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Before you get immersed in this article or turn away from it because you believe I have some sort of personal agenda regarding the school district, let me make this clear

I have no children in the Billerica public school system.
I did have them in the system decades ago for only a couple of years due to my assignments around the globe as a member of the U.S. military for 20 years.
I do have grand-children in the Billerica public school system; however, now that I am retired and work pretty much on my own schedule; when they let me, I drive them them to school and pick them up and enjoy every minute of my time with them.
Busing is not an issue for me or mine.
This article took a long time to compile, format and consider before actually posting it.
This article is here for your benefit to do with (or not use) as you wish.
I do expect people who are paid well to run the school district to do their jobs fully, frugally and professionally by considering for those who pay them – the taxpayers

In the past, I have put up the “10 Questions You Should Ask Your School Committee” in several postings or by way of referencing such postings in related articles. So far as I know, not one member of the town has requested the type of audit proposed; not even the so-called taxpayer advocacy groups that like to make a lot of noise at the last minute and ram their agendas through similar to those they object to most in Washington: Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and of course, President Obama.

This is my last posting on this subject matter. If you want to let the school district pull more money out of your pockets without being assured that there is an actual need; then, you deserve whatever pain that may entail. If you do care, or if you can’t afford to pay for busing and are looking at sending your children to school on foot without sidewalks, adequate crossing lights at key but pedestrian unfriendly intersections, then, this is your chance to speak out and act.

Below you are provided with 10 thought provoking questions, the rationale for why these questions are important for auditing purposes, and the possible solutions. You will see that the so called “annual audit” is insufficient to properly monitor taxpayer funds and that those who claim otherwise are either ignorant, charletons, or have some other motive for fending off a thorough forensic audit. Either way, for those of you with a vested interest in the schools system and how responsible it is with taxpayer financing, the ball is in your hands to play with or to leave silent on the court. Don’t worry about me following up on your actions; instead, be wary that the school district will be listening and hoping to hear silence. Are you in the mood to give them that gift?

The Proposal and a Few Debating Points

The Lowell Sun reports online that the town of Billerica is considering a fee for busing children to and from school. This is not going to be a nominal fee; what the School Committee is proposing is an expensive fee for many considering the state of the economy and the jobless and under-employment rates.

The fee under study now is roughly $225.00 per child. The School Committee leadership is consulting with surrounding towns to get an estimate of how much to charge families with multiple children forced to participate in an abysmal public education system that is only getting worse. Assistant School Business Administrator, Bernie Duggan, points out that Billerica would not be the first town in the area to charge a school bus user fee, specifically citing Westford.

Tewksbury School Committee member Jane Miller, according to the Sun, stated in a telephone conversation that her district does not charge a school bus fee. She cites that one of the biggest reasons is that Tewksbury does not have a sufficient and safe sidewalk infrastructure to allow students from families who cannot afford such fees the alternative to walk to school. Perhaps, you will recall several postings I’ve put up about how Billerica has been ineffective in setting spending priorities, especially priorities in support of upgrading and maintaining our overall infrastructure needs.

Duggan recognizes that eliminating the high school transportation service is not appropriate, particularly due to a proper sidewalk system along Route 3A, not to mention the spider’s web of roads that feed from home to 3A. As he asks in the same news article, can you “imagine a kid walking down Boston Road trying to get to the high school? He concludes by saying: “I pray to God nobody gets hit.”

Well, let me assure you Mr. Duggan that if your plan to charge fees is implemented, there are many children from low economic families who will be forced to walk those very dangerous roads because their parents cannot afford the fees. Many of them will be those who came to Billerica via MGL 40B projects as the beneficiaries of low income set asides, or who are occupying apartments under Section 8 subsidies, because that is the only way to fill a substantial vacancy rate in these monstrous developments.

Then there are those families who have been tolerating the Billerica school system, but who may now view it as too inefficient and too expensive to keep feeding. Some of those who are better off and who have a parent with sufficient free time to run a home schooling program may finally be pushed over the edge to do so.

Billerica School System Superintendent, Dr. Serio, wants to hold a public hearing during the last week of February 2011. I agree a public hearing should be held, but this hearing should be held only after a complete forensic audit of the entire school system has been completed to address the following areas and answer the questions this expert poses.

The School Committee, Dr. Serio and Mr. Duggan in particular, are thinking of asking us taxpayers and specifically those of us with children who depend on busing for more money. The school district has already been granted a budget of roughly $50,000,000.00 (that is 50 million dollars). Before we give them a dime more, let us demand a full, independent forensic audit of the entire school system to ensure there is no waste, no theft, and no mismanagement by other means of taxpayer funds already in use. They want more from us; then demand more from them – demand an audit.

