

Just to clarify ...

Far be it from me to question the high quality reporting of the Cape Cod Times, but ...

The town Clerk did not file a complaint with anybody regarding the issue of Open Meeting laws and the vote on the Superintendent's contract -- he made an inquiry with the DA. It's a world of difference.

A complaint means that a lawsuit was filed and a judge's ruling was sought. AND, as has been stated ad nauseum, there has been no court filing and the 21 day deadline for filing one passed long ago.

I would have assumed that the asstute (not a misspelling!) professionals at the CCT would have known the difference.

This issue has been discussed several times previously (Click here).

The Attorney's letter will be posted shortly.

Problem Solved !!!

The Community School Audit

Maybe I'm getting paranoid ... but, once upon a time any discussion of irregularities or inefficiencies in Community School operations by School Committee members would draw cries of "interference, lack of understanding, mean-spiritness, blah, blah, blah ..." in the local press and from "concerned citizens" (who were also frequently Community School employees!)

But, this week, a draft of the Community School audit confirming these same problems was finally produced and discussed by the Committee and what did we hear ?   (insert cricket noise here!)

Nothing.

The draft audit report is a public document--   Here are some of the highlights:

1)    The Community School operated at a substantial ($180,000) loss for the year ended June 30, 2009 (That was the year BEFORE the School Committee took direct control of the program and eliminated the Executive Council).

2)    The cash balance shown on the Community School books doesn't match the amount of cash the Town thinks they have.  Nobody knows why -- the balances have never been reconciled.  It's tricky paying bills if you don't know what's in your checkbook!

And the award for dumbest comment goes to ...

There's a separate post and a draft copy of the Community School Audit report coming online shortly -- but I've been overwhelmed with emails about this doozy...

Last April, the Community School's auditor came before the School Committee and explained that he could not certify their Balance Sheet because their cash balance did not match the cash balance on the Town Accountant's ledgers.  Although the Town Accountant reconciled cash to the bank each month, the Community School never reconciled their cash balance to the Town. This is very poor internal control and could easily allow errors to remain undetected.  This issue was discussed at great length that evening.

This week, almost 5 months later, the Auditor returned with a draft report and, again, discussed the fact that the cash balances don't match.  Mrs. Linehan, however, appeared startled/confused and says, "Cash, you mean like dollars ... or checks?"

It's bad enough that she doesn't know what "cash" is -- but she apparently had no comprehension of the prior discussion when the serious internal control flaw was first discussed.

Forget the $30 million budget, forget the $2.5 million deficit, forget the impending lay-offs, and forget the serious internal control flaws --- let's talk about some more copier contracts !!

An Anonymous Contribution ...

Bob,  after viewing the School Committee meeting on Wednesday night I thought you might like to add this to your blog!

Actually, I was thinking more like ...

 

What happened to my $30 Million ? (By Bob Guerin)

This would be a good spot for a Pie Chart.
But, I have no time, so Martha will have to do.



A good place to start when trying to review a budget and build a new budget is to understand where the money goes. So here, without judgment or assertion of relative value, is a very high level breakdown of the current school budget with additional factual supplemental data.

How much do the schools spend on salaries?
All Staff Salaries is $21,525,566 or about 71% of the total District budget.


How much do wages increase each year?
Average annual salary increase for calendar years 2004 through 2008 was 5.5%


How much do we spend on Special ed?
Special Education (including Special Ed salaries) is $7,553,957 or roughly 25% of the total District budget.


How many kids get Special Ed services?
Special Education services are provided to about 600 kids or about 16% of the student population. Of the 600, 45 or so Special Education students are provided out of district placement services at a cost of about $3,453,233 or 44% of the Special Education budget and 11% of the District budget.


