Lancaster schools must be more transparent. Buffalo News

[NY The Vampire State]

there are about 900 total employees of the district when you add it all up. what CEO of a 900 employee company with a $100,000,000 annual budget to manage makes $200,000? who would even want that job in lancaster with a mob after your head for 3 years now?

i understand that many districts turn over superintendents pretty regularly. i have no idea though how much of that is due to performance, or superintendents leaving for other opportunities, or what.

He's not the CEO of a company. He is head of a tax collecting arm that gets its money no matter what. A CEO must produce a good or service that convinces customers to willfully hand over money. A school superintendent has no similar accountability and no such responsibility. If you don't pay they bust down your door and take your house. Now you tell me what CEO has that ability.

[Neubs24]

You most certainly do include all costs related to a position to calculate your cost of services. I am not twisting stats.

My last sentence is the most important one.

[abc123]

He's not the CEO of a company. He is head of a tax collecting arm that gets its money no matter what. A CEO must produce a good or service that convinces customers to willfully hand over money. A school superintendent has no similar accountability and no such responsibility. If you don't pay they bust down your door and take your house. Now you tell me what CEO has that ability.

First of all, you are completely incorrect about the title of a CEO and what it must mean. Leaders of Non Profit or Not for Profit organizations also typically hold a CEO title.

The important point is that any leader of a typically sized organization is going to be compensated highly, typically more than a superintendent. Do you see a lot of positions where you are leading 900 people, 1/2 of those people having graduate degrees for substantially less than $200,000? Of course not. That is my point.

[krivas214]

Letter: Lancaster School District must be more transparent
By Staff
Published Tue, May 2, 2017

Lancaster School District must be more transparent

I understand that integrity is the backbone of strong leadership. Regrettably, New York State continues to struggle with issues of governmental ethics that can often sap our energy and progress. It is especially concerning when this occurs closest to home.

One recent case is the audit findings by the New York State Comptroller’s Office in the Town of Lancaster. In its financial review of the Lancaster School District, a number of troubling issues were brought to light. The audit revealed that the School Board and administration routinely overestimated budgetary expenditures by as much as $10 million annually in recent years. This, of course, impacts tax levies to an already beleaguered homeowner.

Further, the Comptroller’s Office determined that the district’s budgeting practices lacked transparency to town residents. Clearly, the latter relies on the former and is often the prerequisite to unethical behavior. We must hold public officials accountable at all levels in our state. The progress we have seen under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s programs cannot be sustained in an environment that lacks integrity in government. Let’s all pull together to ensure clean government.

Replying to this old post because the three amigos, as some of you like to refer to them, are like a dog with a bone regarding this audit info. It seems to be the last leg of their platform that they continue trying to drum up support with. Speaking as someone with a financial background,

A Few Words About the Budget and Reserve
Numbers require context to be properly understood. After a check of other audit reports for local school districts over the last several years, one thing is apparent…the Lancaster Central School District is doing a good job. For those interested, you can review audit reports for other school districts on the NYS Comptrollers website. This would be the same website that refers to the result of an audit as an “opinion”. For those interested in transparency, I believe the district hosts several public work sessions. Unfortunately, it is my understanding that the folks complaining the loudest about their taxes do not attend the very meetings where financial matters are discussed and decisions made. The kindest word I can find to describe that behavior is “illogical”.

Here are several findings made by the NYS Comptroller’s Office with regard to other school districts, although there are many more. To be specific, the following information DOES NOT APPLY to our district: district officials did not prepare accurate budgets for numerous fiscal years, district officials are in danger of depleting their remaining unrestricted fund balance, district officials did not properly analyze cash flow (which resulted in unnecessary short-term debt and interest costs), district officials have negligible surplus fund balances, district officials have improperly used reserve funds for unrelated operating costs, and finally….district officials do not have the requisite funds to manage unforeseen events. These examples demonstrate serious lapses by neighboring school districts that can adversely affect the fiscal soundness of an entire school district (and the entire community) for years to come. The good news is that NONE of these examples apply to the Lancaster Central School District.

So onto the Budget and Reserve Funds. The district has their budget presentation available to watch online. The Superintendent, as well as Jamie Phillips, also provided valuable background information with respect to the Reserve Funds: the number of Reserves, the names of the Reserves, which are mandated Reserves, NY State’s vague language regarding the balances, and so on. Furthermore, a review of the other local school districts’ audit reports quickly reveals a common theme. The Comptroller’s Office either says you have too much held in Reserve or sometimes too little. This is quite telling. What that says is that many districts question what the optimal amounts are to be held across Reserves. What are the standards to make sure that we have enough funds to manage through unforeseen events? NY State needs to develop, document and communicate clearer policies and guidelines for the collection and use of Reserve Funds.


