School Budget Lapse Shrinks To Less Than $400,000
In a special school board meeting Tuesday (Jan. 24, 2006), the case of the missing charter school funding came down from more than $800,000 to a mere $382,220.
Part of the problem as indicated in school board documents was the mix-up of two charter schools and a subsequent adjustment of the actual funding needed to support the schools.
A timeline of the errors in the discrepancy showed that officials thought the school in question was Queen City Academy at a cost of $1,865,613. But the new TEAMS school funding was $1,740,063.
With further adjustments for the actual enrollment offset by a $1 million reduction from surplus, the cost went down to $383,220.
Officials cited the temporary status of officials at district, county and state levels that produced the inability to register the problem.
The difference in Plainfield will now come from the categories of “administration, support and breakage,” which caused consternation among the public especially about “breakage.”
Eventually, officials explained that “breakage” meant instances of jobs left unfulfilled, early departures and other circumstances that meant money left over.
Opponents of the plan to make budget adjustments called for an extra audit of the circumstances that led to the discrepancy. But other board members cited an annual $60,000 audit and said additional costs were not warranted.
In the end, the board agreed to seek a forensic audit of what actually happened in the past year with costs to be considered at the next work-and-study meeting next month.
Part of the problem as indicated in school board documents was the mix-up of two charter schools and a subsequent adjustment of the actual funding needed to support the schools.
A timeline of the errors in the discrepancy showed that officials thought the school in question was Queen City Academy at a cost of $1,865,613. But the new TEAMS school funding was $1,740,063.
With further adjustments for the actual enrollment offset by a $1 million reduction from surplus, the cost went down to $383,220.
Officials cited the temporary status of officials at district, county and state levels that produced the inability to register the problem.
The difference in Plainfield will now come from the categories of “administration, support and breakage,” which caused consternation among the public especially about “breakage.”
Eventually, officials explained that “breakage” meant instances of jobs left unfulfilled, early departures and other circumstances that meant money left over.
Opponents of the plan to make budget adjustments called for an extra audit of the circumstances that led to the discrepancy. But other board members cited an annual $60,000 audit and said additional costs were not warranted.
In the end, the board agreed to seek a forensic audit of what actually happened in the past year with costs to be considered at the next work-and-study meeting next month.
--Bernice Paglia
KEYWORDS: BOE, school budget
posted by Bernice at 12:42 AM
<< Home