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Show J Cownent I School District Gets Bum Rap From Press audit's findings and have expressed a willingness to make whatever changes are necessary to insure that the district operates efficiently and legally. In fact, at their last meeting the board openly accepted the responsibility to adopt new policies and procedures. The press, however, didn't pick up on that. One daily, for instance, ran this headline based on their reporter's summation of the meeting: "Alpine District Agreeable to Grand Jury Probe." It is a catchy headline, but it doesn't represent the substance of the meeting. One citizen asked the board point blank if they would object to this probe. They said no. That was the only mention of a jury probe during three hours of discussions. To give the matter a headline was unprofessional. By the way, in my opinion a jury probe would be a waste of taxpayer's money. If there is sufficient cause for legal action to be taken against district officials, it has already been revealed in the year-lon- g audit. A probe would simply be a duplication of services. It's not that I mind sensational headlines; some news stories are sensational. Perhaps this one is. But there is alot of difference between reporting the news and creating it: You'll notice that no reporter reporter that the district was wasting less than three percent of its monies (the two million represents 2.85 percent of the total budget). Why? Because it's much more sensational to report that two million dollars are being squandered. Still, that's a lot of money, especially since it's public funds that we're talking about. But if even some of the results of the audit are questionable as I've suggested, the district is running closer to acceptable efficiency than the allegations suggest. All I would hope from the press is that both sides of the story be presented -- you know, the facts. Let the district response to the audit be reported along with the accusations. Let the public rather than the press judge the merits of the case, after they've been given a reliable and objective report on the matter. miTOR'S NOTE: Mr. Robinson is a free lance writer living in the Pleasant S 1 l,area. Recently he assumed part-tim- e duties and information specialist 1 Twriter with the Alpine School District. The following editorial was written W roWn time aS 3 Pr'Vate CitiZe" U iS n0t a" of ficial district response. !l By MICHAEL L. ROBINSON 1 ike every other taxpayer, I have to chuckle a bit when I see a government taking it on the chin. After all, we ncv taxpayers have been knocked around in recent years ; why not let the people who are spending our money take a TilS L blows too? ft lutenoughisenough. rm referring to the press coverage surrounding the recent legislative audit if I (inducted in the Alpine School District. If we can believe everything written in S i" newspapers and aired over TV and radio, we can only conclude that the Strict is and has been directed by thieves and ruffians. b tneir haste to get sensational bylines and eye catching headlines, the press '! overlooked the first and foremost precept of professional journalism - the The truth - you remember, that stuff which is free of political hay and ? Incumbered by ulterior motives. h' In this case, the political motives and press sensationalism surrounding the k I audit make the truth hard to get at. The whole idea of a legislative audit was the brainchild of Lee Farnsworth, a state legislator, who head "rumors" of educational mismanagment in the district. What he really heard was the toot of the political hornpipe, calling him 5'ei in Washington. It was no coincidence that the results of the audit were released in a d press conference just before the Utah Republican nominating H' convention, where Farnsworth was a candidate for a Congressional seat. j jn their excitement at the possibility of getting a scoop on corruption in local ectr: government, the press bought the whole yarn - hook, line and sinker. Headlines ) such as the following appeared next day in the state and local papers : "Alpine Uiir Blunders Cost $2 Million Yearly," "Audit Finds Flagrant Abuses of Funds in H Alpine District," and "Audit Finds Funds Squandered in Alpine." The news articles then described the audit's findings which alleged that some Si two million dollars are being wasted by the district on an annual basis. Implied in the allegations was that mismanagement and inefficiency have been ram-pa-in the district for several years and that this new audit had discovered the " real truth about malpractice in the district. !'l'K in the first place, the district is and has been audited yearly by independent r K firms and by the State Office of Education as required by law. The 1981 general f' audit, conducted by independent Certified Public Accountants contained the following summary: "We have performed annual audits of the Alpine School District for the past three years and find their business department to be professional, competent and diligent in constantly upgrading their operations. In relation to the other school districts within the state of Utah, Alpine's business department would have to rank close to the top." Of course, positive statements such as these are not news. But back to the Legislative Audit: Were there legitimate concerns expressed in the audit? Yes. Were there improper and even illegal accounting or management procedures uncovered by the study? Yes. Was the entire audit accurate and professional? No. One of the major concerns in the study was the large inventories maintained by the district. According to the audit, more than a half million dollars could be saved annually through a reduction in these stocks. Items such as hack saw blades (which were purchased as war surplus items for nearly nothing) and paper plates were mentioned. It didn't occur to the auditors that overstocking in inflationary periods is good business. So what if the district has enough hack saw blades to cut its way out of every window in Alcatraz? They're still cheaper to store than to buy. And as for the paper plates, the alleged seven-yea- r supply would be ghone in a couple of months if just one school's dishwasher broke down. More than a million dollars could be saved annually