The RUSD-GTC Connection

It would seem that RUSD is not alone in being accused of not acting in a transparent way and abusing educational tax dollars. Our the local paper reported that Gateway Technological College (GTC) has abused its taxing authority by building its 2 technology centers – CATI in Sturtevant and BioCATT in Kenosha. Under normal circumstances, Gateway, like RUSD, would have to go to referendum for any new buildings. However, if the building is for an applied technology center (ATC) and 30% of the cost is covered by private donations, a technical college does not have to seek the approval of taxpayers to do so. Through an audit done by the Legisalative Audit Bureau it was discovered (after the fact) that this did not happen.

As I was reading the article this morning, a few key comments made by local legislators phrases popped out at me:

From State Representative John Lehman (D-Racine):

- “… the inflated projection of 2000 students per year far exceeds the 99 students reported in March of 2006. The centers are costly to the taxpayers and are underutilized. "

And the most telling comments from State Senator Jody Robson (D-Beloit):

- “If these two centers had not been cloaked in so much secrecy, we may not have had to ask for an expensive, time-consuming audit by the Legislative Audit Bureau.”

- “I hope that this audit will inspire the two centers to increase their accountability and transparency.”

What do both RUSD and GTC have in common; the answer is their governance process – The Policy Governance® Model. While this model works for many non-profit boards, I believe it is not the best governing style for boards that control the spending of tax dollars. Because the boards, under this governing style, are encouraged to speak with one voice, it is difficult for any one to publicly view a dissenting voice. Without any public questioning, most of the decisions are made without the public's knowledge.

Ironically, this process was introduced to RUSD by Gateway. In their initial presentation to the RUSD board last year, Gateway extolled the virtues of conducting business using this model. It would eliminate micro-managing, they said, and leave most of the decision-making to the educational professionals. The board would only oversee the decisions; they would not learn many of the details, only the predicted “outcome” of the monies authorized by the boards.

Isn’t it time we requested more accountability of our tax dollars? And on that note, can we demand (again!!) an audit of RUSD by the Legislative Audit Bureau?