Bill of goods

“While the spreadsheet is purported to demonstrate more than $5 million in cost savings, it, in fact, strongly suggests that individuals who developed the document consistently exaggerated anticipated savings and failed to account for higher costs, in areas such as transportation, that were likely to result from implementation of the plan. The spreadsheet also shows that those working under the school district’s contract with JCI used revenue and enrollment figures that were substantially at odds with projections developed by the company just one year earlier. Those discrepancies will be the subject of a report in next week’s edition of the Timberjay.

Staffing discrepancies total in the millions

The discrepancies uncovered in the new documents are significant, amounting to millions of dollars in claimed savings that will not be realized, or are unlikely to be realized, as a result of implementation of the JCI’s facilities plan. Indeed, after an in-depth review of the master spreadsheet, both Peterson and the Timberjay concluded that the nearly $3.3 million in savings from teacher and principal reductions purported by JCI were overstated by approximately $2 million. JCI officials claimed another $1.1 million in non-educational staff reductions as well. Those estimates also appear substantially overstated, but neither the Timberjay nor Peterson has sufficient comparison data, at present, to accurately determine the full extent of overstated savings.

JCI officials had claimed that total staff reductions made possible by its plan would save the district nearly $4.4 million annually. It now appears actual savings will be less than $2 million”

Read the complete column.

How long will it be before the St. Louis County School Board raises class sizes like Duluth?

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