School board demands cash payment from city
BRIDGEPORT — Words weren’t minced by one school board member after the city offered to assume $250,000 worth of district bills rather than paying up.
“Hell no,” said Board Vice Chairman Hernan Illingworth.
The rest of the ninemember panel concurred, voting unanimously Tuesday to have the board’s attorney send city officials a letter demanding the full amount the City Council appropriated to the district for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
“Under state statutes, the contribution must be in cash,” board member Maria Pereira said.
Anything else, she said, would results in an illegal lowering of the city’s Minimum Budget Requirement for funding education. Such a reduction could lead to a state fine and lower school budgets for years to come, Pereira added.
“I agree it is illegal for us to allow the city to do that,” said Dennis Bradley, another board member. “If the city is unwilling to give us the money, we place them on legal notice that we will take whatever action we need to, legally.”
The issue stems from a $250,000 discrepancy in the district’s 2018-19 operating budget’s bottom line.
School finance officials say the district’s operating budget should be $230,394,025, not the $230,144,025 advanced by the city’s budget office.
The city council approved a $1,039,000 increase for this year. City Budget Director Nestor Nkwo effectively lowered the increase to $789,419, declaring that part of the city’s 2017-18 increase was to compensate for a midyear rescission of $250,000 by the state in its Education Cost Share grant to the city. As such, he maintained it should not be carried forward as part of the minimum budget requirement.
The rescission came months after the City Council had approved its contribution to the school budget. State law prohibits municipalities like Bridgeport from reducing school budget contributions for any reason.
School and city officials have met several times over the discrepancy and on Friday city officials said a solution was in the works.
“The city is working in cooperation with the BOE to cover the $250,000 shortfall for this year,” said Rowena White, a spokeswoman to Mayor Joe Ganim.
The city promised to pay for $250,000 worth of school board expenses without transferring the funds to the district, and to also restore that amount to the district’s 2019-20 operating budget,
White said the offer is not in-kind services because the city’s proposal is to take and pay for school board bills. She also said the city can’t comment on the school board’s letter until it is received.
Schools Superintendent Aresta Johnson told the board to be mindful of city promises.
“It may not necessarily come through,” Johnson told the board on Tuesday. “There are no guarantees.”
She recommended that the board press for the cash. School board Finance Committee Chairwoman Jessica Martinez agreed.
Illingworth said this is not the first time the city administration has tried to shortchange the district and its 21,000 students.
“It keeps happening over and over and over again,” Illingworth said.
“It’s not Nestor, it’s the mayor,” board member Chris Taylor said.
While he agreed the district is entitled to the money approved by the City Council, Taylor said he did not like the idea of spending a lot on money on legal fees to get $250,000.