Financial officer in Washington, D.C., says so-called school budget surplus does not exist

FromThe Washington Post: The chief financial officer in Washington, D.C., says that a $34 million surplus in the school system's budget, cited by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as a major source of funding for raises promised to teachers, does not exist. Natwar M. Gandhi's analysis is likely to raise new questions about the prospects for an agreement between the city and the Washington Teachers' Union. Gandhi says that although there is a projected $34 million in "underspending" in the school operations section of the agency's budget, it is offset by an estimated $30 million in overspending in the system's central office. EARLIER...from The Washington Post: Teachers union leaders in Washington, D.C., are accusing Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee of unethical behavior because she didn't disclose the discovery of a $34 million surplus in the school system budget in February, three months after laying off 266 teachers because of what she described as a budget shortfall.