Accountability
YES/YES is the start. As parents and residents, it is our responsibility to hold the district accountable for proper budgetary management.
What’s different now
“The district is committed to ensuring that its future budgets are balanced, realistic, and that no unbudgeted spending takes place going forward.”
— Ruth Turner, Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent Ruth Turner began work with the Montclair School District on July 1, 2025. The former business administration employees (including the Business Administrator, Assistant Business Administrator and Accountant) are no longer with the district.
Superintendent Turner promised transparency and put it into action.
Since July 1, she has held several Town Halls, she has invited the community to participate in the budget creation process, and she has opened Board of Education sessions, which were previously conducted in private, to the public. This level of public engagement represents a stark departure from that of previous superintendents.
Change in managing district finances is here. So far, the district has:
Initiated a comprehensive financial records review that uncovered the inherited budget crisis.
Employed a new auditing firm.
Instituted checks and balances to ensure one person does not control the entire expense process.
Developed a Corrective Action Plan in coordination with the NJDOE, identifying specific remediation for past mismanagement and personnel responsible for each action.
Presented 3-5 year budget projections, detailing the increasing deficit that will result if the district does not act through budget cuts and revenue increases.
Our Past vs. Our Future
Spending
Our Past: Irresponsible spending
Expenses were authorized by the former Superintendent mid-year without ever being tied to the budget passed by the BOE, making it easy to spend beyond our means.
Our Future: Strict spending policies
Each new expense must be tied to a specific line in the budget in order to be approved, with thresholds requiring multiple approvals.
Duties
Our Past: No checks and balances
One person had the power to create a request, authorize a transaction, issue a purchase order, and approve payment.
Our Future: Separation of duties and limits to individual authority
No single individual is able to both authorize and process transactions. Multiple parties “in the know” for sign-off.
Transparency
Our Past: No financial transparency
The Business Administrator prepared only mandated financial reports, often delivered months after the fact, and never presented key considerations or context.
Our Future: Frequent, regular, and clear financial reporting
The Business Administrator will post understandable dashboards with info on cashflow and reserves monthly to a publicly accessible website; BOE Finance Committee “of the whole” will raise questions and concerns in public BOE meetings.
Public Reporting
Our Past: No detailed public reporting of finances
Only mandated reports were posted to the Montclair Public School website and were rarely, if ever, presented or discussed in public.
Our Future: Detailed financial records open to the community
The Superintendent/Business Administrator will discuss finances as part of quarterly town halls, be available for Q&A and public comment, in addition to BOE meetings.
Oversight
Our Past: Lack of oversight
Overruns were only noticed and reported months after they were incurred, if they were reported at all.
Our Future: Expense monitoring
Real-time alerts for budget overruns, enabling correction before expenses accumulate and snowball.
Audits
Our Past: Infrequent, unhelpful audits
The audit firm (in place for years) only conducted an annual audit of the financial statements to satisfy state mandate—they never conducted a “deep dive”.
Our Future: Frequent, targeted audits
The new auditing firm will conduct deeper, more frequent review of areas in the budget where overrun is most likely, such as special education, transportation, capital projects. Turner has committed to rotating our audit firm every three to five years.
Budgets
Our Past: Vague budget categories
Budgets used lump sum categories that can hide overspending or underbudgeting.
Our Future: Detailed, line-item budgets
With more detail in the budget reports and presentations, it is harder to hide overspending and underbudgeting.
Project planning
Our Past: No forward thinking
Budget were created year-to-year, with no forecast beyond one year.
Our Future: Multi-year projections
Budget forecasts will include salary, benefit and enrollment trends looking out three to five years for better planning.