July 03 - GBC-Presidents' Roundtable Report: Scope of Work

It became clear early in the process that the trends and problems associated with different areas of the budget process and financial management in the school system such as accountability, lack of integrated systems, and misalignment of staffing were the tip of the iceberg. The entire system would benefit from a deep and detailed examination that was beyond the scope and charge of the review team.

Consequently, the review team set out to uncover and articulate the broad managerial, leadership and work culture issues that appeared to be keeping the BCPSS finance department from working as quickly and efficiently as it could. Secondly, the review team decided to make general proposals for solutions. The team did not intend to construct an implementation plan or a detailed rendering of every financial item that might be improved. The team deliberately did not consider education policy issues but kept its focus on budget process and financial management systems and schedules.

The GBC/Presidents' Roundtable team based its approach on previous studies, most notably "Managing for Success, Creating an Efficient Baltimore City Government with Quality Service Delivery." The end product was designed to point toward problem areas, not to drill down deeply into every aspect of the school system budget process. This report is a roadmap for a corrective strategy, supported by more detailed study.

While the team was able to determine and document a number of management efficiencies regarding the budget process, it was not able to delve into the details of budget comparisons across several years for reasons addressed later in the report. The team found that the contracting and expenditure thresholds were appropriate and, in fact, probably more stringent than would normally be applied in a school system. In addition, a building facilities study had been completed in 1998 that made specific recommendations about the use and management of school system-owned facilities. As a result of that study, the system closed six schools. The facilities study did not address what might be the best use of those facilities and real estate. It did not look at the possibility of providing the school system with the flexibility needed to use those properties for future educational purposes or the possibility of helping the school system sell real estate for additional revenue. The city may want to consider providing that flexibility. In regard to encumbrances, a thorough analysis of encumbrances was difficult to undertake due to a lack of systematic reporting and documentation. Click here for a list of the status of current encumbrances supplied by the BCPSS finance department.

It is the recommendation of the review team that an accounting firm or other qualified organization be asked to take on a second phase of the review process with help from members of the GBC/Presidents' Roundtable review team. This process should reconfirm the findings and recommendations of the GBC/Presidents' Roundtable report and begin implementation of steps to correct management deficiencies.


Greater Baltimore Committee - Presidents' Roundtable Review Team of the Baltimore City Public School System's Fiscal Management Practices and Budget Process II. SCOPE OF WORK
It became clear early in the process that the trends and problems associated with different areas of the budget process and financial management in the school system such as accountability, lack of integrated systems, and misalignment of staffing were the tip of the iceberg. The entire system would benefit from a deep and detailed examination that was beyond the scope and charge of the review team. Consequently, the review team set out to uncover and articulate the broad managerial, leadership and work culture issues that appeared to be keeping the BCPSS finance department from working as quickly and efficiently as it could. Secondly, the review team decided to make general proposals for solutions. The team did not intend to construct an implementation plan or a detailed rendering of every financial item that might be improved. The team deliberately did not consider education policy issues but kept its focus on budget process and financial management systems and schedules. The GBC/Presidents' Roundtable team based its approach on previous studies, most notably "Managing for Success, Creating an Efficient Baltimore City Government with Quality Service Delivery." The end product was designed to point toward problem areas, not to drill down deeply into every aspect of the school system budget process. This report is a roadmap for a corrective strategy, supported by more detailed study. While the team was able to determine and document a number of management efficiencies regarding the budget process, it was not able to delve into the details of budget comparisons across several years for reasons addressed later in the report. The team found that the contracting and expenditure thresholds were appropriate and, in fact, probably more stringent than would normally be applied in a school system. In addition, a building facilities study had been completed in 1998 that made specific recommendations about the use and management of school system-owned facilities. As a result of that study, the system closed six schools. The facilities study did not address what might be the best use of those facilities and real estate. It did not look at the possibility of providing the school system with the flexibility needed to use those properties for future educational purposes or the possibility of helping the school system sell real estate for additional revenue. The city may want to consider providing that flexibility. In regard to encumbrances, a thorough analysis of encumbrances was difficult to undertake due to a lack of systematic reporting and documentation. Click here for a list of the status of current encumbrances supplied by the BCPSS finance department. It is the recommendation of the review team that an accounting firm or other qualified organization be asked to take on a second phase of the review process with help from members of the GBC/Presidents' Roundtable review team. This process should reconfirm the findings and recommendations of the GBC/Presidents' Roundtable report and begin implementation of steps to correct management deficiencies.

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