Another Grand Turnout for a RARE Wicomico County Council Night Meeting

Last night we, the people who actually pay the taxes in Wicomico County, were given the RARE “privilege” of being able to see out county government at work.  The council had one of their quarterly night meetings.  Around 50 citizens turned up; far more than their usual 10 AM crowd.

A New Library – Another Multi-Million Dollar Pipe Dream

Admittedly, it was a long one; but we were able to see a few important issues discussed.  Tops on the agenda for many was a presentation by library director Tom Hehman on the Library’s proposed acquisition of land on Beaglin Park Drive.

I’m a strong proponent of a new library.  That is why I am especially saddened by the approach being taken by Hehman and the library board.  They are asking the county council to agree to purchase land out of the downtown core, with no plan of how to pay for a new library (other than to load more debt on the taxpayer).  In addition, we also found out during public comments that Mr. Hehman and the library folk aren’t being totally open about other potential sites.

One remark from Hehman sealed the deal for me:

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Open Union Negotiations at the WCBOE

The Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) doesn’t have a great record of inspiring taxpayer confidence when it comes to spending.  Between doing out benefits like it’s somebody else’s money (because it IS somebody else’s, IT’S OURS) to junkets and expense account lunches, Wicomico taxpayers just aren’t sold that “the children” really come first.  There is one step the WCBOE could take that might help – open union negotiations to the public.

WAIT!  That’s confidential.  Isn’t it?

Evidently not.  The Calvert County BOE has opened up their negotiations to the public this year.  Evidently the board and the unions have to agree and waive confidentiality.  If the WCBOE and their four “bargaining units” (educrat for “unions”) don’t have anything to hide, why can’t we sit in on the meetings?

What about it?  A little fresh air might inspire a little confidence.

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Why Does the WCBOE Protect Criminals?

Harken back to the days of the great landfill scandal.  After Sheriff Mike Lewis caught the criminals and States Attorney Davis Ruark sent them to jail it was discovered that the miscreants would be collecting full county pensions.  Shame on us.

By law, nothing could be done about the problem at hand.  However, Wicomico’s county council did take steps to make sure that such an event wouldn’t occur in the future.  If a county employee was found guilty of defrauding or otherwise stealing from the taxpayers they would forfeit the county’s contribution to their pension.

Last year it was discovered that a Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) employee was defrauding the taxpayers (or if you are a lefty – “stealing form the children”).  I’m sure it wasn’t the first time; nor the last.  Assuming that this woman is convicted and sentence to jail, she will be eligible to receive her full pension.  Shame on us again?

Maybe.  The WCBOE bureaucrats read the paper.  Hell, thanks to their “special relationship” they practically run it.  But, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as to why they didn’t pass a resolution similar to the county’s soon after the county passed their new pension rules.  However, in early December of last year the Wicomico County Council sent a letter to superintendent John Fredericksen asking that they adopt a similar resolution.  Almost four months have passed.  NOTHING.

If the WCBOE doesn’t act, then the next time an employee is discovered stealing from the taxpayer, the fault will lie squarely on Fredericksen and the board.  Perhaps Fredericksen, et al, will argue that their collective bargaining agreements wouldn’t allow them to pass such legislation.  But wait, I thought that it was all “FOR THE CHILDREN”.

Tomorrow – Part I of The Big Field Trip, our expose of waste, fraud, and abuse in the WCBOE Travel Budget

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Fredericksen Needs A Little Economics Lesson

It’s pretty obvious from yesterday’s Daily Times op-ed that Wicomico County schools superintendent John Fredericksen never bothered taking an economics class during his many years of post-secondary education.  Fredericksen seems to be under the delusion that the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) is somehow an “economic engine” that grows our local economy:

The Wicomico County school system is one of the region’s top three employers, an economic engine with 25 schools and more than 2,500 employees. Our employees support the Wicomico County economy and the communities where they live, magnifying the effect of dollars that are spent on public education.

While I certainly don’t expect Fredericksen to grasp Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, he should at least take the time to tackle Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson.  Government spending CANNOT CREATE WEALTH.  Wealth creation is what grows an economy over the long term.

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Holloway Uncovers MORE Wasteful Spending at the BOE

Wicomico County Councilman Joe Holloway isn’t very popular with the bureaucrats over at the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE).  He politely asks for information on their spending habits, they attempt to stonewall him, Holloway keeps fighting for the information, the bureaucrats are embarrassed.  At least the taxpayers get to find out how their dollars are being wasted.

Speaking last night at the monthly meeting of the Wicomico chapter of Americans for Prosperity, Holloway gave a brief re-cap of his term on the county council.  Holloway made one thing crystal clear – despite the protestations of people like Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt and several members of the county council, Wicomico County doesn’t have a REVENUE PROBLEM.  Wicomico County has a SPENDING PROBLEM.

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It’s Been A Rough Week At the Wicomico Board of Education

Wise people learn from their mistakes and view adversity as opportunity.  This may be a cliché, but true none the less.  One thing we have learned this week is that the people running the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) are not wise men and women.

