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March 15, 2007
Governor huddles with public school principals over spending of federal grant money Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr. wrapped up two days of meetings with public school principals, program managers and the leadership team of the Education department during which candid discussions were had about the challenges the department has had obligating and spending federal grant money. The meetings were held Tuesday at Government House on St. Croix and Wednesday at the Curriculum Center on St. Thomas. Also in attendance were Acting Education Commissioner Dr. Lauren Larsen and the two acting insular superintendents: Jewel Ross-Brathwaite on St. Croix and Lisa Hassell-Forde on St. Thomas. The meetings were an opportunity for not only for the governor to hear from the principals first hand but to restate his commitment to bringing about systematic changes that will benefit “the 21,000 students enrolled in our public schools.” deJongh stressed the need for accountability as the government pushes against a crushing deadline for obligating and liquidating grant money which dates back to the 2005 school year. At the same time that this process is underway, the principals are revising spending plans and awaiting federal approval for the expenditure of grant money awarded the territory for both the 2005-2006 school year and the 2006-2007 academic year, and must submit a grant application from the 2007-2008 cycle. “I called these meetings to have an open and frank discussion with our principals and program coordinators on what they have to accomplish in a short time frame and what I have to do to make the process smoother. No excuses or passing the blame, but to focus on what we have to collectively undertake,” deJongh said. Challenges identified by principals on St. Croix and St. Thomas were similar. They ranged from: connectivity and access to the computer system of the third-party fiduciary, Alvarez and Marsal, to obligating and drawing down funds, to the manner in which expenditures are listed, coded and approved, a need for more training on the government’s new financial management system known commonly as the ERP and difficulty with vendor information for classroom supplies and teaching resources. At the two meetings, principals laid out their strategies for obligating the funds ahead of the imposed deadlines. The governor pledged to have meetings to address the concerns he has heard from the public school principals and program managers. “We have to reach a common ground on these issues, with a major goal being to secure the federal grant money made available to us and at the same time making changes to the way we are doing business.” deJongh said he is hoping to send a clear message that the tough decisions will be made to change the way “Education has been run over the years. We must, in the best interest of our teachers, address our refund for travel and related expenses for attending professional development. We must also eliminate per-diem obligations owed to so many other individuals. DeJongh promised future meetings to address instruction and curriculum with the same group of principals and school program managers. |
