The mayor and his erstwhile Chief Financial Officer Eric Demas have $3.2 million worth of reasons to thank acting Superintendent of Schools Janice Gauthier.
Under her interim leadership, the School Department has not spent $3.2 million originally intended for the department to spend.
This money is being returned to the city’s general fund, and the city’s cash position will be enhanced by Mrs. Gauthier’s frugal and intelligent spending measures which have led to this unusual and extraordinary surplus.
A surplus is nothing to complain about, despite Mr. Demas complaining quite vociferously that it is some kind of crime for a city department to show a surplus after opting for added funding.
Mr. Demas doth complain a bit too much about this in his effort to be a mouthpiece for his boss the mayor.
If anything, the revelation of such a rich surplus reveals accounting practices and common sense on the part of the interim superintendent to be in good order at the School Department.
About the only thing Mr. Demas got right in a recent interview is describing Mrs. Gauthier as a breath of fresh air.
He should simply have complimented her on her good judgment and on the city’s good fortune to be getting back $3.2 million which is found money.
He might also have complimented the School Department’s administrators and accounting department and practices which preserved this cash and is returning it unscathed.
Mr. Demas does not live here, is not invested here other than in his job.
He should stick to financial matters and leave the politics to his boss.
The last thing the city needs is a CFO making partisan political speeches for his boss that rehash events now more than a year old.