After being denied a budget transfer by the Wicomico County Council for the first time in memory, members of the board and senior staff were then hit with the public revelation that one or more school libraries were stocking material wholly inappropriate for school students.  Has the WCBOE learned from its mistakes?  No.  Are they turning a bad situation into an opportunity for improvement?  Hell No!

Instead, we have Superintendent John Fredericksen flip-flopping right and left as to what will be done.  Basically it depends who is interviewing Fredericksen as to what will be done about the book scandal dubbed by one public official as “ComicGate”.

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Wicomico Board of Ed Gets Snippy Over Padding Budget

At this morning’s Wicomico County Council meeting the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) again showed that the taxpayers come last.  Appearing before the council for routine transfer of funds requests, WCBOE Comptroller Bruce Ford simply refused to provide adequate answers to questions from council members Joe Holloway and Gail Bartkovich.

When asked why the WCBOE couldn’t get a little closer in their budget estimates, Ford kept coming back to “the Board has never asked the the council for extra funds during the year”.  That’s true.  The reason for this is simple.  The WCBOE of deliberately pads its budget each year; with the surplus going to the “School Construction Fund”.

This, in and of itself, wouldn’t be so bad.  We all know that Wicomico County schools need maintenace (being the bureaucratic morass that it is, the “School Construction Fund” isn’t for school construction).  Maintaing our schools is definitely “for the children”.  Of course, robbing the “School Construction Fund” in the “Great Dollar Swap” doesn’t look so good when there is a slush fund of $7 million of the taxpayers money (the “Rate Stabilzation Fund”) that the WCBOE wants to use for little perks like upping the taxpayer portion on retiree health care.

Ford’s response to about why the county can budget closer was almost snippy – “Well we have more stringent reporting requirements than you do”.  No Mr. Ford!  The county government has to report to the TAXPAYERS and VOTERS of Wicomico County.  Perhaps one day, the WCBOE will learn that they are who the WCBOE works for as well.

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WCBOE Public Information Officer to Receive 33% Pay Raise

How big a raise did you get this year?  That is the question that all Wicomico County taxpayers should be asking themselves as the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) prepares to award their “Public Information Liaison” a whopping pay increase of 33%!

While hardly a bargain for Wicomico taxpayers, we know that this is a steal for Supt. John Fredericksen.  As most of you probably know, the WCBOE’s “Public Information Liaison” happens to be the wife of Erick Sahler, managing editor of the Daily Times.  One of the perks of such an “arrangement” is that no unflattering coverage of the BOE appears within the pages of our local rag.

While we regularly read about the problems of the Somerset BOE, the fights between the Worcester County Commissioners and their BOE, and teacher pay issues in several Sussex County school districts (Delaware has independent school districts), coverage of the Wicomico County schools is primarily limited to puff pieces of children receiving awards.  Note that NO coverage was given to the WCBOE’s recent decision to increase retiree healthcare benefits.  Note that explanation of the WCBOE’s “dollar swap” as budget cut was afforded the same type of explanation as the Daily Times usually reserves for Barrie Tilghman’s transgressions; in other words, shine sunshine up people’s backsides.  As far as the WCBOE is concerned, increasing Mrs. Sahler’s salary from around $40,000 to over $54,000 is the sale of the century.  Most school districts couldn’t buy this kind of coverage (or lack thereof);  the Daily Times has sold it pretty cheap.

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Wicomico MOE Waiver Denied – State Gives Finger to Wicomico Citizens

The Maryland State Board of Education has denied Wicomico County’s request for a waiver of the state’s Momentum of Effort rule.  County Executive Rick Pollitt, along with the Wicomico County Council will now be forced to come up with approximately $2 million in additional cuts to the county’s budget.

Council Joe Holloway (R-5) responded to the state’s decision:

I’m disappointed.  I was hoping that as a county, the Board, Rick Pollitt and the County Council could work as a team to solve our current fiscal dillemma.  Unfortunately, Dr. Fredericksen’s efforts seem to have derailed our attempts to weather the county’s current financial situation.

Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich believes that the WCBOE should find a solution within their own budget:

I think that the board of education needs to find those cuts in their own budget.  Our county departments can’t make any more cuts this year.  While county employees are receiving no pay increase this year, and we’re even talking about furlough days, the board is able to increase benefits for their retirees.

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Correction Requested from Board of Ed

In relation to an article in Wednesday’s Daily Times and our post covering the WCBOE meeting the Daily Times, Delmarva Dealings, and Salisbury News have all received an email WCBOE chairwoman Robin Holloway asking for a correction.

Our reporting of the quote was based on the Daily Times article. The Daily Times has not chosen to correct their quote of interim Superintendent Tom Fields. While we have had issues with Daily Times coverage of several issues, they have not involved the misquoting of individuals. Therefore, we are standing by yesterday’s post.

The Daily Times has printed a letter to the editor from Ms. Holloway communicating her point of view on this matter.

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