By Curt Peterson
Voters approved the Windsor Central Unified District $21.7 million budget on March 3, 1677-1216.
On Monday night before the vote, Killington school district representative and Select Board member Jim Haff explained to voters at the pre-election information meeting that he would be voting “no” on the proposed budget. He said he suspected there was an accumulated deficit from 2019 that could reach $1 million, that the administration had failed to itemize the budget presented and complained the district administration had “mismanaged” the district’s finances.
Killington voters subsequently defeated the budget 239-112.
Reading also rejected the district budget 127-102.
In Barnard the budget passed, 176-114; in Bridgewater, 173-131; in Plymouth, 126-70; in Pomfret 213-85; and in Woodstock 775-450.
Haff isn’t the only board member concerned about the budget. At another district meeting March 9, Carin Park, chair of the Barnard School Board, read a letter expressing voter concerns at the Barnard Town Meeting.
The narrow victory for the FY2021 budget “reflects a lack of confidence in the financial management of Unified District funds and frustration with the opacity of the budget development process,” Park read from her letter.
Park said voters want a public explanation for the current financial situation in the district, admission of insufficient pre-vote budget information, a deadline for public release of the still incomplete FY2019 audit, announcement of how and how often financial reports and budget status will be made public, and confirmation the director of finance and operations will provide monthly financial reports for acceptance by the board.
“Measures such as these are necessary to cultivate trust, transparency, and inclusion across towns and stakeholders,” Park read.
Killington Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth and resident Roger Rivera both echoed Park’s demand for more transparency and board oversight regarding district finances at the March 9 meeting.
Responding as chair of the finance committee, Jennifer Iannantuoni of Killington said it was true that the FY2018 audit had been completed and sent to the district with some final questions 15 months ago without response, and the board was told it had not been done at all.
“That audit is done and signed-off on now,” she said. “And the FY2019 audit will be done by our March 23 meeting.”
She said she has confidence in Ron Smith, who has done the district’s audits for some years.
“He says we are facing a potential deficit of between $200,000 and $700,000 as of 2019, and he’ll have a reasonable estimate of where we are now in the current [FY2020] budget,” Ianantuoni said.
At the March 4 finance committee meeting Smith urged the board to “freeze all non-essential spending immediately.” He said the district has a problem, and he will offer possible solutions at the next board meeting.
“It won’t be an easy fix,” board member Jim Haff (Killington) said.
Smith told board members his firm was unable to get complete FY2018 figures from the finance department, which relied on audited FY2017 figures to produce the last budget reflecting any surplus or deficit that may have existed.
Auditors were able to produce an audit review for FY2018 15 months ago – roughly September 2019, still with some questions about the figures. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to get a response. The tentative review showed a deficit.
Without a final FY2018 audit, the FY2020 budget was produced with no accounting for any deficit hanging over the district’s head.
“And proposing the FY2021 budget [just approved by voters] without having an audit of FY2019 done is problematic,” Smith said.
Banios said there had been some math errors, indicating what “appeared” to be the remainder of a FY2016 surplus still in existence.
Assuring the committee the problem is “not insurmountable,” Smith explained there had been $300,000 left of the surplus going into FY2019, but the district spent by $900,000, leaving themselves short more than $600,000, a “fairly accurate” estimate, with some revenue details for FY2019 yet to be completed.
On Monday, March 23, when the WCUSD Board meets at Reading Elementary School, Smith will have the FY2019 audit completed, have accurate figures regarding the accumulated deficit going into FY2020, give a rough idea of current FY2020 status, and offer some practical options for resolving the problems.
Possible statutory strategies including budgeting the deficit payoff over three years, borrowing from a commercial source or from reserve funds, or turning the debt over to the seven member towns.
Concessi said he is confident that the FY2021 budget contains no deficits on its own.
“It’s built from the ground up,” he said. “Whatever deficit exists, it won’t come from this new budget.”
Haff cautioned the committee and board members in the audience – “Just remember,” he said, “when things go wrong with the district’s finances, the responsibility is ours as a board – we get the blame.”
Smith agreed, and urged Concessi and Banios to make sure the accounts are kept up to date, and that the board gets at least quarterly financial status updates.
