Selectmen and School Comm join forces
Published on September 27th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - The Stoneham Board of Selectmen again joined with the School Committee for a joint meeting before their regularly scheduled meeting, and again discussed the merging of Business Manager and Town Accountant positions into one Director of Finance Position.
School Committee Chairman Kristin Russo, along with members of the School Committee and Selectmen as well as Town Administrator Ron Florino and School Superintendent Joe Connelly, met with Ashland Town Manager John Petrin about implementing the business manager/ town accountant/finance director model currently utilized in the small hamlet of Harvard.
"Petrin was very enthusiastic about how things have gone in Harvard and it's something that he's trying to implement in Ashland as well - and the town of Reading has done something similar to Harvard, but not quite to that extent," said Russo, of the guest from a Harvard town with a budget less than $10 million and a smaller school system than Stoneham. "It was a very good meeting with a good basis to build on. No downsizing to staff and it improved communication between the school side and the town side. There was no real cost savings, but there was a major gain in efficiency and communication improvements...they were strictly policy and had nothing to do with the process."
"It also harbored a team approach that really increased the harmony between the schools and the town, and he was pretty adamant that this was a three to five year process...not something that would happen overnight," added Russo. "We're in a unique spot, where we have a Town Administrator opening and a Superintendent of Schools opening and we really are in a place where we can think about things at the town-level from a long term viewpoint. It's a great opportunity for the town to look ahead."
Selectman R. Paul Rotondi was struck during the meeting when Petrin opined that there didn't seem to be any downside to the move, while also acknowledging that a long term change to the Town Charter and a Town Meeting vote and subsequent Legislative approval would be necessary for the final change, as well as a streamlining of the current business model within the town of Stoneham.
Selectman Tony Kennedy and Rotondi felt that any new applicants for the soon-to-be-vacant school business manager should be informed that Stoneham is leaning toward reorganizing their business department and creating a Director of Finance position in the future that would report to both the Town Administrator and Superintendent of Schools.
"If we have this outside guy who works with both sides and is kind of an independent position, when he comes in and says 'we need to lay off five firemen because of financial reasons' there'll be a lot more credibility," said Rotondi. "He has no ax to grind, so to speak."
Kennedy added that any movement toward fiscal efficiency should start with integrating the accounting software on both the town and school side - a move that would take "Stoneham out of the dark ages."
According to Russo, the Harvard Selectmen made the final appointment for the Finance Director position, but the individual reported solely to the TA and Superintendent. Florino suggested contacting the Ashland Town Manager about a timeline, and all sides seemed to be eager to beat the 3-5 year plan to potentially implement the process
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