BOE/Central Office Conference Travel

[Everett McGill]

Sure can (post the questions per Munn).  Here they are with a little more preceeding info:



Chatham County Board of Education, job description
The Job: The board supervises school system operations and establishes and enforces administrative, academic, fiscal, personnel and operational policies for the district.

Salary: Chairman, $95 per meeting; board members, $90 per meeting

What's at Stake? Voters will elect nonpartisan candidates to fill three open seats on the five-member board. Terms last four years.
There are four Chatham County Board of Education districts. One seat is open in the third district, and two seats are open in the fourth district.

Still on the Ballot, But: Charles Grubb and Andrea Repasz-Batsche have dropped out of the race.



Chatham County Board of Education, overview
The Issues

* What should the Chatham County Schools system do to handle growth?

* What can the school board do to help close the achievement gap, particularly in light of the county’s growing Hispanic population?

[Everett McGill]

While the future (Board Member elect campaign promises) is important.  I am still interested in the present.  Board members working together to make things better for students and everyone else in the school system.   Back to my original comments:

"For me, it is ok for anyone to go on a junket, as long as our elected representatives are open and honest about it beforehand.”  That has happened here. (Right?)

 “Surely, there was a board vote on whether or not to send these public servants?”  (Was there one?)

 “What was the vote count” ( Who voted and how?)

 “It does not do any organization one bit of good, that if AFTER a decision is made, one or more (board) members decided to complain, whine, or grandstand  about the decision.    I am sure that is not how the USMC expects it’s officers or enlisted to carry out command decisions or policy.” 
 (Trust me, I voted for Mr. Totten, believe he is a fine citizen and that he is not evil.  However, the above is what we see regularly from him, and, here is the real issue; How are his tactics  having a positive impact on our students?) 

“Second, if we as a community, could refocus on getting our elected board members to carry out key campaign promises and get off of trying to throw stones, then feel compelled to defend themselves in a never ending cycle of counterproductive diatribes, THEN our students and faculty members just MIGHT benefit."
 (Many in our county feel this way, they just are not on this board typing all the time.   What is the downside to switching gears and acting like a leader interested in results, measurable quantified  results?)

[negotiator]

Me being me, I don't like to take anyone's word for anything.  Call me paranoid.  It sounded a little sketchy, all this "moving money around because it might get taken away by the state."  So I called DPI.  After getting connected to several people, I finally found one in the finance department who could answer my questions (I wrote the name down but left it at home, can't recall off the top of my head, but if anyone wants it email me).  Anyway, without naming my county I said that I heard from our BOE that money was being shifted from fund to fund, specifically out of a technology fund, in order to not lose funds that might be recalled by the state.  Other than that, I really knew nothing.  Here is what I was told:   Yes, this is standard practice.  Basically, this year, the state not only probably but VERY LIKELY will be taking back some funding that was allocated to local boards.  When they do this, the funds they are LEAST LIKELY to take back are those funds allocated to paying salaries.  So, a very smart school district just might take STATE money (in our case, $450,000) out of its technology budget and shift it to the payroll budget.  Then they could shift other funds from other sources to the technology budget so it would all even out again.  Nothing is affected under the budget - the numbers stay the same - only the source of the funds is changed around.  Then, when the state takes back, for example, money that the county has allocated in its technology fund - oh, guess what - Chatham County does not have ANY state funds allocated for its technology fund - so the state takes nothing back.  The funds in the technology budget are from other sources, not the state.  All of Chatham's money is in salaries - that is money the state is NOT likely to take back.  Guess what taxpayers of Chatham County - you just saved $450,000 in state money that could have been taken away!  The person at DPI said this is a perfectly legitimate function of a finance officer.  I also asked when this "takeback" is likely to happen, but that is not known (or not disclosed to me).

So, what do I make of this?  Well - what if the Colonel had been successful in stonewalling the approval of this fund transfer, guess what could have happened?  If the state undertakes the recall in the interim (between the last board meeting and the time the board actually got around to approving the transfer - however long the Colonel delayed it), that money would have been GONE.  Poof.  Chatham County would have been out $450,000.  So it seems to me that our board, despite the Colonel, protected us very well.  And then we have the Colonel, who is harping on saving $3,000 when at the same time he himself is putting us at significant risk of losing over $450,000!  Sounds to me like not being able to see the forest for the trees!!!  (I don't know if other money was at risk also, I just picked up on the $450,000).

So.......I for one would like to express how thankful I am to have someone like Ms. Russell on the board, who is savvy and intelligent enough to understand these issues and to be out there protecting us.   If we in Chatham County sit back on our heels and draw in our skirts like the Colonel proposes, how will we ever be able to protect ourselves?  Suppose Ms. Little learned this information at a national conference?  Wow, that would make the little $3,000 junket quite worthwhile, eh?  Would you pay $3,000 to save $450,000?  Seems like a no brainer to me.  I am willing to bet the $3,000 spent on these conferences nets us savings well in excess of what we will ever know.  So please, go, go, go, and educate yourselves and bring it back to us and make us competitive and viable in the country.  Learn the tricks.  Learn the information.  Use it to help us.

And as to the Colonel, you have a long history in this county of misunderstanding the facts.  Here is a fine example of yet another issue where your inability to understand the situation could have really hurt us and cost the taxpayers big bucks.  Please take a lesson and learn to understand what you are talking about before you spout off.  I know you have lots of fans on this board, but there are those of us who see you for what you are.

