Board member Tom Manton reported that paving, which is being carried out in conjunction with the installation of a new water system at the Deerfield Valley Elementary School, will cost about $5,150 more than expected. He said oil lines that ran under the parking area had to be replaced during the course of construction, and paving the area would cost about $2,700.
Manton said the town had been unable to carry out some preparatory work that, as a result, had to be done by contractors, adding another $650 to the paving bill. Finally, the state hasn’t responded to requests to make improvements in their right of way along Route 100 at the entrance and exit to the school parking lot. It will cost the school about $1,800 to pave the apron and smooth the transition from parking lot to highway. “The southbound apron is particularly bad,” Manton noted.
Manton said some of the money may be “reimbursable.” Windham Southwest Supervisory Union Business Manager Ronda Lackey said $1,675 of the expense could be attributed to the water project, and some could be attributed to work that was done last year.
In other financial discussions, Lackey broke the news that auditor Rod Sherman, who has handled the annual financial audit for the entire supervisory union for more than 20 years, is retiring. “We are in a bind,” Lackey said. “This came as a surprise.”
When she started contacting other firms for quotes on the job of auditing the supervisory union’s finances, she said she soon learned what a bargain Sherman’s service was. Even the lowest quote she got was more than twice the price Sherman had charged.
One reason for the price difference, Lackey noted, was a new measure passed by the Legislature this year that mandates auditing procedures, including an analysis of the school districts’ internal controls with written recommendations for improvements. “It takes more time, and more expense,” Lackey said. “We were getting a really good deal from Rod (Sherman), but everyone’s price went up because of this.”
Board member Phil Taylor expressed exasperation that the state would pass the cost of another mandate to school districts, while complaining that districts are spending too much. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “And they wonder why costs are going up? Did the Legislature know this would increase the cost significantly?”
“Is it excluded from per-pupil cost?” joked Manton.
But Lackey said that even though the lowest bid she received was twice Sherman’s price, it was half the price many nearby supervisory unions were paying for their annual audit. She recommended the board approve a bid by Mudgett, Jennett & Krogh-Wisner P.C., of Montpelier, for a three-year contract. “They’re easing us into the price,” Lackey said. “They gave us a break in the beginning and will bring us up to what it should be by the third year.”
Mudgett’s bid for auditing Wilmington’s school finances would start at $6,600, and increase by $600 each of the three years. The next closest bidder would start at $14,500 the first year and increase by $1,000 each year. Wilmington allotted $2,800 for the audit in the 2010 school budget.
“I guess it’s a no-brainer when the next nearest bidder is more than double,” Manton said.
In other discussions, board members thanked interim principal Kathy Larsen for her work over the summer. Larsen, a former principal at the school, stepped in when principal Mario Cruz left the school in July. “We would have been sunk without her,” said board member Dennis Richter.
“Kathy Larsen has set a new benchmark in my eyes for what a principal does,” remarked WSSU Assistant Superintendent Nancy Talbott. Larsen thanked Talbott and superintendent Dr. M. Peter Wright for their help, as well as school staff and volunteers who helped over the summer.
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