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Northwood budget panel tries to remove school board
NORTHWOOD — Concerns about the school board's spending has led the budget committee to begin the legal process to try and remove the board, but its members say they did nothing wrong.
The budget committee's action stems from its accusations the school board has not properly reporting its over expenditures in the last fiscal year.
The over-spending was necessary because of unexpected special education costs, say school board members.
At its Jan. 31 meeting, the budget committee voted 9-1 to begin the process of a court petition that would remove the school board.
According to budget committee chairman Daniel McNally, if a board foresees that it will spend more than what it has budgeted, it needs to notify the budget committee. He said last year, the school board did not follow those guidelines.
“The budget committee recommends a budget and it is also supposed to watch, check on and verify spending,” McNally said. “If for some reason the town or school is going to spend more than what they got approval for, it is supposed to come to the budget committee and say, ‘We are going to go over.'”
McNally is the only committee member who voted against beginning the process to unseat the school board.
Though school board chairman Dave Ruth said the board did spend more than what was in its budget, he said he is not concerned about the budget committee's actions and said the school board has not been officially notified of any action that has been taken. Ruth said the over expenditure came when the school district was unexpectedly faced with increased special education costs.
Because the state requires school districts to cover these costs, Ruth said he does not think the school board has committed a violation.
“It is a state mandate and not a contract,” Ruth said. “The state says if you get those bills, you have to pay them.”
SAU 44 superintendent Michael Ludwell said he has also not received any formal notification of any action being taken by the budget committee.
Budget committee member Ginger Dole said she voted to begin the process now in part because the sitting members of the budget committee could change with the upcoming election. The current members are familiar with the situation and will understand the background, she said.
Dole said this is the first time this sort of action has been taken against a Northwood governing body. She said most of the time the town's boards have had a handle on their budgets, but the school board has not been following the proper procedure.
“Most school boards or boards of selectmen are cautious and cognizant of how much is in the bank and how they can spend it,” she said. “There has not been a situation that has come up in Northwood in the 26 years I've been in town where governing bodies didn't have everything under control.”
Though the process is still in its initial stages, McNally said the budget committee will set up meetings with its lawyer to establish how to progress. He said this is also not the only year where these concerns have arisen.
“Because they didn't come to us like they should have, they did overspend,” McNally said. “There is concern for previous years too that they didn't follow the guideline.”
Ruth however, maintains that the board has researched the situation and said he is not convinced the board was operating out of line.
“We have run this by lawyers and never got anything concrete,” he said.
The budget committee's action stems from its accusations the school board has not properly reporting its over expenditures in the last fiscal year.
The over-spending was necessary because of unexpected special education costs, say school board members.
At its Jan. 31 meeting, the budget committee voted 9-1 to begin the process of a court petition that would remove the school board.
According to budget committee chairman Daniel McNally, if a board foresees that it will spend more than what it has budgeted, it needs to notify the budget committee. He said last year, the school board did not follow those guidelines.
“The budget committee recommends a budget and it is also supposed to watch, check on and verify spending,” McNally said. “If for some reason the town or school is going to spend more than what they got approval for, it is supposed to come to the budget committee and say, ‘We are going to go over.'”
McNally is the only committee member who voted against beginning the process to unseat the school board.
Though school board chairman Dave Ruth said the board did spend more than what was in its budget, he said he is not concerned about the budget committee's actions and said the school board has not been officially notified of any action that has been taken. Ruth said the over expenditure came when the school district was unexpectedly faced with increased special education costs.
Because the state requires school districts to cover these costs, Ruth said he does not think the school board has committed a violation.
“It is a state mandate and not a contract,” Ruth said. “The state says if you get those bills, you have to pay them.”
SAU 44 superintendent Michael Ludwell said he has also not received any formal notification of any action being taken by the budget committee.
Budget committee member Ginger Dole said she voted to begin the process now in part because the sitting members of the budget committee could change with the upcoming election. The current members are familiar with the situation and will understand the background, she said.
Dole said this is the first time this sort of action has been taken against a Northwood governing body. She said most of the time the town's boards have had a handle on their budgets, but the school board has not been following the proper procedure.
“Most school boards or boards of selectmen are cautious and cognizant of how much is in the bank and how they can spend it,” she said. “There has not been a situation that has come up in Northwood in the 26 years I've been in town where governing bodies didn't have everything under control.”
Though the process is still in its initial stages, McNally said the budget committee will set up meetings with its lawyer to establish how to progress. He said this is also not the only year where these concerns have arisen.
“Because they didn't come to us like they should have, they did overspend,” McNally said. “There is concern for previous years too that they didn't follow the guideline.”
Ruth however, maintains that the board has researched the situation and said he is not convinced the board was operating out of line.
“We have run this by lawyers and never got anything concrete,” he said.