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From YouTube: Addressing BPS Financials
Description
Mayor Walsh holds a press conference in the Eagle Room of City Hall to address the use of student activity accounts in Boston Public Schools.
A
A
Thank
you.
Thank
you
for
all
from
being
here,
I'm
gonna
do
my
best
to
answer
any
questions
you
might
have.
If
you
have
any
questions
that
I
can't
answer,
I
think
there
is
somebody
in
the
room
that
will
have
the
answer
for
me.
So
be
a
bit
with
me
when
we
get
to
the
point
of
questions
and
answers,
I'm
joined
by
the
superintendent,
Tommy
Chang.
A
Obviously
the
Education
Chief
Ron
Dorsey
and
school
community
member
Michael
canto
I,
want
to
start
by
saying
the
trust
is
a
highest
priority
in
our
administration,
trust
with
the
public
trust
with
the
taxpayer
trust
with
parents
and
families.
We
have
made
fiscal
responsibility,
our
hallmark
here
in
City
Hall,
with
a
perfect
triple
a
bond
rating
for
four
consecutive
years.
For
the
first
time
in
the
history
of
our
city
and
we've
achieved
levels
of
transparency.
That's
never
seen
been
seen
before
in
city
government.
A
In
that
spirit,
I
want
to
make
sure
everyone
has
the
facts
about
the
city
of
Boston's,
IRS,
audit,
the
IRS
selects
cities
and
towns
randomly
for
routine
audits.
We
were
one
of
those
cities
that
were
chosen
last
year.
So
far.
15
months,
the
IRS
has
been
conducting
a
comprehensive
audit
at
the
city
of
Boston's
federal
tax
returns
for
2014,
2015
and
2016.
A
In
this
review,
the
IRS
identified
areas
for
adjustments,
some
are
related
to
city
tax
returns
and
others
to
Student
Activity
accounts
at
the
Boston
Public
Schools.
As
a
result
of
these
adjustments,
we
paid
back
taxes
and
were
owed
that
were
owed
as
well
as
Medicare
payments
as
well
as
$2,000
in
fines.
We
will
not
find
a
million
dollars.
We
were
fined
$2,000
in
all
of
those
fines.
The
money
that
was
paid
back
was
those
other
payments
for
the
city's
tax
returns.
In
a
small
subset
of
cases.
A
We
had
Medicare
with
holdings
that
were
miscalculated
after
a
change
to
federal
law
in
1986.
As
an
example,
someone
who
worked
for
the
city
before
1986,
then
retired,
and
came
back
in
a
part-time
job.
The
original
start
date
remained
this
in
the
system
resulting
in
the
wrong
code
for
their
Medicaid
taxes.
As
a
result
of
these
findings,
the
city
paid
back
taxes
from
2014
in
2015
that
are
required
by
no
fines
or
penalties
were
issued
in
this
particular
case.
A
In
that
particular
case,
we
corrected
the
issues
immediately
by
updating
our
coding,
so
we
made
sure
that
the
issues
moving
forward
will
no
longer
happen
here
in
the
city
of
Boston,
by
changing
the
coding
in
our
computer
systems
at
bps,
the
IRS
randomly
chose
sixteen
schools
to
review
student
activity
accounts.
These
are
accounts
that
are
money
raised
by
the
local
schools,
whether
it's
through
parent
counsels
or
through
principals
or
people
coming
off
the
street
and
making
donations
to
the
schools.
A
We
have
them
in
I
think
almost
every
school
in
our
city
of
Boston
or
most
of
our
schools
in
the
city,
they
found
the
following
issues:
wages
paid
to
individuals
misclassified
as
vendors,
including
coaches,
tutors
and
exam
Proctor's.
These
are
not
city
employees.
These
are
people
that
were
hired
by
the
accounts
that
were
in
raised
in
these
different
schools,
wages,
paid
city
employees
outside
the
payroll
system
for
work
beyond
contractual
hours
or
spending
reimbursement.
A
So
there
were
cases
where
city
employees
were
paid
outside
of
their
their
regular
wages,
standard
wages
through
our
payrolls
through
the
the
payroll
system.
In
ten
instances,
1099
forms
were
filed
when
paying
a
vendor,
such
as
a
bus
provider
on
a
field
trip.
This
last
item
is
the
only
one
that
occurred.
Irs
finds
$200
per
instance
for
a
total
of
two
thousand
dollars
total.
