Financial mismanagement always seems to go hand in hand with poor academic performance and, most often, corruption and lack of political will.
Jan 11, 2008 - State legislators in both parties are desperately happy to bail out Roosevelt Free Union Free School District. The Long Island school district is the only state-operated district. They're planning a $14 million bailout.
BACKGROUND
The district has been under state control for five years.
In 2002, after years of poor financial management and low student test scores, the Roosevelt Union Free School District became the first to be taken over by the State of New York. The commissioner maintains the power to appoint the district’s superintendent and its school board. At the time of the takeover, the district had a deficit of $5.8 million.They had talked about wresting control of the Roosevelt school district on Long Island from the local elected school board since 1995 when one state official wrote that, "If a community could be charged with child neglect, possibly with abuse, Roosevelt would be a strong candidate."
In the 1995 proposal, the cost of the state effort to rescue Roosevelt would be paid for by Roosevelt taxpayers.
OOPS
However, state audit in April 2007 projected a $12.4 million deficit. The state education commissioner, acknowledged to an audience of parents and teachers on that he had failed to notice that the district had been spending millions it did not have.
It was no great surprise to us to learn the students are 74% black and 26% Hispanic. And they already spend $18,627 per pupil. Source: Greatschools.net link
What did surprise us was the median household income for Roosevelt, NY. was $60,762.
NY State median household income was $50,105
U.S. median household income was $45,937
Source: Greatschools.net link
They only have 2,450 student in the entire school district. But despite poor academic performance and financial ineptness, they did have time to wear black ribbons for the Jena 6 in a "civil rights"
