Letter from Linda Wise to SB and BOS

Parents -- I just wanted to share with you a wonderful letter (below) from Linda Wise about the school budget and budget process. It's worth your time to read.

Please don't forget -- the hearing on the County budget is tonight at 7 in the Goochland High School auditorium.

Date: March 29,2010

To: Board of Supervisors, School Board, County Administrator, Superintendent, and fellow citizens

A study in opposites…..County Administration vs School Administration

The new County Administrator has taken us from the Dark Ages into the Age of Enlightenment. The new budget process is a terrific step toward giving us the transparency and detailed information we’ve been asking for. Each department made a presentation that gave the public a better understanding of what services they provide along with the complications and intricacies they face in delivering these services. Staff gave us insight into this year’s very difficult budget process and I thank them for their efforts to be more responsible, especially in these tough economic times. Many difficult decisions and cuts were made to their budgets. Ms. Dickson and her staff have proven that by being meticulous in their actions and more forthcoming with information, the citizens can become more understanding and trusting. At the same time we citizens must also remember our responsibility to be informed, knowledgeable and respectful.

Ms. Dickson’s diligence and candor, comes at the most difficult time this County has ever faced. Her style of leadership is positive, realistic and constructive, which will be much needed to face the challenges ahead. Unlike her predecessor she recognizes that she has an obligation to the citizens. Our former County Administrator inflicted great damage to our County by his arrogant, careless and negligent behavior and while he may not be judged in any court, other than that of public opinion, it is more important that the Supervisors recognize his mistakes and learn from them. For once, we feel that County Administration is dealing with the problems and not avoiding them or sweeping them under the carpet. I feel this transparency and frankness not only serves to keep us educated, but helps us to better understand and support our county staff. Her efforts to give the Supervisors more accurate information has given them the knowledge to ask more questions and make better decisions.

On the other hand, we have the Superintendent of Schools and the School Board still stuck in the Dark Ages. Their attitude and demeanor, and the way they conduct business including the budget process, seems reminiscent of our past County Administrator. I attended the March 9th School Board meeting and left feeling like an unwelcome intruder. At BOS meetings the Supervisors and Administrator politely listen to the speakers, occasionally clarifying an issue and thanking them when they are done. At the School Board meeting on the other hand, not only were speakers not thanked but nothing is ever clarified. Unlike BOS meetings where all discussed documents are on overhead screens, we simply sat and watched the School Board shuffle papers around as they mumbled amongst themselves. The sound system makes it impossible to hear or understand much of what is discussed, which adds to the feeling that they really don’t want us to hear them or know what they are doing.

I recently requested information from County Administration pertaining to stimulus money and got an immediate, polite response from Ms. Dickson, and quickly received the information. I also requested detailed budget documents from Dr. Underwood around the same time. I was seeking minutes, spreadsheets, or anything that would give me more insight into how the school budget was discussed and developed and how they reached their decisions. Several emails back and forth with a Staff member followed. At first I was frustrated and angry, feeling I was getting a run-around and that Dr. Underwood simply didn’t want to supply me with these documents. Then I was horrified when told that these documents did not exist. How is it possible that a person in charge of a $25 million dollar budget keeps no notes, documentation, spreadsheets, minutes or recordings of budget discussions and decisions ? This is a person in charge of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. I was told that while there were discussions about budget cuts they were not reflected in the minutes. Apparently, the Superintendent and her School Board did not insist that the same type of self-analysis, research, and discussions be conducted by School Staff, as had been done by County Staff. If they did, there are no documents that reflect this. Dr. Underwood and her Board, by all appearances, have forgotten who they work for………….us. Our votes put the School Board members in place and our money funds their budget. We are the bosses and we have every right to expect transparency, honesty, openness and full disclosure of any and all issues, with the exception of those items that allow them to go into closed session.

Dr. Underwood and the School Board appear stunned, indignant and resentful that parents, citizens or Supervisors dare to question them on their budget process or other matters. It is irresponsible, to say the least, that the analysis of the budget or any other school business, is not done in a thorough, professional and methodical manner, and that these discussions and the resulting determinations are not documented in any way or carefully presented to the public. Either Dr. Underwood and the School Board choose to work under a mantel of secrecy and concealment, or they simply haven’t done their homework well enough to read it in class. Either of these choices is disturbing.