A
A
They
had
a
conversation
mo
sent
out
in
June
of
last
year
to
the
principal's
to
stop
these
stuff
this
practice
and
in
August
when,
when
they
had
a
brought
the
teams
back
before
the
beginning
of
the
year,
they
were
all
explaining
that
you
can
no
longer
have
this
type
of
practice
going
on.
So
these
changes
were
will
change
before
the
audit
was
finalized,
we've
eliminated
or
they
have
eliminated
debit
cards
used.
A
With
these
accounts,
no
schools
will
no
longer
have
the
ability
for
debit
cards
we've
required
all
such
accounts
to
be
held
through
a
city
of
Boston
tax,
ID
number,
creating
one
master
account.
We
have
communicated
clearly
to
school
leaders,
the
rules
and
laws
surrounding
student
activity
account.
So
everyone
knows
now
what
the
rules
are
and
the
activity
around
those
activities
will
be.
We
have
a
better
accounting
measure
by
using
a
Citizens
Bank,
where
all
these
accounts
will
be
held.
So
we
can.
A
We
can
well
the
School
Department
can
track
these
accounts
and
watch
how
these
accounts
are
spent
and
making
sure
they
have
all
the
proper
paperwork
they
have
as
the
money's
being
distributed.
However,
because
the
IRS
only
looked
at
16
schools
in
the
city
of
Boston,
we
need
to
go
further.
These
accounts
were
launched
in
the
early
90s
they're
in
most
of
our
schools,
as
I
said
earlier,
they
have
never
been
audited
or
reviewed.
Until
now.
For
this
purpose,
we
retained
Ernst
&
Young
to
conduct
a
comprehensive,
independent
review
of
all
these
accounts.
A
In
the
into
this
entire
complex
issue,
I'm
confident
that
we're
going
to
receive
the
information
we
need
to
correct
these
issues
and
to
achieve
complete
transparency
and
to
continue
to
earn
the
trust
of
the
public
that
we
serve
before
I.
Take
any
questions,
as
I
said
just
for
for
record-keeping
ideas.
We've
changed
the
practice
in
June
of
how
this
was
happening
in
the
past,
so
from
June
till
now.
We
feel
confident
so
we're
going
in
and
checking
all
all
schools.
A
He's
standing
right
next
to
me,
we
are
going
to
go
back
and
we're
going
to
look
and
see
where
the
problems
are
in
our
schools.
As
I
said,
this
goes
back
many
decades
in
the
city.
This
is
not
I'm,
not
blaming
anyone
any
of
our
predecessors
here.
This
is
something
that
I
don't
know.
If
I
could
call
an
oversight,
somebody
should
have
caught
this
a
long
time
ago.
We
should
have
caught
this
three
years
ago.
We
should
have
caught
this
two
years
ago.
B
A
It
wasn't
complete.
The
report
wasn't
complete,
the
investigation
wasn't
complete
and
until
the
IRS
comes
down
with
the
final
report,
I'm
not
gonna,
release
we're
not
gonna,
release,
half
a
report
that
doesn't
have
findings
and
it
just
like
this
Ernst
&
Young
audit.
We
were
released
the
audit
when
it's
complete,
we're
not
going
to
release
the
audit
as
we
go
through
every
single
day,
because
it'll
change
I've
been
Flo
and
at
the
end
of
the
at
the
end
of
the
audit,
we
will
see
where
the
problems
are.
A
A
A
If
what
I
just
said
here
was
paying
staff
and
coaches
and
teachers
and
things
parents
knew
that
the
problem
was,
the
district
wasn't
was
reporting
it
wrong
and
we're
supposed
to
be
reporting
as
an
employer,
not
as
not
as
an
independent
contractor
and
in
a
lot
of
cases
they
were
being
reported
as
an
independent
contractor,
not
as
an
employer.
It's
changed
today.
What
will
happen
now
is
we
will
run
then
through
that
payroll
system.
B
A
I
think
those
audits
down
by
I
don't
think
what
we
did.
We
didn't
go
into
audits
of
individual
schools
into
these
accounts
and
I.
Think
that's
where
that's
where
the
separation
was,
if
I'm
wrong.
Anything
that's
correct
me,
but
these
are.
These
are
separate
accounts
so
when,
when
the
school
is
a
bake,
sale
use,
that's
the
best
example
and
a
parent
Council
has
a
bake
sale
that
money
is
generally
raised
and
that
money
is
allowed
to
stay
with
that
school.
