SAD63 Financial Reports and "stuff"

As children, did you ever play 'tug of war' with another team that pulled really hard against your team and then - at the last moment - appeared to ease up so your team won and then the other team acted as though it was their intent all along to let you win? If so, you will understand last night's meeting of the SAD63 Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) meeting where two of us public folks who'd also been at Monday night's School Board meeting were in attendance. (If you don't have the background, check the earlier blog re: that meeting. I'm not going to repeat the back story here.)

Lots of people were present at the committee table including some who were not at Monday's meeting, i.e., Sylvia Ellis, a member of the School Board as well as the BFC. Others included three people from the Citizens Advisory Committee, two of whom had been at Monday's meeting, and the third was a Clifton Selectwomen. Mr. Hart, interim superintendent, and Don Varnum, School Board Chairman, were present along with Therese Anderson, newly re-elected School Board member from Eddington and new BFC member, and temporarily outgoing BFC Chair, Mario Teisel. As usual, the SAD63 Business Manager was present. In all, it was a very full head table.

In the "public" audience was myself, Karen Clark, School Board member and Policy Committee Chair member, Richard Oravetz, private citizen from Holden, and another School Board member (middle-aged male, probably from Holden) whose name I didn't get. Sorry about that.

Almost as soon as the meeting convened, Mr. Orovetz asked the one direct question all of us in the audience had on our collective mind - were we going to get the Financial Reports? And then the song-and-dance routine began. Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, I'll tell you that, in the end, we did. More about that later - but before that, I want to tell you about the dance routine we were put through first - Because this appears to relate to the former superintendent's management style.

Step 1. Mr. Teisel annouces there is a POLICY that states (I am paraphrasing now) the Financial Report needs to be first approved by the BFC and THEN submitted to the FULL SCHOOL BOARD. Then the Board must approve the Report (to make it official).

Step 2. According to the POLICY, any person who wants a copy of the Board-approved-Report must then submit a WRITTEN REQUEST for a copy of the Report to the Superintendent who then has FIVE days to consider the request before providing (or not?) the requested report.

Excuse me but I think there's a Right of Information Act that would make mandatory such a request. It is a public document after all.

Mr. Russell, one of the members of the Citizens Advisory Committee (and who was at Monday's meeting) asked when this policy was written/became effective. He was told 2005. Mr. Russell stated that prior to 2005 people were able to receive Financial Reports on a monthy basis with no problems. When I inquired as to who wrote this policy, I was told the former superintendent was the individual who wrote the policy. So my question now is, Why did the School Board relinquish such authority to its subordinate? Remember the superintendent reports to our elected School Board (and the Board reports to us, the voters/taxpayers/parents), ergo the Superindentent reports to us - the voters/taxpayers/parents. The Chain of Command begins and ends with US.

So, back to last night's meeting. Here we, the public, are having the policy read to us. In fairness, Mr. Teisel was somewhat apologetic but, as he explained - violating policy is what could get members of the Board in trouble because "policy is law." Other reasons for not handing out the reports (which were stacked right there in plain view on the table in front of him) were (a) they had not as yet been presented to the Full Board for Approval as required by the policy, and (b) Mr. Teisel was concerned that members of the public, seeing the reports, might start inundating the SAD63 Business Manager with questions re: why certain money had been spent for various items and (c) she was really busy trying to put together the projected Budget for 2009-10 that needed to be ready for Public Hearing and Voting (see my next blog with dates and comments).

My thought at that point was if the reports had been made available on a monthly basis, as they should have been, questions could have been addressed in a timely fashion and no one would need to be concerned about the Business Manager being inundated with questions now - even though answering questions is her job and what she is being paid to do (unless, for some reason, she hasn't been collecting a paycheck lo these many months we haven't seen the reports). Doubt that.

