If you aren’t on Jack Wells’ email list, I’m surprised – since everyone seems to be on this list! But if you’re not… welcome to dueling emails. (Kilroy posted on this yesterday) It begins with the one Mr. Wells sent to Red Clay on its hiring practices:
Subject: FLASH #1 Red Clay School Board goes on hiring Spree after property owners approve current operating referendum providing the school board millions of local current operating dollars.
Immediately after the Red Clay School District’s financial management had to be taken over by the state because of financial mismanagement, to restore the educational opportunities that were slashed because of this mismanagement, the Red Clay School District’s property owners did what was best for the children and approved a current operating referendum that provided the school board with millions of dollars in current operating revenue.
During the period 2008-2009 through 2011-2012 the districts student enrollment has increased by 394 children and the board has hired 536 more employees. What possible justification did the board have to hire another employee every time enrollment increased by 0.73 students.
Unfortunately for the hard working property owners, our state legislators have determined local school boards should not be required to justify such outrages hiring, in fact our state legislators have determined school board should not even be required to inform the property owners how many employees they are funding.
This fiscal year 2011-2012 Red Clay has 16,103 students and 2,130 employees, that’s one employee for every 7.56 students, in 2008-2009 the district had 15,709 students and 1,594 employees, that’s one employee for every 9.85 students.
Jack Wells
Ms. Floore, CFO of Red Clay responds:
Mr. Wells,
This is so far from accurate it borders on absurd. Since Feb of 2008 to Feb of 2012 Red Clay has added 111 employees largely as a result of unit growth, needs-based funding and the implementation of Full Day K, which as residents know was a primary focus in the 2008 operating referendum. In 2008, the district earned 944 units compared to 1070.9 today. That’s a 13.4% increase. Of the 111 employees, each one added was earned in growth. Since 2008, the district continues to live within formula and has no 100% locally funded positions other than those in the special schools and even those are down due to the increase in state funding for needs-based units.
The district went on the opposite of a spending spree and has made the 2008 referendum last four years with a commitment to make it last another three. From 2008, the average annual increase in personnel costs is just under 4%. In any business, that’s pretty remarkable given we’ve had not just unit growth, but annual increases in salary, steps and significant benefit costs such as pension and health care.
I’m happy to discuss district spending one week before a referendum or at any time as we do at our monthly community financial review committee meetings. However, unless there is an agreement to present actual facts and not broad brush fiction, it would be more appropriate if we exchanged on a Cab Calloway creative writing blog than spreading wildly untrue statements to the respectable distribution list you’ve copied.
_______________________
Jill Floore
Chief Financial Officer
Red Clay Consolidated School District
(302)552-3725
Oh my.
However, unless there is an agreement to present actual facts and not broad brush fiction, it would be more appropriate if we exchanged on a Cab Calloway creative writing blog than spreading wildly untrue statements to the respectable distribution list you’ve copied.
Not very professional, Jill. Hope scoring that point was worth it.
Mr. Wells counters:
Jill:
On page 7 of the “The Red Clay Record” dated February 2012, a publication the district mailed to every postal customer in the Red Clay School District, is a chart titled “Number of Staff,” which informs every postal customer the district has a staff of 2,130. On page 166 of 210 of the report published by Delaware’s Department of Education, which is based on data provided to them by the Red Clay School District, shows for 2008-2009 the school district had 1,594 employees. When you subtract 1,594 employed in 2008-2009 from 2,130 employed per page 7 of The Red Clay Record, your answer is 536 more employees, the exact number I quoted.Since I have provided you with the “public” records I used to determine the district has hired 534 additional employees since 2008-2009, but you have not provided me with district reports showing only 111 employees have been hired, which is 423 less than what is shown in a report published by DOE and in The Red Clay Record, I request you publish where you obtained your information.I also request you contract the Department of Education and the district employee who provided the staffing information in The Red Clay Record, to determine why the difference in number of employees.
Finally I request you provide the reason for the vast difference in the number of employees being reported by Department of Education and the Red Clay district to the taxpayers, clearly the differences being reported by the district to the taxpayers is absurd.
As to discussing district spending with you, I am sure those reading your reply to me, have no doubt why that is not an option for me.
Jack Wells
As I write this, Jill Floore hasn’t responded. When she does I will update the post.
Here’s the deal: What is it with Red Clay and numbers? When questioned on their own capacity numbers (provided by them in public records) Red Clay states that the numbers are wrong – that the capacity they show in public records doesn’t really exist. If this is true then where is a parent/resident supposed to go to find accurate information? Hello? DDOE? Does transparency exist if the numbers citizens have access to are bogus? Are they bogus?
Guess we’ll have to wait for Ms. Floore’s detailed response.