Audit Report Up at BOE Tuesday

An annual report on fiscal management in the school district found 16 items needing improvement, such as terminated employees continuing to receive benefits.

The report was prepared jointly by district staff and the auditing firm of Lerch, Vinci Higgins LLC and will be discussed at Tuesday’s work and study session, 8 p.m. in the auditorium at 1200 Myrtle Avenue. It states the findings, the corrective action required, the person or persons responsible to take action and the date by which each item will be corrected. To see the items, click here and go to page 19.

While some of the findings are a bit arcane for the layperson, things like advertising professional contracts and putting limits on school board travel are more down-to-earth. This year, the resolution is tied to improvement of business practices, one of five goals in a strategic plan set by Schools Superintendent Steve Gallon III, who took charge July 1. The audit time frame is July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, a tumultuous period that saw high turnover among top officials.

Much of the responsibility for corrective action falls on Business Administrator/Board Secretary Gary Ottmann, who returned to the district in January after several years in the same role in Wayne. Ottmann previously served 13 years in the Plainfield district. His initial contract for $155,000 was amended Sept 16 to $161,588 for the 2008-09 school year beginning July 1, subject to the approval of Executive County Superintendent Carmen Centuolo. It is now listed in a legal notice as up for discussion at the Dec. 16 business meeting, 7 p.m. at 1200 Myrtle Avenue.

One fiscal matter that has perplexed this writer is the district’s handling of attorney contracts. In June 2006, the school board unanimously approved hiring Hunt, Hamlin & Ridley as general counsel at an hourly rate of $125 and Weiner Lesniak as labor counsel at an hourly rate of $135. In June 2007, Hunt, Hamlin & Ridley won appointment as general counsel, labor counsel and workmen’s compensation counsel as recommended by Interim Superintendent Peter Carter, but no hourly rate was stated in the resolutions. The firm received the general counsel appointment for the entire year, from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, but the other two appointments were only from July through September 2007.

At the Sept. 18 business meeting, the two contracts were extended through Oct. 31, 2007 “while the board interviews prospective firms,” the resolution said. The matter did not come up again until the Dec. 18, 2007 meeting, at which the firm received further continuation until Jan. 31, 2008 “while proposals are received and reviewed by the Board of Education, at no change in terms.” Again, terms of compensation were not spelled out.

A search of minutes posted on the district web site revealed no further action until the April 29, 2008 Organization Meeting when the professional services contract was continued “at no change in terms until a selection is made in regards to the RFP (Request for Proposals) that was previously distributed.” The resolution passed 6-3, according to the minutes. According to the minutes, no action was taken at the meeting to appoint a general counsel for the 2008-09 school year.

There was some confusion at the meeting led by new Board President Bridget Rivers, as Plaintalker reported:

While most of the votes at the annual organization meeting were perfunctory, such as naming bank depositories and signatories for school accounts, Rivers grew testy when a discussion of school attorneys bogged down and became confusing.
"I don’t even know what we’re talking about,” board member Rasheed Abdul-Haqq said at one point.
“A lot of times it’s like a circus up here,” Rivers said. “I can’t have that.”
Rivers admonished the nine-member board to work out its disagreements “behind closed doors,” saying the audience, including children, was noting the disarray.

Hunt, Hamlin & Ridley are apparently still on the job, but an outside person who had to rely on official minutes would not have clarity on what happened. Such important appointments, including terms of compensation, need to be spelled out. Plaintalker welcomes any further information that may be available.

--Bernice Paglia