Will The Mistakes Ever End

The Baltimore School Budget debacle is that gift that keeps on giving. The level of incompetence is bordering on teh criminal. The latest revelation is an overstatment of the number of students.

The budget approved by the Baltimore school board last month overstated the school system's enrollment for the current academic year by 1,000 students, officials acknowledged last night.

A new version of the budget, presented to the public this week, says there are 82,381 children attending city schools this year. The version that the school board approved said there are 83,312.

Big deal, you might say. It could be a simple typo, afterall the number 2 is right next to the number 3 on the computer keyboard.

True, it might be a simple typo, but it is a typo with serious financial consequences:

It was a mistake that could have had multimillion-dollar implications for the system, which receives government funds based on the number of students it serves. If officials miscalculated the city's enrollment by 1,000 students, at least $10 million would be at stake. But the bottom line for both versions of the budget was the same - nearly $1.2 billion - and officials said their revenue projections were based on the correct number.

The revelation shows a broader range of problems in the budget that the board approved unanimously March 27, with one member absent.

The more these little things come out, especially as they come out in these little trickles, the more likely it becomes the that state will takeover the operation of the school system.

The school system has recently recovered from a $58 million deficit discovered three years ago. Miscalculation of enrollment was a major factor contributing to that fiscal crisis.

At a public forum on the revised budget last night, board Chairman Brian D. Morris argued that the school system's fiscal management has improved drastically.

So lets see, the school board has not learned from the lessons of its immediate past, yet it is expected to make sure children are educated in Baltimore. Sorry if I don't have faith.

Related: Baltimore School Budget Debated (4/19/07)
Baltimore School Budget Riddled with Errors (4/9/07)
One Example in Baltimore School Budget Morass (4/9/07)
Baltimore School Board to Hold Emergency Meeting (4/11/07)
Baltimore School Budget a Software Glitch? (4/11/07)
Baltimore City and State Officials to Help with School Budget (4/12/07)