To the editor:
There have been recent requests from the Enough is Enough (EiE) group advocating that an independent audit be conducted of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District.
Our school district is already audited on a yearly basis and that audit showed that our school funds are properly managed.
The most recent audit report, provided by Melanson, Heath and Company (located in Andover) can be found on the school district's Web site (www.hwschools.net) under School Committee/Finance & Budget Information/Annual Financial Statements.
Yes, we are all searching for efficiencies, but such an audit is likely to cost a lot of money. Who will fund that expense?
Given Hamilton's dire financial situation, we simply can't afford an expensive — and redundant — audit right now. There is no evidence of mismanagement in the Hamilton-Wenham schools; we simply don't have enough revenue to fund our already lean budget.
If this request is really about a search for efficiencies, EiE should follow the excellent work being done by the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) — especially since an EiE member serves on that committee. The BRC is reviewing the school budget and looking to other comparable school systems to identify any efficiencies we might be missing and is doing it at no cost to our towns.
In the past few months, our town officials have taken many concrete steps to improve transparency and communication between various town entities and the School Committee. The Wenham FinCom and the selectmen have agreed to participate in the Joint Budget Process committee. The School Committee has provided a 30-page response to questions from the Wenham FinCom concerning the school budget and the budget process. The School Committee is rescheduling Finance Subcommittee meetings to take place during regular, Thursday-night School Committee meetings, where they will be televised and which the public can attend. (These meetings are scheduled for Jan. 15 and 22 and March 4 and 12 at 7 p.m. at Buker School.) The School Committee is also developing a detailed budget book and has provided written responses to specific questions from the community.
Earlier this fall, Boston Magazine ranked Hamilton-Wenham one of the state's most efficient districts. The article can be seen at http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_best_schools_2008/.
As we search for answers to the deep challenges facing our school district, we should be wary of suggestions that cost much and do little to advance our common goal of maintaining our excellent and efficient school district.
Paul D. Driscoll
Hamilton
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