MacWilliams: Budget Commission, School Committee, Superintendent Failed City On School Budget
School Department Misses March 1 Budget Deadline.
Editor's note: The following is an open letter to RI Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly:
Dear Ms. Gallogly,
I am writing to you as a very concerned Woonsocket taxpayer. It has been brought to my attention that the Woonsocket School Department will not be submitting their budget on time. It was due on March 1, 2013. School Superintendent Donoyan stated at the last school committee meeting that she was given an extension to April 1st. (who approved this extension??).
Ms.Gallogly, as you well know a State Budget Commission has been assigned to my city because of our serious financial problems. In 2011 the School Department along with the School Committee pushed us over the financial cliff with a surprise $2 million deficit. Here we are two years down the road (2013) under the close supervision of a Budget Commission and Superintendent Donoyan has NO budget ready for March 1st. I find this appalling.
This blatant defiance towards financial responsibility by Superintendent Donoyan is unconscionable. To add to this calamity the Budget Commission did not know that her budget would not be submitted on March 1, 2013.
Ms.Gallogly, if the Budget Commission is assigned to watch over the city’s troubled finances one would think that they would make sure ALL budgets are submitted on time. If a budget was NOT going to be submitted on time the Budget Commission should let it be known that they are to be notified as soon as it became apparent that this important financial document would not be delivered on the expected due date.
This situation raises the following questions- what is the Budget Commission looking at if they allow this cavalier budget reporting from the School Committee and our School Superintendent? What kind of respect does Superintendent Donoyan have for the Budget Commission and the School Committee by not communicating that her school department was in trouble and that she could not submit a budget on time? Why didn’t the Budget Commission ask Superintendent Donoyan to confirm that her budget would be ready on time (or not)?
As a Woonsocket taxpayer I am very concerned about another Woonsocket School Superintendent that is not properly prepared when it comes to the business of school finances. What is even more troubling is that the Budget Commission and the School Committee did not demand that the school budget be ready on time.
In closing I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
Very truly yours,
Christine MacWilliams
Woonsocket taxpayer
Karen K
11:10 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
How does this incompetent keep her job? She came in touting her expertise, her qualifications and her brilliant leadership skills. In two years, we haven't seen evidence of any of these. We see just the opposite. She goes before the budget commission unable to answer the most simple questions. She's done nothing but cost the district more money (including her 150k salary) and a number of the best people we had working here.
XBOXONE RULES
9:38 am on Sunday, March 10, 2013
REALLY!! People are going to resort to attacking someone for trying to save our School Dept REALLY?? Christine i suggest you do some research on this because the city hasnt put a budget together either but thats ok no wonder why our city is in trouble because people care more about the darn school dept and their wallets their oblivious to everything else.
Chris12
5:09 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
When we get our tax bills there is a due date on them. If not paid on time there is an 18% LATE fee that is charged to the taxpayer. Yet our civic leaders can turn in their budgets at their leisure. Why are they allowed this careless attitude? Because we let them.
David T
11:51 pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013
Right, but this seems more like a personal attack on Donoyan than anything else. And you completely give a pass to all the other departments in the city with overdue budgets.
Mike Kind
5:09 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
We have an opportunity to attract younger, more upwardly mobile families to our city due to our (unfortunately) low property values. This opportunity is spoiled because we have little other than low prices to offer them. Excellent schools would be a great place to start to rebuild Woonsocket. This would require the State to take a markedly different view of proper funding for the few communities that shoulder most of the burden/responsibility of disproportionate subsidized housing. Even if this were to occur, who could advocate giving more funding to a Department which has so consistently exhibited such total incompetence in financial management, budgeting, and accountability? What a shame.
XBOXONE RULES
9:38 am on Sunday, March 10, 2013
Mike Ms.Mcguire Forcier has been doing that almost weekly on smith hill.
frmr resident
2:28 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
The property purchase price might be inviting, but the tax rates are CRAZY for what you get.
That and the fact that there are no jobs!
Memere
2:07 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013
Mike, The Budget Commission has stated that the City has been grossly underfunding the School Department for years. How can the School Department keep their budget in the black when they are not given enough money to work with from the beginning? The School Department cannot generate money on its own and must follow Federal and State mandates. That must be difficult to do when you are not given enough money to work with.
XBOXONE RULES
9:38 am on Sunday, March 10, 2013
OK the budget ccommission gave the city and WED til 4/1 to get budgets done because the BC was focused on getting their 5yr plan together so it could be sent to the General Assembly.
David T
11:51 pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013
Christine,
I know you are frustrated and you don't trust Dr. Donoyan, but she didn't send the city into the fiscal crisis. Donoyan was hired during the summer of 2011. By that time the 2011-2012 budget was written by Busby, Gerardi, approved by the SC and the city and state. If you want to complain about that, you would have to call Bob Gerardi and all the rest. Of course, nobody is stopping you from complaining about all the other city departments that were also late in submitting budgets. And if you want people to direct your anger towards try the general assembly, Deb Gist, Gov Chaffee and Don Carcieri for taking away so much state funding which basically equals the amount of the deficit. The reason the problem of the deficit wasn't discovered sooner was a combination of not having a controller for years prior to Donoyan and everyone from the city council, mayor and the state keeping their blinders on thinking WED could somehow go from 74 million to 59 million. It's clear you don't like her based on her cocky attitude. But, she really stepped into a pile of doo and except from the first 3 quiet months of 2011, she has taken more bashing than you or anyone I know could ever tolerate, blamed, accused of things, yelled at, etc. because she is the one in charge and that's her job. But she did't cause the deficit. Even if on 8/30/11, she announced, "Hey, we're short 2 mil from last year and will be 8 million short this year", it would not have stopped the tsunami.