Daily Progress Article on the County Budget

Posted on March 26, 2012 by ATTANOW

From: The Desk of James L. Stern – Chairman 

Please take the time to read the Daily Progress Article on the County Budget by reporter Aaron Richardson. It is part of a three day/three part series This article is entitled:

Albemarle budget would move on long-waiting projects

Response to the Article 

Thank you Daily Progress and Mr. Richardson for devoting so much effort to this important topic.

The article is well reported but what is said by some of those quoted does not tell the whole story. I look forward to the rest of this series. Among many issues with what others have said here let me make a few comments.

In these economic times what would help the overall citizenry of Albemarle more, a $200,000 cover for the Crozet pool or taking that money and using it to pay classified workers a little more? I have no exact numbers but Albemarle has about 2000 classified workers and that is only $100 each. But they can use that money more than possibly two or three hundred that may use the Crozet pool.

Even if there are 1000 users of the Crozet pool will they each get $200 worth of benefit from the pool cover? Will you get any benefit at all? But $100 to 2000 classified employees helps them immensely. That $100 will pay a bill or be spent at local stores or any number of things that will benefit the whole county albeit in a tiny way, it will still spread further than the $200,000 pool cover approved by the BOS.

This statement is bizarre: “Koleszar said his board would likely go with 1 percent raises if the county directed it to do so.”

Mr Koleszar, you were directed to go with a 1% raise for teachers and classified staff. It was last November in the joint work sessions. From that point it should have been treated as it was in reality, you have your orders AND you had agreed to acceot the directive of 1% for ALL county workers.

So for almost 5 months the 2% charade accomplished nothing but to waste everyones time. You were told 1%, you accepted 1%, the School Board is not “likely to go with 1%” Mr. Koleszar it WILL BE 1% so quit wasting everyone’s time.

The problem is that the schools have no idea what they have and no idea what they are doing. Mr. Koleszar, Here are just a few of over 3000 budget discrepancies that would be a better use of time to investigate than wasting time not following instructions.

Line 61140 Intervention/Prevention
Actual 2010 spent ZERO
Approved by the BOS for 2011 $600,287
Actual 2011spent ZERO
Approved by BOS for 2012 $600,287
Asked for 2013 by School Board $600,287

Line 601304 Intervention/Prevention
Actual 2010 spent ZERO
Approved by the BOS for 2011 $599,937
Actual 2011spent ZERO
Approved by BOS for 2012 $599,937
Asked for 2013 by School Board $599,937

Line 61141 Pals Phonological Awareness
Actual 2010 spent ZERO
Approved by the BOS for 2011 $54,615
Actual 2011spent ZERO
Approved by BOS for 2012 $54,615
Asked for 2013 by School Board $54,615

Want to see some ACPS budget cutting in action?

Line 61300 Education and Recreation Supplies
Actual 2010 spent ZERO
Approved by the BOS for 2011 $9,000
Actual 2011spent ZERO
Approved by BOS for 2012 $9000
Asked for 2013 by School Board $2000

Two years in a row spent NOTHING yet asked for and received $9000*2 years or $18,000

Why not just cut it to ZERO? School Board just what did you do with the unaccounted for $18,000? From what I heard at the Thursday night work session, did you perhaps……..Buy ergonomic bubble ball chairs?
But kudos for doing 77.78% of the job instead of the usual 0.00% of the job.

Mr. Koleszar was an accountant for heaven’s sake. Yes ACPS can explain some by saying they made clerical mistakes or changed coding but that just shows the poor job they are doing watching the school budget that uses our money. Pointing out you do a poor job is not a great way to defend thousands of lines like these three, totaling MILLIONS in discrepancies.

There is plenty of money to give decent raises to all county staff, even 5% without problem,

- IF the staff contributed a little more than $500 a year for an average $21,000 benefits package,

-if we put off sunny day projects like pool covers in favor of helping county employees during an economically rainy few years,

-if someone told the schools that they don’t have a budget, what they have is toilet paper.

Sadly for taxpayers and students it seems no one is watching the hen house except for Mr. Boyd.

 

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327 Homeless Students. Really?

Posted on March 23, 2012 by ATTANOW

From: The Desk of James L. Stern
Chairman, Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance

I attended the Albemarle County School Board work session for a little over an hour last evening. The School Board has some lofty visions for our schools and it is well intentioned though hard to tell if it was well thought out and certainly little thought was expended  on the cost of their visions.  With one exception - Mr. Strucko gave a correct analysis in support of purchasing now for future needs while the cost of money is low, if the need is substantiated.  Ms. McKeel made a statement on using trailers as a stopgap to address issues of school capacity that was on target. 

Missing were any thoughtful or critical questions asked in the time I was there.  Then again I don’t think asking the critical, or even the basic, necessary questions is the forte of the School Board.

Agreeing with a piece of the School Board’s vision does not change the fact the School Board punts on the big issues and rarely asks the important questions.  At least last night, when the silly discussion about ergonomic bouncy chairs was over, they did discuss important school capacity issues.

On the other hand, in Board of Supervisors podcasts, I note that Supervisor Rooker and Supervisor Boyd often ask important, pointed, and probing questions, especially on school issues of late.

In this past week, the questions asked by Rooker and Boyd were exactly what was on my mind the moment I heard the claim by ACPS that they had to support 327 homeless students. 

327 homeless children, about 2.5% of our student population is horrifying.  Yet I have only seen one in my ten years of having my children in ACPS.  So many questions needed to be answered:

  • Who are these homeless students?

  • What schools are the homeless students attending?

  • What are the demographics? 

  • What ages? 

  • What grades are they in? 

  • How long have they been in ACPS?

  • Could they really just live in neighboring Charlottesville or from the surrounding counties in this area? 

  • Could dishonest parents just be dropping off their ‘homeless student’ in the morning to use our schools but then after getting picked up to head home in Nelson, Greene, Fluvanna, and the others?  

