Garden State Patriot

The amount of money New Jersey taxpayers pony up is bad enough, but this ought to just make you angry.

DeCROCE GRILLS EDUCATION COMMISSIONER
ON QUESTIONABLE SPENDING BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS  

TAX DOLLARS USED TO FUND CLOWN SCHOOL, FLYING LESSONS, TRIPS TO RESORT DESTINATIONS – EVEN BRASS APPLES 

            As school districts throughout the state grapple with budget cuts resulting in layoffs, school closings and reduced funds for extra curricular activities, some continue to spend tax dollars on questionable and frivolous items, such as trips to resorts, gourmet meals and gifts for teachers.

            At today’s hearing by the Assembly Budget Committee, Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce will question State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy about instances of questionable spending practices and why they are still seen despite her previous assurances that improvements would be made.

            “At a time when people are struggling to make ends meet and denying themselves even simple amenities, it is outrageous that some school districts believe that they are entitled to travel and eat at places that most people only dream about,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic.  “In today’s economy, one has to question why we are spending taxpayer dollars on things that have no educational value.  People who cannot pay their mortgage or utility bills will understandably be upset when they learn of the ways money is being squandered.”

            DeCroce said an examination of vouchers from a sampling of school districts that were obtained under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) demonstrate a need for stronger monitoring of expenditures by the state, which has provided billions of dollars in state aid, with the largest share going to Abbott districts.

            “While there is some good news that conditions have improved in a few areas, the bad news is that there are still school districts spending taxpayer money on trips to places like Miami, Palm Springs, New Orleans, and Orlando,” continued DeCroce.  “And they are staying at posh hotels such as the Four Seasons and Royal Sonesta.  Apparently certain districts haven’t heard that everyone is tightening their belts, and that they must do the same.

       “Far too many students in these districts are still lacking in the basic skills such as reading and math,” said DeCroce. “What this analysis indicates is that we must have even greater oversight and accountability to guarantee that the billions of dollars we spend on education are spent wisely and in the classroom.”

            Beginning in February, Assembly Republicans submitted OPRA requests to 11 school districts throughout the state. Three districts – Willingboro, Tenafly, and Hoboken – were non-responsive to the initial and follow up requests. Two districts – Teaneck and Pemberton – did not exhibit instances of wasteful spending.  However, numerous examples of highly questionable spending were evident in Camden, Newark, Cherry Hill, and Plainfield.

             “At a time when most districts are being forced to drastically reduce spending, it is incumbent on those receiving additional funding to recognize their responsibility for budgeting wisely,” continued DeCroce. “Unfortunately, we are still seeing too many instances where that lesson has not been learned.  For several years we have heard that oversight would become a high priority within the DOE.  These examples of waste suggest that this issue still is not being vigilantly monitored. ”

            Some notable examples of imprudent spending occurred in Newark, where $25,000 was allocated for eight students to take flight lessons, and $1,400 was spent for a workshop on Clown Arts. At this seminar students were taught balancing, juggling, and the history and challenges of clowning.

            Taxpayers are also paying $10,000 just to film each installment of the Newark School Superintendent’s monthly cable television show, and that teachers in Newark can be compensated at the doctorate level as long as they have obtained a Masters Degree and 30 additional credits. Actual completion of the course work is not required.

            And while Camden was purchasing engraved bells to ring on the opening day of school in 2007 and buying insulated lunch bags and brass apples for its teachers, Plainfield was spending taxpayer dollars to send students to a dude ranch in New York.

EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONABLE EXPENDITURES

BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Four years ago, Assembly Republicans identified egregious examples of waste and abuse of taxpayer money in certain school districts. Since then, noticeable improvement has been made, but clearly the problem continues. We recognize school staff can benefit by attending some out-of-state conferences. However, in this economy, the costs of these events, the number of people who attend, and the expenses they incur while there remain cause for serious concern. Some expenditures may not seem to be an exorbitant, given the magnitude of a district’s budget and state aid allotment. However, the cumulative cost and the message it sends to the taxpayers, who are struggling to make ends meet, should be considered in advance. The selected examples of questionable spending that follow demonstrate a need for greater oversight of taxpayer money:

DISCRETIONARY SPENDING

Camden - The district paid $219 dollars to buy water bottles and key tags for teachers. The expenditure provides no educational benefit to students.

Camden - Retiring teachers received custom engraved brass apples from the school district at a total cost of $3,860. Although the teachers’ union absorbed part of the cost, we believe the funds could have been put to better use.

