In addition, Mrs. Charley-Greene (or her immediate predecessor) used over $2500 of student money to purchase smartphone services for staff members, a violation of MCPS procurement rules.
Adding to the misuse of student funds, Mrs. Charley-Greene (or her immediate predecessor) improperly spent over $60 per staff member on "staff refreshments".
The complete audit report, which lists numerous rule-breaking spending actions by the current principal or her immediate predecessor, is available at:
http://audits.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/school/northwoodhs
Update: This blog post has been updated to recognize the fact that the audit covers a period of time where both the current and former principals had control over the Independent Activity Fund. The audit does not distinguish between improprieties attributable to the current principal and improprieties attributable to the former principal. In any case, there is nothing in the audit that indicates that the current principal has issued refunds to students for the illegally collected curricular fees. Furthermore, there is nothing in the audit that indicates that the current principal has reimbursed the IAF accounts for funds improperly used for staff refreshments, meals for the football team, or smartphone service.
MCPS formerly required that an audit be conducted whenever the administrator of an IAF (the principal) changes. However, MCPS no longer reliably conducts IAF audits when there is a change of principal. Many IAF audits are more than a year overdue.
Pursuant to MCPS Regulation DIA-RA, "Independent Activity Funds (IAF) are funds that, unless otherwise specifically designated, belong to the student body currently in attendance and must be used solely for the benefit of the student body."
'Unlawful?' Oh please. Nothing is unlawful at MCPS. They do whatever they want with tax dollars.
ReplyDeleteCorrect. If it does not make sense then it is legal.
Delete"fund raisers that operated at a deficit"
ReplyDeleteThis is a continuing part of the culture of MCPS/BOE abuses and utter lack of accountability.
ReplyDeleteI am grateful to see that PC has updated this story to say that the improper expenses may have occurred during her predecessor's watch because that's most likely when it happened. Mr. Johnson abided by his own rules. Since Ms. Charley-Greene took the helm Northwood is a totally revitalized school, one of which students and staff can feel proud. She has worked tirelessly to boost staff morale and strengthen the school's programs. While I appreciate PC's extensive research and reporting on wrongdoing please be careful not to unfairly tarnish those within MCPS who are doing right by our kids. Ms. Charley-Greene has done an amazing amount of work at Northwood in a short period of time and the DCC needs her. I highly doubt she's your smoking gun.
ReplyDeleteWe already got this e-mail from the MCPS PR dept. Least you could do is sign it so the readers know where this is coming from.
DeleteThe IAF Audit of Northwood HS speaks for itself.
What the comment at 12:35 PM is saying is that parents can expect zero accountability for any funds they pay into a school. The new principal had been at this school one year. So in one year the finances were not put in order. The finances were not cleaned up until September of 2014.
DeleteI have taught at Northwood for almost a decade....I can assure you it wasn't the current Principal Ms. Charley-Greene. Funds were often misappropriated by our former principal to purchase items that several of us staff members found to be questionable. I hope that our current principal does not take the heat for someone elses poor judgment.
ReplyDeleteWho did you report the misappropriation of student funds to?
DeleteWhat action was taken?
Were the student funds paid back?
The teachers union. And due to the fact that our former principal was very good at deflecting questions, and/or heat. Many of us worked under a hostile environment and when we found what we did report was out of their hands, to avoid retribution we did what we were suppose to do as teachers. As for the student fees you can only take ownership of your direct account during the school year. What happens over the summer is beyond our control.
DeleteSorry, that doesn't absolve you from any responsibility. Reporting to an organization that you know does not work to protect children is not sufficient.
DeleteYou wanted to "avoid retribution" but didn't care what happened to children who were being ripped off?
See what happens when you have the audacity to support ANY member of MCPS on this website? YOU become the transgressor.
ReplyDeleteSo it's all about YOU is it? Not students?
DeleteWho cares about the kids, let's rip them off, but ooooohhhh let's protect the adults at all costs?
Sorry, covering up of the misappropriation of student funds is not up for a civic award this year. Maybe, next year.
This is really a tempest in a teapot. Anyone who has been the subject of a routine Audit Office or IG study has seen this type of document. The Independent Activity Fund report, which is quite detailed, is a comprehensive list of administrative findings, proposed corrective actions, timeline, and verification of the changes, if made. The Fiscal Management Action Plan details these steps. Its sole intention is to document apparent administrative failures of process and propose corrective actions. It is NOT a criminal or civil leveling of charges in any way shape or form. It is the annual attempt by the Internal Audit staff of MCPS to HELP the schools do their job per existing administrative guidelines. If the investigative body is dissatisfied with the progress towards correction, I'm sure that the pressure on Northwood would be ratcheted up a little. Bottom line is : were errors made? were corrective actions taken either prior to or as a result of the review? are the corrected processes to be used in the future? That's the long and short of it. Everyone needs to just relax a little bit here.
ReplyDeleteThat's right. It's not your money. It's only misappropriation of student funds. Who cares?
Delete11:54 AM your comment is so incredibly off base it's hysterical. The Parents' Coalition has been making these local school IAF Audits PUBLIC for years because MCPS DID NOT.