Questions were asked by the Supervisors to get at the who,what, why, where, when and how in regards to these homeless students. 

ACPS could not answer any of the questions

So ACPS needs money to support 327 homeless students they have no record of existing.  They have no idea where they are or how much but they need money to support these poor children.

If there are 327 homeless students in Albemarle County Public Schools then we have a moral obligation to help and a homeless child needs more than a good school.  We would need to pull together as a community to help because in this day and age in Albemarle County we will stand together to make it right for as many of these 327 homeless children as possible.

Thankfully there is no need to worry about the children.  Because there aren’t 327 homeless children in ACPS.  

The Daily Progress reported on March 18, 2012 in an article by Graham Moomaw that there are 223 homeless people in Central Virginia right now.  

Not 327. Not Students. Not Albemarle. 

However, taxpayers need to worry about the judgment and honesty of those who have the use of over $150 million of your money.  If they use 327 homeless children in a lie calculated to bring sympathy upon the school budget, then where will they tell the truth about any financial item? 

The School Board spends 150 million dollars of taxpayer money so they must earn and keep the confidence of the Board of Supervisors and the people of Albemarle. 

The Supervisors must follow through and never forget this lie. 

So it now becomes imperative that the Board of Supervisors looks at every statement made to them in joint meetings and every number in the Superintendent’s request and evaluate each one.  Keeping at the forefront of their focus the knowledge they lied about homeless children for their own benefit. 

If the School Board squeals when the BOS vets school finances they need to remind them of this lie. 

We can’t be asking retirees or those who are unemployed to be paying taxes to support non-existent homeless children.   

Skeptics will say it was just one lie, maybe it’s not even a lie just a misunderstood interpretation of the definition of ‘homeless’.  Others will say it is not important if the School Board is out of touch with reality of where students sleep each night.  If this was isolated it might not be so important. 

But it is not isolated or inconsequential.

Before the vote to finalize the budget on April 4th, ATTA will recap prior lies and expose and analyze a whole new lie, a big one. A fabrication hurting students throughout the county while requiring wheelbarrows of money.  Your money. 

Each supervisor must make a choice to do what is right or ignore the truth.  Use your voice to Remind the Supervisors you will stand with those who choose to do what is right!

There is nothing the government can give to someone, that it did not first have to take from someone else.

====================================================

Supporting Information and Data 

BOS Podcasts can be found here:

http://albemarle.org/department.asp?department=bos&relpage=3202 

The Daily Progress Article stating 233 total homeless in all of central Virginia

 http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2012/mar/18/charlottesville-ready-open-first-housing-complex-h-ar-1775997/?referer=None&shorturl=http://bit.ly/FPtcSC

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Chairman and Board of Directors Proudly Announce Ed Robb Joins ATTA Executive Committee

Posted on March 23, 2012 by ATTANOW

Please visit the Daily Progress article link below for more background information.

The article begins:
Before he was a county sheriff or a state senator, Ed Robb was an undercover agent for the FBI, infiltrating the Mafia and bringing down drug lords.

See Full Article

Ed Robb has been a long time supporter of ATTA and we ask you to join us in welcoming him to the ATTA Executive Committee.

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Truth On Tuesday Report- Issue 7

Posted on March 7, 2012 by ATTANOW

Taxpayers Came Close to Wasting Another Cent of Real Estate Taxes  

County use of an Internal Auditor as recommended by the Resource Utilization Study and prior to that, independently by an ATTA member, along with another issue made public by the ACPS Chief Executive Officer have saved the Taxpayers of Albemarle about $1,000,000

 August 3, 2010, just a year after being pointed out in the fall of 2009 by an ATTA member, that Albemarle County was only in partial receipt of a number of different taxes due but not collected by Albemarle, The Daily Progress reported: 

Tim Conrad, the auditor in charge of retrieving as much of these missing dollars had found misdirected payments of more than $400,000 and he stated that he had found another $171,137.   

Then just six months later the C-ville Weekly reported on February 9, 2011

Albemarle County budget auditor Tim Conrad is likely the man of the hour at the county office building. (P)erhaps Conrad is the nearly-one-million-dollar man. According to Albemarle officials, who offered an estimate of the sales tax revenue transferred from the city, the county could see as much as $720,000 once the Department of Taxation completes its review.  County spokesperson Lee Catlin says that county has already received or is slated to receive $692,245, of which $420,596 is from the city. There is another round of pending sales tax revenue totaling $313,700, of which $299,700 is from the city, that Albemarle may receive. 

Our County was not collecting what it was due and at the very same time was paying out more than it owed on fuel contracts by over $150,000.   

The people read about the money that Mr. Conrad was finding.  But, we did not hear until two Friday’s ago that Albemarle County for the two year prior had been overcharges and had overpaid on fuel invoices.  Mr. Davis the Chief Operation Officer for ACPS indicated this on WINA and the actual details are that that this was due to overpaying an average of 12.65 cents per gallon of fuel.  When multiplied by 1.23 million gallons it totals $155,147 that we were refunded by the fuel contractor. 

Also on WINA Mr. Davis explained why he had to hire several temporary employees to manually handle processing bus driver hours and get them paid correctly.  He did not specify the amount this cost the taxpayers but it certainly was tens of thousands of dollars.  But this expenditure may have saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars.  ACPS lost in a lawsuit brought by bus drivers over being paid incorrectly and it seems the problem would have been worse if Mr. Davis did not step in and proactively work to correct the issue. 

ATTA thanks Mr. Conrad and Mr. Davis and all county employees who have acted to save money that belongs to the taxpayers of Albemarle County.  

It is not just your money that they have wasted that we do not know about, ATTA is concerned for taxpayers dollars wasted that the County doesn’t even know about. 