by changing the janitorial system says the audit. Here again, the figures are speculative and the alternative of private contracting for custodial services has not proved as ef-ficient and feasible as the auditors maintain. The third major issue was that of purchasing procedures. Sketchy data in the audit maintains that nearly a half million dollars could be saved annually if the district adopted suggested purchasing procedures - notably, to always take the lowest bid. The assumption by the auditors is that lowest is always best. Any grocery shopper is aware, however, that buying at bargain prices is not always a bargain. What needs to be developed, apparently, are better purchase item descriptions, so that vendors are more aware of quality requirements. Almost all of the monies allegedly being squandered by the district are made up of these three issues. Many of the conclusions reached in the audit, in my opinion, are based on questionable sources, or worse yet, on hearsay. As I said, there are many worthwhile and valuable suggestions contained in the document. After all, nearly a year's work by several state auditors was spent on the audit; it should have produced something of substance. (By the way, no one up there seems to be too excited to reveal how much this audit cost taxpayers. Perhaps the media should check on it.) The Alpine Board and district staff have accepted responsibility for the Compare Savings Plans j V I ANNUAL I I PLAN INTEREST ) Regular Passbook 8 no minimum ;) Charter Passbook 10 $1000. U i Certificates of Deposit j fijwth 14.35 $10,000 4 over 13.85 $5,000.-$9,99- 9 7 13.35 $1.000-$4,99- 9 (I ) 90 Day 13.60 $100. A 1 Year 13.00 $100- - 2 Year 15.35 $100- - ) ' T87 $500. ' IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) 14.81 Home Improvement and Consolidation Loans 11 Loans for any purpose up to $130,000.00 axjvC 131 E. 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I NOW! and 47'.', inches. f I IF YOU'RE NOT A KID ANYMORE, ---- --t YOU CAN STILL LOOK LIKE ONE! 1 y-- -.-- PERSONAL!MANALYSIS 1 I l )ta Your VISA, Mastercard. Diners Club and -- - 5 American Express are welcome. t I 0 OPEN DAILY 9 TO 9. SATURDAY 9 TO 4 V " OREM 225-38- 1 0 B26 University Mall You get this card free with a First Security Checking or Savings account First Security a I J l TAYLOR J Then you can bank at 36 Intermountain HandiBanks night and day Just like a key to the bank, the HandiBank Card is another way to give you access to th convenience of HandiBank. The automated teller that puts banking at your fingertips so you can start making deposits, get cash, transfer money or get your account balance anytime of day. Remember, all you need is a First Security checking or statement savings account and yo get a HandiBank Card free. If you are already a customer, apply for your HandiBank C and own Personal Identification Number (PIN), which only you will know. If you are nc First Security customer, come in and open a checking or savings account and apply for your HandiBank Card now. Each depositor is insured lo $100,000 by 1DIC. First Security Bank of Utah, N.A. First Security Bank of Idaho, N.A. First Security Hank of Rock Spiings, N.A.. First Security S i Y j Department Parleys Underway Tony Brooks, Pleasant Grove water superintendent, was the first city department head to meet with the city council under a new plan to improve dialogue between the council and the various departments. The plan will have a different department leader sitting in periodically with the council to discuss departmental problems. Brooks reported on the breakdown of the pump at the Monson Well, the automation of the Brimley Well, and switching over a neighborhood to the Battlecreek System in order to maintain water pressure in all parts ' of town. ' ' ' ': ' ; Brooks said the pump burned out because it was running continuously to meet demand. He noted that the majority of schools in the city are on f the Monson System. Brooks en- - couraged the citizens to water their lawns either between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Those with automatic sprinkling systems could water during the night to ease the water problems, he said. The use of the cemetery well has helped other wells service their areas, he said. The council suggested the cemetery well be checked again for water quality. Brooks and the council reminded citizens that the city is not responsible for irrigation ditch problems. These should be directed to the irrigation company. A number of homes near 100 North and 600 East are so close to the Monson line that they do not have good water pressure most of the time. These homes will be changed over to the Battlecreek system. ' The line will be run to 500 East and dead end. A fire hydrant will be put on the line in that area. When the changeover occurs, those people near 600 East and Center Streets, 600 East and 200 North and 600 East and 100 North will be notified to prepare for temporary service cutoff. Fire Chief Ray Newman asked the council to give consideration to providing funds to repair the recently acquired fire truck. The department estimated it would cost about $10,000 to get the truck completely ready for use. Chief Newman said the truck will roll on every fire when it is fixed. Mayor David Holdaway said he felt it was a high priority to get the engine repaired. The city population has doubled in the last 10 years but the fire department has stayed the same, size. - Mayor Holdaway reported that the Utah League of Cities and Towns has lobbied for sales-ta- x legislation which he said would help out Pleasant Grove and nearly every city in the state as well. He said towns that would lose by the proposal are places like Alta which are primarily resort communities. He said the proposal is to have a' distribution of local option sales tax based one-hal- f upon point of sales and one-ha- lf on population in 1987. At present the distribution is only on point of sales. . 1 South Main, Pleasant (iruvc, Utah MMV Published each Thursday by Newtah, Inc. Telephone Numbers Advertising & Circulation . . . 9 News Subscription price $9.50 per year Second class postage paid at Pleasant Grove Post Office U.S.P.S. 435-78- 0 Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 7. American Fork. Utah 84003 |