In 2007-08 there was OVER $15 MILLION in STUDENT funds at these local school IAF accounts and the local school AUDITS WERE NOT PUBLIC.
That's the last time we know of that MCPS released school by school totals.
That's $15 MILLION that students have paid in to their local school.
$15 MILLION that is ripe for abuse and misuse.
Finally, MCPS started making these Audits public, and now you don't want to talk about them. Of course not, you work for who???
Just a few of the headlines produced by the Parents' Coalition investigations of these Audits over the years:
WTOP: Audit of High School Shows Lots of Red Ink
Examiner: Audit: School Staff Misused Funds
WJLA: School Money Spent on Staff Perks at School
Washington Post: Audits Obtained by Parents Show More Misspent Funds
Washington Post: In Md., Teed About Principal's Golf Cart
Parents' Coalition blog: Audit reveals ongoing financial disarray at Whitman High School
Gazette: Audits reveal loose spending practices in high schools
I appreciate your comment. Especially since this should not be directed toward Ms. Charley-Greene. She hasn't been there that long. geesh!
DeleteOver a year! Waited until Sept 2014 to cancel cell phone contracts. That was her choice.
DeleteMs Sartucci - I am 11:54 am. I'm not now and never have been an MCPS employee. I was notified of the PC article, and because I have a student at Northwood, I chose to read the actual report. (I should note that I have a generally favorable impression of Ms Charley-Greene.) I am not attempting to justify or rationalize anyone's actions. Nor do I feel the because it's "not my money" I am unconcerned. The point I was trying to make, despite you typifying it as "incredibly off-base", is that reports like this are published virtually constantly at all levels of government - some cyclical, some de facto. This report is clearly cyclical, i.e., not a de facto report generated in response to some egregious wrong-doing. The response template remains the same - finding, resolution timeline, followup - not a condemnation. While I certainly do not approve of the shoddy administration, non-existent documentation and/or misuse of IAF funds chronicled in the report, attempting to characterize these Northwood employees as either incompetent or devious thieves is a little over-the-top in my opinion. If any practice had been deemed sufficiently inappropriate the manner of recourse by MCPS would have been very different.
Delete11:54 - You have jumped to a number of conclusions that simply are not based on facts.
DeleteThanks for now identifying yourself, commenters are always free to identify themselves the first time they post.
Sorry, reports like this are NOT published virtually "constantly." The ONLY reason this report is now public is because of YEARS of work by the Parents' Coalition to bring these internal reports to light. The reports have not been coming constantly and, in fact, right now some reports are long overdue.
Unfortunately, you are very wrong about "if any practice had been deemed sufficiently inappropriate the manner of recourse by MCPS would have been very different." In fact, the MCPS response to these audits is EXACTLY the same no matter what is in them! Years of investigation by the Parents' Coalition has proved that time and time again.
Why don't you read up on the Rock Terrace audit or the Churchill audits (using funds donated in the memory of deceased students for staff perks) or the Richard Montgomery (golf cart) audit and let us know what response you find from MCPS? The answer is none. Well, except the RM principal got a promotion.
The only way there is any teeny tiny response is if the reports are made public. MCPS takes absolutely no action based on these reports. Zip. Zero. Zilch. They are simply written and filed away. In fact, they are no longer written with details like they used to be. Now the wording is all very vague and details are not included. When a report is this explicit it typically means that the actual situation is much worse than what is detailed in this report.
The message we are getting here from anonymous MCPS employees is that every new principal should be given a year's grace period to mishandle student funds. Whatever happens in that first year shouldn't matter and principals - highly trained principals - should not come into a new school ready to handle millions of dollars in student funds and cell tower revenue.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't this part of a principal's training?
How many YEARS of grace periods should a principal have? Well, at least 6 years according to MCPS! See the Churchill High School continuing audits. Year after year after year after year after year of misuse and abuse of student funds without any attempt to end this continuing situation.
What I've always found amusing about this site is that anonymous posters who disagree with Ms. Sartucci are regularly labeled and attacked as either MCPS employees or MCPS PR people. Yet those who agree with her are NEVER labeled anything negative. Sometimes what is left unsaid is very powerful.
ReplyDeleteAnd they are anonymous because why? The traffic to the blog clearly shows us where readers come from. We can spell MCPS.
DeleteYes, it's very powerful that posters use anonymity to hide from things they supposedly believe in. If you have the courage of your convictions, then what's the terror with signing your name 8:18? Yes, your hiding is very powerful.
Go Janis! I agree place the blame where it lies. She had to be aware of these mishandling of funds. She is supposed to oversee all fiscal items in the school.
DeleteFascinating that the anonymous comments here are all about protecting the principal and not a peep about safeguarding student funds.
ReplyDeleteIt actually doesn't matter if there were 100 principals at this school in the last 2 years. Student funds should be SAFE no matter what! ALL THE TIME! There is no excuse, NONE for misappropriation, mishandling or misuse of student funds.
This school has a massive slush fund of cell tower cash that isn't reported in ANY public accounting. The public has absolutely no idea how those funds are spent and this audit is the FIRST mention in any MCPS document of how these funds might be used.
If supporting the misuse, misappropriation or mishandling of student funds is so incredibly important, then sign your name and stand behind your position. There is no need for anonymity in this discussion.