If not for outside groups like ATTA, the media and paid consultants, the one million dollars in extra funds in the coffers that came from correctly collecting revenue and paying the contracted amount for fuel would have trickled out through leaks in our County system.  

We applaud those who have saved money for taxpayers but the people must ask: 

Who in Albemarle County should have prevented
these mistakes from occurring in the first place?  

Hopefully there will not need to be many but there are clearly a couple of pink slips that need to be filled out by the Board of Supervisors.  

Our hard earned money should not be wasted.  In this case our one million dollars was taken from our savings, we have lost the use of the fruits of our labors. Adding insult to injury the money would not have even been used to educate our children, protect our lives and property or for anything for our benefit.  

Tell Albemarle County Board of Supervisors every
chance you can before the end of March:    

We appreciate the effort after the fact but the County needs to prevent problems first. 

If prevented, then taxpayers would not need to pay to
fix problems at great additional cost to the taxpayers. 

We have better uses for our money than to serve
as a profit builder and a gift for an oil contract company. 

We have better uses for our money than to serve
as more charity for the City of Charlottesville 

Now we know about this one million dollars or there about that almost slipped through the county fingers, how many dollars have been wasted that the taxpayers  don’t know about? 

Considering the waste that was avoided, the theft and mismanagement that has been exposed by local media and the fact that ACPS has a budget similar to Congress, except that ACPS bothered to write down some numbers and Congress hasn’t bothered to write anything down for three years…..

Both already have enough of our money but they will never stop
taking from us until we put our foot down.

Thank you to those who already have, but for other readers

Please Give

The next few weeks are very important for Albemarle Taxpayers and ATTA must reach as many as possible so the Board of Supervisors hear all of the voices in the community. 

The ATTA Truth on Tuesday report last week went to 2100 people and ATTA added almost 400 new email addresses in February.  The first edition had under 1000 readers and we have grown a lot from then but, ATTA is still not reaching many concerned taxpayers. 


 A donation of just $20 will go along way in helping ATTA use local media to reach all of the taxpayers of Albemarle County  

If you have not made a donation this year, ATTA appeals to you send in an amount you can afford. The return on your past donations to ATTA has been millions of dollars and we cannot express how honored we are by every precious dollar sent by supporters.  

ATTA will always handle your money responsibly and with care. 

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Meeting Tonight!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by ATTANOW

ATTA Reminder 

Wednesday February 29, 2012 Public Hearing of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on the Annual Budget 

The Meeting begins at 6 pm in the Lane Auditorium of the County Office Building.  

If you wish to speak you should show up as far in advance as possible

—————————————–

Friends and Supporters of the Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance,

ATTA has promised to follow through on two simple metrics:  

  • What is being said by the county?

Is it accurate?  Is it complete?  ATTA looks to inform you if something has been omitted.

  • What is being done by the county?

The most simple measure of accountability is matching word to deed. 

You will not like 60 percent of what you will read today and find 40% to be acceptable.  Some items ATTA has covered in the past few years are now either implemented or planned, not perfect but moving in the right direction. There are some glaring short-comings that must be addressed. 

There is generally good news from the County side and the School side of the Central Offices.  The difference is that one side is telling you the truth and the other side has nothing to back their claims.

I hope you will take the time to remind the Board of Supervisors that they are responsible for being be the gatekeepers against those trying to take your money and not spend it “on the children” but to lose it in the fog of the third floor of the County Office Building or wherever Albemarle County Public School Finance Department is located.

I hope to see you at the Board of Supervisors Meeting but no matter what you must let them know what is happening on their watch and if you can not come to the Public Hearing you can do so by email, letter or phone call.

James L. Stern
Chairman
Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance
truthintaxation@yahoo.com 

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Truth On Tuesday Report- Issue 6

Posted on February 28, 2012 by ATTANOW

Keep these items in mind when speaking to the BOS,
your friends and your neighbors

76.2 cents as last years tax rate starting point ended up taking about 11.5 million dollars not needed away from taxpayers.

Since the last report it has increased by another 1.5 million dollars due to sales tax revenue and better collection of delinquent real estate taxes.  After ATTA brought it to their attention, the county has also done an excellent job starting to collect all of our tax dollars that were being misdirected to Charlottesville.

There are no plans to return the 11.5 million dollars to the taxpayers that ATTA is aware of, nor will the BOS start discussions at a tax rate of 68 cents which the actual equalized rate base on the difference in real estate values and the REAL amount of funds needed last year.

The County, over the past year has:

  • Held real estate taxes in check for another year.  Taxes have been flat or reduced them slightly each of the last three years
  • Reduced the overall County Budget by 30 million dollars
  • Reduced the 5 year planned spending on Capital Improvements by 118 million dollars
  • Been one of only 90 counties in the nation to maintain its AAA Bond Rating in this poor economy of the past three years
  • Sought out missing tax monies in addition to those ATTA pointed out were going to Charlottesville including more thoroughly collecting delinquent real estate and personal property taxes
  • Asked to gives County Employees a 1% raise and no increase in contributions to healthcare or other benefits.

What the county doesn’t tell you is:

  • The County did cut positions but some of those were just shifted to outside contractors, not eliminated.  But it does still save taxpayers money and should be emulated where it is appropriate.
  • None of the 11.5 million dollar surplus has been dedicated for return to the taxpayers, hiring the 30 or so needed police officers or other items that would benefit ALL the taxpayers in Albemarle.
  • The employees may only be getting a 1% raise but the benefits increase for this year alone is 12%, so staff will cost the taxpayers 13% more this year and the employees will not contribute a penny more towards that 12% increase in cost.
  • The average staff member in Albemarle gets benefits that total $21,596 or 41% of the average pay.
  • In the past 6 years the cost of benefits to Albemarle has gone up 56% but the contribution for a single employee has only gone from $37 to $40 in the same 6 year period.
  • A contribution of just $480 per year gets staff a Rolls Royce plan of medical, prescription, dental, vision, life insurance and retirement benefits.
  • The $21,596 has to be multiplied by the more than 592 County Staff Members to see the true size of the issue and how measly $3 more dollars over a six years period really is when compared.
  • And do not forget, the County had about 11.5 million dollars more collected in taxes this year than necessary, or about 7.5 cents/100 over charge on the Real Estate rate.

