Letter to the Editor: School District Disbanding the Budget Committee

School superintendent, Tim McGonegal, arbitrarily dismissed the budget committee.

Apparently, they were too diligent in their duties and made recommendations that were contrary to his plan and how he wanted to spend our money.

The community members of the committee were dedicated to reducing the bloat in administration and putting the money in the classrooms.  They had recommended pay cuts but on a graduated scale which eliminated cuts in lower pay classes and accelerated to the largest cuts at the top of the pay class.  They did not recommend furlough days.

The community members volunteered their time in the hopes of improving the integrity of the school district.

At a time when the public is demanding more transparency this appears to be an insensitive demonstration of the distain with which the superintendent regards the public.

When the community continues to uncover accounting discrepancies, the administration continues with its refusal to provide information requested.

Dr. McGonegal stated that his measure would streamline the budget process.  The best way to speed up this process is for the administration to be forthright in answering questions and providing total transparency.  The superintendent is going to leave the budget up to the school board and as we have already seen there are some on the board who will vote for whatever the superintendent wants without any questions and against the taxpayer.

Steve Vernon
Vice President of Tea Party Manatee