Stratton praised; state union chief urges cooperation to reach contract
The effects of a $1.5 million school deficit from last year continued to reverberate Tuesday, Sept. 14, as the School Committee heard an apology from Superintendent Kathleen Bodie and later backed hiring an independent auditor to produce a report by Oct. 29.
“I regret I did not communicate more forcefully and fully,” she said of the revelation about the deficit made public Aug. 26. She said she could not make a projection until then with any precision. She said she hopes a new tracking system will improve matters and that she welcomes the audits involved.
Powers & Sullivan, the town’s auditor, which uncovered the issue about Aug. 12, expects to produce a final financial audit report by the end of October. On the schoolside, the committee voted, 7-0, to hire the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials to conduct what its executive director, John A. Crafton, called a process audit.
All was not grim. An estimated 60 people, many of them Stratton teachers, crowded into the School Committee room and watched on a TV in the hall to hear praise bestowed on the elementary school for its national Blue Ribbon award.
Janice Saklat-Mott, a Stratton teacher since 1971, who said she was “proud of what we as a system have accomplished.”
Principal Alan Brown, who said, “We are not a lone ranger,” described how nine years ago all teachers signed on to a $114,000 Bay State grant. “This faculty did that, Brown said.
Committee Chair Joseph Curro Jr. said a banner recognizing Stratton’s achievement would be presented in December.
The sustained applause was a high for the schools and for its teachers.
State teachers’ union president speaks
Teachers continued to be the focus as the committee members heard from Paul Toner, president of the Mass. Teachers Association. He urged that Arlington officials seek common ground with the Arlington Education Association (AEA), which, he said, “feels under attack.”
Contracts talks have stalled. Teachers, long paid less than those in communities similar to Arlington, continue to work with no raise last year or, as yet, this year.
Toner cited his experience as head of the Cambridge teachers’ union from 2001-2006 during which a variety of grievances were settled and said he would make himself available to aid Arlington talks. Introducing him was Ron Colosi, the AEA president.
As to the process audit, MASBO, a nonprofit, expects to charge $4,850. The audit may start as soon as the week of Sept. 20 and will begin with a self-assessment, or a series of questions that key people in the process will answer.
The focus of MASBO’s work will be answering a series of 11 questions prepared by school budget subcommittee member Jeff Thielman (see the full text below).
Member Jud Pierce asked whether MASBO has a conflict of interest with Arlington staffers. “None,” Crafton answered.
Kirsi Allison-Ampe followed up by asking Crafton about his connection to Johnson. “Diane is a member of MASBO; it’s no deeper than that,” he said.
Crafton said his audit will focus on process, not people.
Member Joseph Curran said he appreciated Crafton’s experience — 42 years, 35 in education and finance, including service as an assistant superintendent for finance.
Following discussion, member Leba Heigham moved that the School Committee contract with MASBO to conduct a review of the Arlington public schools’ financial operations and address all issues outlined in the scope of Work. Member Cindy Starks seconded, and the vote was 7-0.
Full text of Bodie statement to School Committee
“Before discussing last year’s $1.5 million deficit in more detail later this evening, I first want to apologize to the School Committee and to the Arlington community. I regret that I did not communicate more clearly and forcefully our concern that we could end the year in deficit.
“It was a mistake on my part that I assure you will not happen again.
While I communicated throughout the year the shortfall in revenue and increased expenses, I did not make clear that these numbers could result in a deficit in June, because I could not make that projection with any confidence or surety given our system of tracking and reconciling revenue and expenses to budget.
“Moreover, it was an outcome we were hoping to avoid through significant belt-tightening.
“We have put in place a new tracking system that will give us the opportunity to make budget decisions earlier and to involve the town in trouble-shooting any budget problems earlier.
In addition, I support and welcome the systems audit proposed by the School Committee that will provide both an analysis of the shortcomings of our previous system and suggestions for improving what we have already put in place.
“As we celebrate Stratton’s award this evening and also Arlington High School’s recent ranking as one of the top 50 public high schools in the Commonwealth, we are reminded of the quality of our school system that continues to be a source of pride for the community.”
Scope of work for audit
The following was handed out at the school’s budget subcommittee meeting on Sept. 13:
Consultant to assist the Arlington School Committee’s investigation of the FY ’10 Budget Deficit and to evaluate proposed steps to improve reporting and oversight.
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 37 reserves to School Committees the exclusive authority to “review and approve budgets for public education in the district.” In FY’10, the School Department ran a $1.525 million budget deficit. The full extent of the deficit was not known until mid-August, 10 weeks after the close of the fiscal year.
During FY ’10, the school department’s Chief Financial Officer informed the Committee that until the reporting processes in her office were revised, she could not fulfill School Committee Policy DI, which mandates the filing of monthly reports to the Committee that include “a presentation of income, expenditure, encumbrances and unexpended balances for the general fund budget and all special revenue fund budgets, i.e., grants.” Furthermore, she reported that both the budgeting format she inherited and the new format proposed for FY’11 did not match the requirements of Policy DBJ, which requires the School Committee to approve transfers of funds between account a process designed in part to check the district’s spending.
On August 26, 2010, the School Committee voted unanimously to direct the Budget Subcommittee to “undertake an examination of the factors and processes that led to the shortfall in the Arlington Public Schools Fiscal Year 2010 budget.” The motion further directed the subcommittee to “seek the services of an outside audit to assist with the investigation.
The Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) recommends that the Budget Subcommittee perform its investigation with the assistance of a consultant with experience as a financial officer of a school district. A member of the Arlington Finance Committee who attended the August 31, 2010 Budget Subcommittee concurred that practical recommendations from a school business officer could be useful.
Therefore, the Arlington School Committee is seeking a consultant who can investigate what happened in FY’10, evaluate proposals to improve fiscal control in FY’11, and provide any other appropriate guidance to the School Committee and school administration. The specific questions the district would like the consultant to address in a report are:
1. What caused the FY’10 budget deficit?
2. What measures were taken to manage risk to the district’s bottom line, why did they fall short, and what could have been done differently?
3. Why was the business office unable to provide monthly reports on spending v. the approved budget per APS Policy DI?
4. Why was the magnitude of the FY’10 budget deficit not detected or more broadly communicated earlier?
5. Will the proposed new chart of accounts and position control system enable the district to forecast accurately whether the district is operating within the budget approved by the School Committee?
6. Please identify any lapses in oversight of the FY’10 budget on the part of the School Committee and make recommendations on specific ways the School Committee can better monitor spending in the future.
7. Based on the consultant’s experience and knowledge of best practices in other communities and a review of town bylaws, what role, if any, should other town officials play in monitoring and reporting the spending of the school district?
8. What information should the School Committee receive and how often should the Committee receive it in order to ensure that the district is operating within the approved budget?
9. How should the Budget Transfer Authority (Policy DBJ) process work in our school district?
10. Is there an alternative way to organize the Business Office of the Arlington Public Schools?
Please make recommendations to restructure the office so that it can properly serve the Arlington Public Schools. 11. Please provide the School Committee with any other relevant observations or recommendations. A final report is due to the School Committee by no later than Friday, October 29, 2010.
The School Committee and school district will cooperate with other reviews of the FY’10 school department deficit, including a potential investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, work being done by the auditing firm of Powers and Sullivan, and any other evaluation that takes place by a local or state authority.
This story was published Thursday, Sept. 15, and was updated the next day.
