School Officials Padded Budget

Cheating for Children- Valhalla Leads by Example

Each year as school budgets are put before the voters in New York State, school districts face the possibility of rejection by the voters. How much is too much? What will tip the scales and bring out the majority of residents with no children in the district to defeat the budget? What chaos will ensue for the coming school year?

School districts no longer have to worry . By using the Valhalla method of preparing the contingent budget. you can convince voters that the contingent (formerly the austerity) budget will be every bit as high as the proposed budget. In fact with a little bit of creativity, your contingent budget can actually surpass the proposed budget! Take that taxpayers, vote no and pay more.

Unbelievable but true. What the board in Valhalla did last year overstated the contingent budget by $1,005,000. They simply moved a couple of entries on the contingent budget worksheet, so they would not calculate correctly, then added an undocumented and illegal line item, calling it "Expenditures attributable to FAPE". Immediately the difference between the proposed budget and the contingent budget disappeared!

Any district can do it. Create your own line, call it "Stuff we can't live without", then change the formulas on the worksheet. Add an Artificial Turf Field, a climbing wall, a new track, school attire for the staff and board of education, bonuses for the business manager. Subsidize a daycare center. Be sure to pander to every parent in the district. Anything will work. And best of all, there are no consequences- None. . Complaints, if any, fall on deaf ears at state ed and, as always, the Commissioner will find some way to rule in your favor.

Don't let ethics stand in your way, keep the opposition at home, keep the dollars flowing, use the Valhalla method of padding your budget. Valhalla does it, you can too, you know it's all for the children!

This matter has been brought to the attention of the NY State Comptroller's office which now has an audit of the Valhalla school district pending.