When citizens don’t count
The story of a school district out of control
The taxpayers of the Penn Hills School District must now pay $12 million or more each year to finance the crushing $172 million debt that the district has piled up during the past decade.
According to the report of an Allegheny County grand jury released last week, poor leadership and mismanagement have led the district into a “catastrophic financial situation.”
Situations like this do not crop up overnight. Consultants and auditors have issued warnings to the district since 2007, but most recommendations have not been heeded, according to the report.
The earliest warning sign came over a decade ago, when a state-appointed consultant said the district failed to reduce staff in response to declining student enrollment.
The grand jury’s report focuses heavily on the decision by the district to construct two new school buildings. The construction projects, originally budgeted at $130 million, went over budget early in the building process, and the district repeatedly approved cost overruns. What is missing in the district is the voice of the resident.
Outside of school board elections, and a public hearing, the citizens had no say in the decision-making and planning that was going on.
And now, with resources directed to huge amounts of debt service, the education of children is likely to suffer.
A sad part of this story is the lack of engagement and knowledge shown by some school board members who came before the grand jury. One member, Robert Hudak, could not answer a question about the approximate size of the district’s annual budget. Yet he had served on the board for 10 years. This sad tale cries out for better selection of board members and mandatory training for each of them.
Large construction projects that require extensive borrowing should be put to a vote of the taxpayers.
In addition, the state Department of Education should do better oversight of new school construction. It the right of approval over new construction now. What happened here?