I think this is the 6th time I’ve made this recommendation, and to date, not a peep has come from alleged taxpayer allies such as the Billerica Taxpayers Association or the Republican Town Committee. If you want a change in spending and a cap on taxes, you need to work for such conditions.

If you are an advocacy group, that means you advocate by speaking up, demanding answers and accountability when it is appropriate and timely to do so. It does not mean waiting until a vote or an action is taken (such as bitching about the new Parker School on the eve of the vote when no interest was shown during the proposal stages). If you really want to stop this proposal and get control of the school district and its incessant pleas for more money, then read the rest of this article and follow up by going to the PDF article written by Dr. Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D. You may also want to purchase his book on this subject: “School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust” “. Then, using the arsenal of information available to you, demand accountability before accepting any more hikes in fees or any kind. If you don’t want to do these things, then stop bitching and pay the busing fees that will surely sprout from the closed door protestations spewed by pseudo caped crusaders sitting on their porcelain thrones.

Before we get to the individual questions, the rationale behind them and the proposed solutions, let’s consider what is meant or not meant by the phrase “forensic audit“. This is from the online article, “Stopping School Corruption, A Manual for Taxpayers“, Dr. Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D, a former Massachusetts school district leader:

“What should never be accepted as an answer by school boards or administrators is that since school accounts are audited regularly, there is no reason to be concerned about or suspicious of any wrongdoing. The reality is that audits do not uncover cheating and deceit, or waste and mismanagement. In addition, audits typically do not uncover fraud and stealing. Take the recent example of the Roslyn School District on Long Island, where the superintendent and others embezzled $11 million over a period of years, but the yearly audits failed to identify and prevent the theft.”

Setting aside the issue of a need to properly monitor for potential theft; a forensic audit is also a means to assign a grade as to how well school district administrators and accountants are doing with the implementation, monitoring and follow-up of programs essential to prudent and cost effective administration of their districts. Even in the best environment, it is useful to conduct such audits periodically to ensure that funds are being utilized properly and in the most efficient manner. It is foolish to give a group upwards of 50 million dollars and expect them not to have proper controls and methods of monitoring in place to prevent waste, fraud, abuse and incompentence. Demanding a full and thorough forensic audit is not being mean, it is not being political, but it is being responsible and should be welcomed by any honest brokers running any business, including a school district.

Question 1: Asset Management

Is there a comprehensive list of assets and an independent system in place to regularly document the existence of each asset? Failure to have a list of monitored assets is an indication that the school district does not believe it is important to manage school resources responsibly. Background: Most schools will not have an asset-management system in place; and even if they do, it is probably not monitored effectively. If assets are missing or stolen, they are simply replaced using taxpayer dollars. It is unlikely that there is any accounting in budget-preparation documents that asset replacements are needed because they cannot be located.

Proposed Solution:

It is important to have a verification system in place that documents the existence of each asset at the end of each year, and the reason(s) for any missing asset(s). However, this must be done by independent, on-the-spot inspections — it cannot be done internally — by a forensic auditing committee (FAC) or taxpayer group.

The proper way to develop an asset-management system without cost is to have a FAC/taxpayer group go through each purchase order to determine what has been bought over the years. Using purchase-order documentation is the only way to develop a credible list. A list prepared by any administrator should never be accepted as accurate unless it has been verified by all purchase-order numbers. The assets should then be identified by serial numbers or other designations. Then the location of each asset needs to be identified, and the person/department responsible indicated.

In addition, the board should be required to submit as part of any budget which asset items being requested are the result of loss resulting from theft or other reasons. Having an effective asset-management system in place will, in all likelihood, document that all the assets will not be accounted for; further, the only logical explanation for many missing items will be that they have been stolen. This evidence should provide substantial and convincing evidence that preventive action must be taken to better manage school resources

Question 2: Board Policies

Are there any board policies dealing with school corruption? What policies, if any, have been adopted to prevent corruption, and what policies have been adopted to monitor school resources most effectively?

Background:

Board policies are contained in a policy manual that is a public document, and it can usually be found on the school website. The manual is also available in the school central office and in each school. It is extremely doubtful that any corruption policies will be found, because school boards do not want the term “corruption” to be found in any school documents;they are in complete denial or ignorant that corruption could occur in the district. Even when corruption is found, it is hidden from public view whenever possible.

