CONSULTANT HIRED TO FIGURE OUT WESTSIDE'S MISCALCULATION AUDITORS DISCOVER RESERVES OF SCHOOL DISTRICT $800,000 LESS THAN ESTIMATED.Byline: Karen Karen Any member of a variety of tribal peoples of southern Myanmar (Burma). Constituting the second largest minority in Myanmar, the Karen are not a unitary group in any ethnic sense, as they differ among themselves linguistically, religiously, and economically. Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A divided Westside Union School District board approved hiring a consultant for $10,500 to help administrators figure out why they underestimated the district's reserves. The move came amid a report from auditors AUDITORS, practice. Persons lawfully appointed to examine and digest accounts referred to them, take down the evidence in writing, which may be lawfully offered in relation to such accounts, and prepare materials on which a decree or judgment may be made; and to report the whole, together that revised for the second time what the district's year-ending surplus was: instead of $2.2 million, it is $1.4 million, trustees said. ``I felt that with all the variances we are getting in the end-of-the-year budget numbers, it was my feeling we needed to bring experts to look at how we do our business,'' trustee John Ward said. ``I want more reliable ways in estimating what the numbers are. Frankly, there's not a lot of confidence in the numbers we are getting from the administration in this area.'' The board voted 3-2 at Tuesday's meeting to hire Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team Services. The dissenting dis·sent intr.v. dis·sent·ed, dis·sent·ing, dis·sents 1. To differ in opinion or feeling; disagree. 2. To withhold assent or approval. n. 1. votes were cast by board members Gwen Farrell and Marty Meeden. Meeden said some of the tasks that will be performed by the consultant can be done internally by district officials. ``It was a poor use of money when you can use that money to reinstate To restore to a condition that has terminated or been lost; to reestablish. To reinstate a case, for example, means to restore it to the same position it had before dismissal. some of the programs that we cut out,'' Meeden said. Farrell said she wanted to wait until the district hired a permanent assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. for business services. She said the district should have someone hired by December. District officials said last month that Westside finished the 2002-03 fiscal year with nearly $2.2 million, up from the $612,952 that was originally projected. Officials attributed the extra money to increased enrollment and cuts the district had made. At Tuesday's meeting, auditors told the board the reserves actually totaled more than $1.4 million. The discrepancy DISCREPANCY. A difference between one thing and another, between one writing and another; a variance. (q.v.) 2. Discrepancies are material and immaterial. was caused by an accounting error when money was shifted to the wrong account, trustees said. About half of the extra money will go to employees as bonuses or increased salary or benefits because their contracts entitle en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: them to half of any extra funds that come in. Trustees are concerned if workers are given raises because the extra money is one-time funds. ``(Raises are) a continuing encumbrance A burden, obstruction, or impediment on property that lessens its value or makes it less marketable. An encumbrance (also spelled incumbrance) is any right or interest that exists in someone other than the owner of an estate and that restricts or impairs the transfer of the estate or for next year and following years,'' Meeden said. Westside administrators have mentioned the possibility of using income from the state as a result of student growth to pay for raises. The district in June cut about $1 million, including eliminating a year- old alternative program for seventh- and eighth-graders who fall behind and are in danger of not graduating to high school. Westside officials also said they would reassign teachers who serve as curriculum specialists back to the classroom and send back to the classroom three teachers who provided computer lab instruction at elementary schools elementary school: see school. . The board avoided eliminating the elementary school music program and other cuts by raising enrollment projections and reducing the amount the district keeps in reserve. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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