Supervisors press for quick verification of school corrective action plan, vote to invite school board to meet

A presentation at the Northumberland County Board of Supervisors' March 27 special meeting emphasized gaps in trust and verification around school finances and prompted the board to vote to invite the Northumberland County School Board to a joint meeting to discuss the corrective action plan and potential county oversight of school finances.

The presentation, by John Koss, reviewed findings from a forensic audit and the school system's corrective action plan and argued the board of supervisors currently has “no current means to validate, to verify the status of each of the recommendations” other than verbal testimony from school personnel. Koss warned that, given the lack of trust, board members need specific evidence that key corrective items are resolved before the county adopts next year’s budget.

Koss said the most time-sensitive items in the corrective action plan were four items related to overspending and accounting controls and urged the board to require the superintendent and the school finance director to report back with specific documentation “no later than 2 weeks” on those points. He summarized the problem as governance and accountability rather than purely accounting, noting frequent turnover in the school finance director position and the county's limited means to verify school-reported data.

The presentation cited an Essex County model as a possible approach: a chief business adviser hired by the county who reports to supervisors and oversees school budgeting under a services agreement. Koss described the Essex County arrangement, saying the school finance director there had been terminated, the school superintendent placed on administrative leave, and the school board had voted unanimously to support the arrangement so far.

After discussion, Supervisor Long moved that the county administrator send an email on behalf of the Board of Supervisors to the assistant superintendent asking the school board to meet jointly with the supervisors to discuss finances and the possibility of negotiating a services agreement similar to Essex County’s. The motion was seconded; the board voted in favor. The chair noted Supervisor Fisher was absent; the motion carried with four votes in favor and one absence.

Board members asked the county administrator to prepare the outreach promptly and to circulate the four time-sensitive corrective-action items Koss had highlighted; another supervisor asked staff to begin drafting a possible job description in case the board decides to pursue a chief business adviser role.

The board did not adopt any immediate change to school staffing or finance reporting at the meeting; the motion approved only the outreach offering a joint meeting and explanation of options. Koss offered to coordinate follow-up material and said Essex County Chairman Rob Akers would be willing to brief the supervisors on that county’s approach.

The board returned to other agenda items after approving the motion and directing staff to circulate the four corrective-action bullet points for review ahead of the next meeting.