HSD 152 has hiccups with 2023 fiscal year audit after township school treasurer fails to reconcile books

In October, an auditor presented the 2023 fiscal year audit to the Harvey School District 152 board, despite incomplete information from the Thornton Township Trustee of Schools treasurer.

Nick Cavaliere, an auditor from Baker Tilly, presented the board with an overview of the fiscal year 2023 financial audit. Due to reporting issues at the Thornton Township Trustees of Schools, Cavaliere was unable to make a final determination of the district’s financial standing. 

Mark Sheahan currently serves as treasurer of Thornton Township Trustees of Schools, which is generally responsible for the investments of select south suburban school districts.

“That particular office has not had the ability to reconcile their books and records to render assurances to the third parties,” Cavaliere said, “that are auditing your financial statements” to ensure the cash and investment balances are accurate. 

The 2022 fiscal year audit was unverified for the same issue, Cavaliere said. However, this year’s audit did confirm the district to be within the applicable debt limits and compliant with federal grant spending.

An urban farm program

Phillip Fairweather, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chicago-based Entrepreneurs Academy, presented a plan to install a shipping container hydroponic produce farm on district 152 property. It would be located on 147th St. and Wallace Ave., across from Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School.

The container would “guarantee consistent, high yields of fresh vegetables and herbs, addressing the crucial need for fresh produce in the community throughout the year,” according to its grant proposal for federal funds. A similar project in Altgeld Gardens sees one container producing over a ton of produce per year, with high school students planting and harvesting. 

The installation and first two years of operation of the shipping container farm would come at no cost to the district due to a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

After two years, the district and EA would need to find another funding source. Fairweather suggested selling some of the produce to support the operation. 

The company had been in talks with the Harvey Public LIbrary District before presenting the plan to HSD 152. “Because the Harvey library slow-walked us for so long, we are now in jeopardy of losing the grant altogether,” Fairweather said. 

“Whatever we can do to get to that point quickly, because [if not] then there’s just not going to be anything in Harvey.” The two-year grant period started September 15. 

Fairweather envisions the container as a collaboration with the district. The school can incorporate it into lessons, distribute free vegetables to families, he explained, or train staff in the cafeteria to incorporate the vegetables grown there into school lunches.

Board president Myra Gardner invited Fairweather into closed session for the board to discuss it further but no final decision was made that evening.

Committee reports

Assistant Superintendent Gloria Trejo presented on the curriculum committee’s priorities. Those include establishing a committee to develop a music education program for grades K-8 and establishing a centralized data storage system to streamline tracking students’ progress. 

“Sometimes, principals are looking at how particular students are doing. They have to look in different places,” Trejo said. “So we’re looking into one system to house everything: common assessments, state assessments, language assessments.” 

The finance committee introduced a motion to approve contractors to repair garage roof damage at Brooks Middle School for $22,335. The district received three bids for the repair, ultimately contracting with Dunamis and Associates. 

The board also approved a contract with ClientFirst technology. The district will consult with them for its cyber security pilot program for an amount not to exceed $8,200. Both agenda items passed unanimously. 

Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Dana Nichols reviewed the district’s contract with Alltown Bus Service, recommended that the district not renew its contract at the end of the school year. 

Alltown’s current rate reflects a charge for two routes on all 12 buses the district utilizes. Only three buses use two routes; the district is being overcharged. 

Alltown refused to revise the contract for this school year, as it was already board-reviewed and signed at the time of the discovery, Nichols said.