Burlington Can't Rule Out Wrongdoing In School Account Deficits

BURLINGTON, MA -- Superintendet Eric Conti backed off a previous statement that he suspected no theft or wrongdoing as a cause of a series of problems recently uncovered in school spending. At the school committee meeting Tuesday night, Conti would not definitively say there had been theft or wrongdoing when asked by a school committee member. Earlier this month, in a post on his blog, Conti said he had said he did not suspect any wrongdoing.

"I wanted to express my belief in the individuals who have worked with integrity to support the student experience while at Burlington High School," Conti wrote December 12 in a post offering more details on ticket sales for music department events. "The findings in the review of the music revolving account are about process. The faculty and staff in Burlington may need to learn new procedures, but I have no doubts about their dedication and honesty."

During the regular school committee meeting on Tuesday, Conti was pressed to confirm there was no suspicion of theft or wrongdoing that contributed to a deficit in the performing arts revolving fund. Earlier in the meeting, Conti had attributed most of the deficit to the community concert series, which lost money an has since been canceled.

"The auditor would say we need more information -- there is no guarantee," Conti said when school committee member Christine Monaco asked him if he suspected wrongdoing.

"We know of nothing?" Monaco said.

"We haven't found anything yet," Conti said.

Also on Tuesday, Conti said town auditor Jim Powers will be reviewing school spending the performing arts fund and is likely to meet with the school committee in late January. The school committee had originally been expected to consider a transfer to cover deficits in the cafeteria revolving fund and the performing arts fund, but those actions will be delayed until Powers completes his review.

Conti said Tuesday some procedures had already been implemented to address problems raised in the reviews. Purchases from the music account, for example, now require two signatures. The district has also changed how it collects money for tickets sold to performances, which were a big problem highlighted in the prior report. Those changes have created some logistical problems, including longer lines to purchase tickets on the night of performances, but Conti said the procedures seemed to provide tighter fiscal controls for the fall show at the high school.

"Of course, if more money was taken in at this year's fall show than last year's fall show, that would be a warning sign," he said.

Among the findings in the audit of the music program:

• Tickets that were sold for cash on the day of the show were listed as "comp," or free tickets. The price those tickets were sold for was not recorded. The audit was unclear on whether or not receipts from those ticket sales were deposited into the account. On Tuesday, Conti outlined the changes that he said would prevent this problem in the future.
• A cash box the department keeps to make change for tickets sold on the night of performances was not recorded on the town's general ledger, meaning "at some point in the past these funds were collected and not turned over to the Town Treasurer." Under new policies, the cash box needs to be returned to the business office each night.
• The auditors could not ascertain whether some money from fees charged to students was deposited back into the fund.
• The four-show Burlington Community Concert Series lost between $35,000 and $40,000 in fiscal year 2017. On average, the shows generated $6,000 in ticket sales while paying $10,000 in talent fees, on top of hotel, meal and transportation expenses. "These losses are one of the main drivers of the Revolving Fund deficit," the report concluded.
• The district should not have paid for the deficit incurred for the concert series out of the fund, which is only to be used for extracurricular educational programs.

The only action the school committee took on the issue Tuesday was to approve new oversight policies for the student activity accounts. Those were the subject of a separate review which also uncovered problems that were discussed by the school committee last month.

Among the findings in that report:

• There was no policy in place to handle how teachers collect cash from students to accounts, which numbered as many as 10 per school.
• In 20 years, many of the accounts had never been reconciled and the checking accounts had never been balanced.
• The school committee failed to turn over all of the information Roselli, Clark and Associates needed to complete a comprehensive audit.

More on this story:

• Burlington Superintendent: No Doubts About Faculty Honesty (12/12/2017)
• Fresh Produce Fed Deficit In Burlington Schools Cafeteria Account(12/11/2017)
• Town Meeting Members Want Full Audit Of School Finances(12/8/2017)
• Superintendent Responds To Audits Critical Of School Spending(12/6/2017)
• Few Answers From Incomplete Audit Of Burlington Music Program(12/5/2017)
• Audit Of Burlington Schools Student Funds Uncovers Lax Oversight(12/4/2017)

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).