BOE Meeting Dec 13

[Go Plainedge!]

Did anyone from this message board have an opportunity to attend the BOE meeting last night?

Please share any information you obtained from the meeting.

Thank you!!!

[justfacts]

No - I don't have any info about what happened at the Board meeting.

But I do have info about what was released by the State Comptroller the day before yesterday - that release should have been a major topic at last night's meeting![/b]

We have had drummed into us by Board members that we should go to the Board meetings to get the "true facts" of what's been going on. All other information sources just have it all wrong!, especially with regard to District Finances. We've also been told by Board supporters that the Hevisie Audit result was "No significant wrongdoings found". The School was in great fiscal shape.

For a dose of the real "true facts" take a look at the release by Hevisie summary of all School Audits. Note in particular the ranking of our District - just one small step short of Fraudulent Activity!

Since Board apologists have often said not to trust information from "justfacts" - that only they tell you the truth at their meetings - I'll first give you the link to the source of this information: The Comptroller's Office itself. Here's the link to the site, check out what I've said for yourself :

www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/dec05/schoolfactsheet.htm

And here's a Cut and Paste from the Hevisie summary;


Summary of Audit Findings Related to the Special School District Legislation

Fraudulent Activity
Indications of fraud were found in the following audits and were referred to local law enforcement agencies. The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) found pervasive weaknesses in internal controls in the areas audited that led to the fraudulent activity occurring and not being detected in a timely manner.

* Roslyn Union Free School District – Anatomy of a Scandal (Report No. 2005M-21)
* CPA Audit Services Provided to the Roslyn Union Free School District (2004M-84)
* Hempstead Union Free School District (2005M-62)
* CPA Audit Services Provided to the Manhasset Union Free School District (2004M-89)

Serious Internal Control Deficiencies[/u]
Serious internal control deficiencies were identified in the following audits that could easily lead to theft and misappropriations of taxpayer assets. OSC found pervasive weaknesses in internal controls in the areas audited.

* Plainedge Union Free School District (S8-4-129)
* Central Islip Union Free School District (S8-5-11)
* Lawrence Union Free School District (2005M-38)
* Westbury Union Free School District (S8-5-4)
* Manhasset Union Free School District – Internal Controls (2005M-33)

Internal Controls in Need of Improvement
Various internal control procedures needed improvements in the following audits, including establishing clear and effective policies for various expenses. While internal controls could be improved at these schools, our testing of numerous payments, transactions and other aspects of the districts’ operations did not reveal any significant wrongdoing.

* Baldwin Union Free School District (S8-4-128)
* East Islip Union Free School (S8-5-45)
* East Meadow Union Free School District (S8-5-6)
* Massapequa Union Free School District (S8-5-5)
* Syosset Central School District (S8-5-7)
* Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District (2005M-55)
* Wyandanch Union Free School District (S8-5-46)

Some Schools Are Well-Managed[/u]
The following audits identified schools that were generally well-managed. District officials had taken practical steps to address various issues. Internal control systems were generally well-designed and operating as intended to provide reasonable assurance that district-established policies and procedures were being followed. However, these audits did identify some areas that could still be improved.

* Elmont Union Free School District (S8-5-9)
* Locust Valley Central School District (S8-5-44)
* Miller Place Union Free School District (S8-5-10)
* North Shore Central School District (S8-5-32)
* Riverhead School District (S8-5-8)


How's does it feel to be first one the list of those ranked as a District with "Serious Deficiencies" and found to have "pervasive weaknesses"?

This truth was twisted by a Board that stole a line from a less serious rating, "did not reveal any significant wrongdoing" as in the third rank category - "In need of improvement".

Now, with special attention to "jdavola"; who tells the truth and who stretches the truth?[/i]

[justfacts]

For those of you that are not familiar with the Hevisie Report, here is a cut and paste summary from the Comptroller's latest release. You can check it out against what I've previously posted.
==============================================================

Audit Activity and Findings

DIVISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT / School District Accountability Initiative Report 17

Serious Internal Control Deficiencies

The following school district audits identified serious internal control deficiencies that could easily lead to theft and misappropriations of taxpayer assets. These audits focused on high-risk areas identified through our risk assessment process and were based on complaints, letters and requests from taxpayers and local and State officials. We found pervasive weaknesses in internal controls in the areas audited.[/i]

Plainedge Union Free School District (S8-4-129)

Our audit disclosed significant weaknesses in how District officials structured and carried out the internal claims audit function during our audit period. We found that the internal claims auditor, who also was the secretary of the Deputy Superintendent, did not report directly to the Board of Education and did not review claims for reasonableness.

We also found that in July and August 2004 the District paid more than $8.1 million in claims that were not audited or approved.

The District paid almost $23,000 in travel-related expenses for managers and members of the Board even though many claims did not have the conference approval forms, travel vouchers and/or itemized receipts required by District policies.

We also found deficient documentation to support two claims totaling $4,429 submitted by the former President of the Board of Education for a trip to Orlando, Florida.

In addition, we found that the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent did not attach itemized invoices or sale receipts to their District credit card claims totaling about $16,400.

Also, the District reimbursed five members of the Board and the Superintendent almost $2,700 for the cost of high-speed Internet services in their homes, spent about $7,100 on 10 cellular telephones, and expended about $20,000 for meals and refreshments at more than 200 meetings.

The Board has not adopted a written policy that presents a business rationale for providing Internet services, describing who needs cellular telephones and how they should be used to conduct business, and when it is appropriate to provide meals and refreshments to employees.
========================================================

And we still allocated more than $20,000 this Contingency Budget year for "Meals and Refreshments at meetings!" Talk about putting on the feed-bag at the public's ~ ~ ~, No!, NO!, let's properly make that ~ ~ ~ at the children's car-washing expense!!!

[Go Plainedge!]

Just:

WOW! The truth always prevails.

So, would any of the Richman fans like to come back on to this message board and tell us why we should ALWAYS vote "yes"? Unless, that is, you enjoy paying for waste.

If anyone would like the full PDF, email me and I would be happy to send it to you.

Perhaps I will send a nice color copy to our administration and BOE and let them try and lie their way out of this one.

I think it's time to clean house.

Where's our $8.1 million?