At a recent Supervisor meeting Dr. Underwood gave a presentation (requested by the Supervisors) on categories in her budget. She seemed determined to make her explanation of her budget’s breakdown by funds, categories, function and so on, look like rocket science. It didn’t seem that complicated to me. She explained that a separate Grants fund was set up to track stimulus and other grant money in her budget. Obviously. Not only would you want to track these funds separately, but it would be necessary in order to satisfy the state and federal tracking and reporting requirements. Part of the public’s confusion has been about personnel and where they are located within the various funds, namely Instruction, Administration, Technology, Grants, etc. Dr. Underwood stated that all positions funded by stimulus money are located in the Grants Fund. At first, when questioned by the supervisors she said that all of these positions had to be new positions. Later she stated that some of these positions were actually long time employees who were given new titles and moved to Grants to be funded by stimulus money. She was asked if these people funded by ARRA (stimulus) funds understood that their jobs are not permanent, to which she did not reply. According to Dr. Underwood the following positions were created with ARRA money: Elementary & Parent Involvement Specialist, Student Services Specialist, Elementary ITRT, Alternative Education teachers; Special Education Aides, Special Education Transition Specialist. The impression given at this meeting is that anyone hired with Stimulus money should understand that their job was most likely temporary in nature. When ARRA funds dry up, so does the job, since the County funds cannot sustain them. Are these people who won’t be missed when stimulus money stops?

There are 6 types of ARRA funds received by the Schools listed under Grants, and money in each of these funds cannot be used by another. People funded under the Fiscal Stabilization portion which has now dried up cannot be funded by other ARRA funds. In the 10-11 budget these 6 budget categories include total funds of $558,705 , of which $389,381 (70%) is for salaries. In the approved 09-10 budget, the total for ARRA funds was $817,665, with $534,824 or 66% has gone to salaries. That’s a lot of salaries, but worse than that is that the potential loss of jobs is not a future problem, but a current one. One of the Stimulus funds, the Fiscal Stabilization fund has already dried up. This fund shows a total in 09-10 (current budget) of $264,226 of which $227,716 or 86% is for salaries. That’s $264,226 worth of personnel that could be eliminated as of June 30^th. I feel most sorry for long time employees who were moved to this or other ARRA funds, and now their jobs are in jeopardy. I know one young lady, an Elementary Instructional Technology Resource teacher, whose position was moved from Operating to Grants under the Stabilization fund, and whose job has been eliminated. She wasn’t originally hired with Stimulus money, but she’s still been cut, rather than being moved back into the Operating budget.

I’d very much like to see a list of all the employees listed in the current budget under Fiscal Stabilization, because in spite of the impression given at the BOS meeting, all these people have not been cut from the budget. I suspected some had been moved into the Administrative or Instructional funds for the 10-11 budget cycle and I was right. In Dr. Underwood’s budget presentation, she states that an ESL position has been moved to Instruction, and one Alternative Education teacher and the Student Services Specialist have been transferred to another fund under Grants. So, I’d first like to know how the decision was made to keep some and fire others. Second, I’d like to know how you justify saving these jobs, while firing long time teachers. The fact that personnel hired by the Fiscal Stabilization fund are being moved into the 10-11 Operating budget, while some long time teachers are losing their jobs, is an injustice. To me it is a travesty, misuse and abuse of the system. I feel sorry for anyone who loses their job, but based on Underwood’s presentation, people hired with Stimulus money should have been made aware that their jobs would most likely only be funded for 2 or 3 years. Perhaps Dr. Underwood was hoping that once hired, she would be able to fund the positions with County funds, but that is unrealistic. If these cuts were not based on performance evaluations or last hired/first fired criteria, the Board is going to have a lot of explaining to do. Perhaps these evaluations have been done, but at this point the public has been offered no clarification on the process or criteria used.

