Although the result of a recent joint meeting between Franklin’s city council and school board was the promise of a closer working relationship moving forward, that relationship may get worse before it has a chance to get better. This is largely due to the fact that council is sticking to its guns and refusing to allocate more money to the schools until the school board discusses the troubling findings of a financial audit produced earlier this year.
And city council is absolutely doing the right thing.
For years, council members and city residents have complained that the school board is less than transparent with regard to its financial management. The school system has exacerbated the problem by not publicly discussing the audit results and repeatedly asking for more money than what their budgets call for. In years past, council has acquiesced and provided additional funding. This year, council has said enough is enough.
We encourage city council to continue taking a hard stance when it comes to fiscal responsibility, and hope the school board will finally come clean about how taxpayer money is being spent.