T
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rick the taxpayers
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reat themselves
October 17, 2011
Fort Cherry School Board meeting:
The night of the meeting, near the sign-in sheet, there was a small pile of Sarris chocolate footballs and this sign:
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“Keep it positive, our kids are worth it”
??????
How about making a positive move by eliminating the fiscally irresponsible spending that is STILL occurring at Fort Cherry?
Fiscally irresponsible spending that WILL continue if board and administrative spending, and approval of that spending, does not change drastically.
Let’s take a look at one of Sharpnack’s expense reimbursement sheets for a trip that he took AFTER the District was made aware of the impending budget cuts.
(Note: This blog is only responsible for the red and green underlining on the documents – all handwritten notations were on the original documents.)
April 8 – 11, 2011
National School Board Association Conference
San Francisco, California
Conference homepage: (http://s36.a2zinc.net/clients/nsba/ac2011/public/enter.aspx)
Benefit to students and staff: ????
Conference Schedule link: http://s36.a2zinc.net/clients/nsba/ac2011/public/Content.aspx?ID=1239&sortMenu=104000
First, let’s look at Sharpnack’s plane fare.
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $440.55
It appears Sharpnack tacked on a personal business or pleasure trip to Seattle.
He left Pittsburgh on April 1, went to Seattle for a week, and then arrived in San Francisco on April 8 to attend the conference.
Page 2, which shows the fee information was not included in the RTK response, but should have been.
According to Sharpnack’s notations, the total fare was $509.50.
Sharpnack deducted the $93.95 from his reimbursement to cover the Seattle leg.
Let’s think about this . . .
Sharpnack had personal business in Seattle.
Instead of buying a ticket to Seattle and charging Fort Cherry taxpayers for the additional fare to San Francisco, Sharpnack had Fort Cherry taxpayers pay for the entire fare to San Francisco.
For his personal trip to Seattle, Sharpnack paid only $93.95 for round trip airfare.
No wonder he’s so positive.
That’s positively wonderful for him – not so much for Fort Cherry taxpayers.
Let’s look at Sharpnack’s reimbursements for the conference itself:
April 1: meal, Nature’s Kitchen
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $13.73
April 1???
Sharpnack was on his way to Seattle for personal business, yet public funds paid for his breakfast.
April 9: lunch, Starbucks
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $15.10
Wait a minute . . . if you look at the agenda for the conference, it appears that the conference included daily lunch at the Marriot.
Saturday, April 9
8:30 – 9:45 AM Sessions
10:00 – 11:30 AM General Session – Condoleeza Rice
11:30 AM – 4:00 PM Exhibit Hall & Architectural Display (11:30 – 1:30 Exclusive hours)
12:30 – 2:00 PM Luncheons (Marriott Marquis)
1:30 – 2:45 PM Sessions
2:45 – 3:45 PM Exclusive exhibit hours
3:45 – 5:00 PM Sessions
From the NSBA 71st Annual Conference webpage
Why are taxpayers reimbursing for lunch, when lunch was included?
April 11: meal, Bistro Boudin
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $37.96
If you add the unredacted numbers on the receipt, the total is $27.15. Even adding 9.5% tax, the total should only be $29.73.
How did he come up with $37.96?
(“$37.96 eligible" was written on the receipt by Sharpnack.)
April 12: Sharpnack submitted 6 meal receipts. Let’s look at a few.
April 12: dinner, Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $50
Once again, do the math. The entrée was $29.00, adding the tax brings it to $31.76.
How did he get $50.00?
Are Fort Cherry taxpayers reimbursing for 63% tips???
Moving on . . .
April 12: meal?, Ghiradelli Kiosk
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $12.37
$12.37 for Chocolate?
Are Fort Cherry taxpayers reimbursing for chocolate????
Oh, that’s right, chocolate, for positivity!!!
Here’s another . . .
April 12, meal?, San Francisco News Connection
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $5.98
Not one, but two “Planters Big Bags”.
Was Sharpnack seriously craving peanuts, or did Fort Cherry taxpayers reimburse for a guest?
April 12, meal?, Firewood Cafe
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $6.01
Not one, but two bottles of water.
Was Sharpnack seriously thirsty, or did Fort Cherry taxpayers reimburse for a guest?
With airport security that water had to be consumed before going through the gate. Wouldn’t two bottles be excessive for one person?
And speaking of Fort Cherry reimbursing for a guest, take a look at this:
It appears that Fort Cherry taxpayers paid to have Sharpnack’s trip insured.
(Keep in mind, Sharpnack was going to Seattle on personal business, and therefore had a personal financial stake in this trip).
But, it appears that not only did Fort Cherry taxpayers pay for Sharpnack’s insurance, Fort Cherry taxpayers paid for his guest's.
There appears to be a redacted name after “BRUCE SHARPNACK”.
Going back to the mileage/expense reimbursement form, you’ll notice there are two line item expenses for an airport shuttle.
Let’s take a look at those receipts submitted for those.
April 8: Airport Shuttle
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $20.00
No receipt was given for this reimbursement. Either Sharpnack did not submit one, or Sroka did not provide it in the RTK request response.
April 12: Airport Shuttle
Cost to FC Taxpayers: $20.00
Are these receipts for two trips to the airport in one day for Sharpnack?
There’s an amount written in for “Tip”, but written by whom?
What did the shuttle fare cost? There’s no amount listed for “Fare”.
And Phoenix???
Sharpnack was in San Francisco.
?????
Again, looking at the reimbursement form, Sharpnack originally asked for $2056.86 in reimbursements.
There’s an entry for an $860 Conference Fee reimbursement that Sharpnack didn’t even pay for.
??????
On April 12, the day he submitted 6 meal receipts, he actually went over his daily meal allowance by $5.72. However, he was reimbursed for the full amount.
??????
Remember, this trip occurred AFTER the District was made aware of the forthcoming budget cuts.
Teachers and programs were cut.
Administrative and Board travel and conferences remain.
What may seem like a small amount of money here and there snowballed into $155,563.33 in a very short period of time (January 2008 through August 2011).
“Keep it positive, our kids are worth it”
????????
Keep it positive, when Sharpnack and the rest of the Board cut teachers and programs, yet allow this type of fiscal irresponsibility?
There’s not enough chocolate in the world to make that happen.