I have learned another lesson here and that is that I am going to start attending BOE meetings.  I want to see for myself some of this stuff, instead of getting it second hand.  I encourage all of you out there to do the same.  If you are really interested, get involved.

[gertot]

I hope you do attend, negotiator.  I never said a thing about the technology fund transfer (amendment).  That was brought up by Ms. McManus, not me.  I questioned the amount of funds into "contracted services".  The matter of fund transfers to prevent recoupment by the state is known to me and makes good sense.

You challenge my understanding of facts.  Since you will now be attending meetings, you will have a more clear picture of what facts really are. 

I am sorry you had to waste so much band width to state your misunderstanding of what really occured.

[Everett McGill]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1fuDDqU6n4o&amp;rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/1fuDDqU6n4o&amp;rel=0</a>

[negotiator]

  I questioned the amount of funds into "contracted services".  The matter of fund transfers to prevent recoupment by the state is known to me and makes good sense.

As I understand it, you wanted to postpone action on the budget amendment because of all of the shifting of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" around.  Perhaps you specifically questioned the "contracted services" but all of the shifting of funds were for the same purpose, to put state funds out of danger of being recalled, no matter where they were shifted from.  And to delay the action on the approval of the amendment would have delayed everything.  You specifically requested that the board NOT act on the amendments, correct? 

And guess what.....I just heard on the news that $57 million of funds in NC have been "recalled" from schools.  So if the rest of the board had listened to you, how much money would Chatham County have lost?  Hopefully someone who knows more than I can answer this question and enlighten us.............

Thank you Ms. Little for your diligence, and thank you BOE members who outvoted Totten to preserve the taxpayers money.

[dkemom2]

 Suppose Ms. Little learned this information at a national conference?  Wow, that would make the little $3,000 junket quite worthwhile, eh?  Would you pay $3,000 to save $450,000?  Seems like a no brainer to me.  

I doubt seriously that laws governing the moving of monies in individual states is something discussed at NCSB.  A conference locally might be more likely, or even better that Ms. Little knows her job and does that sort of research on her own, BECAUSE she is intelligent enough to figure things out w/o flying 3000 miles.

[negotiator]

No doubt she does know her job and is good at it.  But I'm not talking about a discussion of the laws.  I'm talking about an informal "heads up" such as the one someone must have given to someone - like, hey, there's a GOOD CHANCE that the state is going to be recalling a big chunk of your funding....might want to shift your fund balances.  This isn't information you learn in school.  This is good old fashioned political savvy.  The point is that this is the kind of information and insight one gets from networking - from maintaining contacts - from being engaged in the larger world of education, understanding the trends and the current climate and the shifts.  NOT from sitting in Chatham County being scared to spend a few thousand bucks to better yourself, improve your contacts and connections and reach out to network with the professionals in your field all over the country.  As has been said, the likely value of attending these professional conferences surely outweighs their cost.  And it is being ignored that it was stated by someone at the beginning of this thread that much of the funds for the conferences if from earmarked sources and can ONLY be used for that purpose.  Guess others understand the value, too, and want to make sure that the boe's don't fall into a provincial mindset like our friend the colonel.

[dkemom2]

Well then I wonder why so many other systems, businesses etc. are curtailing travel because of the economy.  And no where does it state in the budget that it has to be used for THIS particular trip.  Like I said earlier, there are plenty of folks who work day after day inside the class room that would love to attend some local conferences but are
hampered by lack of funds.  Yes, I personally know some of these teachers/staff.

I don't see the benefit of BOE members going. THAT is my point. I think if some of the administration goes, it should be a limited number.

[Kathie]

Negotiator is correct.  I was at a legislative meeting of the special joint committee for arts in education today in Raleigh, and the reversions were announced.  Here is the word from DPI:

We have been asked to revert $117 million from the public school fund by the
state Budget Office. Of that amount, NCDPI has identified $59 million in
reversions, and we have asked the local school districts to each revert 0.75
percent of their state allotments totalling $58 million.  Together, these
two totals will equal $117 million as requested.

Thankfully four members of our BOE had the ability to understand Ms. Little's budget amendment and to approve it.  Otherwise, we would have a lot more funds at risk than we will now.  To have delayed this vote would have been a major blow to our budget!

[Patty52]

Kathie, I hope that the fact you were 100% correct and that you have saved the Chatham County School system, and the taxpayers of same, a substantial amount of money is helping to balance out the ad hominem attacks that have been leveled at you. Thank-you so much for your perseverance and your good, professional work.

Everett, thanks again for starting this thread and working to keep it on track. It has really been an eye-opener for me.

Negotiator, thanks for your research into the facts of just what the issue here is.

[joebloefromkokomo]

where is everybody?

[dkemom2]

Tired of beating dead horses.
 

[whoopdedo1]

Maybe this says it all, dkemom2.  No one cares or can do anything about the runaway spending so we quit.
 

Stargazer says on the revaluation thread for the county:


"I agree.  But whenever you look at a county budget it's vague and more or less "fluff" - I'd be much more
in favor or revaluations now if I thought our county government treated their budget as most of its citizens
cope with their own.  BTW the school budget is the same "smoke and mirrors."
I'm certainly not opposed to government spending - I'd just like transparency.
 
   
 



 



   

[Everett McGill]

Wasn’t it the transparent use of funds for a “Junket” (not a bad word) that took us down this road?   If so, do we really want transparency, or something else?

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