When Anthony A. Williams was the city’s chief financial officer, back in the mid-1990s, he sent his deputy, Abdusalm Omar, into the D.C. Public Schools. The mission: slay the financial management bureaucracy. There were serious problems — teachers weren’t being paid on time; federal grants were being spent improperly. The place was a certifiable mess.
Eventually, Williams assigned to DCPS a permanent agency financial officer, who reported to him, as did all fiscal staff in the District government. For a while, things calmed down.
In recent years, however, there have been more than half a dozen finance officers for DCPS. With that kind of turnover, it’s not surprising the DCPS financial management system has been cited consistently by several audit agencies for various levels of deficiency. The one constant since 2000 has been Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi.
What responsibility does Gandhi bear for DCPS’ fiscal troubles? All of it. Congress invested the CFO with indisputable independence and sweeping authority, including, when necessary, the ability to usurp the executive and legislative branches.
And yet, last week, Gandhi publicly upbraided Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee for believing the accuracy of a document provided to her by DCPS’ interim agency financial officer George Dines. Dines is the top financial official at DCPS.
Dines — who reports to Gandhi, not Rhee — had indicated there was a $34 million surplus, which could be made available to cover retroactive pay increases included in the tentative agreement with the Washington Teachers’ Union. Eager to silence questions about the availability of funds, which, if left unanswered, could jeopardized the ratification of the contract, Rhee presented the information from Dines — without Gandhi’s knowledge — to the D. C. Council.
Turns out Dines’ report was incomplete. DCPS was overspending in other budget categories. The $34 million was needed to offset those expenditures.
Why didn’t AFO Dines know about the overspending? Why has he allowed overspending when the city’s finances are so tight?
Gandhi may want to slap Rhee around because she had the gumption to point the finger at him when questions arose about the $34 million surplus. The chancellor, however, didn’t prepare the document. Further, she isn’t a financial expert.
The financial management of DCPS and all agencies in the government rests squarely with Gandhi and his staff. Lately, he’s been doing a lousy job, though few people in the city would say that out loud. He’s a nice guy; I like him, too. Most local leaders worry about Wall’s Street’s reaction should he leave.
Forget Wall Street. Gandhi and elected officials should be concerned about how District taxpayers are reacting to news that the financial experts can’t decide whether there is a deficit or a surplus, and continually permit agency managers to overspend their budgets. Quite frankly, it’s time the CFO is held accountable for these displays of either incompetence or inattentiveness.
When the moneyman can’t be trusted to provide accurate and complete reports, we’re in deep trouble.
Jonetta rose barras can be reached at [email protected].
