Big Spenders on the School Board

Let’s assume that an elected official performing his fiduciary obligations in guarding the public purse would object to at least one out of every hundred requests for money. What is the chance that such an official exists on the Matawan-Aberdeen School District Board of Eduation? Almost zero.

Following the most recent board elections, there have been approximately 300 line item expenditures that sought board approval. Of those 300 financial requests, not a single board member voted against a single item. To show how improbable that is, let’s assume that each person on the board is fiscally restrained, which we again define as voting against at least 1% of expenditures. What is the likelihood that everyone on the board is fiscally restrained yet no one ever voted against one of the 300 monetary requests? 164 billionth of a billionth percent.

But surely there must be at least one person who would object to at least 1% of cost items? Well, there is a 4.9% possibility that at least one board member would normally reject some spending but simply couldn’t find anything objectionable.

Of course, that solitary board member would still need to justify why an underperforming school system would choose to spend money on the following items:

• $4,650.00 – Girls tennis coach
• $4,520.00 – Fill vacancies on the Local Professional Development Committee
• $18,000.00 – Re-writing class curriculums
• $1,070.00 – National Geographic Competition Advisor
• $2,443.14 – Send two teachers to the HOPE Foundation, a program that teaches individuals “how to work as a team”
• $2,100.00 – Send three teachers to School Attuned Training
• $11,000.00 – New audio system for the high school weight room, band room, and dance studio
• $11,500.00 – New audio system for the high school cafeteria
• $9,000.00 – To create proposals for converting the TV studio into an instructional facility
• $1,650.20 – To send an administrator to the National Association for Pupil Transportation Conference
• $4,770.00 – Send three teachers to the National Reading Recovery Conference, a program that shows how to tutor first grade reading
• $11,300.00 – Two assistant boys soccer coaches
• $1,130.00 – Interact Club Advisor
• $4,430.00 – Two student council advisors
• $1,130.00 - Basketball Cheerleading Advisor
• $28,262.00 – Food service vehicle
• $28,063.00 – New school website (plus $30,000 over the next four years)

The above expenditures were approved by the Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education during the past three months alone. The above costs, like all costs presented to the board, were approved unanimously. What is the probability that there is at least one fiscally prudent member on the Board of Education? Approaching zero day by day. >>> Read more!