Showing posts with label Armand A. Fusco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Armand A. Fusco. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board, Benefits Corruption, (Part 10 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 10: Benefits 
 
Do part-time employees pay a proportional share of their insurance benefits? If 
not, why not? Are retirees who are being paid their medical insurance by the 
school district entitled to the payments? Are there retirees listed who are 
deceased but still having their benefits paid? Is the list reviewed yearly to keep 
it updated? 
 
Background: School districts have a list of retirees whose benefits are 
paid either by the school district or the employee. Such lists have been shown 
to include retirees who are not entitled to the benefits, as well as retirees whose 
benefit are being paid even though they are deceased. 
 
Proposed Solution: An issue is whether a part-time employee should 
receive the same paid benefits as a full time employee. A part-time employee 
should be required to pay for a proportional share of their benefits. For 
example, a half-time employee should pay 50 percent of the benefit cost. 
  
 The retiree list must be reviewed each year to determine whether the 
payments are legitimate and whether the retiree is still living. 

Conclusion 
 
School boards and administrators usually claim that 75 to 80 percent of 
their budget represents “fixed costs.” Taxpayers should never accept such a 
statement, because this is the biggest deceit of all. Such a statement assumes 
that every school employee is essential, that no consolidations can take place, 
all programs and services are efficient and effective, all resources are managed 
with quality guidelines, and every operation is managed with utmost efficiency. 
Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to any organization 
supported by taxpayer dollars -- and this is especially true of schools. 
 
 Therefore, these ten critical questions need be to given honest and 
meaningful answers, and then followed by appropriate action. 
 
School boards cannot do the job alone. If they were doing their jobs, 
School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust could not have been  written, and the evidence of rather shameful statistics of student results such as dropout rates, poor testing results, achievement gaps between white and 
minority students, and over 25,000 schools identified as failing would not exist. 
 
No amount of money will solve these and other school problems. It 
requires effective monitoring of school assets, human and financial resources, 
and programs and services. Unfortunately, such monitoring can only be 
effective if there is enough outside taxpayer knowledge and pressure to demand 
answers and action. 
 What taxpayers need to understand is that local boards have the power 
and obligation to adopt policies and practices to manage the school resources 
so that they are used wisely, honestly, and effectively, as well as protected from 
corrupt acts. No other approvals are needed for action on their part, but it 
does require education, training and courage. 


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Friday, November 22, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board Questions, Non-Classroom Staff (9 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 9: Non-Classroom Staff;

How is the time and load of non-classroom certified staff (psychologists, social
workers, counselors, speech therapists, etc.) monitored? How is the time of full time staff with reduced loads (department chairman, supervising teachers, etc.)
monitored?

Background: There is usually no documentation of how such staffs use
their time. How many students does a psychologist test per day? What are the
number of students a speech therapist sees each day? What do department
chairs and supervising teachers do with their released time? These questions
demand answers.

Proposed Solution: It is essential to document how these staffers spend
their days. Such staff members are very reluctant to provide such information,
but it is incumbent on the administration and board to require it. Policies and
guidelines must be developed for this purpose. There are associations for each,
and they can be helpful in providing such guidelines. Comparing what other
similar districts do or require can also be useful.

This is part 9 of our 10 part series investigating and stopping fraud in our school system.
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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Gloucester, VA Teacher Student Loads - (Part 8 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 8: Teachers’ Student Loads:

What are the number of students each teacher has during each period of the
day, and the total number of students each teacher has during the course of the
day? How many aides are there to augment teacher loads and assignments?

Background: Staff allocation/assignment is the source of much school district
waste. In addition, there has been a proliferation of school aides added
to school resources, yet their numbers are not used to indicate student-teacher
ratios.

Proposed Solution: A list of teacher assignments and teacher loads by
period (augmented by aides) and by subject should be provided as part of every
budget presentation. The list then needs to be forensically examined to
determine where there is possible waste and mismanagement. School
Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust provides a number of
examples of how these human resources are mismanaged.