For example, in the Roslyn incident, the school board voted to keep the theft from their insurance company; and this deceit cost them thousands of dollars more. Admittedly, part of the problem is that school boards are not trained and educated about the problem of corruption, and state departments of education and their own association are derelict, even fearful, of providing such training and education.

However, examining board policies is a critical task for any taxpayer group or FAC to undertake because it will indicate whether the board has any concern about preventing school resources from being mismanaged and protected from corruption. Failure to have such policy statements would be an unequivocal indication that the board is either in denial or ignorant about the nature and extent of school corruption; furthermore, it is also a green light for corrupt acts to be committed.

Proposed Solution:

Demand that the school board adopt policies and practices that clearly manage resources more effectively, and that give the staff and taxpayers clear evidence that preventing corrupt acts has the highest priority. Demand too that school employees be trained to act responsibly and honestly with school resources. Unfortunately, such education and training is hard to find. School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust provides information and guidelines for any district to become more responsible with school resources.

Question 3: Credit Cards

Who has credit cards? How are charges independently verified to see if they are proper school expenses? Background: Credit-card abuse is rampant and is a common source of school corruption. The reason for this is that most districts do not have an effective monitoring system in place to verify the expenses for legitimacy.

Proposed Solution

At least two independent sources need to verify expenses. The school finance officer and town treasurer can provide such verification. There must also be guidelines developed as to what constitutes legitimate expenses, and the limits of what can be spent on such items. However, the best practice is to not have credit cards. Staff can use their personal credit cards and then seek reimbursement, or purchase orders can also be used.

Question 4: Federal and State Grants

How are grants being managed in the school district? Who is responsible for monitoring the grants for proper implementation? How is the monitoring actually done?

Background

Grants are another common and significant source of corrupt acts. There are two types of grants: entitlement (specific dollar amounts allocated to a district for specific reasons) and competitive (schools are not required to apply for such grants). All too often, districts do not take advantage f the latter because they involve extra effort and work — a poor excuse considering the additional resources such grants could provide. It is extremely important to note that grant monies cannot be used toreplace previously budgeted dollars. The monies must be used as an add-on to the budget. One common grant abuse is that schools use funds to supplant the budget (replace previous budgeted dollars) — a corrupt act. What must also be reviewed very carefully is to see who has received any of the monies. Since grants usually do not involve local dollars (some do require matching funds or resources), local oversight is shoddy at best. State and federal education bureaucrats are responsible for monitoring the grants, but are too often ineffective in uncovering mismanagement and fraud. This is why grants dollars are abused so easily.

Proposed Solution:

During each budget presentation, a list of all grants that were available to the school district should be listed, as well as the dollar amounts involved. Next to each should be indicated whether the grant was applied for and whether it was approved (with dollar amounts). If some were not applied for, the reason should be given. The State Department of Education will also have a list of all such grants (unless they are foundation grants). Approved grants are public documents and must be forensically examined to determine whether they are and have been used for the purpose intended. If funds have not been spent according to the grant application, the reasons must be given.

Any citizen can sue the district (as a person) if federal grant dollars have been misused and receive a third of the recovered amount

School Corruption

“Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust” gives the citation of the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling on this issue.

Question 5: Student Activity Funds

How are student activity funds and other cash collections monitored? Who monitors such funds? Are income and disbursements verified for accuracy, and proper usage? Are bank statements reviewed on a monthly basis? Who conducts the review? Background: Student activity accounts and other cash-collection activities are extremely common sources of embezzlement and misuse. These accounts do not typically involve taxpayer dollars, thus the monitoring of such funds leaves much to be desired. Consider that school administrators have stolen children’s candy money, and one secretary responsible for a student activity fund embezzled $483,000. [Ed note: No person should be considered honorable just because of who they are or how long they've been in a job. A priest was recently guilty of embezzling church funds to support a gambling habit. If a religious leader can be guilty of such a crime; then, how does one realistically abdicate oversight responsibilities when it comes to agents of the government?]

Proposed Solution

Although such funds are not part of the school budget, each fund should be listed along with its income, expenses, and balances during budget presentations. The grand total of such funds would be very revealing. Because theft and misuse of such funds is so common, an independent source must be available to provide proper oversight. For example, practically all such funds are controlled at the school level only. The central-office finance department should be required to oversee income and disbursements.. The town treasurer or a volunteer FAC committee or taxpayer group could also do it.

