Our JISD Financial Director and the Administrator have been implimenting a strategy to make it appear on paper as though serious cuts are being made to certain depts. within the budget and stay within the guidelines of proportioning funds towards academics. The law states that a certain percentage of the budget be dedicated to classrooms, books, etc...(academics), and a certain percentage towards maintenance, purchase of steel fencing and landscaping items, etc...
The Administrator and Financial Director have found an innovative means of overcoming these mandates. They have been using the FUND BALANCE. This account is where the administration sends all the money that they cut from depts. such as food service, technology, etc... Throughout the year, through budget amendments they are then able to move funds to make them available for projects such as parking lots, steel fencing, fieldhouse construction, etc... thereby bypassing state mandates placed to safeguard the education of our children.
I have no business experience and it took me a while to catch on to this little loophole trick. I'm sure that someone more experienced and knowledeable in business could break this information down to you a lot better, but for now I am all you have.
Let me give an example of how this Fund balance is used to deceive taxpayers. In early 2004, the board was told by the finance director that they had a balance of $1.1mil. in a Building Fund, and because they had the cash on hand they could enter into a contract to build a new fieldhouse without having to look for funding elsewhere, whether it be by cutting from other dept.s or even a possible Capitol Bond Package. The Board took Ms. Finley for her word and voted to proceed with the building of a fieldhouse. Later, in August of '04, the Board was given a figure of $2.2 mil. to fund the project, and guess how much money was now in the building fund, you got it $2.3 mil. This amount caused nothing more than another budget amendment to roll the extra cost from the Fund Balance Account over to the Building Fund.
The Administrator was questioned by myself in open meeting and asked if these extra funds came from cuts in any educational areas, and his answer was NO! Once again playing with the thin line of truth. No it didn't come from cuts in education, however it did come from the Fund Balance which is designed to fund the education of our children in the event of a loss of state funding.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
SUPER SIZE the BULL S---, PLEASE!!
This is my breakdown of Mr. Bird’s article in the Sunday July 16 2004 issue of the Jacksonville Daily Progress.
1.) “I thought we might offer you one, two, or three options to consider.”
(Q) Who is the we that came up with these ‘options’ and are there other possibilities?
2.) “Our architects suggested that if we build two schools, Joe Wright and East Side, we might build East Side first and then move Joe Wright to the existing East Side campus for a year to a year-and-a-half and then move them back to the new building.”
(Q) Are these architects currently on the payroll at JISD and do they live and pay taxes in JISD, or have children in our schools? Or are these the only competent architects in Texas?
3.) “The middle school roof project will be included in any scenario. I will discuss cost and the process of how we arrive at that figure as well as the impact on your taxes in my next article.”
(Q) There’s that we word again. It is my understanding that capital bonds are to only be used for renovations to existing facilities and building new facilities and NOT roof repair or air conditioners and lighting repairs which are to be funded from the Maintenance and Operations Budget?
4.) “Jacksonville ISD belongs to you, the people, and no one is trying to talk you into something or out of anything. You get to decide what you want and how we should go about it. If you don’t want or see a need to build new schools then let’s not build them.”
(Q) Who decided to pay $750,000 for the playgrounds adjacent to the High School? NOT ME!Who decided to build a new field house instead of adding classrooms at JHS or repair the roof and air conditioners at the Middle School? NOT ME!What if we just want repairs to Middle School roof, air conditioning, and lighting right now and then accept a Bond package for new schools once we have seen that repairs can be made without having to cause new taxes in the future?
5.) “It’s your attitude that will make the difference. Negative attitudes destroy communities. POSITIVE attitudes build them.”
(Q) Does this mean that everyone that disagrees with you is wrong , therefore NEGATIVE and you are right, or POSITIVE?
1.) “I thought we might offer you one, two, or three options to consider.”
(Q) Who is the we that came up with these ‘options’ and are there other possibilities?
2.) “Our architects suggested that if we build two schools, Joe Wright and East Side, we might build East Side first and then move Joe Wright to the existing East Side campus for a year to a year-and-a-half and then move them back to the new building.”
(Q) Are these architects currently on the payroll at JISD and do they live and pay taxes in JISD, or have children in our schools? Or are these the only competent architects in Texas?
3.) “The middle school roof project will be included in any scenario. I will discuss cost and the process of how we arrive at that figure as well as the impact on your taxes in my next article.”
(Q) There’s that we word again. It is my understanding that capital bonds are to only be used for renovations to existing facilities and building new facilities and NOT roof repair or air conditioners and lighting repairs which are to be funded from the Maintenance and Operations Budget?
4.) “Jacksonville ISD belongs to you, the people, and no one is trying to talk you into something or out of anything. You get to decide what you want and how we should go about it. If you don’t want or see a need to build new schools then let’s not build them.”
(Q) Who decided to pay $750,000 for the playgrounds adjacent to the High School? NOT ME!Who decided to build a new field house instead of adding classrooms at JHS or repair the roof and air conditioners at the Middle School? NOT ME!What if we just want repairs to Middle School roof, air conditioning, and lighting right now and then accept a Bond package for new schools once we have seen that repairs can be made without having to cause new taxes in the future?
5.) “It’s your attitude that will make the difference. Negative attitudes destroy communities. POSITIVE attitudes build them.”
(Q) Does this mean that everyone that disagrees with you is wrong , therefore NEGATIVE and you are right, or POSITIVE?
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