How @mcps hides the purchase of artificial turf football fields in the Operating Budget. @mcps @mocoboe

Where does the money for artificial turf football/soccer/lacrosse fields come from in the MCPS budget?

One might think that artificial turf fields are a capital expense.  But no, MCPS has buried the funding of these stadium fields deep within the Operating Budget.  That means that teacher salaries and classroom supplies are competing with artificial turf for Operating Budget funds.  

How do we know this?  Well we certainly did not find this out by reading the MCPS Operating Budget.  The MCPS Operating Budget makes no mention of the millions spent on artificial turf fields.  Look for yourself.  

In 2018, the Parents' Coalition asked the Superintendent to explain his reference to something called the Artificial Turf Field Program.  Sounds official, doesn't it?  Yet, it is no where to be found in the actual MCPS budgets.  

The answer was that the funds used for artificial turf stadiums are buried in the MCPS Real Estate Management Fund.  See page 21 of the Operating Budget.  The MCPS Real Estate Management Fund is supported by "multiple revenue sources."  

That means that MCPS has money coming in from the rental of buildings, classrooms, cell towers, FIELD TRIPS... and SOMEONE has privately decided that those funds should be automatically diverted to the purchase of artificial turf stadiums and not used to support teachers or classrooms.  

Who made that decision? When was the decision made? 

Field Trips?  Yes, you read that correctly.  Field Trip fees helped pay for artificial turf stadiums.   

Next time you hear about MCPS spending restrictions or budget cuts see if any mention is made of the millions being secretly diverted to pay for this capital expense using operating budget funds.  

**************

Email detailing source of artificial turf purchase below. 

Note that the appropriation documents that were requested were NOT supplied. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 Zuckerman, Andrew <Andrew_Zuckerman@mcpsmd.org>

To:​You​

Mon 7/23/2018 9:34 PM

Dear Ms. Sartucci,

 

Thank you for your email inquiring about the replacement of the artificial turf field at Richard Montgomery High School.  As you note, the Board of Education approved the award of contract for this project at the June 25, 2018, meeting.

 

The Real Estate Management Fund is a self-supporting entrepreneurial fund that manages several property related activities that involve external revenue.  One of these activities is the artificial turf program.  Multiple revenue sources support the activities within the Real Estate Management Fund, such as revenues from lease rentals, and each is accounted for individually within the larger fund.  For the artificial turf program fund, revenues are collected from sources including partnership agreements and fees from Community Use of Public Facilities.  These artificial turf related revenues are used to support artificial turf field replacement, such as at Richard Montgomery High School. 

 

Expenditures for the Real Estate Management Fund are appropriated annually by the County Council as part of the operating budget, as is the case with other entrepreneurial funds.  In the FY19 budget, the Real Estate Management Fund has a total appropriation of $3.953 million.  The $562,721 expenditure for the replacement of the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field is supported within this appropriation.

 

In the final approved FY19 operating budget document, the appropriation amount for the Real Estate Management Fund can be found on page 7-16. A program description of the Real Estate Management Fund can be found in the Superintendent’s Recommended FY19 Operating Budget on page 7-14.  Both of these documents can be accessed on the MCPS website at the following link:

 

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/

 

Detail on the artificial turf program fund has been provided to the County Council during budget deliberations.  At this time, revenues in the artificial turf program fund have resulted in a current fund balance of approximately $2.2 million.    

 

Thank you,

 

Andrew Zuckerman

Chief Operating Officer

Montgomery County Public Schools

 

********************************************************

Dear Superintendent Smith,

At the June 25, 2018, Board of Education meeting you presented a Memorandum that requested approval for Award of Contract—Replacement of Artificial Turf Field at Richard Montgomery High School.

https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/AZUHSB49CE62/$file/Award%20Cont%20Replace%20Turf%20Richard%20Montgomery%20HS.pdf

In your Memorandum you state:  

WHEREAS, The funds are available in the Artificial Turf Field Program;

At the Board of Education meeting, Mr. Zuckerman stated that the funding appropriation for this expenditure had already been obtained from the County Council. 

Please provide a copy of the appropriation documents that support his statement.  

In addition, please provide the budget documents that detail the funds currently in the Artificial Turf Field Program.  A link to the page of the MCPS Operating Budget where these funds are detailed would be a helpful response.

Thank you for your assistance.

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photo credit