The cuts have been relatively easy Former County Executive Mr. Tucker seems to have have clearly been taking too much of your money

But the County is doing a very good job in almost every area and an incredible job in comparison to Albemarle County Public Schools, which consume 60% of the County tax dollars from all sources.

Albemarle County Public Schools has:

  • Proclaimed its fiscal responsibility.
  • Ended the prior year with about 2 million dollars left over in the bank.
  • Done a wonderful job educating the students despite horrible budget cuts.
  • Proclaimed that sadly it must charge high school athletes $225 each to play a full year of athletics, has slashed programs for gifted students and warned their may be more cuts to come for teachers and students alike.
  • Warned of a $63 million dollar shortfall over the next five years.

So you had better watch out for your wallet if the BOS doesn’t hear your voice.

But is all unsubstantiated and built on a house of cards.

What Albemarle County Public Schools doesn’t tell you, or parents, students or teachers is:

In the 2011 budget, (which is the most current where there are numbers for what was appropriated and actual dollars spent)

  • They can’t substantiate their budget except for things they would get caught on like FICA payments.
  • There are In fact, 967 line items that cost us 3.1 million dollars for things that WERE NOT in the adopted budget.  So ZERO dollar line items cost us 3.1 million dollars not the ZERO dollars the BOS approved.
  • Exactly the opposite, there were 318 line items for a total of 2.15 million dollars that were not spent at all.  Zero outlay for budgeted items wasn’t savings, some of these items have been budgeted for years and ACPS keeps them on the books when each year nothing is spent.
  • There were 1295 line items that were overallocated by more than 5%, 216 of those were over allocated by more than 75% for 1.6 million dollars too much approved by the BOS for them to use.
  • The total amount on line items overallocated by 20% or more was 5.7 million dollars.

They move it where ever they want and spend it on what ever they want, all while looking the Board of Supervisors and pretending like they presented a “Needs Based” budget.   Why?  Because the truth is not something the BOS would approve.

Just one example from the line item budget provided to ATTA by ACPS from our FOIA request.

The amount spent for Catering and Food for Meetings in:

-2010 Actual Expenditures was $108,253

-In 2011 they requested $20,342 and it was adopted.

-2011 Actual Expenditures were $114,860

-So for 2012 they requested $21,438 and for 2013 they have requested $26,301 when they clearly need to use our tax dollars to buy themselves over one hundred thousand dollars of catering and food for meetings each year.

So why do they lie to the BOS every year?  Because the BOS won’t question $20,000 and they know if they tell the $114,860 truth they will have to pack their lunch because you won’t be buying it for them.

This is only one of those hundreds of line items of questionable items in the 2011 budget.  There are certainly legitimate items that look improper but only 74 out of over 3000 line items came in exactly as budgeted and the vast majority were over or under by 5%, 20%, 50% or more!

They don’t have a needs based budget, they don’t even have a budget, because they don’t have to care about your money they can just take it.

They can no longer say it is for teachers and the children.  There is plenty there to give teachers and students everything they need if the Board of Supervisors forces them to balance their checkbook and never let it get out of control ever again.

Please let your Supervisor know they need to do what they were elected to do.  Be in Charge.  Be Responsible.  Be Honest.  Demand the same from ALL County Employees.

Wednesday 6 PM at the County Office Building or with letters, emails or phone calls, do not let this continue, for the children, for the grand-children and for all of us.

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Truth On Tuesday Report- Edition 5

Posted on February 15, 2012 by ATTANOW

Saturday February 11 Town Hall Meeting 

Duane Snow’s Town Hall Meeting was sparsely attended, possibly due in part to the weather.  There were only about a half dozen residents in attendance but School Board Chairman Steve Koleszar and Police Chief Sellers also made presentations. 

Supervisor Snow’s presentation and hand out clearly reflected the work that ATTA has done over the past four years.  It also shows a Supervisor that cares about all residents, not just his District.  He understands that responsible government, not blind tax and spend policies, create the best overall community.  

The most important points Supervisor Snow made are that since he has been a part of the leadership team:

  • Taxes have been held flat or reduced.

  • The overall county budget has been reduced by 30 million dollars and the school budget by about 4 million dollars.

  • The critical bond rating has been protected and reserves maintained to support future financial health of the county.

  • The 5 year plan maintains the FY09 tax rate for most homeowners, eliminates 4 more positions, continues to find misdirected tax dollars and slowly reduces the amount of your tax dollars that Albemarle gives to  non-profits they decide for you.

School Board Chairman Koleszar reviewed the mission of Albemarle County Public Schools and gave an update on the Access Albemarle information technology system that was started, stopped, restarted and may finally be nearing completion.  He indicated Microsoft has picked up the tab for the original failure.  That does not reimburse Albemarle for what is likely several thousand man hours of staff time, but makes the overall picture of the financial impact much better than it would have otherwise been for taxpayers. 

By far, the biggest take away for me were two statements by Chief Sellers –

  • Albemarle County has the lowest Law Enforcement cost per capita of any city or county in the State of Virginia

  • Albemarle County  has the lowest number of Officers per capita of any city or county in the State of Virginia.

It sounds good after the first statement but the second should not be ignored.  Albemarle is still as safe and secure as any place in Virginia, but criminals can exploit that low coverage. Weigh the value of providing backup for Officers to the benefits of capital improvements. Look at the waste in our school budget while listening to the Chief of Police talk about gangs and drugs in our area, dependence on the kindness of volunteers and the funds for community engagement having disappeared, and ask yourself what should be first on Albemarle’s list of priorities?  

