South Country schools address overspending at Board of Education meeting
The school district was already reporting financial issues during last year's budget season before last month's announcement that it overspent the budget.
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South County Superintendent of Schools Antonio Santana addressed the community at a Board of Education workshop about the district's spending beyond what it had allocated for the current school year.
At the meeting, it was revealed that the district overspent by $3.49 million, in part due to unanticipated expenses in transportation and special education. No fraud or theft was found while reviewing expenses, stated John Belmonte.
The meeting comes in the middle of an ongoing external probe into the district's finances that the board authorized earlier this month.
Last month, the district sent a letter to the community alerting them that their expenses exceeded the amount that had been budgeted. Officials still have not provided an exact amount or said where the money went.
South Country parent Kerim Odekon has been a vocal critic of the school board and has repeatedly called on the district to be more transparent.
"We need a plan that's going to ensure our children's educational futures while being responsible to taxpayers and the community at large," he said.
Odekon is one of more than 150 community members who sent a letter to New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office calling for a state-level independent investigation.
A spokesperson for the school district acknowledged the letter, adding: "If the comptroller does move forward with such a review, the district will, of course, fully cooperate in that effort."
In the meantime, the South Country Board of Education hired a forensic auditor to look into the district's finances at its meeting on Oct. 8.
Community members have raised concerns about how the overspending could impact their taxes during this upcoming budget season and what it means for their kids' education.
"It's destabilizing for our teachers and ruins their morale, and it does the same for the children," South Country schools parent Thad O'Neil said.
As News 12 reported, the district was already facing a tough fiscal outlook last year as it went through difficult rounds of budget negotiations.
Last spring, voters approved the district's $147 million spending plan that cut 51 positions, including teachers, librarians, teaching assistants, safety officers and a custodian.
"We don't want to be in the same place next April to hear that more people are going to be cut, more things will be squeezed," South Country schools parent Abena Asare said. "That's why we're trying to address this now."
At that time, school officials blamed a combination of unforeseen spending increases, declining student enrollment and a loss of federal funds for the cuts.
