[mpen-dayton] Greater Miami Valley Events & News
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- (Apr. 5) FW: Walk Your Park! National Walking Day Park Rx event.
- (Apr. 8) Annual Ohio Mathematics Contest at WSU
- (Apr. 16 is deadline) FW: Applications being accepted – SCC Public Safety
- FW: Ombudsman Office Weekly Update 3-31-2017
- FW: WSU budgets claimed finances were strong as the school overspent
- FW: What a last week on the petitions you support
- FW: April E-blast from YMCA of Greater Dayton
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From: Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
Subject: Walk Your Park! National Walking Day Park Rx event.
National Walking Day: Wright Walk Park Rx
9:30 am - 12:00 pm Wednesday April 5, 2017
Get Out and Walk Your Park!
Join National Park Service Rangers and the Ohio Volkssport Association
for a Park Rx walk on April 1, National Walking Day. This ranger-led walk will cover the history of aviation in Dayton, OH from the Wright brothers to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The walk will start out at the Wright Memorial, which is located at 2380 Memorial Rd., Dayton, OH 45424, and will follow the Wright Brothers Huffman Prairie Bikeway and the Mad River Trail to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. There participants will learn about conservation efforts used to preserve the fleet of Air Force One aircraft on display in the 4th hanger. Restrooms and drinking fountains are available at the beginning and end of the walk, and participants that would prefer to do the indoor portion are welcome to meet at the Wright Memorial and then head to the museum by car. Dress for the weather and make sure to wear comfortable shoes. This walk will have 6K, 10K, and 12K routes.
For more information go to www.nps/gov.daav or contact the National Park Service at 937-225-7705. This event is free and open to the public.
2017 Ohio Mathematics Contest
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Wright State Unbiverity
(Registration will be closed tonight!)
This announcement is to notify parents, teachers, and students of the annual Ohio Mathematics Contest. For more details, please visit the website http://iis.stat.wright.edu/OMC for additional information.
This year's Ohio Mathematics Contest will be held on Saturday, April 8, 2017, at Wright State University. The contest is for elementary, middle and high school students in grades 4 through 11. It is organized by the Dayton Branch of Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association and hosted by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Wright State University, with sponsorship from various institutions and organizations. The purpose of the contest is to stimulate interest in mathematics among upper elementary, middle and high school students and to recognize those who exhibit exceptional talent. The organizers and sponsors ask teachers and parents to strongly encourage their students in grades 4 through 11 to enter this Contest.
From: Huber, John Huber; Captain John H. Huber, Sinclair College Police Department
Subject: Applications being accepted beginning at 8:00AM on Friday, March 31, 2017 until Midnight, Sunday, April 16, 2017
The department is creating a Hiring List with a pool of candidates for 2017 who believe they possess the disposition to be a College/University Peace Officer. Applications for Sinclair College Job Opportunities can only be filed on-line.
From: Diane Welborn; Ombudsman, The Ombudsman Office
Subject: Ombudsman Office Weekly Update 3-31-2017
This week your Ombudsman Office has been busy with a dozen cases on Social Security,two cases concerning access to Food Stamps, three cases concerning Greater Dayton Premier Management and five cases about Medicaid. All the cases opened in this week were for residents of Centerville, Harrison Township and Huber Heights.
We provided brief assistance or referrals for another 20 households from Dayton and Kettering concerning housing issues, the Bureau of Workman's Compensation, the Medical board and the Ohio Public Utilities Commission.
This week we had the opportunity to assist a man who had been the victim of a crime. His wallet had been stolen and he was trying to obtain replacement identification. We worked with him to provide him specific instructions as to what documents were required for him to get another driver's license. After getting his license replaced, he returned to thank us.
Our Long-Term Care Ombudsmen opened cases in six area nursing homes this week on cases of accidental falls; a person not being turned properly; concerns about changes in treatment; lack of appropriate activities; personal hygiene; care plans not being followed; lost personal property; failure to respond to requests for assistance; billing charges; and lack of adequate assistance with eating. We visited 11 nursing homes and participated in 5 surveys by the Ohio Department of Health.
Facebook Weekly update: March 27, 2017- March 31, 2017
"Wrong SSN leads to Medicare headache"
Recently a woman contacted the Ombudsman Office because she had applied for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program in June of 2016 and was approved due to her limited monthly retirement income of $860. The QMB program will pay for a person's monthly Part B Medicare premium. The Part B premium was still being deducted from the woman's Social Security retirement benefit when she called the Ombudsman in February of 2017.