I will not pretend to know all there is to know about the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds, but I have done some research on the subject. I recognize that there are many stipulations placed on school systems that limit or determine what they can do with this money, however after reading descriptions on the Virginia Stimulus website of how these funds should be used, it is clear that the intent in all of the various grant categories is to help schools continue or enhance programs. Documents from the Virginia Department of Education made this opening statement. “The four principles state that the funds: 1) must be spent quickly to save and create jobs 2) should be used to improve student achievement through school improvement and reform 3) will be subject to additional and more rigorous reporting requirements than normally apply to grant recipients 4) are available for only two to three years and should be invested in ways that do not result in unsustainable continuing commitments after the funding expires.” That makes perfect sense to me. The main thing that jumps off the page is the idea of using the money in ways that are sustainable and make a lasting contribution to improving our schools. Hiring new people results …”in unsustainable continuing commitments after the funding expires.”, unless the job performed is temporary in nature, perhaps like someone doing an evaluation or training.

The information I received from the County says the ARRA funds were used for compensation, tuition reimbursement, software, hardware, staff development and tutoring. All but compensation makes perfect sense. According to VDOE the Fiscal Stabilization fund could have been used for teachers, nurses, library media specialists and support staff, but it could also have been used for tutors, professional development, program evaluation, materials and supplies, parental involvement activities, equipment, transportation and also modernization, renovation, repair and new construction of public school facilities.

Knowing that this money would only be around for a couple of years and that the County as a whole is in deep financial distress, using this money to add new positions that were probably unsustainable in the future is a really bad idea. Instead put the money to work where you could get the best temporary, one time benefit, such as training programs to enhance and train existing teachers; program evaluation, materials, supplies, equipment and modernizing, renovating or repairing school facilities. Heck, putting the money toward a better sound system and overhead screens in the High School would have been money well spent. The other existing ARRA funds listed teachers, tutors, but also professional development, program evaluation, materials and supplies, equipment, and parental involvement activities, so obviously there were other uses for this money besides new personnel. There are some teachers on Dr. Underwood’s list under Grants; particularly in Special Education, and I have no doubt that some or all would be sorely missed, which is why it seems so tragic that they were funded with temporary stimulus money, in the first place. The greatest tragedy now appears that longtime teachers are losing their jobs in order to save people hired with ARRA money.

I’d very much like to see the exact list of positions that were added in the last couple of years, both in Operating and Grants. We seem to keep adding positions, but we can’t pay for teachers or books or programs? Dr. Underwood stated at the Supervisors meeting that the payroll list on the Gazette’s website is incorrect. That’s easy, then give us a new list with titles, budget category and salaries. Even better would be for Dr. Underwood to list these positions accurately in her budget under the proper fund each year, so there would be no misunderstanding or confusion.

In the Approved Budget posted on the website, Dr. Underwood talks of the necessity to cut classroom teachers because of decreased revenues. By her own admission cutting these teachers will have an immediate negative impact on students. How then does she justify eliminating these teachers, when no personnel cuts have been made to Administration, Technology or Transportation ? This has been the concern of citizens and parents. The cuts being made are the ones that will impact the students the most. She states that the following were eliminated from the Instruction budget: 2 intervention teachers, Tender Tots program (which by the way, generates $50,000 in revenue), VA Preschool Initiative program, literacy and math specialists, Drivers Ed, Summer Governor’s school, 2 Special Education teachers, 2 clerical positions, 1 instructional Support teacher, 1 In-School Suspension, 7 classroom teachers, 1 gifted program teacher, materials and supplies were cut 50%. Doesn’t sound good. A total of $169,129 was cut from textbooks, books and subscriptions, education & rec supplies. Can we really afford these types of cuts to books and supplies? Could stimulus money have paid for some of this? I suspect it could. GEPA’s point is that they simply want Underwood and her Board to find places to cut their budget that won’t eliminate teachers or instructional supplies or programs. Up to now, it doesn’t appear that any real effort has been made to address that concern or re-evaluate decisions made.

