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Friday, March 22, 2002
Last night�s announcement that the Troy City School District will not be able to meet its payroll obligations has heightened my concern over the financial morass that inexplicably seems to grow wider and more troublesome each day.
Yesterday, after meeting with State Education Commissioner Richard Mills, I sent the attached letter to Troy City Schools Superintendent Armand Reo expressing my concern about the district�s deepening fiscal problems and budget deficits that are projected to balloon to almost $30 million.
Auditors from the State Education Department are looking into what is now projected to be as much as a $19 million accumulated deficit. The state Comptroller�s Office also has been called in to help identify the extent of the Troy City School District�s fiscal problems as district officials struggle to close an additional $11 million projected gap in next year�s budget.
I am very concerned that the scope and magnitude of this problem has barely been acknowledged publicly by school district officials and the school board. I have asked for answers to some simple questions: what did district officials know, when did they know it, and what do they propose to do about it? I know that parents and taxpayers throughout the Troy City School District share my concerns and are as eager as I am for answers to these simple questions.
The State Senate, under my leadership, has championed record increases in state aid to the Troy City School District and others across the state. I am deeply concerned that efforts to provide adequate funding to support better educational opportunities for our students may have been squandered by an inability or unwillingness to properly administer these funds and the district�s overall finances.
My top priority has always been to provide quality education for our children and I remain committed to doing all I can to help the students and families of Troy, the 43rd Senate District and the entire state in supporting safe, effective public schools. But district officials owe parents, teachers, students and taxpayers an explanation about how the district got itself into such massive difficulties. The future of our children is far too vital to do otherwise.
The text of Sen. Bruno�s letter to Supt. Reo follows:
March 21, 2002
Hon. Armand Reo
Superintendent
City School District of Troy
1728 Tibbits Avenue
Troy, New York 12180
Dear Superintendent Reo:
I have been watching closely developments concerning the growing financial difficulties facing the Troy City School District and am becoming increasingly concerned by both the scope of the apparent problem and its potential impact on the continued ability of the district to support quality educational programs for our students.
I met with State Education Commissioner Richard Mills earlier today to discuss growing concerns about an apparently ballooning budget deficit that appears to now have exceeded even your darkest estimates.
Just last week, you announced that the district�s accumulated deficit, which until only recently was thought to be $3.5 million, had grown to nearly $11 million. And now, it has come to my attention that you and others believe the accumulated deficit could be as high as $19 million, or nearly 30 percent of your entire operating budget. How could this have possibly happened?
It is obvious that a problem of this size could not have occurred overnight and suggests that there are severe structural problems regarding the school district�s finances that call into question past fiscal management of the district.
Further, the $19 million accumulated deficit only compounds your present difficulty in trying to close an additional $11 million operating deficit for the coming school year.
This situation is particularly upsetting in light of increased funding that the district has received from the state. From 1998 to 2001, due largely to my efforts, state aid to the Troy City School District has increased by nearly 20 percent, to a total of $34.8 million this year.
And recently I was able to supplement those funds with an additional $850,000 to help offset the cost of creating a charter school within the city.
It is critical that the citizens and taxpayers of Troy, as well as state and local officials receive a full, honest and complete accounting of the problem�s true dimensions. I am therefore requesting the following information from you:
1. How do you account for the disparity between your recent estimates of the budget deficit and the latest estimates?
2. Why did your outside accounting firm, in its most recent report dated June 30, 2001, only report a deficit of about $3 million, a figure that the district continued to use publicly and in discussions with my staff until at least December?
3. How and when do you propose erasing these budget gaps both for this year and in future years, including personnel actions that you are contemplating?
4. What actions have you taken to identify all existing outstanding liabilities and ensuring that these costs are included in your best estimates for the overall budget deficits the district is facing?
I look forward to your response to this letter.
Sincerely,
SENATOR JOSEPH L. BRUNO
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