There has always been strong support for Law Enforcement but the  Board of Supervisors needs to look at this very seriously.   

School Budget Update  

There are several thousand line items, for those assisting this is a part time project and there has been no attention to detail in ACPS finances for many years, so it is going to take quite some time to unravel everything.  The numbers will be next week, but here is a preview of how the school funding request/budget can be viewed: 

Definitions to start -

Budget:- A good-faith itemized list of expected revenues and expenses. 

Good-faith: in accordance to a standard of honesty and sincerity.

What our schools have produced can not be called a budget.  It cannot be considered “needs based” like ACPS has pronounced.  It is built from the bottom up, meaning teachers talk to principals, principals evaluate their needs and send it up the chain through the division until it becomes the ‘funding request’. 

ACPS has defined ’needs’ the same way my 10 year old defines ‘needs’. 

Can you imagine what a household budget that started with your children would look like?  You would have lots of video games and candy.  What would it look like if when they realized they had almost no definitions of success to meet that were concrete and there was almost no effort required of them to take care of both sides of the ledger?  Would they care about waste or getting the best value on purchases? 

That’s what the taxpayers are being asked to pay for. That is what a bottom up funding request produces.   Because it comes from people with no concern for where the money comes from or the labor of others required for their expenses.  They do not even have to produce a good product to stay in business.   

The problem is not with teachers, many of them are frustrated with the waste in schools and with school administrators.  The majority of teachers are dedicated to the students, many are exceptional and highly qualified.  Some should not be in the classroom teaching but only a tiny minority.  

Benjamin Franklin said, Beware the little expenses, for a small leak can sink a great ship.    

It is not among the teachers but in the Administration, somewhere between the Principals and the Superintendent where the leak is occurring.  It is likely at the bottom, not at the top where the leak is happening.  Why? Because the kids are writing the parent’s budget.  But it is the parent’s who are supposed to be in charge. 

A teacher said to me this week, In all my years in ACPS I have know a hundred great teachers and lots of good Principals but only three great Principals.  

As I have thought that over these last few days I have been reminded that ACPS is filled with educators.  Some bad, most good and some great educators.  But almost none of them have any expertise in financial matters. especially when it is a 150 million dollar concern. 

Taxpayers and ACPS knew in 2002 transportation costs were a big problem.  In 2006 I heard about transportation issues at a meeting directly from the Superintendent and it was said it could be a $250,000 a year problem.  Then we learned more of the extent of the issues with the Resource Utilization Study and it could have been as much as a $400,000 a year problem.  Even with ATTA pushing the schools were slow to move, appointing educators to do a transportation function they were not qualified to handle.  

ACPS wasted millions of dollars on transportation over ten years. 

Finally when Josh Davis was hired as the Director of Transportation did the problem come under control.  Can he do the same for the bigger picture?  

Taxpayers had better hope that he can.  The November 10, 2011 5 Year Plan presented to the Joint Boards says on page 10 that over the next 5 years ACPS will be over 63 million dollars short on revenue, and they will be coming after your pocketbook because that is easiest path.  That must change and there are two people who can change that path.

Josh Davis has a proven record, but faces a huge task ahead.  Steve Koleszar was an Accountant, so he has the expertise if he is willing to get out of the helicopter and help us on the ground.  ATTA hopes with these two gentlemen, their backgrounds and the volunteers ATTA has to help, we can clean up the budget the kids wrote and make the parents in control of the purse strings like they should have been all along. 

The taxpayers can save millions, the children and teachers are better supported and educators can do what they are best at doing while those better suited to managing financial affairs watch the till.  

Next week we will present some of the things the kids have been doing with Mom and Dad’s money, that is if they even kept the receipts.  

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Truth On Tuesday Report- Edition 4

Posted on February 8, 2012 by ATTANOW

ATTA Analysis of the Human Resources Report sent to ATTA by Mr. Davis

The Human Resources 2011-2012 Annual Report is available on the www.k12albemarle.org website, a link is in the last ATTA email, and you can access it through the posting on our website: www.albemarletruthintaxation.org

Preface:

The report is authored by Human Resources Director, Lorna Gerome.  She has answered every question posed by ATTA. She has graciously taken time to meet personally with ATTA members. She has a demonstrated ability to collect accurate Human Resources data.

This Human Resources Annual Report being analyzed was not on ATTA’s current agenda.  ATTA Truth on Tuesday Report covering this now is not because ATTA saw a weak link or to be a criticism of Ms. Gerome or her Department. It came to the forefront because Mr. Davis submitted it to ATTA in support of ACPS.

ATTA does see Ms. Gerome as a part of the ACPS problem, in fact quite the opposite, ATTA believes that anything signed by by Ms. Gerome contains data that is factual and would be supported with documentation if challenged.   It was also in this very Human Resources report that I noticed the truthful definition of Highly Qualified was not being used by ACPS.  In the HR Report it is not hidden or in an obscure footnote or glossary.  Full font, front and center, the definition is provided to the reader.

Additionally, ATTA has long pointed out the inadequate job done by the county in explaining that compensation is what an employee is paid, salary is only a part of compensation.  ATTA’s issue is covered by Ms. Gerome plan for this year.  This is her paragraph in the report worth noting:

To increase employee understanding and appreciation of their benefit package, HR continues to refine the online Open Enrollment website and communicate to employees through various methods, including:

  • Offering benefits orientation and refresher sessions
  • Information on the website/intranet
  • Financial education and pre-retirement seminars
  • Monthly on-site availability of our deferred compensation vendor representative and informational workshops

ATTA’s starting point for this analysis was to bypass vetting the data with confidence and move directly on to analysis of that data.
ATTA Initial Report on the 2011-2012 HR Annual Report (24 pages)

Cover Page

The cover page indicates the report will cover three categories for seven metrics.

