Why Was the former Indian River School District CFO Able to Get a State Job in the First Place?

Below is a media advisory that was released on October 20, 2016 by Tom Wagner in response to media inquires. Thanks Kevin Ohlandt for posting this on Facebook. The Auditor’s Office is going to comp employees time to get the Indian River Investigation/Audit Report done. I started emailing (see below email) Tom Wagner back in May 2016 right after I learned about Indian River’s CFO. To the Auditor’s Office: How about getting an investigation/audit done because of inquires from the General Assembly.

The News Journal reported in April 2016 that Indian’s River CFO Miller was put on paid administrative leave. Delmarva Now reported in May 2016 that Indian’s River CFO Miller resigned.

Miller also had been audited in his previous job as chief financial officer of the Brandywine School District. He faced criminal charges as the result of that audit and resolved his legal troubles by entering a no contest plea before Superior Court Judge Carl Goldstein. How was this guy even able to obtain another state job in one of our school districts, that is the question that we all should be asking? In this article, it states that Miller will be in a position a year from now to seek under another state law, to have the criminal record resulting from the charges expunged. Unbelievable!

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MEDIA ADVISORY

State Auditor’s Investigation into the Indian River School District

Posted On: Thursday, October 20, 2016

Dover, Del. – In response to media inquiries regarding the Auditor of Accounts’ (AOA) investigation into the Indian River School District, members of the media are advised that AOA intends to release its report in advance of the District’s referendum vote scheduled for Tuesday, November 22, 2016.

State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner, Jr. has authorized compensatory time for individuals working on this investigation in an effort to expedite the release of the report.

For more information, please contact John Fluharty at 302-857-3937. 

Redistricting Committee Update

I attended the WEIC Redistricting Committee meeting last night. I have concerns about the tight timeline and have expressed my concerns to the commission. There just does not seem like there is going to be enough time given to the public to review the recommendations and to have their concerns heard or their questions answered. The final report is not completed and the public hearing comment window opens on November 30th. How is the public going to go on record when they have not been given the report or enough time to review the report?  The public hearings start in 16 days.

I know everyone on the commission and each of the committees have worked extremely hard and are committed to making positive changes for all our students. But, if you want public support we must inform them of the plans.

The next Redistricting Committee meeting will be held on November 19th from 4:00 until 6:00 at Baltz.

Below is a schedule of the public hearings.

Wilmington Education Improvement Commission – Redistricting Committee – 1st Meeting

Wilmington Education Improvement Commission Website

I attended the WEIC – 1st Redistricting Committee meeting on September 10th at Baltz Elementary School. There were about 13 people sitting in the audience and about half were University of DE or Red Clay staff the other people were members of the public. Dr. Rich spoke mostly about the history of the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee.

One question that was asked by a member of the Redistricting Committee, “Why are the State Board of Education members not present at these meetings?”

I was wondering the same thing. The State Board will be voting on the plan, would it not make sense for them to attend the meetings so they can be well-informed when voting on the Commission’s plan.

• Christina School District – 1 of 4 discontinuous school districts in the country. If the plan is approved, Christina will no longer serve students who live in the city unless those students choice into Christina.
• Colonial School District – no schools in the City of Wilmington. About 300 Colonial students live in the city and about 150 of the students are choice students.
• Red Clay School District will serve the city along with the Brandywine School District.

Below is WEIC’s tentative timeline. This document was handed out at the meeting and is labeled DRAFT, so dates could change.

• November 30th thru December 4th  – tentative period for four public hearings.
• December 8th – Commission meets to review possible revisions to draft plan.
• December 15th – Commission approves the Final Plan for submission to the State Board of Education.
• December 17th – Commission presents and submits Final Plan to State Board. This will be a discussion item on the State Board agenda, including public comment.
• January 21st – State Board acts on Commission Redistricting Plan as a complete package.
• February 11th – If the State Board of Education does not approve, Commission may revise and resubmit as a complete package by February 11th.
• March 10th – If the State Board of Education does not approve, Commission may revise and resubmit as a complete package by March 10th.
• March 31st – State Board of Education authority ends.

Tomorrow is the first Funding Student Success Committee meeting- 2:00 to 4:00 at William Penn High School.

After the Funding Student Success Committee meets the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission meets from 4:00 to 6:00 at William Penn High School.

Then, the  Parent, Educator & Community Engagement Committee meets from 6:15 to 8:00 at William Penn High School.

The next Redistricting Meeting is September 24th – 4:00 at Graham Hall Room 185, 111 Academy Street, Newark, DE.

To view all future meetings, click here.