AUDIT: Fox meets schoolhouse...

How timely... How polished... How coordinated... How sly...

Check out the media coverage of bloat from NBC12, WTVR, and the spoon-fed press release.

Many school divisions across the state have benefited from this independent, third-party review, which is financially supported by the commonwealth of Virginia. 

While this sounds independent and free, according to the audit report, it is not financially independent.

School divisions participating in this program are required to pay 25 percent of the cost of the study, 25 percent of internal direct costs to be reimbursed, plus an additional 25 percent if certain implementation targets are not met.

 So what was the level of community involvement in the audit?

On November 11, 2009, MGT held a community open house for two and a half hours at the Fulghum Center and 4 people attended the event.

What about some of these zingers found in the Executive Summary, not highlighted by the media coverage?

• Reorganize the central office (Recommendation 1-8).
• Reorganize the department of instructional administration and the department of instructional support into a single department under a chief academic officer (Recommendation 4-1).
• Decrease elementary school secretary/clerical positions (Recommendation 4-2).
• Adjust attendance area boundaries for elementary schools and middle schools to reduce the variations in utilization rates (Recommendation 5-4).
• Align school board policy and standard operating practice for allowable walk distances to school (Recommendation 6-3).

Or this listed problem in the introduction:

Dealing with some schools that are significantly under enrolled.

Possible the most interesting item is the survey results on page 1-23:

• While 70% of central administrators agreed that "Central office administrators are responsive to school needs." only 22% of the teachers agreed.
• While 68% of central administrators agreed that "Central office administrators are easily accessible and open to input." only 20% of teachers agreed.
• While only 12% of central administrators agreed that "Our school division has too many layers of administrators" 56% of the teachers agreed.

Who'd thunk?  Then, verification of what The Taxpayer has thought all along on page 1-24:

For a school system with an enrollment of over 60,000 with fluctuating student enrollment and, moreover, a significant decrease in fiscal resources, this represents, in MGT’s extensive experience, an organizational structure that should be modified. 

The central office organization has several functional areas assigned to non-related divisions or departments resulting in reduced efficiency in operation and coordination of services.

Overall, effective practices suggest that organizational alignment in large school systems, should to the extent feasible, be designed to ensure clear lines of communication. Additionally, control (management) of functions that serve multiple divisions or departments should be assigned reporting to a “neutral” unit to minimize possible influence of outcomes.

Best practices suggest that organizations, to the extent feasible, should align functions in such a manner as to avoid the “fox guarding the henhouse” syndrome.

So the very structure of the organization squashes dissent and opposing views that are suppose to correct the ship.  What a revelation?!!

Instead of reporting, we get the media falling on its collective buttocks and reporting only what the school system wants to highlight.  We get chicken feathers AND chicken poop... lots of it...

Fox Newsome

"This is another validation that Chesterfield County is a well run, well managed, efficiently run school division."

Much more ahead!! Get the juicy analysis on The Taxpayer!