PART 1: Local Watchdog Group Rebuts Recent Interview with Tingley

An interview withe Lincoln-Way 210 Superintendent R. Scott Tingley was published by the New Lenox Patriot on May 2, 2016. This interview is being excerpted here with a written rebuttal by Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite (LWATU), a local taxpayer watchdog group, which found Tingley's statements to be largely misleading and inaccurate.

Excerpts of New Lenox Patriot Story, published on May 2, 2016.

Full interview here.

The comments in BOLD are the LWATU responses to various excerpts from the article, commenting on various inaccuracies and misinformation being disseminated by Tingley.

“Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 is less than one month away from officially becoming a three-school system...” LINCOLN-WAY DISTRICT 210 IS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A FOUR-SCHOOL DISTRICT. CLOSING A SCHOOL DOES NOT MAKE THE BUILDING GO AWAY. EXPENSES WILL CONTINUE AND THE TAXPAYERS WILL STILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY THE BONDS USED TO BUILD THIS SCHOOL…

“When the news first began to surface that District 210 was placed on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Financial Watch List last year, many community members questioned how the district got into such a dire financial situation.” INFORMATION WITHHELD BY THE DISTRICT UNTIL AFTER THE SPRING 2015 BOARD MEMBER ELECTIONS.

“ 'The district has had years of deficit spending, and since it opened North and West , it has spent more money than it has taken in each year by several millions of dollars,' Tingley said.” THE DISTRICT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DEFICIT SPENDING SINCE AT LEAST 2004, WELL BEFORE THE NEW SCHOOLS WERE OPENED. DURING FINANCIAL YEAR 2014 AND FY 2015, DR. TINGLEY PREPARED BALANCED BUDGETS THAT WERE NEVER AMENDED. ACCORDING TO SCHOOL CODE, THOSE BUDGETS SHOULD HAVE BEEN AMENDED. HAD A REALISTIC BUDGET BEEN PREPARED IN EITHER FY14 OR FY15, LINCOLN-WAY WOULD HAVE LANDED ON THE WATCHLIST ONE OR TWO YEARS EARLIER.

“ 'It now has borrowed $30 million in tax anticipation warrants just to operate.' " EVERY YEAR THE DISTRICT ISSUES TAX ANTICIPATION WARRANTS TO PROVIDE CASH FLOW UNTIL THEIR SHARE OF WILL COUNTY PROPERTY TAXES ARE RECEIVED IN JUNE.

“ 'We anticipated growth — sustained growth — that didn’t happen,' Tingley said. 'We were anticipating increased [estimated assessed value for property] and revenue, and it stopped.' " THE DISTRICT’S ACTUAL REVENUE THAT IT RECEIVES HAS GONE UP EACH AND EVERY YEAR.

“ '… Unfortunately, it has had a significant impact on our ability to operate four high schools the way that we believe they should operate,” Tingley stated. THEN WHY WERE BALANCED BUDGETS PREPARED FOR ALL OF THESE YEARS WHEN IN FACT THE DISTRICT WAS DEFICIT SPENDING? THE DISTRICT STARTED DEFICIT SPENDING IN FY 01, THE YEAR BEFORE EAST BECAME A FOUR-YEAR SCHOOL.

“ 'Before the School Board voted in August to close Lincoln-Way North, the board members and administrators discussed factors like State funding and legislature,' ” Said Tingley. BEFORE THE VOTE IN AUGUST, ADMINISTRATION AND BOARD MEMBERS STATED THE DISTRICT RECEIVES $6,000 PER ENROLLED STUDENT. THE ACTUAL NUMBER IS $758.

“ 'If the State continues to struggle with funding, if the economy doesn’t bounce back, if we continue to see decreased enrollment...' " stated Tingley. DECREASED ENROLLMENT WOULD IMPROVE FINANCES. THEY WOULD HAVE MORE MONEY TO SPEND PER STUDENT, SINCE THE TAX REVENUE DOES NOT DECREASE.

“ 'A property tax freeze for two or three or four years would be very difficult to overcome for us. Any pension shift or cost shift of pensions would be difficult. Any change in the funding formula would most likely impact Lincoln-Way. If all three were to happen — these are assumptions — we would be in a very difficult situation.'” said Tingley. THE ADMINISTRATION’S CONCERNS ABOUT POSSIBLE FUTURE CONTINGENCIES ARE HARD TO TAKE CREDIBILY, BECAUSE APPROPRIATE BUDGETS WERE NOT PREPARED BASED UPON THE CURRENT REALITIES. ADDITIONALLY, EVERY DISTRICT IN THE STATE WOULD FACE THE SAME REALITIES NOT JUST LINCOLN-WAY, A DISTRICT WITH CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES AT ITS DISPOSAL.

“ '…Also, if growth were to return to the district, it would likely be on the west side, because it has the most vacant land,' Tingley said." CONVERSELY, THE EAST SIDE ALREADY HAS STUDENTS. THESE STUDENTS ARE BEING SHIFTED WESTWARD TO ACCOMMODATE THE WEST SIDE’S “OPEN SPACES.” ADDITIONALLY, EXISTING REAL ESTATE WILL CONTINUE TO TURN OVER AND BRING IN NEW FAMILIES TO REPLACE EMPTY NEST RETIREES AS THEY LEAVE THE AREA.

“ 'The immediate need for the school closure first became apparent when the district was placed on the Financial Watch List,' Tingley said.” NO OTHER DISTRICT ON THE STATE’S WATCHLIST IS CLOSING A SCHOOL.

