Before The Schools Give Up Woodworking Class, They Need To Pick Up All The Money On The Table

The schools are facing a really difficult problem that will begin this year and continue for several years to come. Enrollment is going to
go down. This means that it should cost less to run the schools.

But in the practical world this is not easy to do. It is easier to add staff and programs than cut them. The evidence of this is this year’s proposed elimination of the woodworking class where the woodworking teacher would move to robotics and the robotics teacher would be laid off.

While I am definitely one of the people whowant to reduce the budget, believe it or not, I don’t want to see anyone let go. This teacher will be one of many in the coming years ahead if the schools do not do something about the structural problems in the budget. And this is the
time to do something about it.

This week I am going to write a three-part piece on how the schools could act to save money to save programs and employees. These are my suggestions.

Part 1: Pick up all the money on the table and show where it comes from and where it goes to and put it in the budget for all to see.

Case in point.  At the bottom of page 5 in this year’s budget was for the first time in my memory a line item for revenue under the title tuition program $126,820. This number represents the revenue from anticipated 10 students the school administrant plans on taking in from out of town. I think they will certainly get the 10 students. My question is if it is true that we already take in 3-5 tuition paying
students a year, as is stated in the Patch article attributed to Mr. Guida, why
has that $35-36,000 in tuition revenue received each year not shown up as a line
item before.

The answer is the schools don’t report all of their revenue. They never have. This may seem like a small deal concerning small amounts of money. It is not.

The schools will take in literally millions more revenue thancthe $44,568,464 that is in the bottom line of the proposed budget. And thereare more in expenses. Like the revenue from the previous tuitions it doesn’t show up where the voters can see where it is coming from or where it is going.

If you look at the town side of the budget on page 16, you will see a series of accounts that reflect monies the town has taken in for various services, fees, and such. There you can see the money raised for things like work permits, dog licenses, the recreation camps and beach fees, the cell tower monies and, of course, everyone’s favorite -- traffic fines.

When you total these up, the town takes in revenue of $3.8 million beyond what are taken in in standard taxes. The schools take in similar monies also but the money does not show up in the budget.

When I was the theatre director at the high school, I was surprised to find out that there were what are called “allied accounts” that every function at the schools has one and collects and spends money out of these accounts. The theatre account had a 5-figure balance and took in money with every show. There are dozens of these accounts. Equipment is purchased, supplies are paid staff and contractors are paid. Buses are paid; parties are paid for, all kind of expenses.

And a lot of money is collected. Think about it. Tickets for all sporting events and theatre and music concerts, concessions at these events, vending machine revenues, fund raising, Fees for trips, there is a lot of money.  Revenues for renting the auditoriums or other rooms this money can be added up fast.

Now I am not saying that anything corrupt or wrong is being done with the money. I am saying that all of those funds are raised with the benefit of staff, buildings and equipment. Paid for by taxpayer dollars. And if we have the right and need to see the money raised by dog licenses and library book fines then we should certainly see the money raised from basketball and football tickets.

I know what the pat answer to this is: It has always been done this way and it has been fine for so long. But it is time to think outside the box and come up with new solutions. We make the town project all revenuesand expenses, why not the schools?

Also the accounts are so numerous and managed by people with very different levels of financial expertise that it would be easy to see how consolidation
of purchasing would save money. Perhaps it is a lot of money. It has also been
my experience with public money that the more sets of eyes that have access to
how money is spent the more effectively it is spent.

If these moneys, which are supported by the taxpayer-paid buildings and staff, are put in the budget like they are on the town side not only would it be more transparent government, but I believe money would be saved. It would be spent more carefully and perhaps a substation amount of money. Perhaps enough to save a woodworking teacher without a tax increase.

This is the smallest of my suggestions. My next part will deal with the money the schools are not picking up in providing access to businesses.