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I am writing in order to respond to a recent letter from James Gettens. While I certainly resent being called “incompetent” by Mr. Gettens and believe that such name-calling has no place in civil discourse, I will confine my comments to an attempt to answer the false claims that he raises in his letter.
Mr. Gettens begins his article by arguing that the school district has misled the pubic by hiding the fact that its fiscal budget is in the $80 million range and it is in the $100 million range instead. Clearly the school district has not misled the public. The basis for Mr. Gettens’ claim is in audited financial statement that we release to the public each year. This statement is prepared by an independent team of auditors, whose work is monitored by an Audit Advisory Board composed of five citizens, one from each Member Town. Mr. Gettens has not “uncovered” anything. To the contrary he has confused the issue by ignoring a fact that he clearly understands. The General Fund budget is in the $80 million range and it is the General Fund budget that is the responsibility of the taxpayers and the subject of Town Meeting deliberations. When we report per-pupil expenditures to the state, we do so under very strict requirements that are provided by the state in order to allow for comparison. In this case the District reports its actual expense of $85 million, which is the total of all General Fund and grant expenditures. As the District has accurately reported, this comparison finds us with the lowest per-pupil expense of all regional schools. The total financial statement to which Mr. Gettens refers asks the District to list “recognized” expenses which are comprised of accounting of post-employment retirement obligations that I will address below.
Mr. Gettens paints a picture suggesting the “coming WRSD financial train wreck,” a claim that is based upon a new Federal accounting standard that requires that public entities recognize on their financial statements the deferred compensation owed to active employees for retirement benefits that will be paid to employees many years later. Mr. Gettens correctly points out that this trend is the result of the new requirements of Governmental Accounting Standards Board, statement #45 (GASB45). What he fails to mention is as a governmental body, especially as a regional school system, it is not necessary nor is it feasible to maintain positive net assets, especially considering that this auditing requirement holds that we account for this liability over a thirty-year period. The majority of our educational assets are our buildings, which are owned by the Member Towns and not the District. Therefore, the only way to reverse the trend to which Mr. Gettens refers would be to increase the budget in order to fund these liabilities long before they become due and payable. Clearly this path would lead to the “bilking” of the taxpayer that Mr. Gettens accuses us of in the first place.
Mr. Gettens is correct in his assertion that the District has had to divert educational funds from pupil services in order to pay for employee health benefits; however, he is incorrect in his claim that this is due to our expansion of the “…public employee gravy train.” To the contrary, the real culprit in all of this is the state Foundation Budget that has been shown to have understated core health care costs by over 1 billion dollars in FY10 alone. School districts across the state have had to divert funds from the classroom in order to meet the rising cost of health insurance with which we are all familiar. As a result, the average school district spends 40% more than their Foundation, while the Wachuset District works hard to limit its increase to 18% above Foundation. The public employees whom Mr. Gettens criticizes have actually worked with us to close the budget gap by surrendering pay raises and joining the Government Insurance Group (GIC).
In closing, Mr. Gettens has confused very complicated issues with facts taken out of context and confusion of terms and auditing practices. Our claim, which can be measured by a number of objective standards, is that the Wachusett Regional School District spends at a very low level compared with districts across the state and its students achieve at a very high level. We believe that our community should be proud of the District’s accomplishments and should come to Town Meetings prepared to send a message of support to our students.
Comments (7)
Title should be
"Don't Confuse Me With The Facts On The Wachusett Schools Budget"
You make a good point Maureen Maximus - Pat Henry should not have called Mr. Leith the "WRSD administration puppet." but you failed to answer any of the questions I posed.
In these tough economic times with money tight, why has the WRSD given Mr. Pansisco more than $100,000 in raises. Why is Mr. Pandiscio one of the highest paid superintendents in all of New England. Or why we need five assistant principals and 20+ custodians at the high school when other schools operate with one assistant principal and six custodians? On a per student basis we are way out of line. Or why we give out dozens of expensive iPhones and spend thousands of dollars every month on service plans when other districts like Auburn need only three phones and only one of those a smartphone?
And “the ghost of EX-superintendent Al Tutela”? Perhaps you have forgotten the 27 page MA Inspector General’s report that denounced the WRSD’s out of control spending and why the school committee finally had the guts to let Mr. Tutela go? No comments on this Maureen Maximum????
You may proceed with counting our ever increasing tax dollars.
Duncan Leith was referred to as the WRSD administration puppet. That's an attack. Duncan Leith has worked for decades to to help provide an excellent education for the students of the district. He doesn't emerge once every budget season to throw around distortions and accusations about financial trickery while taking zero interest in any other aspect of education the rest of the year.
Looks like the budget number the superintendent proposed will be recommended by the Holden fincom and select board. The school committee will then have the opportunity to consider their number again. People of good will are trying to come to consensus. Sorry: no blowing up the district this time.
You may return to counting assistant principals now.
Ah once again Maureen Maximus tries to obscure the facts.
No one attacked Mr. Leith we simply asked if he would care to explain things like the more than $100,000 in raises they have given Mr. Pandiscio. Or why we need five assistant principals and 20+ custodians at the high school when other schools operate with one assistant and six custodians? On a per student basis we are way out of line. Or why we give out dozens of expensive iPhones and spend thousands of dollars every month on service plans when Auburn needs only three phones and only one of those a smartphone?
And “the ghost of EX-superintendent Al Tutela”? Perhaps you have forgotten the 27 page MA Inspector General’s report that denounced the WRSD’s out of control spending and why the school committee finally had the guts to let Mr. Tutela go? Perhaps….
Ad hominem again: attack Duncan Leith and the ghost of Al Tutela.
Assistant pricipals again, when this has been explained a million times? Custodians? Seriously?
Mr. Lieth a number of articles and fact sheets critical of WRSD spending have been circulating recently. Would you care to explain the more than $100,000 in raises (and a nearly $200,000 salary) you have already given to Mr. Pandiscio? Or explain the 20+ custodians you claim you need just at the high school? Or explain the underreported numbers Mr. Pandiscio gave out on cost savings for assistant principal and teacher layoffs? Or explain the $20+ Million in increased spending you proposed just over the next four years in your revenue sharing experiment? Or explain the thousands of dollars per month you spend on dozens of expensive iPhones and Android smartphones? Or explain why we need five assistant principals at the high school alone? Or explain…… Has Al Tutela returned to town?
Leith: Stop cluttering up the Daily Holden with your baloney. The taxpayers of 5 towns know that you're nothing more than the WRSD administration puppet and have been since Big Al ran the show (into the ground). The worst thing that ever happened to Holden is putting K-8 in the district. Will you EVER step down? Your motivations are obvious.