By James Lomuscio
The Westport school board and town government can work together to find savings and be more efficient, “but separation is paramount,” Donald O’Day, chairman of the Board of Education, said tonight.
Don O’Day: “separation is paramount.” Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
“We have to do it in a way that is beneficial to school children and the taxpayers and in accordance with state law,” O’Day said at the first board meeting after a six-week summer break.
That consensus was reiterated by board members and Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon throughout the evening as the board responded to a report entitled “Internal Audit Report: Procurement Town of Westport and Westport Public Schools” by the town’s internal auditor, Lynn Scully.
True, efficiencies can be learned and savings gleaned, they said, but there is a fine line between cooperation and surrendering autonomy in violation of state law. Connecticut statute requires local school boards operate independently of municipal governments, answering only to the State Department of Education.
“We’re not trying to hide behind Chapter 10, the state regulation, we’re trying to live by it,” said James Marpe, school board vice chairman.
Nancy Harris, the school system’s assistant superintendent of business, detailed key elements of the 35-page audit report compiled over six months by Scully and presented last month to the Board of Finance and other town bodies, as well as the school board.
Scully, who was hired by the Board of Finance and who reports only to its members, asked the school board to respond by Friday, but O’Day said the board will decide the timetable of its response.
According to Harris, the report details everything from fuel and electricity costs to vendors to service contracts to purchasing.
Among the report’s recommendations were quarterly meetings among Harris, the town’s Finance Director John Kondub and the town’s purchasing officer to discuss “opportunities for joint procurement during the fiscal year.”
Regarding professional service contracts, the audit found “there appears to be no documentation of procedures in place to track town and school system contracts, which could result in missed opportunities to opt out of automatic renewal clauses.”
“It is recommended that this monitoring function be included in the responsibilities of the Town’s Purchasing Officer,” the report states.
“The town’s purchasing officer does not have authority,” said Landon. “That flies in the face of statutory separation of town governments and school districts.”
Another recommendation involved the school system and the town considering the joint purchase of electricity since it amounts to 10 percent of the total town budget.
The report notes that the town’s five-year contract with TransCanada expires on Jan. 1, 2012 and the school system’s three-year contract with Constellation New Energy expires on Dec. 1, 2012.
Harris said the school board had negotiated better rates with its supplier than the town had with theirs.
School board member Mark Mathias said he did not want to create the perception “that it’s us vs. them.”
“How can we say, ‘Look people, it’s all the same taxpayers’ money when it comes to buying these kilowatt hours?’” he asked.
In her letter at the opening of the report, Scully noted that the audit’s intention was to help town and school officials identify “opportunities” for “strengthened controls and efficiencies.”
“Several of the recommendations included in this report will require worthwhile commitments of time and effort to implement and are intended to result in a stronger control environment,” she said.
The second agenda item of the evening was a discussion about the school board switching from Anthem Blue Cross to Cigna beginning Sept 1 for a savings of $500,000 annually while maintaining the same health benefits for teachers, said Landon.
He said the town could not net the same kind of savings since its union contracts do not allow a switch from Anthem.
