Mr. Merriam,
 
Thank you for your reply, except I wish you had answered all of my questions.  I will address my concerns after each of your paragraphs to help keep it simple.  Your text is in blue.
 

Last year we estimated that Transportation could reduce its
 budget by $3.8 million.  At the same time we estimated the
 budget for 08-09.  Both are estimates of future spending
 which we have some control over.  You have pointed out
 budget line items that have not been fully expended and will
 not; therefore not a true determinant on how we are doing.
To this end I want to cut straight to the “how are we
 doing” phase of the budget.  

I was not asking about your estimations nor your reductions,  I was trying to figure out why there was so much money added into the budget for furniture as shown in the bullet points below.  Could you please answer?

   *  #4641 non-capitalized furniture in the 07-08 budget

 was $51,955 and in the 08-09 budget (where you would think
 there would be a 7% reduction) it showed $169,400.
That is an increase of over $117,000 or well over 300%. 
     * #4642 is non-capitalized furniture which in 07-08 was
 $68,495 and in 08-09 was $275,000 which is an increase of
 over $206,000 or 401%. 
     * Now if you add the $275,000 to the $117,000 that would
 equal $392,000 increase in budget from one year to the
 next.
 
That $392,000 might pay for several teachers that were terminated. 

 


And for that matter:
 
#4510 Supplies        07-08 budgeted  382,000  and 25,000 was unused...why was 640,000
 budgeted for 08-09?  That was more than a 160% budgeted increase knowing there will be 37 fewer buses due to the flip.
 
#4540 Oil and Grease   07-08 budgeted 349,000 of which 18,000 was unused...why was 431,000 budgeted for 08-09?  That was more than 125% budgeted increase knowing there will be 37 fewer buses due to the flip?

  #4730 Dues and Fees   07-08 budgeted for 271,000 of which 10,000 was left unused...why was 380,000 budgeted for 08-09?  That was more than 135% increase knowing there will be 37 fewer buses due to the flip.
 
And there are many more, but I will spare you.  All told there was over 2,000,000 dollars budgeted into the 08-09 budget that was over what was budgeted into the 07-08 Transportation Budget and that was budgeted with the knowledge that there would be at least 37 fewer buses due to the flip, and when you were asked to all cut 7% from the budget.  With these facts in mind it is my belief that if the budget had been forecasted with more insight we would have had to lay off far fewer teachers.  How many teachers does $2,000,000 pay for who were otherwise laid off.  Or better yet, could $2,000,000 keep two elementary schools open that might otherwise be closed?


I’ve asked our budget analysis to present a month by
 month total of expenditures comparing last year to this
 year.  For 08-09, our expenditures for transportation are
 $3.4 million less than last year.  This does not include
 the costs of fuel.  The fuel comparison is 149,302 less
 gallons this year than last (using average gallon pricing
 per month the total saved is $387,695).  This means the
 total saved so far this year is $3.7 million.   Please
 note there are over three months left to go in the fiscal
 year and I estimate that the dollars saved will rise well
 beyond the original estimated budget reduction amount.  In
 both cases, the savings are directly attributable to the
 FLIP.  

Mr. Merriam, I have not seen any mention that you are transporting 3000 fewer students this year.  According to OCPS records there were 72,119 total students transported
in 07-08 and only 69,183 transported in 08-09.  Don't you think that some of that 3.7 million dollar savings is also directly attributed to having 3000 fewer riders?  If I had time and if I were an accountant I might  be able to find other reasons for the $3.7 million savings than just the flip, but at least now you have one more.  I am just asking that we don't have tunnel vision and chalk all savings to the flip because I don't see it
and there are many, many factors involved.  Which leads to the next paragraph.
 

Another concern you had was the number of buses needed to
 be brought back on line for next year.  Again comparing the
 first day of school for 07-08 and 08-09, the buses used to
 transport students on that day was 1050 in 07-08 and 927 in
 08-09.  As you can see, we will most likely need in excess
 of 100 buses/drivers when we return to the previous delivery
 schedule.  

The above paragraph provides the fuzziest math yet. 2008-2009 Budget Reduction Report distributed by OCPS mentioned that "By placing the middle school schedule
first, the district eliminated 37 buses".  So in the course of 1 year, how are we supposed to believe that we need to add over 100 buses when we flip back?   You can
word it 20 other ways but it does not add up.   One last comment on this...according to OCPS records in school year ended 2002 used 938 buses to transport 69,482 students and now, according to the above paragraph we will need 1050 buses to transport 69,183.  Why can't we be as efficient as we once were?   


All the above data is verifiable from our audit
 department.  

All the above data in black print is verifiable from the OCPS website.  Please click on School Board then Transportation Task Force, then go to the right and click on
 whatever OCPS document that is provided. 

I want to thank you for taking the time to seek out the
 salient facts and spend time understanding how your tax
 money is spent.  You are always welcome to inquire anytime
 to learn more about our student delivery system.  

Mr. Merriam, in closing I would like to thank you and Mr. Glendich for taking time out of your busy day to address my concerns. I apologize in advance for asking such pointed
questions, but they are troubling and important and warrant answers.  So could you please answer the following questions?
 
Why was over 300% budgeted for furniture and why have you suddenly decided not to expend any more this budget year for furniture?
 
Why were so many categories on your budget forecast so far over for 08-09, when at fiscal year end 07-08 almost all were not exhausted?  And keep in mind that it was known that there would be 37 fewer buses. 
 
Is everything we save this year on transportation going to be attributed to the flip or can we agree that perhaps some other items should be factored in (ie having 3000 fewer students to bus this year)?
 
How were we so efficient in 2002 when records show we could deliver 69,482 students with 938 buses and now  you project that we will need 1050 buses to transport 69,183 next year (a total of 112 buses more)?
 
Please try one more time to explain why we pull 37 buses one year and need over one hundred more to transport the same amount of students.  Are the extra 63+ buses you say we need all due to flipping back?  If so then you should go on record as saying that the original flip actually saved the district over 100 buses and take credit for it.
 
 
We are all in this mess together and my hope is that we can all work together to make OCPS even more efficient for the sake our children's education. Thanks for your time and I am looking forward to hearing from you.
 
Sincerely,
 
Paul Hamel            
 
RyeMerriam

 Sr Director
 Transportation and Support Services