Schools’ Health/Safety/Funding question
On the Chatham County Bulletin Board this evening, the following question appeared.
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Quote from: munn5 on Today at 07:51:44 PM
Mr. Totten (or other school board member), can you verify that county schools are permitted to not meet fire codes, and do not have to remedy unsafe conditions (as found by the fire marshall and health inspector)?
My answer follows:
County schools ARE inspected annually by both the Fire and Health Department inspectors. I can’t explain why deficiencies have not been corrected except to say many of the items I have seen are put into that drawer called “deferred maintenance” if there is such a thing. Supposedly there is almost two million dollars in certain school funds which can be used for repairs and projects such as these. If you follow the statutes, there is no need for the school system to sit on fund balances except for current expenses. For years I have heard the school officials and, yes, the school boards (before this one) scream to high heavens that “there isn’t any money.” There isn’t money for health and safety items for the students and schools but somehow at year end they find big bucks to buy computers when there was no plan to use them at the time and untold amounts of office supplies delivered to schools which neither requisitioned them or had a place to store them ad nauseum.
Somehow the schools’ auditor recommended a minimum of 10% in fund balance however that recommendation totally ignores the statutes which require the County Commissioners to provide certain funding to the schools. If the County Commissioners have to - by law - fund those items for the schools, why is it deemed necessary for the schools to duplicate the accounts? It isn’t but it allows for a slush fund to be used as somewhat of a private bank account by the central office, some of which - over $300,000 last year - was allocated as extra supplements to certain school employees, some 2/3 of the amount paid to central office members of “the cabinet”, most of whom were new hires. The rest seems to be hoarded for year end purchases by central office and board whim.
What we seem to have is a lack of priorities, something a line item budget and commissioner approval of school budgets based upon “allocation by purpose and function” could correct, That is a means whereby the schools do not have the privilege of intermixing funds as they do now. My opinion is that the virtually unfettered grant of money to the schools is not in the best interest of taxpayer funds and has not been for many years nor have the school teachers, staff and students been the total benefactors.
I have but one vote on the Board of Education but I have promised to use it for the improvement of the systems. A great deal of that improvement will be transparency of what the board does if I know about it and tighter fiscal controls by the board.
Gerald Totten