Line Item Transfers

During the course of school year the Longmeadow School Committee routinely makes a series of line item transfers to modify the allocation of budgeted monies.  These changes are usually developed by the SC Finance Sub-Committee and then presented to the full SC and adopted without much discussion.  SC meeting minutes usually do not include the details and only reference a document that is called FY2012 General Fund Revision #__ or FY2012 Grant/ Special Revenues Revision #__.

At the SC meeting last Monday night (12/12/11) there was an agenda item to discuss and approve three General Fund line item transfers- two of which included movement of budget dollars to be utilized for purposes different than originally targeted.

Here is an outline of the three line item transfers as best I could understand from the discussion...

Transfer #1-  Transfer $2500 from Williams Middle School "supplies" line item for the purchase of 5 new Apple iPads.
Transfer #2- Correct line item mistake for a Bookkeeper salary (simple entry error)
Transfer #3- Transfer $47,000 from two "salary" line items to be used for the purchase of 2 MacBook computer carts.

I credit new committee member Jim Desrochers for initiating a more thorough discussion of Transfers #1 and #3.  Without this discussion much of the detail would have been missing from public view.

Below are the highlights:

1. Williams Middle School received 2 iPad carts (50 iPads) as part of a larger School Dept technology purchase.  They now want 5 more iPads to be used by teachers to develop lesson plans and not have to share with students and worry about having to recharge them after they had been used all day in the classroom.  Transfer #1 takes $2500 originally allocated to supplies and moves it to purchase computer hardware.
   
   
2. LEEF provided grant money to Center/ Wolf Swamp ES for the purchase of 2 MacBook computer carts.  However, this money was used to fund the purchase of 4 -iPad carts (25 iPads each, total = 100) rather than being used for the intended purpose.  Teachers at Center and Wolfswamp Schools objected to this "repurposing" of LEEF funds so a transfer of funds of $47K from two budgeted salary lines is being proposed to correct the "error" and purchase 2 MacBook computer carts.  The 4- iPad carts will remain at Center School and Wolfswamp schools to be used in classrooms.
   
   According to the Superintendent Doyle, there was some miscommunication between the schools and the IT department about what type of "computing devices" were to be purchased.  Since the money used was provided by LEEF for a specific purpose, there is a need to purchase the two MacBook computer carts.
   
   
3. Mr. Desrochers asked an interesting question:
   If Transfer #3 is needed to correct a mistake because 100 iPads were purchased by "mistake", then why is there is a need to purchase 5 additional iPads (Transfer #1)?
   
   It was explained by Superintendent Doyle that taking 5 iPads from the carts would cause problems with not having enough iPads per classroom and interfere with instruction.

Below is a LCTV video clip (courtesy of LCTV) with the discussion that accompanied this agenda item.

It is worth watching this short video clip to hear additional comments by Ms. Jester and Mr. Desrochers.  Here are a couple of quotes...

Mr. Desrochers stated...  "technology is a thing that everyone is focused on... but it might not be the right thing to spend our money on"

In closing remarks on this subject, Ms. Jester said:  "we need to be cognizant of the expectation by the community that we do not see unexpended funds as kind of a 'candy shop' and a new way to spend money... there is an expectation that we will turn back unexpended funds at the end of the year."

The three proposed General Fund line item transfers were approved by the SC.

Let's hope that this latest series of line item transfers is not the beginning of how the School Committee plans to fund the School Department's growing appetite for new technology!

Longmeadow Town Manager and School Superintendent Contracts

As I mentioned in my previous post, the current negotiated employment contracts for the Town Manager and School Superintendent were not found at Storrs Library but I was able to obtain copies via a request to Town Hall. Both contracts are public documents.

Here are links to these contracts…

Town Manager- dated March 25, 2009

• Current contract was signed on 3/25/09 is effective until 6/30/12. 
• Initial salary of $99,031/ year through 6/30/10. Merit increases and other compensation may be awarded at the discretion of the Select Board.
  (There were no merit or other compensation increases for FY11.)
• Includes 4 weeks vacation, 12 days of sick leave (which can be accumulated up to a max of 150 days). Also included are 3 personal days/year (no carryover or accumulation) and 12 paid holidays.
• There is a car allowance of $200/ month, $2500/ year tax deferred compensation, up to $2500 for professional development and payment of dues for professional memberships.

School Superintendent- dated March 30, 2010

• This new contract is for three years effective 7/01/10 with an initial starting salary of $155,000/year.
• Evaluation every year (June 30) with the potential of an annual increase based upon performance.
• 5 weeks vacation (carryover 5 days/ year), 15 sick days (carryover max of 45 days), 12 paid holidays, 2 personal days, 3 bereavement days per year.
• Monthly expenses for a cell phone/ Blackberry electronic device are paid.

Comments

According to the above contract, the School Superintendent’s salary was finalized on March 30 yet the FY2011 school department budget provided to town voters at the Annual Town Meeting showed a line item of $135,000 even though the actual contract salary at the time was $155,000. This is a 25.4% increase over the $123,000 paid to our recently retired school superintendent.

Why were town voters mislead by the School Committee as to new superintendent’s salary particularly given a budget that was achieved in part with a new teachers contract having a 0.0% COLA?

Comparison of school superintendent salaries in East Longmeadow ($130,000- FY11) and Wilbraham-Hampden Regional School District ($135,000- FY10) suggests that $135,000 was a competitive salary for our region and towns with similar characteristics.

Based upon the current salary structure for Longmeadow teachers, our new superintendent is getting paid more than twice the highest paid teacher in the school system.

Our new superintendent is also being paid at a salary that is 57% higher than our current Town Manager.

Town employee salaries are a very large part of our town budget. The current Longmeadow teacher contracts expire next summer so teacher salaries including COLAs (as well as other town employees) will be a significant factor in achieving a balanced budget for FY2012. Police and fire fighters are still in collective bargaining for a new contract.

It should be an interesting upcoming budget process.

P.S. The TM and School Superintendent's contracts should be included with the other contracts available at Storrs Library.