Soon it will be time to attend the December 5th Reorganization Meeting of the Fort Cherry School Board.
At this meeting, a President and Vice-President of the Board will be elected.
Let’s do a little flashback to 2009, when Brant Miller was elected to be President of the Board.
The very next day after he was elected to the board presidency, Dinnen and Sroka had lunch with B. Miller, at taxpayers’ expense of course.
And look at that . . . the Pittsburgh Chop House again!
Cost to FC taxpayers: $63.37, which included an $11.00 tip.
· 1 sirloin fillet
· 1 glazed salmon
· 1 PGH sandwich
· 3 soups
A fancy lunch and they bought a cake at Giant Eagle and took it to the restaurant.
Cost to FC taxpayers: $16.49
How nice for them to celebrate Brant’s presidency on the taxpayers’ dime . . .
Oh, wait a minute . . .
It looks like Dinnen called it a “working” lunch for “policy review”.
Sroka must have tagged along as “board secretary” to take minutes.
Why drive 28 miles (cost to taxpayers: $15.40 for mileage reimbursement) to an expensive restaurant (cost to taxpayers: $63.37), and to top it off, buy an entire cake (cost to taxpayers $16.49) to review policy?
Total cost to FC taxpayers: $95.26
$95.26 spent on policy review with Brant Miller, a seasoned board member who had been on the board since 2002?
If truly necessary, a discussion to review policy should have taken place at Fort Cherry.
Better yet, policy review should be held during a Committee Meeting of the Board.
Policy Review should be open to the public, not held behind closed doors.
But realistically, was “policy review” truly the reason for the lunch, or was Dinnen dipping once again into that unlimited travel/conference budget to wine and dine the Board President?
There seems to be a pattern of wining and dining at taxpayers’ expense . . .
Take another look at the December 2009 reimbursement form.
It appears Dinnen was wining and dining the Auditors too.
FC taxpayers pay for Cypher’s services.
“The board approved a three-year contract extension with Cypher & Cypher. The auditors will be paid roughly $16,000 a year.”
Observer-Reporter (Washington, PA)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Entire article at the end of this post
FC taxpayers rely on Cypher to oversee the financial position and operations of the district.
The school district’s financial transactions are audited, or examined by an independent auditor, to determine their accuracy.
A financial audit (required by the Pennsylvania School Code), is used to determine whether the financial statements produced by the school district fairly represent the district’s financial position and operations. A Certified Public Account (CPA) performs this audit in all Pennsylvania districts except Philadelphia, where the City Controller assumes this responsibility.
Understanding of School Finances School Finance 101
http://www.gorockets.org/Downloads/School_Finance_101.pdf
FC taxpayers rely on Cypher to ensure that Dinnen and Sroka are properly doing their jobs.
Buying lunch for the auditors, who are the “watch dogs” for the taxpayers, reeks of unethical behavior.
The auditors should have declined. Accepting lunch from the district gives the appearance of “being bought off”.
As for what FC taxpayers pay for Cypher’s services . . .
The Observer habitually gets its information from Sroka, who stated that Cypher would be paid “roughly $16,000 a year”
“The board approved a three-year contract extension with Cypher & Cypher. The auditors will be paid roughly $16,000 a year.”
Observer-Reporter (Washington, PA)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Entire article at the end of this post
The information obtained by the authors of this blog indicates otherwise.
Here’s the check written to Cypher dated March 2, 2011, the same date as the Observer article.
The check was cut for $21,050; not $16,000:
Checks written to Cypher for the past 3 years total $67,298.
· March 2011: $21,050
· February 2010: $27,248
· March 2009: $19,000
That’s “roughly” $22,000 a year.
Unless Cypher took a significant pay decrease, Sroka needs to redo his numbers.
Like Cypher, the Board itself has a duty to ensure that Dinnen and Sroka are properly doing their jobs. Talk about keeping the “watch dogs” fed . . .
Let’s go back to earlier in 2009.
Dinnen wined and dined board member Ray Miller under the guise of a “post-state audit” lunch. According to the receipt submitted by Dinnen, Schwab and Sharpnack attended the “meeting”. It’s odd that they attended, but had nothing to eat.
Another “meeting” . . .
. . . another restaurant . . .
. . . another dip into taxpayer funds.
Going back to the March/April 2009 reimbursement form, it appears the taxpayers paid for a quorum of board members’ attendance at the Hickory Lions Club Sports Dinner.
· Brant Miller
· Ray Miller
· Elmo Cecchetti
· Larry Heinrendt
· Beverly Schwab
· Mike Duran
Dinner or “meeting”? . . .
The Sunshine Act defines “meeting” as:
"Meeting." Any prearranged gathering of an agency which is attended or participated in by a quorum of the members of an agency held for the purpose of deliberating agency business or taking official action.
Dinnen obtained and distributed the tickets; the event was obviously “prearranged”.
The Sunshine Act defines “official action” as:
"Official action."
(1) Recommendations made by an agency pursuant to statute, ordinance or executive order.
(2) The establishment of policy by an agency.
(3) The decisions on agency business made by an agency.
(4) The vote taken by any agency on any motion, proposal, resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, report
or order.
http://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/SunshineAct.pdf
Did any official action or deliberation occur there?
The public has no way of knowing . . .
. . . but the public did foot the bill.
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“The theory abounds” . . .
“I'm just wondering what the apple truly means. The theory abounds that the teachers are trying to shape the board.”
Brant Miller’s comment on facebook
Contemplating the origin of the apple on election signs
November 2011
It’s been rumored that Brant Miller filed a suit on behalf of his father, Ray Miller. It appears B. Miller is challenging the McDonald election results for school director and is demanding a recount.
The theory abounds that Brant Miller is trying to retain the shape of the board. If Ray Miller keeps his seat, Brant Miller potentially keeps his “5 votes”, a majority of the board.
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Meeting roundup
Observer-Reporter (Washington, PA) - Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Fort Cherry School Board
* Date: Feb. 28
* Action: The board bought ProSoft, a business office software, for $50,000.
The board approved a three-year contract extension with Cypher & Cypher. The auditors will be paid roughly $16,000 a year.
The board hired Jessica Drylic as accounting coordinator at an annual salary of $45,000.
The board approved the Western Area Career and Technology proposed budget totaling $5,785,592.
The board approved the 2011-12 Intermediate Unit 1 budget of $2,047,662.
* Discussion: Eight people spoke about concerns about air quality at the school campus because of nearby gas well drilling. Superintendent Robert Dinnen said he would work with the PTA to create an ad hoc committee about the drilling. The committee will talk about what the district can and cannot do about the drilling based on township ordinances and state Department of Environmental Protection regulations.
* Next meeting: 7:30 p.m. March 21 in the elementary center library
* Date: Feb. 28
* Action: The board bought ProSoft, a business office software, for $50,000.
The board approved a three-year contract extension with Cypher & Cypher. The auditors will be paid roughly $16,000 a year.
The board hired Jessica Drylic as accounting coordinator at an annual salary of $45,000.
The board approved the Western Area Career and Technology proposed budget totaling $5,785,592.
The board approved the 2011-12 Intermediate Unit 1 budget of $2,047,662.
* Discussion: Eight people spoke about concerns about air quality at the school campus because of nearby gas well drilling. Superintendent Robert Dinnen said he would work with the PTA to create an ad hoc committee about the drilling. The committee will talk about what the district can and cannot do about the drilling based on township ordinances and state Department of Environmental Protection regulations.
* Next meeting: 7:30 p.m. March 21 in the elementary center library
