Thousands of dollars raised by Montgomery County students and “belonging to the student body” were spent on staff perks last year, according to an audit of student funds at Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School.
About $9,400 sent 17 staff members to a leadership retreat on the Chesapeake Bay. Another $5,100 paid for meals for Richard Montgomery’s then-principal, Moreno Carrasco, and various administrators. And $1,100 bought eight $143 jackets for staff members.
The student funds, to be overseen by each school’s principal, are collected via various classroom fees, ticket sales and fundraisers. District policy specifies the money be used to “promote the general welfare, education, and morale of the students,” and finance extracurricular activities. Prohibited uses include expenses “primarily for the benefit of school staff members.”
“The big bottom line is that this money is for the students,” said Janis Sartucci, a member of the Parents Coalition political action committee. “Every time you see flowers, gifts, jackets or dinners, the money is not exclusively used to benefit the students.”
The report, complaining of ill-used funds and a lack of proper spending oversight, was completed in July by the district’s internal auditing department. A 2007 audit warned of similar issues.
As reported in The Examiner last spring, Carrasco had also come under fire for operating a side consulting business, Breakthrough Principal, that bore stark resemblances to a Florida company called Breakthrough Coach.
Carrasco shut down his business Web site in April, minutes after an Examiner inquiry.
In June, Superintendent Jerry Weast appointed Carrasco to a central office position directing secondary school leadership for the district’s 25 high schools.
“[Richard Montgomery’s] new principal will work to correct [the issues] and ensure that similar mistakes are not committed,” said Weast spokesman Brian Edwards, adding the district does not comment on matters involving personnel.
Carrasco yesterday said he had no knowledge of the audit, and declined further comment.
Sartucci and her 320-member group say the misuses are especially troubling in an era when parents are being charged more fees for classroom functions — $15 for science labs, for example, or $5 for a gym towel.
“The school system says if we don’t collect these fees, the schools will collapse,” she said. “Now we see a big chunk of that money is going to non-classroom functions.”
Christopher Barclay, chairman of the Montgomery County school board’s Fiscal Management Committee, defended the appointment of Carrasco to a central office leadership position, saying the decision is the superintendent’s, despite a board vote for approval.
“Our job is to get a clear understanding of the funds, and shed light on what goes on with them,” Barclay said. “There’s a lot of room for better control, but our concern is that the audits happen and the audit office works with whatever schools have whatever infractions.”