After researching the woman's concern, the Ombudsman learned that an incorrect Social Security number had been entered into the system, and that was the reason the QMB benefit was never put into effect. The Social Security number was corrected, and the Ombudsman received the response that the woman's QMB benefit was approved back to November of 2016. The Ombudsman then objected to the date of November 2016, because the woman's application was made in June of 2016 and so the benefit should have been in effect since July of 2016. Staff at Medicaid reviewed the woman's application, confirmed that her application was made in June of 2016, and adjusted her benefit retroactive to July 2016. The woman will receive reimbursement back to July of 2016 for her Part B premiums, and will not have the premium deducted from her Social Security benefit going forward. The woman was pleased at the result of the Ombudsman intervention and was grateful to have the matter corrected.
The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens' Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to the Beerman Building, 11 W. Monument Avenue, Suite 606, Dayton 45402, or telephone (937) 223-4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org or like us on Facebook at "Dayton Ombudsman Office."
From: John Doe
Subject: WSU budgets claimed finances were strong as the school overspent
http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/wsu-budgets-portrayed-finances-strong-while-school-lost-millions/QsiYcx4ZrMPXsUY227rHCK/
(This article, formatted and linked better is attached to this email.)
WSU budgets claimed finances were strong as the school overspent
Posted: 10:26 a.m. Friday, March 31, 2017
From 2012 through 2015, Wright State University administrators presented budget documents to trustees that projected a blossoming financial future.
At least three times in the fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, the university's chief finance officer referred to the school's finances as "strong."
But a Dayton Daily News examination of financial data from the university found that it was losing millions of dollars a year even while pitching rosy forecasts to board members.
RELATED: WSU interim president says golf team may go, school needs a 'Dr. No'
Two of those board members now acknowledge they were unaware of how much red ink was being hemorrhaged by the university.
"I'm going to let the data speak for itself," said Michael Bridges, the current chairman of the board. "It was not our understanding that (overspending) was an issue until May or June of 2016."
Yet Wright State spent more money than it brought in for five straight years, from 2012 to 2016, and it is expected to run a deficit again this year.
The newspaper's examination, which included 17 years of financial data, shows the university's finances were in sound condition until fiscal year 2o12, after which point the school began draining reserve funds to cover expenditures.
From 2012 to 2014, Wright State overspent by a combined $20.7 million, according to financial statements from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Yet few alarm bells apparently went off.
RELATED: Wright State students plan to protest upcoming budget cuts
"In FY 2015 Wright State University maintains its strong fiscal condition!" said a budget proposal to the board that year.
"There's no doubt there's an excessively rosy outlook in those budget proposals," said Doug Fecher, vice chairman of the board of trustees and chairman of the board's finance committee. Fecher began his term as a trustee in July 2014.
The overspending would eventually balloon to $34.9 million in fiscal year 2016, according to financial statements. In the current fiscal year, the university is expected to overspend by nearly $40 million, according to the university.
Those numbers bring to more than $120 million the amount of spending that has exceeded revenues over a six-year period.
Wright State is now faced with the need to cut $25 million from its next budget in order to balance its books. The school is also aiming to boost its unrestricted reserves by $5 million after that fund dropped from more than $100 million in 2012 to $12.9 million as of June.
WSU officials say they will be forced to implement budget cuts immediately. Layoffs, salary reductions and the elimination of the university's golf team are all on the table, interim president Curtis McCray said last week.
TWEET: Follow reporter Max Filby on Twitter for more higher ed news
Wright State laid off 23 employees in October and has been looking for additional ways to generate revenue, such as boosting enrollment or selling off the operation of its parking lots for a quick cash injection.
The years of overspending raise questions about why the university's budget was not corrected sooner and how administrators and trustees missed the warning signs of a growing financial crisis.
Fecher acknowledged mistakes were made.
"The fact of the matter is that adjustments need to be taken immediately," he said. "They're adjustments from the last three or four years and if they had been made they wouldn't have to be as severe now."
'By definition, they're failing'
More than one year of overspending should have alerted the board of trustees and the administration, said Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economist who is an expert on college affordability.
Multiple years of that same pattern should have caused officials to "start screaming," he said, or at least cause discussion of how the university would sustain itself.
"If overall expenditures are greater than overall revenues, by definition they're failing," Vedder said. "The fact is that if you spend more than you take in you have lost."
RELATED: Top trustees call for firing of long-suspended workers, release of secret audit
Yet the annual budget proposals did not explicitly focus on the trend that was beginning to emerge. The fiscal year 2015 proposal boasted that the university's assets had increased by more than $101 million between 2003 and 2013. It did not call attention to the losses.