Question 6: Petty Cash Funds

Who has control of each petty cash fund, in what amounts, and how are the funds monitored? Background: Such cash funds are usually distributed to managers, administrators, and sometimes teachers to take care of incidental expenses. Because they are cash funds, it is easy to misuse and misappropriate the dollars.

Proposed Solution

Receipts must be submitted with an explanation when replacement dollars are requested. It is up to the finance officer to monitor the petty cash funds. A monthly accounting should also be submitted to the superintendent, and board chairman or board finance committee.

Question 7: No-Bid Contracts

Which contracts (construction, insurance, consultants, etc.) have been awarded without competitive bids? What process was used to award such contracts? Who received such contracts? What school official was given the responsibility to oversee the proper completion or implementation of each contract? Was any form of nepotism or favoritism involved? Were board policies followed?

Background:

No-bid contracts are another common source of abuse and fraud and, therefore, they need to be reviewed very carefully and forensically. Proposed Solution: The board’s finance subcommittee must be given full information about every no-bid contract, and they should authorize every such contract. The full board must then be informed of such contracts as part of each board meeting.

Question 8: Teachers’ Student Loads

What are the number of students each teacher has during each period of the day, and the total number of students each teacher has during the course of the day? How many aides are there to augment teacher loads and assignments?

Background:

Staff allocation/assignment is the source of much schooldistrict waste. In addition, there has been a proliferation of school aides added to school resources, yet their numbers are not used to indicate student-teacher ratios.

Proposed Solution:

A list of teacher assignments and teacher loads by period (augmented by aides) and by subject should be provided as part of every budget presentation. The list then needs to be forensically examined to determine where there is possible waste and mismanagement.

School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust provides a number of examples of how these human resources are mismanaged.

Question 9: Non-Classroom Staff

How is the time and load of non-classroom certified staff (psychologists, social workers, counselors, speech therapists, etc.) monitored? How is the time of fulltime staff with reduced loads (department chairman, supervising teachers, etc.) monitored?

Background:

There is usually no documentation of how such staffs use their time. How many students does a psychologist test per day? What are the number of students a speech therapist sees each day?. What do department chairs and supervising teachers do with their released time? These questions demand answers.

Proposed Solution:

It is essential to document how these staffers spend their days. Such staff members are very reluctant to provide such information, but it is incumbent on the administration and board to require it. Policies and guidelines must be developed for this purpose. There are associations for each, and they can be helpful in providing such guidelines. Comparing what other similar districts do or require can also be useful.

Question 10: Benefits

Do part-time employees pay a proportional share of their insurance benefits? If not, why not? Are retirees who are being paid their medical insurance by the school district entitled to the payments? Are there retirees listed who are deceased but still having their benefits paid? Is the list reviewed yearly to keep it updated?

Background:

School districts have a list of retirees whose benefits are paid either by the school district or the employee. Such lists have been shown to include retirees who are not entitled to the benefits, as well as retirees whose benefit are being paid even though they are deceased.

Proposed Solution:

An issue is whether a part-time employee should receive the same paid benefits as a full time employee. A part-time employee should be required to pay for a proportional share of their benefits. For example, a half-time employee should pay 50 percent of the benefit cost. The retiree list must be reviewed each year to determine whether the payments are legitimate and whether the retiree is still living.

Conclusion

School boards and administrators usually claim that 75 to 80 percent of their budget represents “fixed costs.” Taxpayers should never accept such a statement, because this is the biggest deceit of all. Such a statement assumes that every school employee is essential, that no consolidations can take place, all programs and services are efficient and effective, all resources are managed with quality guidelines, and every operation is managed with utmost efficiency. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to any organization supported by taxpayer dollars — and this is especially true of schools. Therefore, these ten critical questions need be to given honest and meaningful answers, and then followed by appropriate action. School boards cannot do the job alone. If they were doing their jobs,

School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust could not have been written, and the evidence of rather shameful statistics of student results such as dropout rates, poor testing results, achievement gaps between white and minority students, and over 25,000 schools identified as failing would not exist.

No amount of money will solve these and other school problems. It requires effective monitoring of school assets, human and financial resources, and programs and services. Unfortunately, such monitoring can only be effective if there is enough outside taxpayer knowledge and pressure to demand answers and action. What taxpayers need to understand is that local boards have the power and obligation to adopt policies and practices to manage the school resources so that they are used wisely, honestly, and effectively, as well as protected from corrupt acts. No other approvals are needed for action on their part, but it does require education, training and courage.