"When asked if a school closure should have happened earlier, Tingley replied: 'I don’t know about a closure.' DR. TINGLEY HAS PREVIOUSLY STATED THAT A SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSED YEARS AGO.

“ '…We have to stabilize our finances and get to a point where we’re beginning to pay back those tax anticipation warrants.' " LIKE THE DISTRICT DOES EVERY YEAR.

“ 'Following the opening of North and West, the district was spending more than it was taking in each year.' " said Tingley. THEN WHY PREPARE BALANCED BUDGETS?

"When Tingley became superintendent in 2013, he worked to combine and eliminate some staff positions, restructure programs, rebid contracts and change insurance affiliation in order to save the district money, he said.” SALARIES HAVE INCREASED EACH AND EVERY YEAR SINCE TINGLEY BECAME SUPERINTENDENT. DISTRICT EXPENSES HAVE INCREASED EACH YEAR. DISTRICT AUDITED FINANCIAL RECORDS SHOW THAT IF THE DISTRICT WAS LAYING OFF STAFF, IT WAS NOT REDUCING EXPENSES. THE ONLY CONCLUSION IS THAT IT WAS DONE IN ORDER TO PAY REMAINING STAFF SALARY INCREASES AND OTHER PERKS.

“ 'The district has also deferred spending on capital improvements and technology.' ” THE LISTING OF DEFERRED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS WAS REQUESTED BY A BOARD MEMBER PRIOR TO THE AUGUST VOTE. THE LISTING WAS REQUESTED THROUGH MULTIPLE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS, BUT WAS DENIED BY ADMINISTRATION. ONLY AFTER GETTING THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE INVOLVED, WAS IT RELEASED. THE LIST SHOWS THE MAJORITY OF DEFERRED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO EAST AND CENTRAL. SEVERAL BOARD MEMBERS STATED IN THE SUMMER OF 2015 THAT SOME OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS WERE COMPLETED AS PART OF THE REFERENDUM. ADDITIONALLY, THE DISTRICT HAS THREE UNUSED FUTURE SCHOOL SITES, AND TWO RESIDENTIAL LOTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN LISTED FOR SALE. PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THESE UNUSED PROPERTIES COULD BE USED TO FUND FUTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.

“ 'Despite these factors, there are still realities that there were some things done in the past ‘that should have been done differently,’ Tingley said.” NOT ALL OF THE FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT OCCURRED IN THE PAST. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FAILURE TO OBTAIN A DRIVER’S EDUCATION WAIVER, WHICH COST THE DISTRICT $400,000, FAILURE TO CHARGE A PRIVATE DAYCARE COMPANY TO CONDUCT BUSINESS IN DISTRICT-OWNED SPACE, PAYING TUITION FOR RETIRING ADMINISTRATORS, AND THE FAILURE OF THE DISTRICT TO DETECT A MAJOR WATER LEAK.

“When asked if there were financial indiscretions during former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie’s tenure, Tingley replied: 'Looking back at the [procedures], looking back in my three years, we’ve tried to improve upon our accounting practices.' ” IT HAS TAKEN THE DISTRICT IN EXCESS OF SIX MONTHS TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY FINANCE COMMITTEE, AND THE AUDIT COMMITTEE STILL DOES NOT FUNCTION.

“When asked if there were financial indiscretions during Wyllie’s tenure, Tingley replied: “Looking back at the [procedures], looking back in my three years, we’ve tried to improve upon our accounting practices.” IT HAS TAKEN THE DISTRICT IN EXCESS OF SIX MONTHS TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY FINANCE COMMITTEE, AND THE AUDIT COMMITTEE STILL DOES NOT FUNCTION.

“ 'Looking at the procedures, some of those reported findings, obviously things could have and should have been done differently, certainly. It doesn’t help to point fingers at this time.' ” POINT FINGERS? ALL OF THE MANY FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT ISSUES HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT NOT A SINGLE PAST FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT ISSUE WAS DETECTED OR REPORTED BY ANY OF THE FULL-TIME ADMINISTRATORS THAT HANDLE THE FINANCES OF THE DISTRICT?

“Tingley said that the practices of the past did not continue when he became superintendent, and he has been more attentive to auditors.” SEE PREVIOUS DRIVER’S ED WAIVER, PRIVATE DAYCARE COMPANY, UNDETECTED WATER LEAK, INACCURATE AND NON-AMENDED BUDGETS, INACCURATE UNDERSTANDING OF STATE AID PER STUDENT AMOUNT, DENIED FOIA REQUESTS, LACK OF FUNCTIONING AUDIT COMMITTEE.

“When asked if there was any other action the district could have taken in recent years to prevent the need for the school closure, Tingley replied that there was not. 'There wouldn’t have been anything that would’ve saved millions of dollars,' he said.“ WITH HEIGHTENED PUBLIC SCRUTINY OF THE DISTRICT’S FINANCES, THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN ABLE TO DECREASE ITS CURRENT YEAR TO DATE EXPENDITURES BY APPROXIMATELY $6 MILLION COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. THERE ARE ALSO MANY, MANY WIDELY KNOWN AND UTILIZED COST SAVING OR REVENUE GENERATING MEASURES THE DISTRICT DID NOT CONSIDER OR UTILIZE.

Continued here: Part 2

See story in full: http://www.frankfortstation.com/school/lw-superintendent-talks-past-mistakes-potential-two-school-future-and-more-station-exclusive#sthash.AtfnYHto.dpuf

This post is contributed by a community member. The views expressed in this blog are the author's. Everyone is welcome to post on Patch.