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Officials defend fiscal practices |
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 |
By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN
PAWTUCKET — With the fallout continuing from information that came out of a preliminary audit report, School Department officials are defending their fiscal and management practices as being sound.
They go one step further and maintain that the city's expenses have risen at a much higher pace than the schools for much of the past decade.
Interim Schools Supt. Hans Dellith, Schools Business Manager Thomas Conlon and Deputy Supt. Kim Mercer met with the TIMES recently to discuss the preliminary report which showed the school district overspending by approximately $10.4 million. However, all three school leaders say this figure is grossly inaccurate and that their response to the first draft will show a much different spending scenario.
School leaders say that while they had welcomed the audit of the school district's budgeting practices and performance, they felt that this particular auditing firm, Cotton and Company of Virginia, operated with a much narrower focus that simply looked for ways to cut costs. They point out that the preliminary figures do not take into account the many state and local mandates that are unique to Rhode Island.
Dellith went so far as to say he considered there to be “politics” behind the audit, both in the charge that was given to the firm and the way early information was leaked out. He pointed to the fact that, among other things, the administration and some members of the City Council have been lobbying for a charter change that would allow an appointed, rather than elected, school committee.
School officials also say that other estimates, such as student population, staffing levels, and building assessments, are superficial or in many cases, not accurate. All of these topics will be addressed in their response and will be reflected in the next phase of the audit, expected to be due by the end of March.
“I'm in favor of the public's right to know...the truth,” stated Dellith. “It is very one-sided right now.”
Conlon said that, despite all of the negative criticism, the school administrators still look forward to receiving Cotton and Company's final audit report. If the auditors find areas were savings can be realized, Conlon said that he and the rest of the administration “will be open to best practices if they could save money.”
Conlon said he takes particular umbrage with the contention that the schools are overspending at a much higher rate than the city side of operations. In a summary of spending increases that covers the period from 2003 to 2010, Conlon told the TIMES that the state of Rhode Island has gone up 44.6 percent and the city of Pawtucket has gone up 28.3 percent (in calculations that include debt service) and 46.1 percent (in calculations that exclude debt service). By contrast, Conlon said, during this same period, the Pawtucket School Department's expenses have risen 9.8 percent.
“By every calculation, we are underfunded and underspending,” said Conlon.
Dellith and Conlon both pointed to the the fact that for several years, the state had provided the Pawtucket School District with a level of funding that had often resulted in surpluses, which were returned to the city coffers. “City Hall knew we were going to run into this years ago,” maintained Dellith. Instead, he said, the city has for the past seven years or so provided a level of funding that has not kept pace with rising expenses and which has forced the schools to seek supplemental funding.
Conlon also noted that when it comes to personnel budgets, during the seven-year period of fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2010, the school district has permanently decreased its locally-funded staffing at a rate that is almost double the decline in student population. He said that while the students population has decreased by 984 students since 2003, the number of school department employees, including administrators and certified and non-certified personnel have been reduced by 242.
Of this figure, Conlon said, 40 school employees (mostly kindergarten and reading teachers) are being funded through federal grant programs, so the number of reductions to the payroll is actually around 202 positions. Therefore, Conlon said, the local budget reflects a staffing decrease of 21.5 percent from 2003 to 2010, while the student population has lessened by about 10.8 percent during the same period.
Conlon also said that, compared to the city side, the teachers' contracts are less costly in the areas of health and sick day benefits, longevity payments, and in other areas than contracts that are in place for police and fire department employees. He noted that school employees do not get as many costly perks as full lifetime health benefits, Blue Cross Plan 65 for life, paid sick days upon retirement, and other contract provisions. He also pointed out that the teachers were willing to open up a contract and make concessions when they didn't have to, while the other municipal contracts were up for negotiation anyway.
Conlon and Dellith also pointed out that the proposed funding formula that is being considered by the General Assembly would provide Pawtucket with an additional $6.9 million that would be phased in through incremental payments ranging from $1.9 million to $2.3 million over a three-year period.
As to contentions in the preliminary audit that school officials have not made enough changes to reflect this drop in student population, Dellith pointed to the educational gains that have been made during this same period. He noted that the city's schools have greatly improved in their performance rankings at all grade levels and said that the all-day kindergarten program, instituted district-wide last year, is widely acknowledged to be beneficial to students' longer range educational success.
The audit had suggested that an elementary school be closed to save money. “Why would I close an elementary school now and create bigger class sizes when we have made such important gains?,” stated Dellith. Likewise, he said he disagreed with the suggestion that the three junior high schools were underutilized and that Slater Junior High School should be closed. He said such an action would create other problems, such as more crowded classrooms and the need to provide transportation for many students. He also said that the student population at the junior high level is expected to spike again in five years, which would then necessitate the third school.
“Overall, the staff does a very good job. Our three high schools just had their diploma system approved by the state, and we're not in the dire situation of next door,” Dellith noted, referring to the low-performing Central Falls High School. Of the current blame of fiscal mismanagement and overspending brought on by the audit, Dellith said, “It's very disheartening.”
When asked about Conlon's numbers, city Finance Director Ronald Wunschel said that he didn't dispute the figures the way they had been calculated and presented on the surface. However, he also said that it was misleading to contrast school spending to municipal spending, because it is like comparing “apples to oranges.”
Wunschel pointed out that the bulk of the city's rising expenses during the past seven years was due to to significant increases in the health insurance and pension contributions for public safety retirees. In just that area alone, he said that health insurance for retirees amounts to 5 percent of his budget, and police and fire pension contributions amount to 12 percent. “If I didn't have that piece, I'd be right in line with his (Conlon's) increase,” said Wunschel.
Wunshel also defended the additional benefits in the areas of health insurance, sick time and longevity that are afforded to public safety employees, noting the inherent dangers of these jobs. He also said that, even regarding such benefits as the lifetime health coverage and longevity payments, cost-cutting changes have been made going forward that will effect new employees.
When contacted by the TIMES for comment, Mayor James Doyle said that he will refrain until after the final audit report comes out. He said he knows the preliminary report was meant to be just that—a first draft—and said the early release of information before school officials had a chance to respond was unfair.
Doyle said he doesn't expect to see the $10.4 million overspending figure to remain once school officials have a chance to respond. However, he also said he believes the audit will show areas where costs can be managed better. “I do think there are issues that can be addressed and which are legitimate,” he stated.
The mayor said that while the audit was entered into as a joint effort between the city and the school department, he denied Dellith's allegation that he or anyone from the City Hall side gave any instructions or directions to the auditing firm regarding what to look for or recommend. He also denied that any part of the process was political, as Dellith had suggested.
Doyle added, however, that given the sentiment of city taxpayers and the economic climate, he thinks that if the question about having an appointed school committee was put on a election ballot right now, the measure would win. “People believe they are not getting the bang for their buck,” he said.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 March 2010 )
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