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On Friday, the school district told the public that a lengthy investigation into a choir trip to Poland last year cost the district more than $43,000 in attorneys’ fees and auditing charges. The amount the choir trip went into the red was $19,993, according to the district.
So, let’s do the math: It cost us $43,000 to figure out the trip went $20,000 in the hole. But that was known before the district launched the investigation.
This Polish singing tour seems to be getting more costly to the taxpayers by the moment. Instead of cutting losses, tightening travel policies and moving on, the school district has spent many hours and now more than $43,000 just to figure out that the excursion spent more than was raised. The district said it needed to investigate the matter more n because of possible misconduct.
We agree that finances should have been more closely watched. And communication about the trip was indeed lacking — the school district doesn’t have to convince anyone of those facts. But what is harder to understand is why this costly investigation was necessary?
And, if there was misconduct, shouldn’t this be reported to the authorities?
The school district continues to face challenging financial times with enrollment flat to declining and the economic forecast in St. Paul growing more wretched every day. How can the district possibly justify an investigation like this? This is just more money being taken out of the classroom and put into the pockets of out-of-town lawyers and auditors.
The school district did indeed have more than just cause to re-examine the travel policies. But re-examining policies and tightening rules wasn’t going to make up for the Poland trip shortfall. It was right to look at the situation — the taxpayers deserved nothing less. The district has a fiduciary responsibility. But that goes both ways — and $43,000 seems like questionable financial stewardship.
In order to justify the $43,000 pricetag, the district needs to be more forthright, more open about the nature of the investigation. And, the taxpayers will need a lot of convincing to ensure $43,000 hasn’t been wasted.
An investigation — no matter how thorough or expensive — isn’t going to pay the bills left over from the trip. Dragging this unfortunate Poland situation out might only cost the district more. If the wrongdoing is minor, then it should have been dealt with a long time ago. If it was more serious in nature, then it should have been dealt with promptly for less cost.
This drawn-out situation has distracted the community’s attention from the good work going on in the classroom. And that’s unfortunate.
By Darrell Ehrlick, editor, on behalf of the Winona Daily News editorial board, which also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson.
To comment, call 453-3507 or send e-mail to letters@winona
dailynews.com.
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