What do we spend on heat and lights?
Utilities are $1,355,865 or roughly 5% of the budget. (Note: I transferred $500,000 from the originally approved school budget -- as posted on the internet -- and moved it to Special Ed. -- same as the Committee did this year)


How much do we spend on maintenance?
Custodial Services (including Custodial salaries) account for about 1,477,336 or roughly 5% of the budget.  


How much do we spend on buses?
Transportation is $1,509,050 or roughly 5% of the budget.


How much do we spend on sports?
Athletics is $327,616 or roughly 1% of the budget.

The full detailed budget for the current year ending June 30, 2011 is available online by clicking here.

FY '07 Superintendent Salary Survey

This Boston Globe survey makes interesting reading.  BUT it's important to note that this survey is based on 4 year old data -- FY '2007 -- not the current fiscal year 2011.

For a historic perspective, it's also interesting to note the change in compensation between FY '04 and FY '07.

Click here for survey 

The "Art" of Budgets

I received a few very similar comments/questions  to Brother Guerin's Winston Churchill post -- so, to avoid repetition, here's my own summary answer:

 

Yes -- the Superintendent normally puts the budget draft together based on her discussions with Administrators and the school committee and based on the projected funds available.  That budget appears in late December, gets discussed in January, turned over the BOS on 2/1, re-discussed and turned-over to FinCom on 3/1 before being re-re-discussed and turned over to Town Meeting on the first Monday in May.

Over the past few years, there were always Committee members with a variety of skills and backgrounds, including some with experience in financial/business/budget issues, that could ask relevant questions and discuss options that would have an impact on the construction of the budget. These members worked very closely with the Superintendent to try to optimize the blend of the academic, financial, and political components of the budget.

I find it humorous that people talk about prior committees serving as "rubber stamps" when, in reality, many members were in contact with the Superintendent on an almost daily basis to discuss programs and concerns, and to ask questions. The objective was always to share/gain information -- not play "gotcha!" on local cable.  The goal was to be collaborative -- not confrontational.  The harshest critics of the "old" school committee were almost always people who made accusations, rather than asked questions.  They had no understanding of what they were talking about and had no interest in getting one before they started making speeches.

 

Enough of the past.  Now what?

 

The School Department needs to trim at least $2.5 million from its budget for FY '12.  This will require deep cuts and will affect everyone in the district in some fashion.  There needs to be a solid consensus between the SC, BOS & FinCom over what our Town's priorities are going to be.

 

• What do the schools plan to eliminate?
• What will the Town eliminate?
• Do we need a shellfish warden more than a basketball coach?
• Is it more important to teach French than provide Town nursing services?

 

These are "political" questions.  The Committee needs to start discussing priorities with the Superintendent in the early stages of the budget -- not at the end.  The Committee also needs to start meeting immediately with the BOS & FinCom to make sure they are on-board with the priorities now --- NOT in April.

 

This will not be a normal "bad" budget.  This will be a budgetary Tsunami.  Instead of concentrating on picking up seashells, this Committee needs to start evacuating the low-lying areas!

Anyone besides me troubled ? (By Bob Guerin)

The first thing the British did after helping the Allies to win World War II was to fire the great Winston Churchill, the architect of victory.  What quickly followed was Britain’s losing its world prominence and becoming a second tier economic and military power.  Britain has never recovered.

Last night's School Committee meeting was once again something to see.  It had me thinking of Winston.

Apparently unable to muster a single, useful budget input, Sherry, Jess, Marie and Nancy have decided to delegate the entire budget building process to the one person they have no confidence in and have just fired - Dr. Johnson.  Anyone else find this odd?

Anyone besides me troubled by the fact that Committee members still can't read and understand the budget?  Some members actually “came prepared” and suggested cutting line items that didn’t actually exist or had current balances well-below what that Committee Person “thought” they were.  Other members were entirely unprepared for any serious discussion.  Wishing for a wind farm at the High School won't help next year’s utilities budget.  Hoping teachers won't be sick won't reduce substitute expenses. 

