Angelo DeSimone former Ridgewood superintendent of business to become Elmwood Park schools new fiscal monitor
January 10, 2015 Last updated: Saturday, January 10, 2015, 1:21 AM
By CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
The Record
ELMWOOD PARK — The state has appointed a new monitor to oversee the school district’s finances, the superintendent of schools said Friday.
Angelo DeSimone, who has been the state monitor in Garfield since 2013, has taken over in Elmwood Park from Thomas Egan.
The superintendent of schools, Richard Tomko, said Friday that DeSimone will be working about 30 hours a week in the district; Egan put in close to 40 hours.
Egan, the former business administrator in Bergenfield, was installed in early 2013 to manage the school district’s finances after two consecutive yearly budget deficits.
Egan served in his role in Elmwood Park for two years.
Courtesy of Dom
DeSimone’s appointment runs for one year. Elmwood Park’s school board voted to accept his appointment at its meeting Tuesday night.
DeSimone will have final say in all purchasing decisions, can overrule the school board and is allowed to attend executive session meetings when financial matters are to be discussed.
DeSimone retired in 2012 after working for eight years as the Ridgewood school district’s superintendent of business.
While DeSimone will answer to Education Commissioner David Hespe, the district is required to pay his $96-an-hour wage and cover his business-related expenses.
In the spring of 2013, the district received $2.2 million in advance aid from the state to eradicate its budget deficit. As a result, Elmwood Park will receive reduced state aid funding over the next eight years.
Total district expenditures during the fiscal years 2011 and 2012 were $32.5 million and $34.6 million, respectively, according to the state’s audit.
According to state law, school districts can only receive advance state aid if a state monitor is in place.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/elmwood-park-schools-get-new-fiscal-monitor-1.1190087
