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It was a decision made almost begrudgingly, but one that was deemed necessary, as the Board of Education voted to invite a member of the Board of Selectmen and the Representative Town Meeting to its operations audit oversight committee as non-voting liaisons. A member of the Board of Finance will also be invited to join in the same capacity, as is already procedure during teacher and faculty contract negotiations.
The majority of board members made it clear that the audit will remain fully under their control, despite requests by other town officials to conduct a joint town side and school side audit.
The board also voted Tuesday night to approve a request for professional services (RFP) that will be put on the town's purchasing website. The RFP will have a deadline of July 14. The town has already placed a RFP for its own audit, which it hopes to complete by Thanksgiving.Board member Tim Kery said he did not want to see the audit turn into a "political circus," and feared that by adding members from the town's various boards it would become just that, taking the focus away from saving money. However, fellow board member Paul Fattibene disagreed, saying that other town officials could be added to the committee without making it a circus, while also making the comfort level with the audit higher for the other town boards. He said his fear was without the liaisons, the town's boards will accuse the school board of improperly conducting the audit.
Catherine Albin, another board member, said that it would not be wise to combine the audits because a municipality audit and an education audit are very different.
The school board has set aside $50,000 for the audit, the same number the town has allocated.
Board member Pam Iacono said the RFP was based on one the Bridgeport schools system put out months ago. The audit conducted by Bridgeport resulted in a return of $7 million in savings recommendations.
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