A
That
money
does
not
go
into
central
office,
because
once
the
central
office
is
a
good
chance,
the
parents
wouldn't
do
a
bake
sale,
but
for
their
own
per
school
they'll
do
a
bake
sale
so
that
money
would
then
stay
in
the
district
that
would
stem
Aeneid
stay
with
the
associated
with
the
school.
What
was
happening
in
some
cases
is
that
the
schools
were
using
it
to
hire
additional
support
in
the
school,
whether
a
teacher
or
teacher's
aide
or
a
coach
or
whatever
it
might
be,
and
they
weren't
paying
them
the
correct
weight.
A
We
would
not
set
up
as
independent
contractors
here
in
the
common
in
the
Commonwealth.
It's
against
state
law,
and
it's
also
we
were
paying
them
as
independent
contractors
for
all
intents
and
purposes,
and
that
we
weren't
paying
taxes
so
that
that
was
one
of
the
biggest
biggest
I
think
egregious
'iz.
That
happened
during
that
was
found
during
this
audit.
B
A
The
IRS
had
not
found
any
of
that.
We
have
not
found
any
of
that
and
part
of
our
reasoning
for
doing
the
Ernst
&
Young
audit
is
to
go
in
just
to
make
sure
the
money
is
accounted
for,
so
we
can
feel
comfortable
moving
forward.
We
could
have
just
left
this
alone
and
said:
okay,
it's
all
done,
16
schools,
they
found
the
problem,
but
we
know
this
90.
Other
schools
out
there
that
have
these
accounts,
so
we're
gonna
go
in
and
check
these
accounts
and
some
of
these
school
accounts
are
small.
A
A
B
A
B
A
The
audit
will
be
released
as
soon
as
it's
complete
and
I'm
hoping
to
get
it
done
fast.
We're
looking
to
fast-track
this
I'm,
not
looking
for
this
little
prolonged
I,
don't
know
what
the
timeline
on
is,
but
I'm
not
looking
for
a
six-month
extension
I
want
something
done
as
quickly
as
possible.
We
only
won't
put
a
time
on
it,
but
I
want
it
done
with
it
in
within
months
to
get
it
done.
So
we
can
address
this
issue.
This
should
not
be.
This
is
not
I'm,
not
gonna.
Let
this
linger.
A
B
A
Know
we
pay
was
like
the
checks,
the
IRS
I
believe
was
like
$2,000,
but
I
was
asked
a
question
earlier
today.
I
think
my
buddy
Dan.
How
do
we
not
know
a
million
dollar
payment
went
out
for
the
city
of
Boston.
We
pay
roughly
eight
million
dollars
a
day
in
bills,
so
I
certainly
don't
have
an
understanding
of
I
know
that
we
pay
money.
I
know
that
there's
a
big
amount
of
money
going
out
the
door
every
day.
I
have
no
no
itemized
receipt
of
where
the
eight
million
dollars
goes.
A
C
And
so
in
the
audience
when
it
says
that,
in
addition
to
a
small
percentage
of
the
number
of
employees,
it
seems
like
that's
happened
with
they've
mentioned
in
the
audit
that
requests
for
things
like
visas,
passports,
residency
status
of
some
of
those
folks
at
the
city
of
Boston
to
provide
loans,
didn't
have
them.
So
my
question
is
one:
do
you
sense
of
what
what
jobs
these
people
are
doing
and
I.
A
Can't
answer
the
second
part
of
the
question
because
they
don't
know
the
answer
to
that,
but
the
first
part
is
just
most
of
the
jobs
that
were
talking
about.
Miss
classification
were
misclassified
as
vendors
which
providing
a
service,
miss
class
or
classified
as
coaches.
Some
of
them
might
have
been
I
quoted,
but
paying
extra
tutors
as
well.
Another
program
that
people
raising
money
for
tutors
in
within
the
schools
and
exam
practice.
So
again,
those
are
all
some
of
those
are
technical
terms
that
we
have
people
on
the
payroll.
A
But
what
might
have
happened
is
a
local
school
might
have
hired
those
folks
in
added
extra
money
rather
than
going
through
the
system.
So
I
can
get
you
more
I'll.
Try
to
get
more
information
on
that.
I
was
not
aware
of
the
early
aliens.
There
I
know
that
this
Social
Security
will
often
use
aliens
if
you
have
a
green
card,
you're
deemed
an
alien
on
the
onion
card
and
they
have
social
security
numbers,
so
I
get
I
have
to
check
that
I'm,
not
sure
about
that
all
right.
Thank
you.