Letter to the editor: Portland school district creates disarray by fiscal ineptitude

Re: “District quiet as ed techs’ payroll problems persist” (Dec. 3, Page A1):

To whom do Portland Public Schools’ superintendent and board members think they are accountable?

The superintendent won’t speak to the Press Herald because he doesn’t like the paper’s coverage. Emily Figdor, who was board chair until Monday (when the board elected new leadership), didn’t give direct answers to some reporters’ questions, and the rest of the board members don’t reply at all – even though all of them, directly or indirectly, owe their jobs to the voting public.

The only way for Portland taxpayers to get answers is for unbiased outsiders to carry out a full, rigorous audit of the district’s finances, focused on its payroll practices and procedures – an extension of the effort that cited “material weaknesses and significant deficiencies” in a review of the year that ended on June 30, 2021. Or perhaps it is time for the state to become involved and exert some authority – either through the Legislature’s Education Committee or the Office of State Auditor.

Whatever form that inquiry takes, no district employee should fear retaliation for coming forward; that they do now is a disgrace, and speaks volumes about the district’s managers.

It’s beginning to look as if the district’s wholehearted support of this year’s referendum item giving it budgetary independence from the City Council had less to do with, as Ms. Figdor asserted, taking politics out of the process and more about awarding its management carte blanche to cover up its financial ineptitude. Luckily, Portland voters saw through the charade.

Ellen Murphy
Portland