Camden - Fifty teachers received red enameled brass apples at a cost of $1,980.

Camden -  The district spent $880 to buy 40 engraved bells to ring on the opening day of school in September 2007.

Camden -  The district spent $164 to buy 30 photograph holders and 45 apple candles for certain teachers.

Camden - The district spent $444 to buy 100 teachers customized stationary that says “Kids Are Our Business.”

Camden - The district bought staffers insulated lunch bags and a welcome back “boutique of gifts” at a cost of $339.

Camden - The district paid an outside law firm $1,600 for “spreadsheet work.”

Cherry Hill – The district paid $1,440 for professional dry cleaning of choir robes.

Newark -  The district paid $750 to buy “Barry Bonds High Top” sneakers for 20 students.

Newark -  The Superintendent has his own television show at a cost of approximately $10,000 per episode – just for the taping.

Newark - An internal audit shows that a high school principal used his school letterhead to solicit staff to attend a political event.

Newark - The district hired a Cheerleading Consultant. We are not certain that this expenditure is justifiable.

Paterson - The district pays one law firm very well. One of the firm’s attorneys bills at $535 per hour, and another bills at $405 an hour, which is well beyond the usual $150-$200 range for school attorneys. The attorney who bills at $535 per hour charged the district one hour to research the owner of a local newspaper and leave a message for the newspaper’s attorney.

TRAVEL COSTS

Camden - During a taxpayer funded-trip to Orlando, a Camden school board member ran up dinner bills that included one filet mignon, three cheese cakes, a shrimp cocktail, and a grilled salmon.

Cherry Hill - In October 2008, an employee stayed at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles at cost of over $200 per night. While there, the employee ordered a $12 artichoke and an $18 shrimp entrée.

Cherry Hill - While attending a conference in Atlanta in June 2008, employees enjoyed an evening at Hooters.

Cherry Hill - One of the same employees who went to Hooters felt the need to bill the taxpayers for a pack of strawberry Twizzlers ™. 

Cherry Hill - A pricey filet mignon was on the menu for Cherry Hill district employees while attending a conference in Atlanta.  A shrimp appetizer prefaced the meal.

Cherry Hill - An employee traveled to Orlando stayed in a $200 per night room at the Hilton.

Cherry Hill - An employee at a conference in Baltimore ordered a king crab entrée at a cost of $64 after tax.

Cherry Hill - Two employees attending an October 2007 conference in Virginia ate very well on the taxpayers’ dime. One enjoyed a dinner of surf and turf, while the other dined on an oyster sampler dish. Total cost of the meal was $93 before tip.

Cherry Hill - An employee’s stay in New York City cost over $301 per night. The conference was for Teachers to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).  The total hotel cost was $904.

Cerry Hill - The Atlanta Hilton saw revenues increase by $8,400, when 16 district staffers attended a conference in July 2008.

Cherry Hill - A conference in Orlando (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) cost taxpayers $1,617.40 for one person.

Newark - The district sent a staffer to the National Public Relations Conference, where the staffer enjoyed Chilean sea bass, which cost $27.95, and blackened salmon.

Newark - An employee went to San Francisco and enjoyed a dinner of “seafood cioppino.” The entrée cost taxpayers $29. 

Newark - While attending a conference in Jacksonville, Florida, an employee ordered a $25 crab cake entree.

Newark - While attending a conference in New Orleans, an employee enjoyed steak and eggs through room service at a total cost of $26.

Newark - Another employee staying in Fort Lauderdale called for room service and spent a total of $44 on a garlic chicken dinner.

Newark - An employee dined at the Top of the Mark restaurant in San Francisco and enjoyed a $19 “charcuterie.” 

Newark - Another employee dined on a petite filet mignon (medium rare) at $29 and a side order of mashed potatoes for $6. The very next day, she ate another filet mignon at $39.

Newark - Room service was the order of the day in Tampa, as an employee spent close to $30 of tax money on pasta and melon prosciutto.

Newark - Choosing to stay local, the district sent an employee to Atlantic City, where she ordered a Pork Tenderloin for $29 and Shrimp Scampi for $24.

Newark - An employee enjoyed some fine meals while attending a conference in Washington, DC, including a pork chop at $23, a crème Brule, a Chilean Sea Bass at $34, shrimp at $29, and a piece of lava cake.

