Operational Audit of School District is Underway

An operational audit of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, approved overwhelmingly by voters at Town Meeting in both towns last May, is underway.

The consultant performing the audit, the Florida firm Evergreen Solutions, submitted its first progress report to the boards of selectmen last week.

The joint boards of selectmen hired Evergreen Solutions last month for $90,000. The firm will be examining the central administration's finances and operations and making recommendations for improving the school district's efficiency.

At Tuesday night's meeting of the Wenham Board of Selectmen, Chairman Molly Martins said the progress reports are not intended to provide recommendations, but to provide updates to the towns about what the company is doing.

In its first report, Evergreen Solutions indicated that it has submitted data requests to the district, drafted correspondence to the superintendent of schools and employees announcing the audit, and selected a group of peer districts for comparison.

Over the next two weeks, the firm will disseminate surveys to district employees, begin a diagnostic review of the district, and begin compiling peer district data.

Wenham Selectman John Clemenzi asked the board Tuesday if it would be appropriate to have the progress reports on the agenda at each meeting.

"This is obviously very important because both towns overwhelmingly supported it," Clemenzi said.

Martins said that the progress reports will be posted to the towns' websites, and said it is premature to get involved in the consultant's work.

"This is to know about milestones and progress," she said. "We need to allow them to gather the data. As we move into November, that's when recommendations will start to formulate. We'll share information as we have it."

Clemenzi objected to the school districts chosen as peers for comparison, although the towns gave input in selecting them.

The comparison districts are Groton-Dunstable, Manchester-Essex, Mendon-Upton, Nashoba and Pentucket.

Martins and Hamilton Board of Selectmen Chairman Jennifer Scuteri both said the peer comparison represents only about 5 to 10 percent of the total evaluation.

Scuteri said she helped select the peer districts along with Martins, Wenham Town Administrator Jeff Chelgren and Hamilton Town Manager Michael Lombardo.

Scuteri said the comparison districts have to be regional districts just like Hamilton-Wenham.

"That limits us in Massachusetts," she said at the Hamilton Selectmen's meeting on Monday, noting there was 36 districts to choose from.

Scuteri said the peer districts were chosen mainly be using districts with similar MCAS test scores, although Evergreen officials urged them to look at districts with a similar percentage if students that qualify for free or reduced lunch. Scuteri said in many cases test scores were directly correlated to free and reduced lunch numbers.

Pentucket, she said, has MCAS scores that are not as high as Hamilton-Wenham. Nashoba, which includes Bolton and Stow, is very similar to Hamilton with comparable home values and a lot of open space, she said.

She said she hopes the audit will provide some insight into savings the district can realize without compromising the core curriculum.

One thing Evergreen Solutions will not be looking at is school facilities. That is the subject of a separate audit being conducted by a Newburyport firm that will report its findings by the end of October.

"We're hoping it helps us decide whether the Winthrop School should be repaired or if we should create a long-term plan for going to two elementary schools," Scuteri said.

Evergreen Solutions will present its final report on Jan. 1.