Despite having the funds on hand, the Simpson County School District is seeking a shortfall in funding from the county of $47,844 for the current budget year.
The reason, according to Superintendent Dr. Toriano Holloway, is that covering the shortfall in requested revenues from current funds would reduce the amount of funding the school board could seek going forward to service the debt for a new consolidated high school planned for the county.
The budget that was requested from the Board of Supervisors did not yield the approved funding level for the school because taxes have been assessed in the county but they were not paid, creating a shortfall.
The issue surfaced following the Board of Supervisors meeting last Friday morning, and comments on the issue indicated that if funding levels were not met in the school’s case, the entire county would come up short on budget, and that shortage has not surfaced in any of the other departments. However, the discussion indicated that the board would try to determine why there was not a shortfall in other departments.
The school board agreed to employ the services of Jim Young to execute the proper documentation to secure the shortfall. The contract said Young’s fee would not exceed $5,000 to execute the proper paperwork to secure the shortfall.
Stacey Herrin asked why the school board’s attorney, Wesla Sullivan, could not handle the matter and was told that it was not a specialty in her practice and that Young was better suited to handle a suit of this nature.
SCSD board member Stacey Herrin voted against the motion but it was approved by the board.
Herrin did not miss the opportunity at the first of the meeting to voice her opposition to proceeding with a consolidated high school as she has done in several other meetings.
She said, “I am not still on board with spending this much money. I would love to see our kids in a new facility, but it is too expensive and the costs right now are too expensive.” She suggested that a partial smaller school could be built now and consolidation could occur in the future.
Dr. Holloway told the board that there had not been a request to increase taxes since 2009.
The board was presented with the first official bank statement that corresponds accurately with the figures produced by the school district’s accounting. This comes on the heels of numerous audit and compliance issues with the state and dates back several years under SCSD’s previous director of finance, Duane Fewell.
Herrin inquired as to whether any funds would be available to the county based on costs incurred to the board for accounting procedures that were provided to correct accounting deficiencies. Attorney Sullivan reported that the district’s requests for actions against Fewell’s bond were denied because there had not been any financial benefit to Fewell.
Herrin asked for a statement as to costs incurred to the board to correct the accounting errors. Sullivan said that information would be made available.
A scheduled budget hearing is set for August 3, and Dr. Holloway said the board plans to meet on August 4 to adopt the annual school budget.
SCSD’s District Maintenance Manager Jeffery Walker reported to the board that construction was running behind on the new building at Mendenhall Elementary and that the contractor was paying late penalty fees associated with the contract.
Walker alo reported that construction should start this week at Simpson Central. However, he said that the cafeteria would not be completed until August 2023. The district is moving in a portable facility that will be used to provide the same meals that are offered at all campuses. The only issue is that students will be required to take the meals back to their classrooms because seating is not available during the construction phase of renovation.
Dr. Holloway acknowledged complaints about required materials for registration but the district has been out of compliance and the requirements are just that, he said,— requirements. Following a program called Portrait of a Graduate, the district is in the process of identifying what students’ needs are at graduation. Holloway said it consists of a lot more than a certificate that indicates a student has met the standards in more than a few required course studies. He said students, community members as well as faculty and business leaders will have input into the program to help provide a more rounded education.
