ELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ELMIRA, NEW YORK SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION EFA Community Room September 10, 2008 933 Hoffman Street 6:00 pm Meeting Elmira, NY 14905 Executive Session MEETING CALLED TO ORDER ATTENDANCE President Rodney Strange called the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education to order at 6:03 and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Present: Dianna Brewer, Dan Hurley, Ted Lax, Colleen McCall (6:14 p.m.), Larry McGovern, Jr., Rodney Strange. Absent: Anthony Fisher, Jr., Larry McGovern, Jr., Mary Beth Turner, Christine Mecke, Alternative High School Student Representative, Shayna Perry, Elmira Free Academy Student Representative, Kathleen Denicola, Southside High School Student Representative, Ashley Nicolato. Others: Dr. Raymond Bryant, David Gleason, Joseph Hochreiter, Robert Van Keuren, Conrad Wolan. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms. Grottenthaler moved, seconded by Dr. Lax that the Board approve the agenda as presented. Motion Carried: Yes: Brewer, Grottenthaler, Hurley, Lax, Strange No: None Absent: Fisher, McCall, McGovern, Turner NYS Comptroller Audit Report-July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007 Office of the State Comptroller Report of Examination Mr. Hurley moved, seconded by Ms. Grottenthaler that the Board invite prior board members, who were on the board at the time of the audit to be a part of this discussion. Ms. Grottenthaler stated that by inviting these parties it would help her to hear their perspective. 153
Elmira City School District Response State s Recommendations School District Action Plan Motion Denied: Yes: Grottenthaler, Hurley, Lax, Strange No: Brewer Absent: Fisher, McCall, McGovern, Turner Dr. Bryant began the presentation by saying that he was excited about this audit and the District has done a good job of complying with the Comptroller s Office. Dr. Bryant went on to speak about a former district employee, Mr. Robert Gosden, who was the Assistant Superintendent of Management Services, and the funds that were given to him for his unused vacation days upon his retirement which totaled $32,512. He said the district is currently in negotiations with the former employee regarding this overpayment. The second finding of the audit report were the payments to GST BOCES, which contracted with Mr. Gosden to provide services to the district for five months after his retirement totaling $50,000. The Comptroller claims the payment was made without proper authorization from the Board of Education. Dr. Bryant also discussed payment of unused accrued vacation time made to employees who were transferred to the BOCES Central Business Office from the District Administration building which totaled to $9,272.00. He stated that the employees that were involved in the move would have not been paid for accrued vacation time; therefore, a budget transfer was made to pay these employees for their benefits. Although there was no official board approval for the transfer funds at that time the Board was aware of the transaction. Mr. Gene Cvik, Controller, GST BOCES and Ms. Margaret Munson, Assistant Superintendent, Finance/Admin. Services, GST BOCES joined the discussion. They stated that BOCES is a service provider for approximately 714 local school districts in New York State. Discussion ensued in regards to the justification of spending funds by the Superintendent. Ms. Munson stated that a Superintendent has a contract by the Board President of the District and the BOCES Board. Mr. 154
Hurley asked, what was the authorized amount for a Superintendent to make transfers. Dr. Bryant stated that the Board established a dollar amount of $50,000. A discussion ensued in regard to Mr. Gosden and why he was re-hired after being retired. Dr. Bryant stated that Mr. Gosden was hired in January after his retirement in December to develop the school budget. Mr. Gosden had experience developing many budgets during his tenure with the district so he was hired. Mr. Gleason did not fill Mr. Gosden s position until September. Mr. Cvik stated Elmira was not the only district that retained Mr. Gosden s services; Campbell Savona also retained his services. Dr. Bryant asked Mr. Cvik what his interpretation was of our audit. Mr. Cvik stated that our district is run more like a corporation than a school district. Mr. Cvik has been through eleven audits in his career and he stated that he has seen smaller school districts do worse in audits than our district has. Mr. Gleason joined the discussion and stated that our district uses BOCES as an Internal Claims Auditor. Ms. Munson commented that there is a difference of opinion between the State Department and the Comptroller s Office regarding the use of an Internal Claims Auditor through BOCES. Ms. Munson further stated that through the State it is acceptable to use BOCES in this function, but they are still waiting for the State Department and the Comptroller s Office to reach an agreement on this issue. Ms. Brewer asked Attorney Wolan if we should create a policy not to hire retired employees until after 5 years of retirement. Attorney Wolan stated that it could be done, but it may not be a good idea especially in the case of retired teachers coming back to be substitute teachers. Ms. Munson stated that it is a very common practice to hire retired employees because sometimes it is very difficult to recruit the right candidate for the job as quickly as needed. Ms. Munson also stated that some school districts don t have business officials. 155
