School board angry over unspent millions

BRIDGEPORT -- School officials not only left unspent $2.5 million of its $215.8 million budget for 2008-09 to help the city cope with its fiscal crisis, another $2.1 million lapsed back to the city through spending miscalculations and other factors that have Board of Education members fuming.

When combined with a $1.6 million surplus in the school district's nutrition department and the elimination of the city's contribution to the food service program in 2009-10, the city gets back nearly the $7 million that Mayor Bill Finch had asked the board to return last fall.

The news last Thursday left members of the Board of Education's Finance Committee stunned and searching for answers.

"We just have to do better than this going forward and that is an understatement," Board President Maximino Medina told Supt. of Schools John Ramos and his top staff. "No alibis, no diversions. It's a tough environment and it doesn't make things any easier if, in the middle of that tough environment, our own people mess up."

In May, the board was told there might be only $350,000 left above the money being turned back to the city.

"Now we're told it's significantly larger. That's money that could have been spent on school stuff," he said.

Ramos said some of the mistakes, but not all of them, are the school staff's responsibility. They reportedly miscalculated the amount needed for student transportation, budgeting for five more buses than it needed and spent less than expected on gasoline.

Staffing changes in the school facilities department caused by city layoffs, which bumped an experienced person, apparently led to $550,000 worth of repairs and maintenance to go undone or unpaid -- no one was quite sure.

The school nutrition program did better than expected, bringing in $1.6 million over the fiscal forecast.

Some pre-buying toward the 2009-10 fiscal year that the district scrambled to do when given the green light in June did not come in by the deadline, meaning the expenses will count toward the new fiscal year and not the last.

There was more special education revenue than anticipated because the new Juvenile Detention facility in the city has brought in unanticipated out-of-town tuition payments.

And the board was told of a city request to charge school system salaries for the first three days of the fiscal year (which fell mid-week) to the 2008-09 budget. That money was held in reserve. The city later directed the three days be paid out of the new fiscal year. The unspent money held in reserve became the city's on June 30.

School board members failed to see how the salary reserve had affected the large surplus.

"It doesn't explain how the surplus came to be in the first place," said board member Bobby Simmons.

"I'm not trying to be a wise guy, I just don't get it," added Medina.

On the $1 million left in facilities and maintenance, Robert Henry, chief of staff for the district, said the employee responsible for paying bills and assigning work was bumped by a city employee when layoffs occurred. The new person ended up retiring and a second person quit after one day. The laid-off person was then brought back on a consultant basis to clean up the mess.

Regardless, Simmons said bills incurred last year need to be paid out of last year's budget. "This is something management should do, not auditors," he said. "Management should know that our expenditures are reasonably recorded."

"Upper-level management is paid to handle those kinds of challenges," added Medina. He wondered if the large surplus in maintenance meant jobs didn't get done and staff sat idle.

"It sounds like nobody is minding the farm," added board member Sauda Baraka.

On the nutrition front, Maura O'Malley, the department director, said the program brought in $1.6 million more than expected because of an expanding breakfast program. But she learned -- by going online to read the new budget -- that the city cut its $1.5 million contribution in the new fiscal year. She said City Budget Director Tom Sherwood would not allow her to pre-buy food commodities out of her surplus. Those items will have to be purchased out of the new budget. With no city contribution and less money from the state, she is worried this year she could end up with a deficit.

City officials counter that they were the last in the state to subsidize the school lunch program.

Simmons said if the board had been told sooner of the nutrition surplus, it could have used it as a bargaining chip with the city.

The city and school system are also at odds over benefits paid to the city by school employees whose salaries are funded by grants. Lisa Jones, director of school grants, said the district pays those benefits quarterly and spotted the city early in the fourth quarter when it needed extra cash. As it turned out, she said the district paid $308,000 more than actual expenses, but has been told they aren't getting the money back.

Sherwood said Friday he doesn't know anything about the city owing money toward the grants.

"So when the city asked for help we say yes and when the shoe is on the other foot and we ask for help, the city says no. I don't know why anybody in a Board of Education position would ever say yes again [to the city]," said Medina.

He also said his main concern lies not with the city but with not having administrators he can count on to defend the school system.

"We left two million on the table that could have been spent in the schools and that now will be spent by the city in some other way," he said.

Finch, in a written statement, was pleased to learn additional funding was coming.

"This year, the BOE anticipated and forecast a $2.5 million surplus. I am happily surprised although concerned that their forecasts were so far off just a couple of months ago. These funds, however, will be helpful to the city's finances," he said.