'You have violated our trust'

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville school board members were told Wednesday morning they have violated the taxpayers' trust at a budget public hearing at New Holland Elementary School.

"If you're two or maybe five percent over budget you really have a problem and you have some explaining to do," taxpayer George Jones told board members. "When you're over 13 and a half percent over budget, that's unheard of."

Jones said the responsibility has got to fall on the administration.

"It's their responsibility to protect the taxpayers; the administration and the Board has a fiduciary responsibility to protect everybody in this room and they have not been protected and they have violated our trust."

To regain that trust, taxpayers told them to have an independent audit of system finances.

Board members agreed, while admitting the last state audit did not reveal that the city school system was several million dollars in the hole, requiring a school tax increase.

"The consensus overwhelmingly is for this board to move toward adopting an independent audit that is outside of our normal state audit," Board Chairman Sammy Smith said. "The second major consensus among the board members was to reduce spending."

Citizens kept asking where all the money went, and how the board can rebuild its FY 2009 spending plan with a June 30 deadline to turn it into the state.

School Board member David Syfan said capital expenses and teacher pay raises contributed to the budget shortfall combined with revenue losses totaling $5 to $6-million over the last two years.

"What's pretty stunning to me is that you're talking about $2-million to $3-million in each of those years," Syfan said. "I think its fair to say that the entire Board is upset as you are over this; we are not a very happy board at this point."
"These revelations of our financial condition have been pretty stunning for all of us."

Lenny Baker was critical of what she said was Superintendent Steve Ballowe's role in the system's financial woes.

"The Superintendent is in charge," she said, " and for him to have been ignorant of this for this length of time, then to call for higher taxes when he doesn't even live in the city, that just rubs me the wrong way."

"We as taxpayers are entitled to know where our hard earned money is going," Baker added.

A second hearing will be held Thursday night at 6:00 at Gainesville High School.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/5/210352