In the School Board minutes where they voted to support Dr. Underwood’s budget, Mr. Miller made the following speech: “We all have spent many hours thinking of the issues and pondering the ramifications of the choices available. Our goal has been and will always be, to the best of our abilities with the resources allocated to provide for the needs of our students.” “Although you may not agree with decisions that were made in order to arrive at this budget, not supporting this budget would be completely counterproductive.” First, let me say that I don’t feel that the Superintendent directed her Staff to do the same type of thoughtful analysis and creative thinking used by County Staff in order to come up with the best budget possible. I’m equally confident that had she done so, her staff could have come up with many solutions and ideas. That’s simply bad leadership. Secondly, it speaks volumes about the smugness and patronizing attitude of the School Board to think that no matter what they decide, these parents are wrong to question them, and should simply acquiesce. What I find most offensive and unbelievable is that neither the Superintendent nor the School Board members ever seem to feel an obligation or duty to the parents and citizens who were asking respectful, insightful and educated questions. This dismissive, condescending attitude only serves to make all of us feel mistrust and anger. While I can certainly understand their embarrassment and discomfort by recent events, I hope they are able to recognize their mistakes. We assume that they have not performed their jobs correctly, because they have refused to demonstrate to the public anything that proves the contrary. If we are wrong in our perceptions, then prove us wrong by you actions.

When Mr. Miller, School Board Chairman, was asked by the Supervisors, if the explanation of categories and budget decisions was presented to the public, he said he made an attempt. Then he continued to explain that he asked Underwood for mid-year academic achievement reports and shared this with the public. They evaluated cost per pupil and academic achievement per pupil. The public was directly asking for information pertaining to the budget; clarifications on positions and where they were funded, why cuts were made to instructional personnel, programs and supplies, rather than in other areas. How did an achievement report address these questions? Mr. Miller continued to say that the job of the School Board is to select a competent superintendent and let her do her job, and that “…..we rely on auditors to tell us.” Huh? I’ve never known auditors to make evaluations on how a company or local government spends their money or how effectively they have managed it and certainly not evaluate personnel.

Furthermore, after researching documents on the Schools website pertaining to School Board ethics and legal mandates I would like to quote from these documents: “The School Board endorses the concept that community participation in affairs of schools is essential if the school division and the community are to maintain mutual confidence and respect and work together to improve the quality of education for all students.” In another document it states…”The School Board will review its performance annually to ensure its proper discharge of responsibilities to the community.” Perhaps now would be a good time to review its performance and consider its role in providing the public with information and giving them a reason to have confidence and respect. I don’t think the public feels we are working together. And while Mr. Miller insists that the Board basically hires a good person and then allows them to go their merry way. “It is the responsibility of the School Board to maintain and improve the quality of administration and instruction.” This would clearly indicate that the Board has a responsibility to get more involved in the details and ask more questions. From where I sit, the Board appears somewhat glazed over and compliant. One of their duties is to …”Survey, at least annually, the school division to identify critical shortages of teachers and administrative personnel by subject matter…” And finally from their Code of Ethics, two things….”Approach all School Board issues with an open mind, prepared to make the best decision for the whole school system.” and “Do nothing to violate the trust of those who appointed him to the School Board or of those served.” Amen.

With better leadership and more disclosure, this situation could have been avoided. I hope valuable lessons have been learned by all. I would ask the same thing of Dr. Underwood that we have asked of Ms. Dickson…….honesty, integrity and diligence. Denial, misdirection and slight of hand will not help the public to trust you. We expect a sincere effort to communicate the facts and willingness to discuss them. We certainly understand the complexities of both jobs. On the other hand, too many contradictions and confusions have led to a deep mistrust and lack of confidence. I would ask the same thing from the School Board that we have asked from the Board of Supervisors. Keep yourselves informed and educated on the subjects under your control and remember you are accountable to the public. It is your duty to question things and to ask for clarification. It is your job to make sure our children are well educated and that the citizen’s money is well spent. In the words of one Supervisor who has learned some painful lessons over the past couple of years……”Trust but verify.” I also hope more parents and citizens will become involved and better informed and express their opinions and ideas.

Sincerely,

Linda Wise

Manakin Sabot