Ansonia BOE Member: We Deceived The Public

ANSONIA — A Board of Education member accused school district officials of deceiving the public last month when they said schools might have to close early without more funding from the city.

The school board member, John Izzo, also said the school district hasn’t touched a $500,000 settlement fund set up by Aldermen last month after school officials said they wouldn’t be able to meet payroll obligations.

“We put this town in hysteria and had a PR firm do this whole dog and pony show that just created a huge embarrassment to this city,” Izzo said during the school board’s monthly meeting Wednesday. ​“Not only did we have the money to meet payroll, we knew we had the money to make payroll a month ago.”

Superintendent Carol Merlone and Lisa Jones, the school district’s business manager, disputed Izzo’s assertions, and said the school district is waiting for the city to release money it needs.

The dispute in question regards a months-long dispute between the school board and city hall that is now the subject of a lawsuit scheduled to go to trial in October 2019.

Background

The school board filed the lawsuit because the Board of Aldermen cut the school district’s budget by $600,000 in January.

Mayor David Cassetti’s administration said the cut was reasonable because the school board received about $1.8 million in unanticipated grants from the state, including money for low-performing ​“alliance districts.”

The $600,000, according to the Cassetti administration, was given because the schools expected alliance district funding to be cut in last year’s state budget mess.

But the alliance district money survived.

To justify taking the money back, the Cassetti administration pointed to a new state law — created in response to the state budget mess — that allowed towns and cities to make revisions to school budgets to account for unanticipated revenue.

But the school board, in its lawsuit, said the city didn’t follow that law — and that another law governing alliance districts prohibits cities from using the money to offset the city’s contribution to education funding.

The school board has received two letters from the state Department of Education supporting their position.

Closure Threat, Settlement Fund

The two sides were scheduled to meet for a hearing at Superior Court in Derby last month in which the school district was asking a judge to force the city to open its checkbook to cover expenses until the end of the school year.

In the runup to the court date, a public relations firm working with the school board issued statements that schools could close more than a week earlier than scheduled because officials were worried they couldn’t make the last two payrolls of the year.

That caused hundreds of people to show up at a meeting at the high school at which school officials walked back the early closing warning, with their lawyer pointing to the letters from the state supporting its legal position.

The two sides eventually agreed to set up a temporary $500,000 fund to help the school board close its books for the fiscal year ending June 30 — while still preparing to go to trial on whether the Aldermen’s $600,000 cut was legal or not.

Izzo: We Haven’t Touched The $500,000

At the school board’s monthly meeting Wednesday (July 11), officials said the settlement fund hasn’t been dipped into yet — but offered different reasons why.

Izzo — a supporter of Mayor Cassetti who voted against taking the city to court — referred to documents he said were provided to him by city officials that he said showed the school board had more than enough money to finish the school year without dipping into the settlement fund.

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Ansonia Budget Report by The Valley Indy on Scribd

“There’s a balance as of today, according to the city’s balance sheet, of $533,000, and that doesn’t even include the $500,000 settlement,” he said. ​“Something’s wrong, I’m not sure what it is, but your budget doesn’t tie into the city’s balance sheet.”

Business Manager: City Hasn’t Released Funds

The school district’s business manager, Lisa Jones, said the school district will eventually need to use up to all but $3 of the $500,000 settlement fund to close out the year — but the city hasn’t yet released the funds.

Jones pointed to a monthly report she provides to the school board that shows the school district’s expenses and ​“encumbrances” — essentially money it plans to spend.

“I think you’re mixing apples and oranges,” she told Izzo.

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School District Budget Report by The Valley Indy on Scribd

She said the school district has cut checks to vendors but hasn’t sent them out because the city hasn’t put the money in its checking account.

“Our books are not final because we still have invoices that we have yet to receive or make payment on,” she said.

The Board of Education also adjusted its budget once the Aldermen cut $600,000 out of it.

If not for that — and the $500,000 settlement fund — ​“there would absolutely not have been enough money for the Board of Ed,” Jones said.

“That’s not true,” Izzo said.

“The numbers don’t jive,” he said after the meeting. ​“We basically went out and told the public and told our employees ​‘Your checks will likely bounce, we are out of money,’ when in fact, even at that time, we knew we had enough money to carry us through.”

Merlone said the school board will be vindicated when its books are audited, and invited Izzo to look at the school district’s books any time.

“It’ll be for the auditor to decide,” Merlone said. ​“Hopefully he’s not directed by anyone.”

The superintendent declined to comment further on the matter Thursday.

Cassetti: School Officials Frightened Public

In an email, Cassetti said Thursday that whether the $500,000 settlement fund will be used ​“is still to be determined.”

“Our finance department is working hard to determine which expenses are valid, and which are not,” he said. ​“However, it is very clear that the settlement funds were never needed to finish the school year, as claimed by school officials.”

He echoed Izzo’s comments that the school district always had enough money in its accounts to cover its payroll obligations, but told the public otherwise.

“Claiming that the schools have literally run out of money is VERY DIFFERENT than being concerned about the possibility of needing extra funds to reconcile end-of-year expenses,” the mayor said. ​“School officials were either willfully spreading misinformation (which would be outrageous and entirely unacceptable), or else seriously uneducated about their own budget.”

In addition, the mayor said some of the school district’s end-of-year expenses are barred from being paid for out of the settlement fund — ​“including the BOE​’s attorney bill from suing the city.”

“I would hope that school officials will show the same sense of urgency reconciling their end-of-year expenses as they did frightening students, parents and teachers with false information,” he said.

Lawsuit Latest

Meanwhile, the lawsuit between the school board and the city is going forward.

A trial is tentatively scheduled for October 2019.

In addition, a hearing is scheduled for July 16 on a motion from the teachers union to ​“intervene” in the case.

The motion, written by the union’s lawyer, Eric Chester, says that members of the union have been laid off because of the budget dispute.

“While the Board (of Education) is well represented by able counsel, it does not represent the teachers’ interests or that of the Union in this matter whatsoever,” the motion says. ​“Consequently, the Union and its members’ interests will be severely negatively impacted by a disposition without the Union’s involvement.”

The union’s president, Mathew Hough, said Thursday that the teachers want a say in how the lawsuit is resolved.

“We want to be involved in the process and work to do what’s best for our students and our teachers who were laid off,” he said.