Marty
06-24-2005, 07:31 PM
Vallejo, CA -- hough it met the letter of the law, the Solano County Office of Education did not help prevent financial storms in local school districts, the Solano County Grand Jury reported.
The county should use a more aggressive approach, and take "prompt, insistent and decisive action" to help school districts in fiscal distress, the grand jury recommended in a report issued Thursday. In the past five years, three of six Solano districts, including Vallejo and Benicia, have wrestled with budget problems.
In addition, the grand jury also recommends school board members do a better job in keeping their eye on finances, and receive better training.
In a Times-Herald interview Thursday, Vallejo school board member Bill Pendergast said trustees are elected to set policy, not be experts. "To criticize board members for not being trained or to be financial wizards is absurd," Pendergast said.
Jurors recommend the county office of education make training available to all candidates seeking office before their election, and then publicize the names of those who have completed the training.
Benicia school board member Rhea Zaks said trustees can get trained through the California School Boards Association, but at a price. She said Benicia cut training funds several years ago.
The jury's report comes a year after the Vallejo school district's state bail-out loan and take-over, and as Benicia and Vacaville districts
struggle to stay financially afloat. As those problems have arisen, the county "appears to have met legal requirements for fiscal oversight, but was not aggressive in requiring school district administrations and school boards to address the fiscal condition of their school districts," jurors report.
County Superintendent Dee Alarcon was not available for comment. Spokeswoman Nola Lionberger said the agency fulfilled its responsibilities as spelled out in the California Education Code.
Lionberger said the county strives to support local districts, and they are always welcome to ask for advice and assistance.
"We don't want to be viewed as policemen. We're not sure becoming more aggressive is the right course of action," Lionberger said.
Serious questions about the county oversight of the Vallejo City Unified School District have been raised over the last two years.
Alarcon did not make a required appearance in September of 2003 to the Vallejo school board to report that the county had rejected the school district's budget. Instead, Alarcon met with the board in December, two months after former Vallejo Superintendent Gladys Phillips-Evans reported that the budget was on solid footing.
Lionberger said county staff admitted they erred, but believed they were keeping district staff well informed through letters and phone calls.
Soon afterward, the public learned Vallejo's flush revenue projections were off by millions, and the district was, in fact, in a deep deficit. The county's rejection of Vallejo's deficit-laden budget led to the state bail-out.
California Education Code requires county offices of education to oversee the school district budgets, and provides a specific course of action to follow if budgets plunge into the red.
After the Vallejo school district received its loan, a new state law strengthened the county's oversight role.
- E-mail Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@thnewsnet.com
The county should use a more aggressive approach, and take "prompt, insistent and decisive action" to help school districts in fiscal distress, the grand jury recommended in a report issued Thursday. In the past five years, three of six Solano districts, including Vallejo and Benicia, have wrestled with budget problems.
In addition, the grand jury also recommends school board members do a better job in keeping their eye on finances, and receive better training.
In a Times-Herald interview Thursday, Vallejo school board member Bill Pendergast said trustees are elected to set policy, not be experts. "To criticize board members for not being trained or to be financial wizards is absurd," Pendergast said.
Jurors recommend the county office of education make training available to all candidates seeking office before their election, and then publicize the names of those who have completed the training.
Benicia school board member Rhea Zaks said trustees can get trained through the California School Boards Association, but at a price. She said Benicia cut training funds several years ago.
The jury's report comes a year after the Vallejo school district's state bail-out loan and take-over, and as Benicia and Vacaville districts
struggle to stay financially afloat. As those problems have arisen, the county "appears to have met legal requirements for fiscal oversight, but was not aggressive in requiring school district administrations and school boards to address the fiscal condition of their school districts," jurors report.
County Superintendent Dee Alarcon was not available for comment. Spokeswoman Nola Lionberger said the agency fulfilled its responsibilities as spelled out in the California Education Code.
Lionberger said the county strives to support local districts, and they are always welcome to ask for advice and assistance.
"We don't want to be viewed as policemen. We're not sure becoming more aggressive is the right course of action," Lionberger said.
Serious questions about the county oversight of the Vallejo City Unified School District have been raised over the last two years.
Alarcon did not make a required appearance in September of 2003 to the Vallejo school board to report that the county had rejected the school district's budget. Instead, Alarcon met with the board in December, two months after former Vallejo Superintendent Gladys Phillips-Evans reported that the budget was on solid footing.
Lionberger said county staff admitted they erred, but believed they were keeping district staff well informed through letters and phone calls.
Soon afterward, the public learned Vallejo's flush revenue projections were off by millions, and the district was, in fact, in a deep deficit. The county's rejection of Vallejo's deficit-laden budget led to the state bail-out.
California Education Code requires county offices of education to oversee the school district budgets, and provides a specific course of action to follow if budgets plunge into the red.
After the Vallejo school district received its loan, a new state law strengthened the county's oversight role.
- E-mail Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@thnewsnet.com