But for the fact that she is a remarkable professional and cares passionately about our kids and our schools, I can't understand why Dr. Johnson would help these folks.  Maybe, like me, Dr, Johnson recalls Churchills’ famous admonition: “Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never give-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense”

After Dr. Johnson helps dig these folks out of the enormous financial hole they’re in, then what?  Kick her out like Britain did Churchill?  That’s still the plan?  Anyone else find this odd?  

Before you raise my fees...

Given the current financial climate, an ugly stew of proposed program cuts, fee increases, and override attempts are inevitable.  I previously wrote about "Big Picture" things that I would like to see done BEFORE anybody asks me for an override. 

Because I can't imagine an override in the near future, I am assuming service cuts and program fees will play a major part of any proposed "solution".  There are a few more things I would ALSO  like to see BEFORE somebody starts raising my fees.

1)  Cut non-essential services.  All programs are not created equal.  I can not justify spending money on the tennis team (or hockey, football, golf, etc.) while we are eliminating math, english, or science teachers.

2)  All sports are not created equal.  On a "per player" basis, far more money is invested in Football and Hockey than in the other sports -- most of which serve far more kids.  Tough funding decisions need to be made.  Consideration should also be given to a tiered fee structure so that those playing more expensive sports pay higher fees.

3)  All classes are not created equal.  It is far more important to maintain lower class sizes in the lower grades than it is at the high school.  Continuing the focus on early education will help far more students than smaller high school history classes.  I am confident that this investment will reduce future SPED costs and improve the educational futures of those kids involved.  For languages, forget French, focus on the Chinese dialects.  The World's biggest markets speak Chinese ... French is useful for ordering wine in pretentious over-priced restaurants !   (Je vais prendre l'enfer pour ça, non?)

4)   Pursue "Other Revenue".  There needs to be a public discussion about the "other" checks parents send to school.  What about school picture contracts?  How is the contract awarded, how much do the schools receive, and where does the money go?  This may be small dollars when looking at a $30 million budget -- but as the father of 4, I have written an awful lot of checks for school pictures over the past 10 years!

 5)   Produce a consolidated School budget summary that shows all revenue from State and local taxes, School Choice, fees, grants, reimbursements, etc. as well as all related expenses.  This document would incorporate the "regular" school budget approved by Town Meeting, as well as the "Off Budget" accounts not subject to TM approval.

6)  Match all Revenue and Expense items -- If Outgoing School Choice Tuition expense is on the municipal budget, put Incoming Choice Revenue on the municpal budget also.  Likewise, if Medicare reimburses SPED expenses paid for from the school budget, put the reimbursements into the school budget.

7)  Move school-related Payroll and Benefits costs from the municipal budget to the School Budget.  This would illustrate the direct correlation between staffing changes and financial results.  It should also eliminate any inter-departmental "yipping" about these costs.

8)  Resolve the Community School issue once and for all -- How much extra does it cost to offer these programs to the public?  If the Community School can not afford to pay all of its program-related costs (including utilities) it needs to continue to cut costs until it at the very least breaks even.  One of its operating costs should be for decent bookkeeping, cost accounting and an annual audit so actual operating costs can be determined and tracked.  It's outrageous that it has taken so long to estimate pool costs.

What Else?

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise ... Not.

As expected, the CCT reported this afternoon that the Attorney General has rejected the School Committee's request for review of their current contractual conundrum because it happened prior to the enactment of the revised Open Meeting Laws which transferred responsibilities from the local DA's office to the State AG's office.  Just for good measure, the AG's Office also added: “Moreover, in situations where this is the possibility of litigation resulting from a public body’s actions, our office will not issue advisory opinions.”

The Chairperson of the School Committee also cancelled tonight's scheduled discussions between the Committee, the Superintendent, and their respective counsels because it would be " a waste of time".

