Response to Board Member Blaney’s Allegations to the Media During the July 12, 2022 Board Meeting

There is no reference of any violation of state law, or any other laws in the May 25, 2022 Internal Risk Assessment Report issued by the District’s internal auditors, D’Arcangelo & Co., LLP., which was delivered to the Board at the June 27, 2022 Board meeting. The Board is also not aware of any violation of state, federal, or local laws pertaining to approval of overtime or the use of overtime within the District.  

The Report noted that “although the District is ­documenting approval of overtime, it could not be substantiated that it was pre-approved.” To clarify, that does not mean the overtime was not pre-approved, but rather the District failed to appropriately document the pre-approval or document the reasons why overtime triggered by emergencies were not documented as to the reasons why the overtime was not pre-approved.  The Report recommends that overtime usage should be “carefully monitored and controlled” and that the District “ensure compliance with Superintendent Regulation 6590R,” which requires pre-approved overtime “when possible” and monthly reviews of overtime usage by the appropriate Department Administrator, Executive Director of the Business Office, and the Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. The primary purpose of the Regulation’s requirement for monthly review is to help District officials determine whether it is more economical to hire additional staff in lieu of working excessive amounts of overtime.

The District is in the process of reviewing its overtime controls and will take appropriate actions to tighten the controls to the extent required or advisable, consistent with the recommendations of its internal auditors.

Craig J. Dailey
Board of Education - President