As part of the Prop S budget, new playground equipment for three elementary schools (Becky-David, Independence, John Weldon) was budgeted for $135,000 each or a total of $405,0000.
Once again, district CFO Kevin Supple failed to exercise proper financial controls over this spending:
- The district Prop S website (screen shots below) shows that the P.O’s for these were issued on May 4, 2021, over 2 weeks before the board approved the expenditures at the May 20, 2021 meeting.
Update: according to Mr. Supple, the actual P.O. was issued on June 1, not May 4 as shown on the Prop S website. - In the letter to the board for approval (download here), the amount requested and approved was $704,704 – which is $299,704 or 74% over the budget. There was no mention in the letter to the board of the original budget amount or an explanation for the overrun.
- This expenditure did not go through a true competitive bid process. The letter simply explains that the vendor is part of a “buying club”
- Included in the new $704,704 equipment purchase is a “Miracle freestanding rock wall” and “Miracle museum”.
What you can do:
-
- Make sure that you vote on April 5 and get your friends and neighbors to do the same.
- Find out more about the candidates that we are endorsing – Adam Bertrand and Randy Cook
- Please contact us if you have questions, or find out how you can help us return Francis Howell to fiscal sanity.
- Consider making a donation to help us elect better school board members.
