Editorial: Build carefully on a hard-won foundation

Call me chicken, but I look at the Orcas Island School Board’s direction to minimize its Business Manager’s contract as dangerous.

I say this for two reasons: continuity and competence.

Ben Thomas has been the OISD’s business manager for two and a half years now. During that time, he has not only overseen the district budget with an eye towards solid accounting principles, state law and district policies, but he has also “rebuilt” the 2006-07 budget, having inherited little documentation to start with, and worked intensively with the school board, the public, the Orcas Island Education Foundation and the Budget Advisory Committee to stabilize the district’s finances.

And don’t think this was a dry, bean-counting exercise. As those in the front ranks will testify, it was an emotional, frustrating and at times gut-wrenching experience, following several years of problematic leadership and a merry-go-round of accountability in the OISD business office.

The work of the business office, the district school board and in particular, the heroic efforts of the Budget Advisory Committee in teasing out, line by line, the budget items that were inaccurate, over-estimated, incorrectly categorized or unspent, along with Thomas’ professional acumen, have placed the Orcas School District ahead of many of their counterparts in the state system who are struggling to maintain a healthy school budget with a margin of reserves for the future.

So we have rebuilt a transparent and comprehensive foundation for the school district budget; but it requires continued maintenance and fine-tuning to avoid the loans from the county necessitated by previous deficits and the threat of takeover  from local control.

No human system runs perfectly at all times. There have been concentrated efforts by the parties involved over the past two and a half years to collaborate on this problem. Frustrations continue even in the face of success. Public school funding will always be problematical, and now more than ever, some continuity in personnel and process is essential.

As effective as they are, the staff in the OISD business office are still on a learning curve: Both Dali Cuthbert and Sara Morgan have earned praise for their work in Accounts Payable/Receivable and Payroll/Benefits, respectively,  and both have shown a willingness to work cooperatively with their colleagues. But  Dali Cuthbert has been at her desk just since last December, and Sara Morgan came on board just three years ago; both their positions are part-time.

The days of a one-woman (or one-man) Financial Manager for the school district have long been gone.  Perhaps someday one financial overseer will again be responsible for all facets of the school’s income and revenue, including day-to-day operations.

But that doesn’t seem likely; especially not in the near future. While it is commendable that the school board negotiate a contract that allows them some maneuverability with the Business Manager’s position, we hope that they won’t be quick to cut costs at the expense of long-term accountability and operations.

So my advice to the OISD would be, proceed with implementing language to change terms of the business manager contract within 60 days, but think long and hard about trimming Thomas’ accounting support to the district.