Councilor Colin F. LePage.
Haverhill School Superintendent James F. Scully.
Haverhill city councilors want school leaders to know the new school budget includes money to hire a middle school health teacher.
During spring budget talks, councilors discovered a particular school expense was inflated by $100,000. Since the state’s Education Reform Law prohibits the council from telling the school department how to spend its money, members instead placed the extra funds in the school stabilization fund. They really wanted the money to be used to hire an extra teacher, according to Councilor Colin F. LePage. During a suspension of the rules Tuesday night, LePage motioned to send a letter to Mayor James J. Fiorentini, Superintendent James F. Scully and school committee members. He explained his motivation.
“…In so being that they would list for that position, if not to wait, but as we have just gone into summer recess for the school, to allow them time to hire a proper person for that and a qualified,” LePage said.
On the last day of the fiscal year, June 30, the council voted to transfer $400,000 from the school stabilization fund to fiscal year 2015 expenses. LePage said he would have made the point about how the funds should be spent had he been present.
Councilors approved LePage’s motion 8-0.
Scully was not available at deadline to comment on whether the school department would comply with the council’s wishes.
“councilors discovered a particular school expense was inflated by $100,000”
Isn’t this cute??!!! So they inflate the budget (and of course no one knows how that happened, do they?) and instead of deleting it and reducing expenditures instead they find a way to spend it. That’s NOT your money Colin to come up with ways to spend. This is absolutely outrageous!!!! So now you’re taxing people and finding ways to spend money even when mistakes are made??? That is outright theft!!! There’s literally nothing else you can call it.
Jack, Lepage was trying to at least get something for the $100k they “found” though It was never lost at all. These folks know exactly what they are doing hiding money. Lepage is trying to replace what was once a key position to help more kids. He is good at finding money but as the story states: “They can’t tell them how to spend it”. So he is doing what he can.