Ms. Grottenthaler asked how the District can be proactive so that this does not happen again. Mr. Cvik stated that the number one issue from the report is being addressed which is a legal issue. Dr. Bryant stated that at the time there were twelve employees who could look at the payroll. Mr. Gleason stated that no one has access to any programs without his approval. The process currently is that BOCES prepares the calculations, Mr. Gleason reviews the calculations, he then signs off on it and then it is returned to BOCES. Mr. Gleason also stated that when Mrs. Jessica Lawrence was employed with the district, she would review the contract and sign off on the contract language. Ms. Grottenthaler also asked what the procurement of professional services was. Mr. Cvik stated that all the issues were addressed in the report. Mr. Gleason stated that the first thing they do is to make sure the contract is in place and the payment is in compliance and proper signatures are received. Mr. Hurley began the discussion on the Center for Curriculum Renewal (CCR). He stated that the district has spent hundreds of thousand of dollars on this program. Dr. Bryant stated that CCR was never a part of MANUS, which is a company that was formed by Mr. Gosden. Mr. Hurley stated that the Board was never informed as to what MANUS was. Dr. Bryant stated that the contract was between BOCES and MANUS. The district hired Mr. Gosden to work on the budget. This time frame was from the time he retired to the time Mr. Gleason was hired and cost the district $12,000. Dr. Bryant stated that our District Planning Team recommended that the district hire Doug Harris and Judy Carr for curriculum. They were hired for three years and we are in the third year of that contract. Dr. Bryant further stated that Doug and Judy were not employees of the district and do not receive retirement or health benefits, when they complete their work, they are gone. Dr. Bryant continued by saying that the district receives aid from the State at 86 cents on the dollar. Ms. Grottenthaler asked Dr. Bryant if he knew how much of the district s funds were spent on MANUS. Dr. Bryant said that he would get that information and report back to 156
the Board. Ms. Grottenthaler also stated that the report mentioned that the district hired former administrators. She is concerned with the report blaming the Board for not being responsible and would prefer not hiring former employees in the future. Dr. Bryant stated that the Audit was conducted two years ago and the District has done a lot to be in compliance with the Comptroller s Office. A discussion ensued in regard to the Superintendent ability to transfer funds. Dr. Bryant stated that the dollar amount of transfer to funds is set by the Board. Attorney Wolan stated that he found a resolution giving the Superintendent the authority to transfer funds but it did not state the dollar amount. Mr. Hurley again suggested that any prior board member that was on the Board at the time of the Audit be invited into the discussion. Dr. Lax stated that Mr. Strange as president can address any prior board member to enter into discussion. Mr. Barton Graham was invited to join in the discussion. Mr. Graham began by saying that Mr. Gosden was the owner of MANUS. He also stated that through his investigation he found that the district had paid Mr. Gosden twice on some occasions. Ms. Grottethaler asked who has the authority to transfer from one budget code to another. Attorney Wolan stated that the Board has the authority and then grant permission to the Superintendent. Discussion ensued in regards to the transfer of funds. Mr. Gleason stated that he has addressed the issues from the time period the Audit was referring to. Mr. Graham asked if there was a report on transfers; Mr. Gleason stated that there was. Ms. Grottenthaler requested a copy of the report. Mr. Graham also spoke about a loop hole in the professional service contracts and questioned policy #140. Dr. Bryant stated that he felt their was a loop hole and the policy needs to be changed. 157
Ms. Grottenthaler asked who she should bring her questions to regarding the Audit. Mr. Strange stated that she can bring them to the Audit Committee. Ms. Brewer recommended that Mike Crimmins become a member of the Audit Committee. ADJOURNMENT Mrs. McCall moved, seconded by Ms. Brewer that the meeting be adjourned. (8:02 p.m.) Motion Carried: Yes: Brewer, Grottenthaler, Hurley, Lax, McCall, Strange No: None Absent: Fisher, McGovern, Turner Janet M. Watson Board Clerk 158