It would appear that the decision to cancel that meeting was done without a vote of the Committee, as no committee meeting could have been held over the holiday weekend. While this may be within the Chair's prerogative, I can't imagine breaking off talks and pushing the Town further down that very expensive road to Litigation without at least getting a consensus of the Committee.

The Committee will, however, still be holding its scheduled Public budget workshop tonight at 7 PM.  It is unknown if the meeting will be televised -- but Linehan & Co. did make much noise about allowing the public to speak at this meeting -- so there will apparently be a Public Forum scheduled.

I would hope that tonight's meeting includes a serious discussion about budgeted legal costs and a reserve for legal settlements.  I think we are going to need it!

The Cool Hand Luke School of Financial Management

"What we got here is a failure to communicate ..."

Our Professional Management Team & Municipal Finance

Coming Soon ....

Proactive Facilities Management Work Recognized

The Sandwich Fire Dept. recently received an award for Innovative Building Repair

Fun With Numbers ...

There has been some discussion lately about the concept of Charter School & School Choice tuitions.  This is not a new phenomenon -- the only change is that this is the first year Sandwich will actually be receiving funding from the state for educating students from other districts who would prefer to attend Sandwich Schools.  

It's important to note that we are not talking about Special Education tuitions which are accounted for in the School Budget, or private school tuitions which have nothing to do with this discussion.  School Choice is strictly for tuition to/from other public school districts and Charter tuition is strictly to state-licensed Charter Schools.

Sandwich has always been charged by the state for those students who choose to attend another District's Public Schools (Bourne, Mashpee, Shrewsbury, etc.), or a Charter School (Sturgis, Lighthouse, etc.).   That number has been rising steadily each year as more students have chosen to pursue the wider opportunities that may be available in other Districts.  This number increased dramatically in FY '10 (up approx $98K)  but appears to be coming down in FY '11 (down approx $21K).  In addition, in FY '11 Sandwich will be receiving credit for $85K in incoming School Choice tuition -- so the net gain for the coming year is approx. $106K,

End of a Farce (I mean ... Era...)

The Cape Cod Times Ombudsman (ombudsperson?) position is being discontinued.  Maybe now they will be responding to complaints about biased coverage by automatically emailing back a pre-printed denial .... rather than paying somebody to say they will "look into the issue" ... and THEN (maybe) emailing back a pre-printed denial!

Much more efficient.

Yawn ...

Camera Shy ?

The School Committee will be holding a budget workshop next week.  Most likely it will not be televised -- despite efforts by some members to have the discussion delayed for the next regularly scheduled meeting so that it COULD be broadcast.

The concern expressed was that they didn't want to delay the discussion any longer.

The reality is that that ship left the dock months ago.  The Board of Selectmen has spent the entire summer discussing the budget section by section in televised public meetings.

The School Committee ?  Well, you know ... not so much.

Lately, prior Committees have been criticized for holding workshops (although I don't recall more than 2-3 in each of the past 2+ years).  Workshops are all public meetings and are all subject to the same rules as regular meetings, except they generally dispense with discussion of anything other than the topic at hand, usually there aren't votes taken, and generally there is no public comment (although those items are usually at the discretion of the Chair).  Usually they are added to the schedule at the last minute and aren't televised.  The focus of the workshop meetings is for the members to gather information, rather than to update the public.

So, why is this case different?

Bring on Celine Deon and the band! (From Bob Guerin)

As I watched last night’s School Committee meeting I began to wonder if maybe I’ve lost track of the municipal budget process and I no longer understand the towns’ and the schools’ financial situation. Perhaps readers of this blog will help me better understand just what I am missing?  

As I listened to the Committee’s budget and staffing discussions I found myself picturing the School Committee as the crew on the bridge of Titanic.  They’re sailing along toward the iceberg (the deficit) happily discussing adding a new door security staff position (@ $28,000 per year).  (Note: we pay full time in class room teacher aids (ESPs) just $18,000 which makes the doorman's pay seem odd, but I digress).