While we may disagree on the balances held in the various reserve accounts or how much is appropriate to use to balance the budget, it is irresponsible to use this issue in an attempt to discredit the district.

[lord Geof]

Replying to this old post because the three amigos, as some of you like to refer to them, are like a dog with a bone regarding this audit info. It seems to be the last leg of their platform that they continue trying to drum up support with. Speaking as someone with a financial background,



A Few Words About the Budget and Reserve

Numbers require context to be properly understood. After a check of other audit reports for local school districts over the last several years, one thing is apparent…the Lancaster Central School District is doing a good job. For those interested, you can review audit reports for other school districts on the NYS Comptrollers website. This would be the same website that refers to the result of an audit as an “opinion”. For those interested in transparency, I believe the district hosts several public work sessions. Unfortunately, it is my understanding that the folks complaining the loudest about their taxes do not attend the very meetings where financial matters are discussed and decisions made. The kindest word I can find to describe that behavior is “illogical”.



Here are several findings made by the NYS Comptroller’s Office with regard to other school districts, although there are many more. To be specific, the following information DOES NOT APPLY to our district: district officials did not prepare accurate budgets for numerous fiscal years, district officials are in danger of depleting their remaining unrestricted fund balance, district officials did not properly analyze cash flow (which resulted in unnecessary short-term debt and interest costs), district officials have negligible surplus fund balances, district officials have improperly used reserve funds for unrelated operating costs, and finally….district officials do not have the requisite funds to manage unforeseen events. These examples demonstrate serious lapses by neighboring school districts that can adversely affect the fiscal soundness of an entire school district (and the entire community) for years to come. The good news is that NONE of these examples apply to the Lancaster Central School District.



So onto the Budget and Reserve Funds. The district has their budget presentation available to watch online. The Superintendent, as well as Jamie Phillips, also provided valuable background information with respect to the Reserve Funds: the number of Reserves, the names of the Reserves, which are mandated Reserves, NY State’s vague language regarding the balances, and so on. Furthermore, a review of the other local school districts’ audit reports quickly reveals a common theme. The Comptroller’s Office either says you have too much held in Reserve or sometimes too little. This is quite telling. What that says is that many districts question what the optimal amounts are to be held across Reserves. What are the standards to make sure that we have enough funds to manage through unforeseen events? NY State needs to develop, document and communicate clearer policies and guidelines for the collection and use of Reserve Funds.





While we may disagree on the balances held in the various reserve accounts or how much is appropriate to use to balance the budget, it is irresponsible to use this issue in an attempt to discredit the district.

The reserve balances should no longer be considered an issue.



We could be looking at a 6.9% increase like East Aurora. Thank goodness that Lancaster's financial management had the good sense to stay within the state "suggested" reserve limits, while saving for a rainy day.



All tax payers should thank their lucky stars for the foresight of the administration, and the parents and students should cheer for the programs offered and the programs maintained.



We must all support the candidates that will insure continuation of the marvelous accomplishments and opportunities for the students.



The three gentlemen will promote continued success, and any other vote will be a speed bump to inhibit progress.



We must absolutely support Uhteg, Sage and Jackson,and Lancaster's future

[shortstuff]

The reserve balances should no longer be considered an issue.



We could be looking at a 6.9% increase like East Aurora. Thank goodness that Lancaster's financial management had the good sense to stay within the state "suggested" reserve limits, while saving for a rainy day.



All tax payers should thank their lucky stars for the foresight of the administration, and the parents and students should cheer for the programs offered and the programs maintained.



We must all support the candidates that will insure continuation of the marvelous accomplishments and opportunities for the students.



The three gentlemen will promote continued success, and any other vote will be a speed bump to inhibit progress.



We must absolutely support Uhteg, Sage and Jackson,and Lancaster's future

I saw that EA was proposing a 6.9% increase, that is simply crazy. More crazy would be if the residents voted to pass the budget.

Lancaster has no choice but to propose a modest increase considering the reserves noted in various posts. The composition of the current board lends itself to a nice mixture that has proven to stabilize the economic aspects of what the taxes are comprised of. That being said, we do need a mixture of ideas to continue to keep them on their toes. Because years past, my school taxes in addition to our town/county taxes rose to an unsustainable level. Since both our town/county taxes and school taxes are stabilized, I always use the message, "don't fix something that isn't broke.."