BALTIMORE (AP) — A new audit shows the finances of Baltimore’s school system are worse than previously thought, but Mayor Martin O’Malley said yesterday he hopes better management will persuade state lawmakers that problems are being addressed.
The system’s deficit has grown by $6 million to $58 million, according to the audit released Tuesday.
Mr. O’Malley said the city now has “a lot more honesty in dealing with our problems” since the arrival of Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Copeland, who took the position in November.
The mayor said he was not surprised the deficit grew with the new audit and was “relieved it’s not even more than that.”
“We’ll start whittling this down and start getting it under control and hopefully have a real plan in place for dealing with it before we go to Annapolis to argue for more dollars and to show that we’re actually making changes,” Mr. O’Malley said.
The mayor also said there is a chance some money could be “recaptured” with improved management.
“There were some areas where not only were costs not being controlled, but potential for revenue to come into the school system was not being maximized due to a lack of follow through and followup,” Mr. O’Malley said.
The system is so cash starved that it is receiving bimonthly revenue payments from the city ahead of schedule to cover operating costs, said Rose Piedmont, the system’s chief financial officer.
Even more drastic measures will be discussed at the next meeting of the school board on Tuesday, but Ms. Piedmont refused to disclose details of the school system’s plan.
The school system has laid off 709 employees in the past month and is expected to announce more staff cuts as early as next week. Miss Copeland also is considering furloughing staff for as many as 10 days this year.
The deficit increased after the auditing firm of Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates decided that $6 million in Medicare payments would never be collected.
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