Wicomico BOE Swaps Dollars Rather Tighten Belt

Yesterday, in what was probably the most important work session of Wicomico County Council’s FY 2010 budget deliberations, the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) showed even more disdain for Maryland and Wicomico taxpayers.  To meet a $2 million shortfall the WCBOE proposed a multi-million dollar bait and switch that would land Supt. John Fredericksen and his crew in prison if we were talking about a private company rather than a government bureaucracy.

Here are the basics of the “grand scheme”:

• Last year, Wicomico County funded the WCBOE with $700,000 ABOVE the state mandated maintenance of effort (MOE).  The WCBOE proposes to transfer that money BACK to Wicomico County and then have the county transfer the funds back to WCBOE.

• A few years ago the county passed legislation enabling the WCBOE to establish a “School Construction Savings Plan” (SCSP).  Any surplus left at the WCBOE is supposed to go into the SCSP.  The WCBOE proposes that $1.3 million be taken from this fund, transfered BACK to the county, and then transferred back to the WCBOE.

Only in government would such a scheme be considered “savings”.

In all fairness to the WCBOE, they claim that this is the best method of maintaining MOE and securing additional state funding.  This is a valid concern given that the state supplies almost 3 X the funding for education as that provided by Wicomico County.

This does not mean that the this is the BEST solution.  There is at least one other option, as pointed out by Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman (R-2).  There is currently a multi-million dollar surplus in the WCBOE’s “Rate Stabilization Fund”.

This fund was originally explained to me by Fredericksen and several board members as a type of reinsurance for the WCBOE’s healthcare plan.  Further research indicates that this is not the case.  The Rate Stabilization Fund is, in fact, the BOE’s health insurance fund.  Fredericksen has repeatedly represented this fund as employee money.  In reality it is the taxpayers’ money.  Yes, WCBOE personnel pay a small part of the “premium”.  However, since the BOE is self-insured, any surplus left in a reserve account is the BOE’s (therefore the taxpayers).

While it would be fiscally imprudent to strip the fund to a minimum set by the WCBOE’s actuaries, this fund is an excellent source of funding MOE while the county faces its current economic woes.  Unfortunately for Wicomico taxpayers Fredericksen, his staff, the four employee unions, and the leftward leaning board majority prefer to use this fund as a slush fund to help fund “NECESSITIES” such as boosting the taxpayers’ share of retiree healthcare benefits.

Beyond the continued disrespect given to Wicomico taxpayers by schemes such as the $2 million dollar swap described above, one other group of events made yesterday’s meeting interesting.  The Wicomico County Council somehow morphed into a conservative majority – as if by magic.

While it was to be expected of Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich (R-3) Councilman Joe Holloway (R-5), and Prettyman to be skeptical and pepper the WCBOE’s representatives with tough questions, Councilman John Cannon (R-At Large), Councilman Dave MacLeod (D-5) and Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-1) seemed to have magically morphed into conservatives.  Only Councilman Bill McCain (D-At Large) held to the “It’s for the children” liberal party line.

Holloway lead the charge with:

You’ve (the WCBOE) done a great job SHIFTING MONEY.  What we’re looking for is BELT TIGHTENING.

Before the folks from the WCBOE could even mount a decent response, McCain CHARGED to the rescue:

The Board of Education already operates under a tight belt!

What happened next almost caused me to fall of my chair.  MacLeod, probably the most genuinely liberal member of the council, agreed with Holloway rather than coming to his pal McCain’s defense:

We need to see an honest effort at saving money.  This isn’t it.

It has been widely rumored that both McCain and MacLeod would choose NOT to run for re-election in 2010. McCain’s utter contempt for the county’s taxpayers and property owners has pretty much made him a fish in barrel.  MacLeod appears to be keeping his options open.  Additionally, I have to give MacLeod credit for genuinely (if misguidedly) believing that government is a force for good while McCain merely panders to select special interests.

It will be several weeks before the BOE makes public the four union contracts for next year.  Until then, we won’t know the extent of teacher / staff raises over at the BOE.  A lot of questions will also have to be asked regarding benefit increases that can be hidden in places such as the Rate Stabilization Fund.  Until then we won’t have a clue whether or not the WCBOE is willing to tighten its belt, even one notch, or if we’ll continue to see the kind of “bait and switch” that was witnessed yesterday.

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