Summit school board approved $3.62 million in bills without public documents, records show

Summit families had no way to review $3.62 million in school district bills before the Board of Education voted to approve them Sept. 10.

That finding comes from records obtained through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, first reported by NJ21st, an independent civic journalism outlet. John Migueis, who runs NJ21st, filed the request after the meeting agenda listed the bills, contracts, budget transfers and financial reports as action items without attaching the underlying documents to the public packet.

The records, published Oct. 20, show the $3.62 million covered roughly $2.13 million in general expenses, $1.35 million in construction and capital project payments, $96,721 in food service costs and $44,618 for special programs. Construction payments went to ARCO Construction for work at Summit High School, Brayton Elementary and Jefferson Elementary, and to MAK Group for work at the middle school. The district also paid $145,369 to Apple Computer for technology purchases across multiple schools.

Budget transfer records revealed another gap between what families could see and what the board approved. The district moved $133,453.40 out of four elementary schools' textbook budgets into a districtwide curriculum account. Of that, $50,000 funded something labeled "Panorama." Panorama Education is a school survey company. The records do not specify what the district purchased.

The July financial reports presented at the same meeting showed the capital projects fund, which covers construction spending, carried a negative cash balance of $3.32 million. The district held about $16.48 million in total cash across all funds. The records do not explain the deficit.

The board also approved athletic training contracts with JAG Athletic Training at $85 per hour and Rivalry Sports Medicine at $80 per hour. Neither contract lists a spending cap in the records obtained through OPRA.

The Summit Board of Education has not publicly responded to the findings, according to NJ21st's reporting. The district's agendas and minutes page lists the Sept. 10 agenda and meeting minutes but does not include the bills list, transfer records or contract documents.

NJ21st's full breakdown includes school-by-school payment details, additional contract findings and a list of unanswered questions for the board.