The categories are Teachers, Administration and Classified employees.

The metrics are recruitment, selection, retention, minority staffing, highly qualified staff and retirement data.

Supplemental sections on Exit Survey Data, Compensation/Benefits

For the same three categories.

There are no other issues of note in regards to the cover page.

Administration/Classified

Not to ignore the Admin/Classified sections of the report but ATTA must for now focus on what will be said to the Board of Supervisors by public speakers, media and the School Board.  The past has always been almost entirely focused on teachers.   

The number of administrators is so low the data provides no real trends.

Classified Employees are very different than the other two groups and warrant a separate and much longer discussion.

Teacher Report

The report makes the following statements:

  • There was a 46% increase in the number of teachers hired TY/LY
  • There was a 36% increase in the number of applicants for teaching jobs TY/LY.
  • TY of 927 total applicants, 751 were identified as Highly Qualified.
  • Highly Qualified Teachers are required at 100% levels under No child Left Behind.
  • ACPS is at 99.61% for teachers meeting this requirement.
    • Over about 750 teachers ATTA extrapolates that only three do not meet the requirement
  • We are phasing out the VERIP Program, (Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program) over the next 5 years. Reducing benefits by 20% per year.
  • At the end of the school year 2011-2012 there will be 69 teachers eligible for VERIP
  • This year was the 2nd highest for number of teachers not returning in the past 5 years.
  • This year was the 2ndlowest for recently hired teachers to not return.
  • The overall number of teachers leaving was the highest in the past three years.
  • The number of teachers hired was the 2nd lowest in the past 5 years and the trend may continue as a result of economic conditions.
  • The numbers leaving was the 2nd highest in 5 years and 11% of current staff could retire within 5 years.

Exit Surveys

This Section reports:

  • Work satisfaction ratings remain relatively high.
  • Pay/benefits is still an area of dissatisfaction.
  • The only two areas showing decline in positive responses are Work Distribution/Schedule Flexibility and Career Advancement opportunities

Do not be mislead by School Speak.
Time to Play Executive – What Conclusions Would You Draw?

Anyone reading this, would be and should be concerned.

  • Exiting ACPS teachers cite pay and benefits as an area of dissatisfaction.
  • Due to economic conditions we may face continued hiring of new teachers that require more training
  • ACPS is facing the loss of current teachers for many reasons aggravated by incentives to retire.
  • If we do not change the trend of this past year it may cause huge problems in the near future.  The reason is if we combine the facts ACPS had the 2nd lowest number of hires in the past five years and the 2nd highest number of departures in the past five years, compounded by teacher  retirements in the near future – ACPS could soon be left with a crippled teacher corps unable to maintain our high standards.

The bright spots, at least we were able to hire 46% more teachers than the year before, ACPS still has 99.61% of our teachers Highly Qualified, and even when leaving work satisfaction remains relatively high.

The message to the Board of Supervisors must be that we are holding our own but ACPS needs to be funded in a manner that we can attract and retain a cadre of highly qualified teaching staff and that we need to keep ahead of the retirement curve now, so as not to fall too far behind if increased retirement occurs.

Those are Bad Conclusions Made on Good Data

The School Board may be  burying their heads the sand or maybe need to become Highly Qualified School Board Members before they can see what is painfully apparent to so many ATTA volunteers.

ACPS is unable to do the level of analysis that they require of high school students.  But they can obfuscate. 

Teacher Data Set Conclusions

The HR Annual Report contains data that is not flawed and taken as factual.  When a statement such as ”The number of teachers hired was 46% higher TY/LY” is in the report ATTA does not dispute the fact or the math.  But this and every other statement above from the Teacher Report Section are factual and meaningless.

These following statements not made in the report are factual and meaningful: 

ACPS TY 105 hires / ACPS average hires the L5 years 110

    • A difference of 5. So a 46% increase in new hires is meaningless

The percentage of teachers departing is only large when compared to LY.  The data set shows teacher retention stays within a significantly small statistical band of between 87% and 92% all of the past five years.

  • To have the 2nd worst year in this narrow band is insignificant.

The HR Report cites the numbers of teachers hired/departing may be due to the economy.  But the report contains no support for correlation or causation to connect a poor economy and teachers entering or departing ACPS.

ACPS has about 750 teachers and over the past 5 years hired 110 per year on average

    • ACPS had 9 applicants for every position
    • ACPS had 7.5 Highly Qualified applicants for each hired position.
    • ACPS had a 1 to 1 ratio, comparing the number of total teachers and total Highly Qualified Applicants.

The data clearly shows ACPS has no problem attracting and hiring teachers.

Last years pool of Highly Qualified applicants was seven times the need. 

There is no justified concern with regard to a shortage of applicants for teaching positions overall.

ACPS is vying for the few minority candidates entering the teaching profession with great sucess as we already hire a disproportionate number of minority teachers when considering the size of the pool.

 The School Board desired minority staffing level has not been achieved.

So the proper conclusion drawn is ACPS does not need to attract more applicants, ACPS needs to attract different applicants. Pay and benefit increases will attract MORE candidates, it will not change the MIX of minority applications.

An independent conslutant would tell the School Board:

With over 900 applicants, 81% of which are deemed Highly Qualified, already lining up, Human Resources has a window of opportunity to shift some internal resources to the task of minority candidate outreach. But the possibilities for success are limited considering the size of the pool from which to draw qualified minority applicants.

 

The Exit Report
================================

Exit Report Data Set Conclusions

The statements on worker satisfaction rates and pay benefits being AN area of dissatisfaction are factual.  But meaningless. 

The teacher exit data shows:

76% of departing teachers left for reasons that are out of HR’s control.

