The Examiner U-46 News Feed

U-46 adds depository to list of approved firms

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 is set to vote on a list of authorized depositories at its upcoming meeting on Monday, Aug. 8. The list was presented on July 18.
  The list of depositories, which handle the district’s investments, will remain with the same three companies previously used while a fourth has been added.
  “In accordance with the Illinois School Code and board policy, we are recommending four firms; PMA Securities, the Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund, JP Morgan Chase and Fifth Third Bancorp; as authorized depositories for the new school year,” said Ann Williams, deputy superintendent for operations.
  Williams added: “All of them except Fifth Third are financial institutions that we’ve used in the past. We’re adding Fifth Third in an effort to improve our investment strategies long term and maximize our interest earnings.”
  The addition of Fifth Third offers at least some vindication for former board member Phil Costello who in 2018 raised the lack of a competitive process in choosing investment companies as an issue that needed to be addressed. District officials admitted that they chose the same companies every year simply because a majority of school districts used them.
  Costello, a public administrator himself, did his own analysis of the district’s investments at the time and found at least $940,000 in “missed opportunities” over an 11-month period. The district and the board’s majority did not address his concerns then.
  “At no time were the merits of my analysis assessed or detrimental consequences refuted,” Costello said at the time. “I have consistently asked that district staff provide additional evidence of competitive bidding, robust internal control, and avoidance of sole sourced professional services.”