Guest opinion, response to Breeze editorial: A Revelation of Incompetence
Those who had supported the former Superintendent, still continue to support him, even though the Charter School Audit, has since vindicated our Mayor and revealed a disappointing and alarming report, of our Charter School System’s management or maybe I should say, lack of management.
All our Mayor ever wanted was a full accounting of our Cape Coral Charter Schools.
There is no getting around it, when politicians call for any action, their opponents sit up and cry “it’s political.”
Well, call it what you would like, but I call the Audit a revelation of incompetence.
Two and a half years as Superintendent and here we sit with an Audit of the Charter Schools, which at best should be labeled, “egregious.”
The Breeze refers to the findings as “deficiencies.”
Certainly a term to minimize the seriousness of what could be best describe as incompetence.
The Superintendent that was hired to manage our Charter School System came from another Florida School System, so these State Laws, and Governing Department of Education Polices and Guidelines should have been familiar to him.
What we have here are violations of Florida State Law Statutes, The Florida Department of Education Chapter 8, The Charter School Operating Guide Policies, as well as the State of Florida’s Record Retention Laws.
There are consequences and penalties for breaking laws, so I ask, why isn’t The Breeze asking, who is going to be held accountable?
Besides the Audit or even the lack of any prior year Audits, it can be said that specific, basic, managerial examples of incompetence were, but not limited to:
1. Internal funds were used to purchase some electronic devices and these devices were not tracked or tagged with any asset tracking system.
NONE!
What this means is that these devices could have been lost, stolen, or taken and no one would have any idea of who, what, where or when.
A Violation of the Florida Department of Education, Chapter 8.
2. Credit Card logs are not retained. Let me repeat that…Credit Card Logs are not retained.
What this means is that certain personnel were using Charter School Credit Cards and no record was being kept on who was using the Credit Cards.
A Violation of Florida Record Retention Laws.
3. Numerous examples of the lack of training, of those school personnel, assigned to perform specific jobs such as the handling of school monies, school equipment and school purchases, throughout the Audit.
4.The process of securing approval by the Principal on Expense Pre Approval forms prior to purchases did not occur in some cases.
As a result, cash might not have been available for purchases prior to verifying fund balance and without pre-approval, inappropriate purchases maybe made and it is possible that no one in authority would know.
And please remember there were at least 14 other examples of managerial incompetence.
The lack of any prior years of auditing are no excuse for the lack of basic managerial principles.
You wouldn’t operate a pizza parlor like this Charter School System was operating.
What else is curious about the position The Breeze is taking in this Audit/Investigation, is revealed in this question posed by The Breeze when they asked, “So why the ugly rehash redux this week?”
Psst, hey, Breeze, the Audit had just came out that past week…
No ugly rehash redux…
Just a public airing, NO COVER UP, of an Audit.
We are to be criticized for that?
Another troubling point that concerned me was the Charter School Board as well as the Council Liaison’s haste, to get a new contract to the Superintendent, before the Audit was released to the Council and the Public.
I implore the residents of our great City to get a copy of this audit.
www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/pdf/news/642616_1.pdf
It is explained in ordinary terms and I believe you also will be as perplexed, angry and as disappointed as I was, when I read the report.
Like the Councilman from the 4th District said in what could be best described as a defense of the Superintendent and a veil attempt to state that the Council has no quarter to criticize the Superintendent and I paraphrase here, “we (the Council) don’t know how to run a Charter School.”
Well, apparently neither did the Superintendent.
Councilman John M. Carioscia Sr.
District 2