  • 30% for reasons external to the system
  • 25% for retirements
  • 20% for relocation
  • 1% leaving the profession

Of the 24% over which ACPS can have influence

  • Over half cite Management and Supervision Issues
  • Less than 1/3 cite Pay and Benefits
  • Only 1/6 cite Lack of Training/Opportunities

Exit Reporting shows that there are no significant issues that ACPS can address based on the data.

Three-quarters of teachers leaving are doing so for reasons beyond the control of ACPS. Shhh, ACPS wants to make sure no one knows.

The largest issue that can be controlled by ACPS is teachers leaving due to issues departing teachers had with Management and Supervision, but note that this is still only 13% teachers departing. Those leaving for pay/benefits issues are only 7%.

No analysis has been done to determine the mix of teachers in the 24% that departed for reasons under the control of ACPS. Were these teacher that the division wanted to retain or were they teachers we preferred to replace and their leaving is an opportunity to better the overall quality of the ACPS teacher corps.

Exit Reporting does not indicate a need for any change in direction or immediate action by the School Board.

The next steps should be:

An analysis of why the largest numbers are departing due to Management/Supervision issues and may be a manifestation of an underlying problem that should be addressed.

An analysis of the composition of the departing staff in regards to the desirability of their retention as to avoid implementing a plan that ends up retaining teachers that are not the best fr for ACPS.

Do not LET THE BOS be fooled by School Speak.

ACPS wants to take more of YOUR MONEY to pay for their wasteful ways.

 ACPS tells staff there is no money for raises, there is plenty, they just have no idea how to manage money.  They must learn how to act in the best interest of the community instead of being consumed with protecting themselves.

ACPS tells taxpayers they need more money when they do not.

The Superintendent’s Funding Request is built on supporting documents that must be honestly interpreted or the Funding Request is completely meaningless below the surface.  So far ATTA has shown, two weeks in a row, ACPS words may look good at first, but they would not even pass muster in an 8th grade classroom.
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Truth On Tuesday Report- Edition 3

Posted on February 2, 2012 by ATTANOW

A quick update on the FOIA request
and the Line Item Funding Request

It appears we have received nearly everything we have asked for from the School Finance staff. It has not gone out to all of the volunteers yet, but some of the earliest volunteers have read 300+ pages and issued wonderful insights in their notes. But evaluating the Funding Request is not an easy task.

What has been easy? Getting volunteers to review the funding request. And volunteering with other offers of assistance were the interim ACPS Chief Executive Officer, Josh Davis and County Executive Tom Foley. Both contacted ATTA and both are willing to assist ATTA as needed.

This delayed version, now the ATTA Truth on ‘Wednesday almost Thursday‘ Report covers something interesting pointed out to me only about a month ago…

=======================================================================

Oddly fitting for the Truth on Tuesday Report that follows, I received the same unusual word in two different emails this week. So in honor of Albemarle County Public Schools here is

Word of the Week

Ob-fus-cate
verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
1. to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy.
2. to make obscure or unclear: to obfuscate a problem with extraneous information.
3. to darken.

Origin:
1525-35; < Late Latin obfuscātus the past participle of obfuscāre to darken

James L. Stern
Chairman
Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance

ACPS keeps a relentless drumbeat going about the need
to attract and retain Highly Qualifiedteachers.

You are sure to hear the wordsHighly Qualified repeated over and over again in Lane Auditorium. But maybe not as much as usual from ACPS staff.

With readership of the ATTA Truth on Tuesday Report increasing inside of the Central Office though, quite a few of our tax dollars may be spent tomorrow on editing out two words from some planned comments.

So what is the answer? Are nearly 100% of ACPS teachers reallyHighly Qualified? It sounds so impressive but is it true?

It is in the minds of educators, but how about for you?

And I’ll bet you a nickle you’ll use the Word of the Day – Obfuscate – in a conversation tomorrow.

ACPS proudly makes statements like, We are extremely close to meeting the No Child Left Behind mandate requiring 100% of teachers be Highly Qualifiedin their core subject area.

Looking back through almost 10 years of Albemarle County Public Schools Parent Council budget handouts, prior funding reports, human resources reports, the termHighly Qualified is everywhere. It is used year round but during budget season it will be everywhere.

What parent would want anything less than a Highly Qualified teacher for their child?

What family would buy your house if the School District did not have Highly Qualifiedteachers?

How could anyone in Albemarle argue against doing whatever it takes to attract and retain Highly Qualified teachers?

Tomorrow night the School Board will briefly leave the conclave. They will come out into the real world to bask in the Parade of Sound Bytes. Teachers, students, parents and teachers union representatives will implore the School Board to not let the Board of Supervisors force the children back into the dark ages by taking one cent away from the 2012 Funding Request. Maybe somebody will even curse ATTA. A worthless exercise that helps the School Board feel they are crusaders for good in an evil community.

I have asked over the years and ACPS staff had never made the definition of Highly Qualified very clear. With the standard research tool of today, Google, the definition was found.

Here is how ACPS defines Highly Qualified in regards to applicants for teaching positions: To be identified as “Highly Qualified” the applicant either held a Virginia teaching license at the time of their application or had obtained one by [the end of the first full month of the school year].

Do not blame our School Division. That is how Highly Qualified is defined by the Department of Education.

In the world of Federal bureaucracy your license makes you Highly Qualified.

In ATTA’s world that means you meet the “minimum requirement” you are not “highly qualified” any more than my 16 year old is a “Highly Qualified” driver by virtue of his license.

Are there other standards? Absolutely, the State of Virginia put its foot down calling the Federal Standard inadequate for our students. To be Highly Qualified you additionally need to meet one other requirement. Don’t worry though – You get a whole list from which to choose. Check just one, then you are Highly Qualified by VA Standards. Among the listed choices are: if you were deemed Highly Qualified already by another State or in the District of Columbia. Or: If you have already taught for three years. Or: if you have a degree in the same subject as you will be instructing.

