Letter from Orlo Burch

CCS Response Is ‘Appalling’

I read in “The Freeman’s Journal” an article that should have been above the fold on the front page, that was instead on page 13, about our school having half a million dollars stolen some 14 months ago. State Police are “working diligently” to find the culprits who outsmarted school officials, according to the story. I’m sure it must be on the top of their list after 14 months.

According to the school board president, the amount “represents only about 2 percent” of the annual school budget. The board president states that the “crime will not impact district operations.” So apparently, there is a lot of fat in the school budget that voters approved. So much fat, in fact, that losing $500,000.00 more or less will not impact school operations.

I am shocked by this cavalier attitude. Voters should think long and hard when considering the Capital Improvement Proposition district voters are being asked to approve in December. This theft was committed in September 2024 and only reported by the school board six months later, in March. Now, 14 months later, a page 13 article informs the public, the ones whose tax money was stolen. The board must hire a team of forensic accountants to investigate how the theft occurred and develop recommendations for controls to never allow something like this to happen in the future. I’m sure there is enough excess money in the budget to find the money to hire accountants.

Also on page 13, just below the 1/2 million dollar theft article, “The Partial Observer” column suggest families join the CCS facility and BOA members in decorating holiday cookies. How about skipping the cookie decoration and find the missing money that has been gone for 14 months? The crime here is bad enough, but the delay and lack of information from the school board and then downplaying the serious nature of this by the board president is appalling.

Orlo Burch
Hartwick