About that point, Mr. Varnum started talking about his belief in transparency and "if this report was presented to the full Board with a request to release it to the public..." he would support it because he thinks the taxpayers have a right to see it blah, blah, blah. Now, "C" (and you know who you are), I was really working to be calm and tactful ... ;-) ... when I raised my hand to be recognized by Mr. Teisel (something you have to do at this particular type of meeting before speaking - another challenge for me, folks - although it's not limited to just the beginning and end of the meeting, Thank the Lord). When that happened, I said to Mr. Varnum that, with all good intentions about his belief in Transparency, a person's integrity is only as good as his word and he had clearly stated at Monday's meeting that the Financial Report would be released to us there at the BFC meeting - and - that as Board Chair it was reasonable to expect that he knew (and he certainly should have known) of the policy. So it was a bit too late to try to use it as a reason not to release it to us.

Then Mr. Teisel jumped in and said that he was the one to point out the policy to Mr. Varnum after the Monday meeting but that he (Teisel), too, had assured Mr. Oravetz and me that we would be given the reports at the BFC meeting - even remembering that I had requested an extra copy. SOOOOOOOOooo at this point, after all this rigamarole, Teisel says that if we (meaning the public people will just wait a minute, he has a proposal as to how to overcome the policy problem). We waited with baited breath.

Mr. Teisel's proposal was, if those members of the Board present at the table (which did not include Karen Clark who was in the audience) agreed with their vote to release the report to us as a DRAFT, since it had not been submitted to the Full Board for official approval, he would give us a copy - with the understanding that we would not start calling the Business Manager and inundate her with questions. (Give me a break. Poor Yvonne.) The people at the table appeared to agree - although I couldn't be sure if Sylvia Ellis agreed or deferred. Bottom line - we got the reports! Woo Hoo! And I'm wading through it - feels like a swamp.

But I do have some ideas about these reports - and the drafted proposed 2009-2010 budget (which we also received copies of, with explanations :-O) having had some experience with developing a $72 Million annual budget for a maximum security mens prison in Calif. along with supervising seven departments and 110 employees in my division alone. There were three other divisions for which I was also responsible for developing and managing their budgets as well - so, with some help from a few of my friends I might have a few ideas re: this SAD63 budget when the Citizens Advisory Committee meets next Tuesday, the 5th @ 3pm at the Holbrook School.

Then, because Mr. Teisel will be on leave from May 3 through August 26, an Interim BFC Chairman needed to be elected. Since last night's meeting was Therese Anderson's first BFC meeting, the position of Interim Chair fell to Sylvia Ellis. And this should prove to be intersting because, as a School Board member and, particularly as Interim BFC Chair, Ms. Ellis needs to have a professional - not personal - relationship with the development of the coming school budget. This may not be as easy as it should be since Ms. Ellis is reported to be a very close personal buddy of the Business Manager - socializing about town during both the noontime hours and evenings. One would not want to think items of SAD63 business or School Board business is discussed during such gatherings - since it would be most inappropriate during such litigious times. Perhaps the same caution should be made to any School Board member regarding the former supertendent, even if a personal friendship existed at some point or still does.

There is already a reported nexus between the Business Manager and the former superintendent. What with the current legal situation going on - not to mention policies that appear to shut out the public's right to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and questions regarding the Business Manager's contract (which was written by the former superintendent) that included a $5,000.00 bonus if there was at least a percentage of cost savings at the end of the budget year (in a budget that the Budget Manager developed herself and from which she reportedly controlled funding), an arms' length relationship between all School Board members and subordinates would reduce questions of Conflicts of Interest. (Of course we won't go too far down the road as to why the School Board had approved such contracts - which goes back to the question of abdicating the supervisory role of the School Board over the Superintendent and all hires in the first place.)


My next blog re: the SAD63 2009-10 budget will include Public Hearing dates AND questions of budget issues. Stay tuned for white caps on Davis Pond.

BTW - Saturday at Clewley Farm Restaurant. The lounge and bar will open at 3pm for those of you who want to join me for refreshments, snacks and watching the Kentucky Derby Race (begins at 4pm). Hawaiian Night begins at "Show Time" - 7pm with Dola and Company. Wear something appropriate. Even Lonnie is suggesting Bob may show up in a grass skirt and do the Hula. Swing those hips, baby! He's even turned the lights down (a bit) to make things "more intimate". Anybody got a uke?