Governor Blunt is getting closer to the answer. It is sad that he and the other public officials in Jefferson City know so little about public school finances.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a 333-page accounting manual for the 524 school districts in Missouri to follow. Send for a copy.
The uniform accounting manual for the school districts shows how to do classroom-by-classroom accounting, program-by-program accounting, school-by-school accounting and comprehensive district-wide accounting.
Most districts in Missouri have less than 1,000 students. It is easy for parents and taxpayers to understand the financial reports of these small school districts.
There are about 200 school districts with over 1,000 students. These districts usually have five or more school locations. These school districts’ financial reports are too difficult for many to understand.
Missouri has only about 2,300 schools. It would be easy for Missouri school districts to do school-by-school accounting. Better yet, location-by-location including locations that are not schools, such as the central administration offices.
Walgreens has thousands of stores. They do accounting store-by-store. They account for each item stocked and sold, wages and benefits, utilities, repairs, taxes, insurance, etc. These reports are used by Walgreens’ employees to improve the stores or to close stores that are not profitable. Walgreens also does a comprehensive company report required by the
Securities and Exchange Commission and stock analysts.
The average person does not have the time, training or inclination to read and understand such reports and that is why they seek out investment representatives.
The St. Louis school district accounting report has over 55,000 line items. The people who put the report together only understand the portion they are
responsible for and don’t waste their time trying to understand the whole report. There are very few copies of the school district accounting reports. A very small number of people read the reports. The reports are very daunting, and even the school board members sit gasping when asked to look at the school districts’ budget and/or audit. It is wrong when only a few
people understand the city school finances.
We need school-by-school accounting in St. Louis. An accounting clerk at each school with one computer terminal using the simple Missouri school-by-school accounting codes could produces a simple report of all the public funds received and spent at the school for the parents, taxpayers, teachers, students, school administrators, school support personnel, aldermen to read and understand. With the computer terminal it can be easily transmitted to the central office where one accounting clerk could review the report and
transmit it to the districts’ mainframe. School board members could then read school-by-school reports and/or a comprehensive report.
Governor Blunt needs to demand school-by-school accounting instead of seeking percentage spending requirements.
Example: Wellston. The State Board of Education took over the Wellston School District without any spending restraints. The district has about 600 students. All the students and school district administration can fit in the districts’ high school. The district is operating four schools and an administration building. What a waste. What poor management. Why must these children suffer?
The parents of Wellston are thankful to have public education. The Wellston school district receives 90 percent of its money from the state and federal governments. With the money available, they should have the best education in Missouri. The assigned “superintendent” should also be “the school principal” for the district, but no, wasting money and not working is easier.
Blunt is asking for 65 percent. Years back it was 75 percent for the “Teachers Fund.” The teachers never received the 75 percent because it included “everyone” with a teaching degree, especially those paid not to teach. The administration grew and ate up the fund. About half the fund went to the administrators. Jay Nixon once stated that only 37 percent of St. Louis education dollars went for instruction. He was counting the pay and benefits for the classroom teachers, textbooks and classroom supplies.
Al Katzenberger
St. Louis