Currently 1 Response
- 1.
- Once again the entire truth has not been brought forth. This audit was for one year 2011-2012. McGonagal and Drake have worked hand in hand on this. I personally advised Mr. McGonagal and his staff that the insurance fund was not funded. Employees were paying $50.00 towards their insurance and $75.00 for family members. I spoke with members of the Michigan Education Association and New Jersey. They said they would that very moment purchase health insurance from Manatee County for their entire state educational employees as it was impossible to run it on those premiums. They literally blew me off. They knew and they somehow still balanced their books. How? I don't know. This problem is over six years old. Also if the high schools initially received 50% of their budget on books and then received 100% why did not one single school advise downtown that they had too much money? Or is the investigation flawed and has mis-stated? Or is the culture of dishonesty so deep or so inept?
We the public were promised a certified public accounting audit. Neither firm had a CPA on payroll. We did not get what the Board promised. The question in my mind is were they really qualified to produce the report? Did they understand the way schools budget? The county received awards year after year for their fabulous accounting procedures. How?Remember they have said that McGonagle and Drake should have been fired for cause (John Bowen the attorney told the Board they had to accept McGonagle's resignation, they didn't they could have suspended him, put in the interim and denied him his benefits and $500,000 cash payout at our expense, they both should have not received the retirement package because they defrauded the public by incompetence).
The investigators stated that the benefits were calculated incorrectly. They were informed by me that the social security and medicare benefits were 5.65 and in their report they state that they were 7.65. The past two years those taxes were reduced by 2% so instead of a negative impact they should have produced a surplus. Where is that money and where did it go to?
At the end of the day there are more questions than answers.
What about the other years budgets? Will we ever know? Gayler just keeps saying you can't live in the past. The past shapes the future and if you don't know the past you will repeat it. An examination of those failings needs to be made and understood. When you have $640,000 Million Dollars and you can't account for all of it, this is problematic.
- May
26 Tribute to Heroes Parade - Main St LWR
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm - May
28 Braden River Soccer Club Try-outs
6:00 pm - May
29 LWRBA May Membership Lunch
11:30 am - 1:00 pm - May
31 May YLA Breakfast "Legendary Leaders"
7:30 am - 9:00 am
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Gullett student wins speech contest
05/22/13
Gullett Elementary School student Hailey Wahlers took home top honors May 11, after placing first in the Tropicana District Speech Contest. -
Girl Scouts give cookies a new cause
05/22/13
Local Daisy Scouts from Troop 180 are helping Feeding Empty Little Tummies feed homeless school children in the area. -
Dancing group to host fundraiser
05/22/13
Members of KC and the Sunshine Dancers, a group of Manatee County dancers ages 8 to 20, will show off their dancing skills in jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance from 7 to 9 p.m. May 28, as the group holds a show titled "Breaking Ground."

