Ex-Dist. 207 superintendent Morris: I didn't mismanage

As the former superintendent of District 207, I have read and heard accusations that the current financial crisis in District 207 is the result of mismanagement that occurred while I was the superintendent.

I resent being blamed for actions and decisions that were initiated this year after I retired and, I decline to accept the blame for actions by the members of the Board of Education and the administration since I retired. I want to set the record straight.

The current financial difficulties are related primarily to the action of the tax cap which significantly reduced property tax revenue to all taxing bodies.

District 207 receives most of its revenue from property taxes. The calculation of this revenue is directly related to the Consumer Price Index which is determined based on the December computation each year.

For the 2009-2010 school year, the Consumer Price Index that was computed in December 2008, was 0.1 percent. In prior months in 2008 the CPI had ranged from 3 percent to nearly 5 percent. An increase of 0.1% might be good for consumers but it is very difficult to operate a business with essentially no increased revenue.

The Board of Education was aware of this situation and received presentations in 2008 and 2009 by PMA, the district financial consultant, identifying short and long-range budget issues.

In addition, the Board members receive a monthly update from district staff. In the year before I retired, I provided the members of the Board of Education options in order to begin the process of dealing with the projected operating deficit.

This included administrative reductions, extracurricular program reduction and the deferral of school construction at all three high schools. Projects proposed for deferral included the installation of artificial turf and lights at the Maine South football stadium; the replacement of windows and renovation at Maine East; and the installation of new football scoreboards at all three buildings.

The Board of Education chose to proceed with these projects and publicly approved these projects recognizing that these expenditures would reduce the district surplus which was over $100 million. Comments from board members were that the surplus needed be reduced and that the district maintained the surplus for a rainy day.

One circumstance identified by the media that had a significant impact on school finances was the negotiated collective bargaining agreement with the teachers. That settlement was finalized before the current financial crisis occurred; it was approved by a majority of the Board of Education and two of the board members served on the negotiations team. It was comparable to the settlements in other school districts.

Another proposed cause of the current financial crisis for which I am being blamed is the charge that a significant accounting error was made and that this led to the financial problems.

Since this accounting error was identified after I retired and I was never briefed on it, I find it troublesome that no member of the current administration or member of the Board of Education has brought it to my attention.

Further, every year in the early fall, the members of the Board of Education receive a public presentation of the district audit. If that error existed, it was not been publicized in the media until very recently and no explanation of this "error" has been provided.

I have to conclude that this is an effort to shift blame to me rather than honestly accepting responsibility for the decision to reduce staff when the teachers union refused to reopen the contract.

With respect to the charge that the district during the 2008-2009 school year added staff positions which created the deficit, it is accurate these staff were added at the request of the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, who is the current superintendent, and at the specific request of members of the Board of Education.

Staff members were added as instructional coordinators, attendance office coordinators and to assist in the area of technology. The hiring of these additional staff was approved by the Board of Education.

While this had an impact on the school district budget, the hiring of 10 teachers would cost approximately $750,000, not $5 million which has been reported in some articles.

Finally, we need to recognize that even with the reduced revenue, District 207 has over $100 million in reserves, which is far more than any surrounding school district. While some expenditure reductions are necessary because of the current economic situation, a reduction in these reserves would seem reasonable.

A misconception is that the superintendent makes all of the decisions when the reality is that all recommendations need to be approved by the members of the Board of Education.

As a Park Ridge resident; a former Maine South student and teacher; a former District 207 administrator and a District 207 parent, I feel strongly that the ongoing review of options and discussion of the economic situation should focus on solutions - rather than becoming a search based upon inaccurate and incomplete information that is only useful to identify scapegoats to be given the blame and represents a failure by current board members and administrators to accept full responsibility for their decision to eliminate staff positions.

Joel W. Morris

Park Ridge