Paterson - We note that Hooters is certainly popular, as a Paterson staffer had dinner there in March 2007 during a conference in Phoenix. The staffer’s choice of meal was crab legs.

Paterson - A staff member attended a conference in Palm Springs as required by a grant.

Paterson - During a conference in Cherry Hill, a Paterson staffer ordered a stuffed shrimp entrée at $23.

Plainfield - Two school board members and a staffer stayed at the posh Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, Florida for a “site visit” at a lodging cost of $2,204. The airfare to Miami ran $1,167 for a combined cost of $3,371.

Plainfield - A dinner receipt from a conference in Utah showed a $38 filet mignon, which was paid in full by the taxpayers.

Plainfield - The district spent $1,485 to buy 3 airline tickets to Utah. The individual ticket cost is approximately $500, which is well beyond the reasonable cost of $300.

Plainfield - The district lodged employees at the Canyons Grand Summit Hotel, which is a posh hotel deep in the heart of Utah’s largest ski and snowboard resort.

FOOD AND CATERING

Cherry Hill - The district bought teachers lunch at a cost of $250. On another occasion, the district bought teachers breakfast at a cost of $278.

Cherry Hill - A principal bought cookies for a meeting at a cost of $48.

Newark - This state-run school district seems to cater almost every meeting. In 2005-2006 alone, the district spent almost $800,000 to cater approximately 2,300 separate events. An internal audit stated that “nearly all […] food was served to district staff and other adults.” The same audit recommended that the district stop providing food for staff. An examination of catering vouchers for 2007 and 2008 showed the problem continues.

Newark - The district paid $562 to provide refreshments at three of the Superintendent’s general staff meetings.

Newark - Close to $300 was spent to cater a “staff development day.”

Newark - The district spent $450 to provide teachers a light dinner during a parent conference night.

Newark - In order to help faculty distribute report cards, the district bought them “submarine sandwiches” (hoagies) at $240 on one day and paid for dinner at a cost of $600 on another.

Newark - Three “Red velvet, rich chocolate, and carrot sheet cakes” were ordered for an advisory board meeting at a cost of $150.       

Newark - Catering services for Grandparents’ Day cost $150.

Newark - A parent-teacher conference in February 2008 cost $270. It included strawberry short cake. Records suggest that feeding teachers at such meetings is contractually required.

Newark - An internal audit stated, “it appear[s] that the Newark Public Schools were the primary or only customer of several caterers [emphasis added].”  The district frequently exceeded the public bidding threshold to cater their many events.

Plainfield - The district spent $1,250 for a “Back to School” breakfast for 100 teachers.

Plainfield - The district spent $200 to feed the social studies staff. 

Plainfield - The district cut various checks totaling $930 to provide food during school board meetings.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Cherry Hill - The district paid $1,200 for licensed teachers to take a course in “the art of note taking.” Although the district claims to have no control over the expenditure, we would hope that someone with a Masters Degree might already have such basic skills and that a better use for the money could be found.

Cherry Hill - The district paid $41,000 to one vendor to provide professional development to teachers. Credited classes cost $1,000 each.

Newark - A math consultant was paid $1,000 per day for five days to provide professional development to teachers. Total cost: $5,000.

Newark - The district paid a private company $2,500 for “Vista Training” for staff members.

Paterson - The district paid $1,294 for one teacher to take a Master’s level course at Fordham University.

Paterson - The district paid for two staffers to attend a course on “Male Empowerment.”

CURRICULUM

Newark - The district set aside $6,300 for a contract with a former member of the Newark City Council to facilitate athletic scheduling.

Newark - Eight students took professional flight lessons at a total taxpayer cost of $25,000.

Newark - The district spent $1,400 for seven sessions of a “Clown Arts Circus” workshop. The workshop taught balancing, juggling and the “history and challenges of clowning.”

STAFF BENEFITS

Newark - Teachers in Newark can be paid at the doctorate level as long as they have a Masters Degree and 30 more credits.  An actual Ph.D. or Ed.D. is not required.

Newark - An internal audit showed that certain newly hired employees were completing their paperwork for the district’s prescription drug plan at the union headquarters rather than the district offices. In order to prevent the appearance of collusion, there should be a separation between the district’s human resources matters and union business.

Newark - A January 2008 internal audit showed that over $3.2 million dollars in unnecessary health care premium benefits were paid by the district in 2006. Health coverage was provided to people who should not have received such benefits. With respect to one particular group of employees, the audit showed that 166 received health benefits long after their eligibility. One employee who was receiving benefits in 2006 was terminated in 1997.

