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Unfortunately, the State Review Committee recommended that North Butler Schools’ request for allowable growth be denied. The main reason for the denial is erroneous figures entered into the submitted corrective action plan and an unbalanced budget. Things DID NOT add up! Was there any discussion on this item at the school board meeting? NO! How about.. Mr. Foster have you corrected the plan? Do you have explanation of errors made for our upcoming SBRC meeting?
I asked after the school board meeting. Mr. Foster explained that certain figures came entered on the plan. He assumed that those figures were correctly entered by the state, but they were meant to be modified. Other figures were mistakenly entered from the wrong year or wrong reference spreadsheet. Oops. I think not. Where is the accountability? Where is the internal control? If the state does not approve North Butler’s Allowable growth, NB schools are on track to be a NEGATIVE $120,000 at the end of this school year.
Financial troubles don’t stop there. Keith Oltrogge CPA recommends Board should approve receipts before items are ordered to avoid overspending. From the Audit of the year ending June 2014, the CPA again recommends more internal controls which INCLUDES ELECTED OFFICIALS. If elected officials do not have the knowledge, why not ask community members with knowledge of General Accounting Principles to perform a quarterly accounting check. Look for a person with accounting background when electing new school board members.
Why does the School Nutrition Fund have a negative balance? Hot Lunch Fund had previously borrowed $44,000 from the General Fund. Should this fund be self-sustaining? Why aren’t School Nutrition Accounts being recorded appropriately?
I am very disappointed at the lack of concern and questioning that I witness at each school board meeting. This excerpt was taken directly from Mr. Foster’s blog,” The board asked for items in the past and would not receive them, or the information would not be accurate. The auditor explained to us several weeks ago that they had told the previous superintendent that the previous business manager was not qualified to do the job that he was expecting and asking her to do. That information was never relayed to the board.”
The school board had to know the financial issues of North Butler. It is written in black and white on the Auditor’s Reports. Directly from June 2012 Audit Report,”The District DOES NOT POSSESS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH THE APPROPRIATE EXPERTISE TO APPLY GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS…” Each School board member is handed a copy and the information is also available online. North Butler’s School Board has the information to know what is and was going on. The school board may choose to Trust and Rely on One Administrator for all the answers. This needs to change. Hasty, uneducated decisions are being made costing North Butler much more than just a loss of funds. We elected our school board to manage our tax dollars appropriately and invest themselves in North Butler’s Future especially when THINGS DON’T ADD UP!
