Fiscal distress declared
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
LITTLE ROCK ó The unanimous Arkansas State Board of Education vote came as no surprise ó the Decatur School District was officially classified as being in fiscal distress.
The state board met Monday morning in Little Rock to consider several items that were of interest to school districts in northwest Arkansas, including the classification of the Decatur district as being in fiscal distress. Officials from Decatur did not appeal the vote.
ì The district knows we have a problem, î said Bobby King, acting superintendent.
King does, however, disagree with the stateís numbers that indicate just how bad the districtís finances are faring. Based on figures from the last fiscal year, the state estimates that Decatur will have a $ 600, 000 budget shortfall by the end of this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2009. King is in the process of gathering information to present to the state Board of Education on July 31 when Decatur faces being annexed into one of three nearby districts ó Gravette, Gentry or Bentonville. While the estimated $ 600, 000 shortfall is part of the problem, the immediate issue forcing the annexation, state officials have said, is Decaturís $ 60, 000 deficit from the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
King said last week that the estimated $ 600, 000 shortfall is inaccurate for several reasons. For one, the figure includes $ 300, 000 in one-time expenses that were incurred last fiscal year, many associated with the opening of a new elementary school. Those expenses will not be incurred again during the new fiscal year.
There are also a number of open positions within the district which will not be filled, thus saving the district salary and benefits costs. The district is receiving further help from the community. At least $ 100, 000 has already been raised through the Decatur Education Foundation, and at least $ 100, 000 more might be coming in the near future, he said.
The state is also expected to have more information available at the July 31 hearing. Bill Goff, assistant commissioner for finance and administration for the Arkansas Department of Education, said Decatur has a unique situation in that not all of the financial information has been properly recorded. The discrepancy is making it impossible at this time to know an exact bottom line for the district, he told state board members.
Officials from Decatur, as well as Gentry and Gravette, got somewhat of an idea of how the July 31 hearing will proceed through another annexation hearing held Monday morning. This time, the district on the potential chopping block was Greenland. After hearing several hours of testimony, and based on a new recommendation from Arkansas Education Commissioner Ken James, the state board voted not to annex Greenland into one of several nearby school districts. Instead, board members voted to take local control from the district, which includes dissolving the local school board and installing a superintendent who will report directly to James. The Greenland School Board, as well as other patrons from the district, requested the action as an alternative to losing the district entirely.
Officials from Decatur were encouraged to see Greenlandís outcome.
ì It turned out a lot different than I thought it would, î King said. ì It gives us hope. î
Michael Wilkins, Decatur School Board president, was also present to view the proceedings. He said he hopes Decaturís history of never having been in fiscal distress before will serve to help sway the state Board of Educationís vote in Decaturís favor. He said he would accept an outcome similar to Greenland as a last resort, but he hopes the Decatur district will be allowed to solve its problems on its own.
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