Indian River has NO monthly financial statements, budgets, nothing showing ANY money whatsoever on their website. Way to be transparent! Hard to look for your yearly budgets with no information. What are you hiding? How much money did Miller mess with in the finances? Is the state going to have to bail you guys out? Why are teachers being told not to plug in anything that isn’t normally plugged in inside the classrooms?
I’m hearing Miller absconded with a ton of money, up to $14-15 million according to some. Where is the transparency on this issue? That is some very serious coin. How can we trust Indian River to safeguard student data in the BRINC empire when the district can’t even safeguard their own money? Oh wait, I’m sorry, the taxpayers money. This is going to make any district financial meltdown in the past look like Romper Room.
Why is Bunting making this seem like some ordinary hiccup on the news? This is the problem in Delaware. Too many figures in power who think the people don’t need to know the truth. Too many legislators who think they are the last point of transparency. Not this time. Come clean Indian River so we can all see what’s going on. If the state winds up bailing you guys out we all pay the price for that one. Better to tell the truth now than face the wrath of the entire state.
The fact that all your financial information is missing does not bode well for this district. I have to wonder… when this district knew what happened in Brandywine with Patrick Miller, why would they hire a financial guy who basically plea bargained his way out of criminal charges? Delaware deserves better than this.
Updated, 8:18am: This is being referred to as Millergate around Sussex County and Indian River School District. It’s not looking good the district will be able to make payroll going into October. This is NOT good folks.
The Season Of Myths 
#1 Court Order: Seize Millers assets.
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There is a reason it it imperative that “We, The People” are kept in the dark…
IF they knew what “really ” went on, there’d be hell to pay…..
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Hell to pay? Yeah, right. a handful of people will squak in Dover, there will be hand wringing and pontificating on blogs and the News Journal will write some third grade level fluff editorials. There’s no appetite to have honest discussions about root problems and certainly no courage to make meaningful change. We’ll continue to kick the can down the road and point fingers at all of the “other people” who are responsible.
SSDD
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Then make it happen J. If there is one thing I’ve learned in this state, if you get enough people to protest something, things will happen. While HB50 didn’t turn out the way I hoped in the end, look at how far it did come. That would have never happened if people didn’t act. “We are the people” comes with a responsibility of the people. You can’t just sit there and let things happen. You have to speak, and speak loud.
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Where have you heard this information? I have not heard that he took $15M or anywhere close to that. I think you may be reading into things down here….yes our budget was cut, but you do know that there is been a huge population surge right?
I am sure the Miller fiasco didn’t help the budget, but I can’t imagine that there is some big cover up or consiracy. Would love to hear where you get your information.
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So they cut the budget when they have more students. That makes sense… in a crack-smoking world! I’m sure you would love to know where I get my information. What do you know about why Miller was put on leave and then retired?
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I’m not sure what world you live in. If there are more students, then there are more supplies, teachers, etc that schools need, hence the need for more money. IR is cutting the discretionary budget because they can not cut back on teachers…..there is not enough money coming in. It’s called supply and demand. The taxes in Delaware are one of the lowest in the country and in Sussex County properties have not been reassessed since 1974. I am sure Patrick Miller stole quite a bit of money….but $14 to $15M without someone noticing sooner, boggles my mind. That is equal to 30% of the overall budget for the district. Not sure why you are hesitant about telling us who you heard this from.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2016/03/04/indian-river-growth/81146650/
http://www.milfordbeacon.com/article/20130118/NEWS/130119772
http://www.irsd.net/departments/finance/transparency_of_school_district_finances
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It’s called sources. And I didn’t indicate Miller may have done this all at once. It could have been done over a long period of time where the impact wouldn’t be readily noticed.
I don’t reveal sources. You can ask and ask, but it isn’t going to happen. My privilege.
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It is your privilege, it is also mine to not actually believe you until the truth comes out. I think it is ridiculous to speculate unless you have facts and it is proven.
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I’m also fully aware of Indian River’s growth, which also provides them MORE funding in state and federal dollars, as well as property tax revenue. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there is a funding system for the state based on the September 30th enrollment counts. Based on those, they project how many “units” a district will get. More students, more units.
With the link you provided me to Indian River’s financial “transparency”, there is nothing there but the language in state code directing people to look at Delaware Online Checkbook. That is NOT a monthly budget, a yearly budget, or anything resembling financial transparency. It is merely an online checkbook for every state entity and what their expenditures are.
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Kristy, you never believe anything I write. At least 95% of the time. I wouldn’t expect you to change your stance as Doubting Thomas now! 😉
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It makes sense that the more students then the more state and federal funding is provided too.
I can’t help not believing much. I like to deal with facts and/or numbers. 🙂 I am glad you are aware of the growth down here……but I will reserve judgement on our district and the budget cuts until the truth/audit about Miller comes out or until more information about the budget comes out.
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The fact there is NO budget listed, anywhere, which is the first time I have ever seen ANY charter or district NOT have anything financial on their website is very concerning.
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I didn’t look at or for the budget, but here is the latest and at the bottom of the article there is a link to the 2017 budget.
http://coastalpoint.com/content/budget-cuts-irsd-amidst-talk-two-possible-referendums_09_02_2016
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Not sure you know much about school finances, but there is a lot to read between the lines in that article. Downplaying 30% of school’s budgets being cut is a big warning sign with red flags all over it. Dipping into contingency buckets is another. But the most revealing part of the article is tucked away at the very bottom: “Since May, district officials have provided no updates or timeline for the audit, only saying that the audit continues and that IRSD officials are fully cooperating. The audit was a mutual decision between the IRSD and the Auditor’s Office. But neither entity would specify what the Auditor’s Office is looking for or whether there are concerns of money stolen or spent inappropriately.”
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I’m not sure why that is so revealing….I am sure there are attorneys involved and neither side is likely to be responding until after the audit is complete. This is typical procedure.
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I’m sure it is Kristy. But trust me, the state auditor doesn’t get involved unless there are some serious allegations of financial malfeasance. Always the doubter. We shall see when it all comes out in the wash. But in the meantime, I would like to remind you of what I do here. I write about things with education. When I’m hearing the same thing from many people, not connected in any way, there is truth to that. Just as any other media won’t reveal sources, I won’t reveal mine. How about, just once, giving me the benefit of the doubt… is that so hard?
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I have no doubt that there are serious allegations involved here. None. But I also think, since you write about education and have made serious allegations regarding the DOE and the education system in DElaware, that you would wait to discuss it on a blog until more FACTS are known. Right now all you have is speculation and heresay. Not that your sources are not good ones, but talking about issues before the facts come out doesn’t look good for you. Hence the reason I question much of what I read. Don’t worry, I do it all the time, not just on your blog! lol
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That’s good to know. As I’m sure you know, Delaware likes to keep things quiet. Transparency is a huge issue in this state. I, on the other hand, am a firm believer in the public’s right to know. We pay taxes. We fund this state. Yes, we elect people to represent us. But we have far too many who are NOT representing the people, but rather themselves, corporations, or special interests. Because of that severe lack of transparency and a public distrust of what comes out of DOE and education institutions in this state, the “facts”, which I take to mean a smoking gun, are not always easy to come by. Sometimes you have to throw stuff out there and see what comes out of it. There are things I never write about believe it or not. But when it affects kids, and I’m hearing it from enough people to see it is something that could be viable, I will publish it. It’s been over 48 hours since I put this up. I have yet to hear from anyone in Indian River School District or their board stating I am wrong. Most times, when I put something up that later turns out to be incorrect or a bad perception of events, I will hear from someone saying I got it wrong. In this situation… crickets…
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