Muscogee County School Board rejects two members’ request for more access to financial records

The Muscogee County School Board has rejected a request from two of its members to allow the board to more directly scrutinize the school system’s financial records.

During the board’s monthly meeting Monday night, Frank Myers of District 8 made the motion, seconded by John Thomas of District 2, to give board members remote read-only access to the computer software system known as BusinessPlus, so representatives can see more details about the district’s financial information, which is available to the public, without asking an administrator.

Mark Cantrell of District 6 is the only board member who sided with Myers and Thomas in the 3-6 vote.

Cantrell asked how many cabinet members have access to BusinessPlus.

“Each of us has access to certain areas that are relevant to our job position,” said human resources chief Kathy Tessin, “but not every cabinet member can access all of the financial information or all of the personal information.”

Thomas emphasized, “I’m not asking for access to personal information or confidential records. It seems to be a reasonable sort of thing.”

Board vice chairwoman Pat Hugley Green of District 1 asked what financial information is being sought that isn’t already available to board members.

Thomas said, for example, he asked the administration last week, “Wednesday or Thursday,” for the amount of money the district paid a vendor during the school year, and superintendent David Lewis gave him the answer Saturday.

“Somebody had to look it up and pass it on to him,” Thomas said. “If I had the access I’m asking for, I could have done that myself. It seems like a very simple approach to something that doesn’t have to be all that complicated.”

Green replied, “I can appreciate that. However, that is the flow. That is the proper flow of any kind of request.”

Green also expressed concern that private information about employees could be compromised if board members are given such access.

Thomas countered, “I don’t know what established that proper flow, other than practice, so I’m asking for a change in practice. It’s not detailed in our policy. … It’s public information. We’re not like any other member of the public. We’re here as the elected representatives of the public.”

District 7 representative Shannon Smallman said she called the school system’s BusinessPlus account manager, who didn’t know whether any other school systems allow such access, but it would increase the chances of private information being hacked.

Myers asserted, “There’s something they don’t want you to see. I don’t know what it is. … We’re not asking for confidential information. Go back to the language itself: read-only, detailed, public financial information.”

Myers also argued against Green’s contention that the board already increased its financial transparency in December. That’s when the board approved what Myers called a “watered-down” version of Thomas’ request to post on the school system’s website expenditures of less than $15,000, which don’t need board approval. Myers said the posted information is unclear and last updated four months ago.

“This is what we call a data dump,” Myers said. “Everybody on the cabinet has some access to what we’re asking for, some or all. They work for this board. By the way, they also have remote access, which we’re saying all of a sudden is problematic, like some security breach. Are you saying the bosses can’t be trusted with the same information that the cabinet has and other employees?

“… Why does the board have to request to have access to public information? What this is about tonight is expediting the process of board members getting information that’s public anyway. That’s all this is about, and it’s been turned into something that it’s not.”

Myers wants board members to have such access, he said, “so we can make intelligent decision as a board instead of just rubber-stamping whatever comes down the pike the Thursday morning before the work session the following Monday.”

District 4 representative Naomi Buckner said, “It’s the function of the board to make policy. It is not the function of the board to work alongside employees, to micromanage them as they access the software and material to do that work, to provide the information we are requesting.”

Buckner also declared the board’s only employee is the superintendent. “That’s the only person that we evaluate,” she said. “This, to me, is so far an overreach. There’s talk about detailed information. What comes next? What kind of other detailed information will be requested next?”

Kia Chambers, the nine-member board’s lone county-wide representative, and Athavia “A.J.” Senior of District 3 agreed with Buckner.

Chambers said the board “should be afforded information if asked. I’m just not sure having access to BusinessPlus is the answer to that.”

Senior sees “no justification for wanting access to BusinessPlus other than convenience. … We only meet twice a month. We have the whole month to gain access to pretty much any information we desire.”

Cantrell asked which cabinet members have remote access to BusinessPlus.

Tessin and Lewis said they don’t. Chief financial officer Theresa Thornton said she does. Others didn’t respond.

“There’s plenty that do,” Thomas said.

“Well, it sounds like it can leak out from anybody already,” Cantrell said. “We are elected. If we can’t trust the people that the people trust to elect, then we’ve got a problem.”

Before he called for the vote, board chairman Rob Varner of District 5 concluded, “Remote access is very common in budgetary industry today, but the reality is these people can be terminated if they violate the remote access policy. The board cannot.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 1:45 AM with the headline "Muscogee County School Board rejects two members’ request for more access to financial records."