Vaccaro
Ansonia residents have heard enough about the friction between the City and its Board of Education. The time has come for a new era of collaboration and cooperation that puts the interests of children, teachers and taxpayers above politics.
That goal will be difficult to reach so long as elected members of the Board of Education refuse to take responsibility for how their department’s finances are being managed.
The explanation of the audit offered by Board of Education member Chris Phipps, in his January 14, 2019 letter to the Valley Independent Sentinel, omits key words.
Mr. Phipps brushes off the four negative findings cited by the independent auditor – including the unauthorized overspending of the department’s budget by over $220,000 – as “deficiencies” and “accounting procedurals errors,” downplaying their severity and significance.
Taken in the proper context of the audit, the negative findings represent not just “deficiencies,” but “significant deficiencies,” which are defined specifically by the auditor as “important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.”
This is the first time in a decade that the current auditor has reported a “significant” deficiency, let alone four deficiencies against a single department.
The overspending of a department budget by over $220,000 is, of course, a very serious management issue. Particularly when that overspending could have been prevented by observing basic management controls and by communicating with the City and its finance department – steps that the audit specifically recommends to the Board of Education and that members of this Board of Aldermen requested on many occasions.
It should also be noted that the $220,000 plus in overspending is also a violation of state law, which requires that a Board of Education receive approval from its legislative authority prior to exceeding its budgetary allotment (Connecticut General Statutes Section 10 – 222).
In this case, no such permission was sought.
In the past, Board of Education management has made clear that they will run the school system on their own terms, and with the bare minimum of oversight from the City and taxpayers that fund it.
To that end, a Resolution was passed on July 30th, 2018 essentially pledging non-cooperation with the City and its leadership.
Further, the Board of Education’s President, William Nimons, has publicly stated that budgetary information would be shared with the City “at our convenience, not theirs,” even in light of the audit’s call for increased communication and standard accounting procedures as a path forward.
The City of Ansonia does not wish to remain “at odds” with its Board of Education. Our children and teachers do not deserve to be stuck in the cross-fire.
However, City leaders cannot responsibly or accurately budget while blindfolded. This was reaffirmed in the Federal Single Audit and State Single Audit Reports for the City of Ansonia year ended June 30, 2018.
The undersigned therefore request a joint meeting between the finance subcommittees of the Board of Aldermen and Board of Education to review the audit and develop a mutually beneficial plan of action. It is time to begin breaking down the barriers of communication, and take the next steps forward together.
Lorie Vaccaro
President
Ansonia Board of Aldermen
