State to audit Wachusett schools' cash flow, with goal of cutting borrowing costs
By Sandy Meindersma CORRESPONDENTHOLDEN — The state auditor's office will examine the cash flow of the Wachusett Regional School District after a preliminary meeting with district staff later this week.
The audit, which will cost no more than $10,000, will cover cash flows for fiscal years 2011, 2012 and 2013. According to the letter of engagement sent by the state auditor's office, an analysis of the district's use of revenue anticipation notes and bond anticipation notes will be included.
Superintendent Darryll McCall said the school committee wanted the audit to determine if there was a way to save money on short-term borrowing expenses.
A revenue anticipation note is a short-term loan that allows the school district to meet its financial obligations as they occur in anticipation of money that will be received later in the school year. A bond anticipation note is also a short-term loan, typically repaid with bond proceeds, that is usually used for capital projects before the larger, long-term bond has been sold.
Short-term borrowing costs for the district are $220,000 for fiscal 2014.
"What we are trying to do is to see if there was a way to use our RANs differently, and what are our options moving forward," Mr. McCall said.
Mr. McCall acknowledged the district towns had requested a forensic audit to determine how the district overspent its budget by more than $1.2 million in fiscal 2012, but said the $100,000 cost was prohibitive.
"They (the state auditor's office) can still go through our books and identify what happened, but we know what happened: Peter (former business manager Peter Brennan) used an Excel spreadsheet instead of Munis," he said. Munis is software designed for public sector accounting.
"What we are trying to do now is tighten up our systems, so these kinds of errors don't happen in the future," he said.
Well it looks like we are not alone with money problems, but how can anyone over spend by 1.2 million in one year ?? I suppose we could have done that if the voters of our town, were dumb enough to vote to build 252 at the special town meeting we had this past fall. I got heckled at that meeting but that is ok with me, because I knew I was right. We simply can not afford more debt, and that is what it would have been, another mill stone around our necks. What bothers me most of all is having Ms. Wilder trying to deflect any responsibility for the money problems we have when she and Mr. Columbus had a hand in making them, while they were the people who put unqualified people in important positions. I do not understand why the DOR did not tell Wachusett's business manager not to use a Excell spreadsheet, or tell Scott Sawyer to use a computer system that had checks and balances? If they had, the problems could have been found without going to a forensic auditor to spend money and time trying to figure out the mess he left us. You might ask your self why our friends at Echo Hill would go to such extremes to have 252 made into a town building, especially when out town is in such a mess.? There is no doubt in my mind that these people know better than anyone else the state of Templeton's finances, seeing that Mr. Skelton had ten years in office to get us there. So, what would the motive be to push the town deeper in debt by offering us a deal we could not refuse,,"Only 135,000. a year !!", and not one person asked for how many years, So what is wrong with this picture ?? This is my opinion Bev.
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