School and county officials must work together to avoid the contentiousness that has marred their relationship in the recent years, the outgoing school board president said yesterday.
President John D. Myers Jr. urged the Board of County Commissioners to forge "a coalition of faith and trust" with the Board of Education to do what's best for Carroll students.
Commissioner W. Benjamin Brown said he agreed. "I hope we get past the system where we have to distrust each other's motives," he said.
The commissioners met with Mr. Myers, Superintendent Brian Lockard, Assistant Superintendent for Administration William Hyde and other school officials yesterday to discuss a performance audit of the schools.
The audit, which was finished in September, has been a political issue since 1989, when a former board of commissioners proposed a such an audit, a move that was overruled by the Maryland attorney general's office.
Since county schools account for about 53 percent of the county's $130 million operating budget, the commissioners have asked for more than the school system's annual financial audit. A performance audit, they have argued, measures how well the schools and offices are being managed.
Former Commissioner Julia W. Gouge, who left office last month after two terms, pushed for more control over the schools and wanted the commissioners to have line-item veto power over the school budget.
When the performance audit was proposed again last year, the school board agreed -- provided that the board had a say in the scope of the work, the company hired and if the commissioners paid the bill.
The $45,000 audit covered food service, transportation and personnel. The work was done by KPMG Peat Marwick Management Consultants of Washington.
Yesterday, school officials asked for more time to study and implement some of Peat Marwick's recommendations before beginning audits in other areas.
"The report is done, but the staff time involved in analyzing the impact on all of us is still going on," said Vernon Smith, director of school support services.
One of the recommendations -- that the school system use competitive bidding for school bus routes -- has been controversial and will take time to research, he said.
DIn Carroll, contractors sign up for routes according to the location of their garages, with those who sign up first having the first chance to win the contract.
Peat Marwick estimated the school system could save $1.5 million a year by putting the routes out for bid. About 21,000 of Carroll's 24,700 students ride buses this year at a cost of $9.3 million.
School officials have not decided whether to adopt a bidding system, Mr. Hyde said.
Mr. Brown said he would like to see a school performance audit become a routine part of county business, suggesting that the county could hire an auditor with experience in school management.
But Commissioner Richard T. Yates said the public might think a staff auditor wasn't objective.
Mr. Myers agreed that an outside auditor would be more objective.
Commissioner Donald I. Dell, who was elected to a second term last month, said he would like audits to be more specific.
Mr. Myers, who did not seek re-election, said the recent election in which school board member Carolyn L. Scott won re-election demonstrated that the public is not wholly dissatisfied with the way schools are operated.
In addition, Mr. Myers pointed out that Carroll schools rank among the highest in the annual Maryland School Performance Program Report.
After the meeting, Mr. Myers said he is optimistic that the commissioners and school officials can avoid continued bad blood.
"I'm optimistic. We know Mr. Dell because of four years of performance. Mr. Brown seems very much interested in quality education. I just don't know Mr. Yates," Mr. Myers said.