…….The heartbreak of learning that the Hancock County school system that everyone supported is teetering on financial collapse is real. It simply hurts and since we don’t have all the facts, we don’t know who to blame. We just know that we trusted the administration, the Board and the individual charged with ensuring the financial stability of the District was intact so our kids’ education was the best it could be. And, now we feel betrayed.
……..While we could find lacking in the County in other areas, we were very proud of our educational system.
………And, then that all changed in what seemed like a nano second. The stable school system we thought we had was no more. I covered every Board meeting and I didn’t see this coming. Had I fallen asleep at one of the School Board meetings? Did I miss a critical meeting where all was revealed? Nope. I was there and I was awake. I have racked my brain and gone through old articles and notes from Board of Education meetings to see if I missed the signs.
……I think I saw a hairline crack when Board President Chris Gillette and other Board members requested more detailed reporting from CFO Joe Campinelli in several meetings. But the depth of the deception from the Finance Office came as a total surprise and the information forthcoming from the Superintendent has lacked the information we need to know. Anytime you do a new story, you need to include “Who, What, When and Where” otherwise your story is incomplete. We , as taxpayers…..as voters who supported the School levy deserve to know what transpired in the Finance Office to bring the school district to this point. And, when exactly did it transpire?
…..At the January 26th meeting of the Board, the consultants are expected to present their report on how Hancock County arrived at this juncture. It’s critical that the following questions are answered:
**What year did we first exceed the formula that set the number of employees funded by the state?
**I expect the report to name names of those responsible and to assign dates to actions or inactions;
**We hold the current Board and superintendent responsible, but are actions by those who came before them also responsible?
**To the layman, the actions which have taken place appear to include malfeasance of duty and purposeful fraud to a governmental entity by presenting the a falsified budget each month at the Board meeting. Who makes that determination?
** I hope copies of that report are available not just to the Board, but members of the media. If fact, I would suggest the report be posted on the Board’s website so any citizen can download it. It’s critical that the report tells us the following:
**When did the county finances begin to show incorrect financial data as correct? Why did the State Board not take action with late reports and incorrect information?
**The Superintendent is supposed to meet with the State Board via Zoom on Tuesday. I would hope the meeting is open and can be accessed by the media;
**The bill drafted by Del. Pat McGeehan (D-1st) appears to be a vehicle to assist not only Hancock County, but any county in the State that finds itself in similar circumstances. It will be introduced Thursday and to get it passed in the time frame and by the method Del. McGeehan is outlining, will be difficult, but not impossible.
I guess we all hope for the best and plan for the worst.