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board, No Bid Contracts, Stopping Fraud (7 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


 
Which contracts (construction, insurance, consultants, etc.) have been awarded 
without competitive bids? What process was used to award such contracts? Who received such contracts? What school official was given the responsibility to 
oversee the proper completion or implementation of each contract? Was any form of nepotism or favoritism involved? Were board policies followed? 
 
Background: No-bid contracts are another common source of abuse and 
fraud and, therefore, they need to be reviewed very carefully and forensically. 
 
Proposed Solution: The board’s finance subcommittee must be given full 
information about every no-bid contract, and they should authorize every such 
contract. The full board must then be informed of such contracts as part of 
each board meeting. 


It's time to stop the potential for corruption in our school system.  These policies must be introduced and enforced.  This is part 7 of 10.

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Gloucester, VA Schools, Petty Cash Funds, (Part 6 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”



Question 6: Petty Cash Funds:
 
Who has control of each petty cash fund, in what amounts, and how are the 
funds monitored? 
 
Background: Such cash funds are usually distributed to managers, 
administrators, and sometimes teachers to take care of incidental expenses. 
Because they are cash funds, it is easy to misuse and misappropriate the 
dollars. 
 
Proposed Solution: Receipts must be submitted with an explanation 
when replacement dollars are requested. It is up to the finance officer to 
monitor the petty cash funds. A monthly accounting should also be submitted 
to the superintendent, and board chairman or board finance committee. 


Send this information to the school board and demand answers.  It's the only way to ensure your money is not being wasted.
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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board and Credit Cards (Part 3 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 3: Credit Cards

Who has credit cards? How are charges independently verified to see if they are
proper school expenses?

Background: Credit-card abuse is rampant and is a common source of
school corruption. The reason for this is that most districts do not have an
effective monitoring system in place to verify the expenses for legitimacy.

Proposed Solution: At least two independent sources need to verify
expenses. The school finance officer and town treasurer can provide such
verification. There must also be guidelines developed as to what constitutes
legitimate expenses, and the limits of what can be spent on such items.
However, the best practice is to not have credit cards. Staff can use their
personal credit cards and then seek reimbursement, or purchase orders can
also be used.


Stop corruption in local school administration by making sure these policies get placed and followed.

This is part 3 in our 10 part series.
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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board, Board Policies Questions

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.


Part 2 in a 10 part series.

Question 2: Board Policies

Are there any board policies dealing with school corruption? What policies, if
any, have been adopted to prevent corruption, and what policies have been
adopted to monitor school resources most effectively?

Background: Board policies are contained in a policy manual that is a
public document, and it can usually be found on the school website. The
manual is also available in the school central office and in each school. It is
extremely doubtful that any corruption policies will be found, because school
boards do not want the term “corruption” to be found in any school documents;
they are in complete denial or ignorant that corruption could occur in the
district. Even when corruption is found, it is hidden from public view whenever
possible. For example, in the Roslyn incident, the school board voted to keep
the theft from their insurance company; and this deceit cost them thousands of
dollars more.

Admittedly, part of the problem is that school boards are not trained and
educated about the problem of corruption, and state departments of education
and their own association are derelict, even fearful, of providing such training
and education.

However, examining board policies is a critical task for any taxpayer
group or FAC to undertake because it will indicate whether the board has any
concern about preventing school resources from being mismanaged and
protected from corruption. Failure to have such policy statements would be an
unequivocal indication that the board is either in denial or ignorant about the
nature and extent of school corruption; furthermore, it is also a green light for
corrupt acts to be committed.

Proposed Solution: Demand that the school board adopt policies and
practices that clearly manage resources more effectively, and that give the staff
and taxpayers clear evidence that preventing corrupt acts has the highest
priority. Demand too that school employees be trained to act responsibly and
honestly with school resources. Unfortunately, such education and training is
hard to find. School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust  5
provides information and guidelines for any district to become more

responsible with school resources.

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