So, in the world of Virginia bureaucracy you are Highly Qualified if Mississippi or Ohio says so.  In ATTA’s world you haven’t even guaranteed the teacher meets bare minimum qualifications.

ACPS may have even more stringent definitions as to  what constitutes Highly Qualified here in Albemarle but that aren’t easily found.  But it would only make matters worse. The No Child Left Behind definition is meaningless. Throwing in State an ACPS variationsseems only to serve the purpose of obfuscation.

They create an illusion of importance and nothing more
when they say Highly Qualified.
And they want you to pay to keep the illusion going.

The only thing certain is that for applicants, ACPS uses the Federal definition of Highly Qualified and they say it in print. However, when they give presentations, speak to parents, or speak to the School Board and they are using that phrase, it really has no discernible meaning.

If they are using some other, unpublished, definition, why is that one not used for teacher applicants?

This does not mean ACPS does not have some Highly Qualified Teachers, but you will never know who they are unless you meet them face to face.

Reading or hearing the words “Highly Qualified” from ACPS staff should be replaced in your mind with “anywhere from not qualified to extremely qualified but who the heck knows”.

So with a different topic all together than originally planned the ATTA Truth on Tuesday report can still end with- Do not be mislead by School Speak

Please do not waste your time speaking at the School Board Public Meeting tomorrow.

Unless you have been previously identified by ACPS staff as a highly qualified speaker the Board cannot hear your words.

Let the Parade of Sound Bytes go on without you.

If you want to speak publicly, do so at the BOS public comments on the budget.  They will at least hear your words and they will know every question that ATTA has asked and every answer given about the 2012 Funding Request before anyone even arrives.



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An Appeal for Assistance

Posted on January 30, 2012 by ATTANOW

The Albemarle Truth In Taxation Alliance will file a Virginia Freedom of Information Act Request with the Albemarle county Public Schools via email on Sunday, January 29, 2012.  If the request is not acknowledged by 2 PM on Monday January 30, 2012 the FOIA Request will be hand delivered to the offices of the Albemarle County Public Schools before the end of the business day.  The Request asks for the expedited delivery of the following items:

  • The ACPS School Funding Request at the line item detail level that has already been given to the School Board but has not been made available in print or electronically to the public.
  • The documentation that supports the Funding Request line items.
  • A Yes or No response as to whether the School Board has authorized any entities  to create new and/or use existing Virginia Code § 22.1-122.1. Accounts.  (If yes, will require a separate FOIA request)
  • The definition and methodology used by Albemarle County Public Schools staff in the preparation and by the School Board in the validation of the funding request so as to be “needs based”.

The School Superintendent and School Board Member have stated the 2012 Funding Request is “needs based”.  Therefore ACPS Administration set for staff the criteria to use in determining whether each line item is a ‘need’.  So the people must also be able to have the definition to see if they agree or disagree with how ‘need’ is determined.

Only with the line item level request, supporting documentation, the knowledge of any possible sub-budgets to be audited, and the definitions used by ACPS can the funding request be validated.  And even then it will be a daunting task.

ATTA NEEDS VOLUNTEERS

To Help From Home

Even before the people have access to the entire funding request we can start scrutinizing the currently available summary.

BUT

The Summary ACPS Superintendent’s Funding Request available online is an astounding 311 pages.

  1. The Overview 51 pages
  2. Revenues 7 pages
  3. Operational Expenses 62 pages
  4. Self Sustaining Financials 76 pages
  5. Budget Data Analysis 53 pages
  6. Supporting Documents 62 pages

If a summary is 311 pages, then how big is the full version of the 2012 Superintendent’s Funding Request going to be?

We need to get started with the summary and when available take the full Funding Request and print it, divide it, read and validate every page of it – Before the Board Of Supervisors VOTE

ATTA Needs Your Immediate Help

  • You can help from home. If ACPS will not put it online like ATTA has requested, we will drive a few pages to you
  • You can inform others who are concerned, by forwarding this and asking for their help.
  • You must contact anyone you know without Internet access. They must be told, be heard, and they can help us analyze.
  • You do not need to have a finance or accounting background. Isn’t it better to at least be given the stink test by a sensible citizen than to have no one look at all.
  • We must work to do all the validation we can before the BOS final funding vote on April 4, 2012
  • The volume is too great for three or four volunteers

If the funding request is truly just ‘needs’
then we should all support it wholeheartedly.

But if it is full of waste, not needs, and you do not help vet the details of the funding request, who will?

Do not ignore the problem – Be part of the solution

To volunteer to read a section of the summary or full funding
request at home email truthintaxation@yahoo.com

But we can not vet it if we are not allowed to see it

ATTA hopes to report the FOIA Request has been met in the
ATTA Truth on Tuesday Report

 

 


School Board Emails 

dmckeel2@k12albemarle.org Diantha McKeel               Jack Jouett

pmoynihan@k12albemarle.org Pamela Moynihan            Rio

buyaki@k12albemarle.org Jason Buyaki                         Rivanna

estrucko@k12albemarle.org Eric Strucko                    Samuel Miller

skolesza@k12albemarle.org Steven Koleszar               Scottsville

bmassie@k12albemarle.org Barbara Massie-Mouly       Whitehall

ngallaway@k12albemarle.org Ned Gallaway                   At-large

jjohnston@k12albemarle.org Jennifer Johnston            Clerk of the School Board

schoolboard@k12albemarle.org The entire School Board
 

Board of Supervisor Emails

dsrooker@earthlink.net Dennis Rooker            Jack Jouett

rthomas@albemarle.org Rodney Thomas              Rio

kboyd@albemarle.org Ken Boyd                         Rivanna

dsnow@albemarle.org Duane Snow                   Samuel Miller

cdumler@gmail.com Chris Dumler                     Scottsville

amallek@albemarle.org Ann Mallek                    Whitehall

bos@albemarle.org The entire Board



 

 



 

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