Mark Polatajko served as Wright State's vice president for business and fiscal affairs beginning in 2012. Wright State lost money every year Polatajko was in his position yet the language used in budgets prepared by his office are mostly positive.
Trustees stopped short of saying they felt Polatajko misled the board, but they said trustees received little warning of overspending. Polatajko, who left the university in 2016 and now serves as senior vice president for finance and administration at Kent State University, could not be reached to comment.
Ohio ranks the overall financial health of its public universities on a 0 to 5 scale. Any school that falls beneath 1.75 two years in a row is placed on "fiscal watch," as Central State University was in 2014.
In fiscal year 2015, Polatajko's office predicted Wright State's score would increase from 3.4 to 4.0, one point off the top of the scale. Instead, the ranking dropped to 2.4 as the university overspent by more than $25 million. The most recent score, from fiscal year 2016, gave WSU a rating of 2.1, according to the state.
RELATED: International applicants down dramatically at UD, Wright State
It's obvious now, Bridges said, that the positive rhetoric "doesn't align" with Wright State's financial reality. Both Bridges and Fecher credited Jeff Ulliman, current vice president of business and finance, for bringing the budget issues to their attention.
Bridges also questioned why then-president David Hopkins did not make it clearer to the board that the university had overspent by millions.
"It is clear we were not getting the information in a quality and timely manner," Bridges said.
Hopkins could not be reached to comment.
Was everyone 'asleep?'
Administrators and trustees may have "fallen asleep" as Wright State's budget descended into critical condition, McCray said.
Wright State had only overspent once from 2000 to 2011, according to financial statements. WSU overspent by $3.4 million in 2009 and not again until 2012.
FACEBOOK: Follow reporter Max Filby on Facebook for updates on higher ed news
Revenues increased by $81 million from 2006 to 2011, before beginning to decline to more historic levels. The bump appears to have been mostly caused by increased enrollment from a quarter to semester conversion, bigger returns on investments and better fundraising, according to a detailed financial history.
That kind of prosperity causes people to lose focus, said McCray, who was hired as interim president to implement budget cuts before Cheryl Schrader takes over in July.
"Conflict almost seems to be necessary sometimes. If things are too good, people fall asleep," McCray said. "I suspect that people fell asleep here because things were really good at one time."
Even if budget proposals were more optimistic than the numbers, Bridges said he and other board members are at fault for not paying closer attention. While there's "plenty of blame to go around" Bridges said that board members have a responsibility to Wright State and that they should have done better.
RELATED: Interim WSU leader blames budget problems on bad judgment
At the time, trustees looked at those financially down years as "one-offs" Bridges said.
"That board should have done a better job of interpreting the data," Bridges said. "The thought was always that next year would be better."
The missed signals have caused Wright State's trustees to shift their focus. The financial committee now meets monthly instead of just a few times a year and is provided more frequent updates on cash flocw.
The school has been lacking a 'Dr. No,' someone who can turn down expenses and force the university to "live within" its budget, McCray said. That duty, for now, has fallen to the trustees as they prepare to consider budget cuts in April.
"That's the piece that was missing. There was no accountability," Fecher said. "Curtis McCray is exactly right. A 'Dr. No' is what this university needs."
5 HIGHER ED MUST READS
- UD grad wins $25K in 'Flyer Pitch' for his stadium seat invention
- BGSU professor caught with sexually explicit material on work computer
- Sinclair increases fees, generating another $1.6 million in revenue
- Cost of ITT Tech implosion surpasses $141 million for taxpayers
- BINGE DRINKING: Student death has area colleges re-evaluating
COMPLETE COVERAGE
This newspaper is your only source for information about the ongoing budget issues and a federal investigation into activities that took place at Wright State University. Comment on this story on our Facebook page at MaxFilbyDDN.
From: Change.org
Subject: What a last week on the petitions you support
Petition to Interim President McCray and the Board of Trustees
Preserve instructional positions at Wright State University
| 144 new comments |
Petition to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Take Responsibility for Wartime Crimes of Sexual Slavery and Human Trafficking: Remember the "Comfort Women"
| 4 new comments |
Petition to Michael P. Huerta
Stop the Proposed Fence at the Tulelake Municipal Airport, site of the former Tule Lake Segregation Center, California
| 1 new comment |
From: YMCA of Greater Dayton
Subject: April E-blast from YMCA of Greater Dayton
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End of MPEN e-Newsletter
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