# # # # #

A CHRONOLOGY OF WASTEFUL SPENDING

A FAILURE OF OVERSIGHT

2005

As part of its analysis of the state budget and state spending priorities, the Assembly Republican Office used the Open Public Record Act to file information requests with urban and suburban districts. The goal was to determine if the level of state aid received by these district is justified or whether significant sums of money are wasted. Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce announced a comprehensive review of vouchers submitted by officials demonstrated many have little, if any regard, for saving money.  

Public funds that could have been put to a better use in the classroom were instead used to fly district officials and employees to exotic locales including Copenhagen, Denmark; Barcelona, Spain; Oxford, England; Anchorage, Alaska; and the exclusive Garden of the Gods Country Club in Colorado Springs. Vouchers showed officials also traveled to Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Reno, San Antonio, Orlando, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Saint Louis, Atlanta and Milwaukee. Exorbitant sums of money were spent on expensive meals at four-star restaurants.  

The pattern of fiscal abuse was most pronounced in the Abbott school districts that were examined. State education officials acknowledge all travel outside the Mid-Atlantic region done by Abbott districts must be approved by state officials first. Gordon MacInnes, who was an assistant education commissioner at the time in charge of overseeing the Abbott districts, said some of the expenditures appear “lavish” but that these may be isolated abuses. He says it is very difficult for the state to monitor every expense in the Abbott districts, and he isn’t sure it would be worth the expense. “This is a very labor-intensive process,” he tells the Assembly Budget Committee on May 5th.  

State Education Commissioner William Librera tells the Assembly Budget Committee on May 5th that nearly $900,000 was provided by the Department of Education to all school districts for travel expenses. Librera says, in retrospect, the amount “sounds a little high.” Librera admits that while his department has the authority to deny travel requests by Abbott districts, some districts don’t take “no” for an answer. When the state learns of such instances, he says the department forces the district to reimburse the money.  

2006 

Members of the Assembly Budget Committee on May 9th tell then Acting Education Commissioner Lucille Davy that skyrocketing property taxes and wasteful school spending have infuriated taxpayers. Davy says the Department of Education is increasing financial oversight in the Abbott districts, which receive billions in state aid each year.  

Ensuring that education dollars are spent appropriately needs to be a major focus at the department, Davy tells the Senate Budget Committee on May 15th. “Our belief is that we need to do a better job across the board,” she says  

2007 

State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy tells the Senate Education Committee on February 26th that new rules may be needed to limit school district spending on non-educational expenses like flowers, food for meetings and employee travel. Her appearance was in response to independent audits of four Abbott districts that flagged thousands of dollars in questionable spending, including the payment of payroll checks to dead school employees. “We’ll ensure follow-up,” Davy promises. “I think that’s one of the areas we didn’t do such a good job of in the past.” 

Asked about the audits again during an appearance before the Assembly Budget Committee, especially the purchase of a $2,000 jukebox by the Newark school district, Davy says, “My responsibility as a commissioner is to make sure that people know that cannot continue.”

2008 

On April 30th, the state Department of Education releases a 205-page rulebook on how districts will handle money. “Given our economic challenges,” says state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, “it’s important that we focus on the efficient use of the resources that are available.” The state rules direct school districts to set annual spending limits on public relations, professional services and student activities. For its part, the department says it will order audits of school districts and appoint a state monitor to oversee finances, if necessary. 

The same week, independent audits of Abbott districts are released that question more than $83 million in spending. The auditors conclude that more than 25 cents of every dollar spent by the Abbott districts was unnecessary, excessive or lacking documentation. Some examples: Bridgeton spent more than $10,000 to send staff to conferences, including some in Atlanta, Ohio, Orlando and San Diego. Phillipsburg spent more than $15,000 to buy banners for its 100th anniversary football game and their 100th game with their arch rival in Easton, Pa. Asbury Park paid $4,280 for gold shirts and jackets for athletic coats. East Orange spent nearly $24,000 for laptop computers for board members. The Orange Board of Education spent $3,100 on a Christmas party for teachers and support staff. Davy says the new rules should stop some of these types of expenditures. “We see some places where controls are weak and things shouldn’t get through and others where maybe they shouldn’t be spending public money on those kinds of things,” Davy says.

Remember this the next time anyone claims that we don’t spend enough on education in this state.

Cross-posted at Red County.