Speechless

First off I want to make something very clear. Gina Johnson is far from anyone who would misappropriate funds. For that to be even mentioned is disgraceful. She works very hard for that school and the kids .

Additionally, Campbell recommended Athletic Director Gina Johnson turn over money for deposit on a weekly basis, rather than biweekly or monthly as has been done.
“Any delay between the collecting and turning over of receipts increases the risk that these funds could be misappropriated,” the auditors wrote in a management letter for the district.

I warned you it would get worst .. and here you are. She took complete control of fiances when she came in  and the SB allowed it to happen. Templeton warned you to watch the budget and not allow her to manage  and you allowed her to be in control of financial management. No records , no logs , and than a treasurer is put on one day while Miller, Bacon,Perry and Healy all get hefty raises and teachers are without jobs and the school is in quicksand  What do you see wrong here????
That extra money could of been used for the lunch deficit, yet was pocketed instead . Listen it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the way these logs have been done its easy to pocket alot of cash. Follow the money.If you can't see it I can't make you understand it. PVRS is dying just like Templeton was and little by little they are crawling out and if something isn't done soon this is gonna sink deeper than quicksand.





Open your eyes taxpayers or get ready for some hefty tax prices. While your at it smarten up and remove them on the SB quickly they are not working for you .

 









NORTHFIELD — Though Pioneer Valley Regional School District started fiscal year 2016 with a $381,414 structural budget deficit, the district managed to close the year in the black.
But financial management at the district is weak and could lead to other unforeseen budget problems, auditors told school officials recently.
Tanya Campbell and Patrice Squillante of Melanson Heath, the accounting and tax firm responsible for auditing Pioneer for the past two years, came before the School Committee Thursday to discuss the district’s budgetary weaknesses in the 2015-2016 school year, as well as ways to improve financial management.
Hearing about the structural budget deficit alarmed community members during a recent budget subcommittee meeting, but Thursday’s meeting allowed the auditors to explain the situation to a room of about 50 community members.
“You had voted an operating budget that was higher than your sources (of income) by this $380,000,” Squillante told the committee.”

By shifting about $200,000 worth of costs to the School Choice fund, and underspending “in a number of categories across the board,” such as administration and instruction, by almost $300,000, Squillante said the district ended that school year with a net income of about $25,000.
When considering how such a turnaround could have occurred, School Committee member Martha Morse said she recalled Superintendent Ruth Miller freezing spending in fall 2015.
“That, in essence, prevented us from going under,” Morse theorized.
“I think that’s a fair conclusion,” Squillante replied.
Reconciling the ledgerHowever, the district isn’t out of the woods either, based on the auditors’ review. In particular, Campbell said controls in the treasurer’s office worsened from one year to the next.
In FY16, the treasurer tracked cash flow in a manual ledger that didn’t adequately distinguish between bank accounts, Campbell said. A manual ledger, she continued, allows for more errors, especially considering the district’s numerous transactions.
And now, the new treasurer, Kelly Jones, who works only one day each week, is behind in tracking the accounts.
“Our understanding is that there’s no formal cash flow being recorded in 2017,” Campbell said. “Bank reconciliations have not been done since June 2016.”
Campbell recommended employing outside help, which Miller hopes to arrange through the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
“We can’t stress the urgency of needing to do this sooner rather than later, having gone this long without any reconciliations in place,” Campbell said. “You really don’t have a good handle on where things ended in 2017 … If things aren’t OK, it’s better to know that sooner than later.”
More room for improvementThe increasing school lunch deficit also continues to be a problem for the district. Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy advised the deficit was $249,000 at the end of July.
To add buffer room into the budget, Squillante advised increasing the unassigned general fund balance, which was $113,000, or less than 1 percent of the budget, in FY16. Up to 5 percent can be unassigned, she said, recommending the district try to “restore some of that surplus.”
In the case of the Athletic Department, Campbell said the two “found a couple areas where improvement could be made.” She found no formal receipt log was maintained to track money coming in, nor were the department’s records formally reconciled to the general ledger.
Additionally, Campbell recommended Athletic Director Gina Johnson turn over money for deposit on a weekly basis, rather than biweekly or monthly as has been done.
“Any delay between the collecting and turning over of receipts increases the risk that these funds could be misappropriated,” the auditors wrote in a management letter for the district.
Miller said Johnson has heard the auditors’ recommendations and has already implemented them.
Another budgeting weakness that persisted from FY15 involved the auditors being unable to find a comprehensive budget document, suggesting a one-page summary of uses and funds. However, such a document is something Miller is working to fine-tune.