Schools

Consultant Recommends East Windsor School Officials Handle The Budget Differently

The report has spurred school officials into looking for more efficient controls on spending.

A consultant is recommending that East Windsor Public Schools officials make some changes to the internal financial system to make it more efficient.

The Management Solution was hired by Superintendent of Schools Theresa Kane to review the school system’s budget development and management practices. The cost of the review was $6,500.

After interviewing school district employees and town officials, the consultant found; existing financial procedures are not clearly understood nor consistently applied district-wide, and need to reviewed, updated and committed to writing; there is a lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities; and the budget projection is not adjusted when evidence exists that the plan should be changed or updated to reflect actual spending.

The consultant’s report also found: that payroll and expense portions of budget development and management could improve with a coordinated approach to planning; fundraising practices require careful oversight; the budget is not being used as a road map for driving instruction or expenditures; and the effectiveness of the business manager is adversely affected by the excessive number of unrelated responsibilities currently assigned.

Andrew Paquette, president of The Management Solution, told board of education members Thursday that among his firm’s recommendations is to have some of the business managers day to day responsibilities such as transportation management and food service management be given to others. Those people would report to the business manager, he said.

“The business manager is being pulled several different directions,” Paquette said. “I have a concern of burnout for the business manager.”

The consultant is also recommending that the district also implement a zero-based budget system that would use three years of actual spending trends to build on. In that form of budgeting, officials should also look at exactly what is being spent on staff as well, he said.

With zero-based budgeting, school officials will have a better idea of where they have funds and how they can be allocated, Paquette said.

Kane said she and staff members will use the recommendations to formulate a plan and bring back an implementation plan to the board of education at its next meeting.

Board Member Leslie J. Hunt said the report was different than what she thought it would be about. She thought it was supposed to help school officials save money but appears to increase spending.

Hunt said the board spent the past three years found it extremely difficult to find things to eliminate from the schools’ budget.

Kane said her goal for the review was to find ways to getting more spending power from the dollars the school system already has. She said she is excited about the prospect of zero-based budgeting.

“I see it as a wonderful opportunity for the district to build a solid budget and transparent budget,” Kane said.

Board Member Catherine Simonelli said the review is exactly what she thought the school was going to see.

“In the past we’d look at the budget but didn’t look at actual spending,” Simonelli said. “I think this is a positive for us.”



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