A state education official advised the Dollarway School Board on Thursday to be mindful of its budget.
Richard Wilde is an Arkansas Department of Education School Improvement Unit Programs Manager. A former superintendent in Washington State, Wilde is monitoring and advising Dollarway School Board members.
These developments follow a Tuesday meeting when Board Vice President Gene Stewart initially proposed a $1,000 bonus for certified personnel and $750 for classified personnel, the same amount that was approved during the last school year. But board member Ruth Bogy said she thought each employee should get the same amount of money and the board agreed to $1,000 per employee, if the funds are available.
Wilde said the board is allowed to have a budget that includes money for bonuses. But Wilde recommended the board wait until spring 2016 before considering approving money to award bonuses to employees. Wilde said the board will need to know its actual expenditures at that time and act accordingly.
At the Tuesday meeting the board approved a 2015-2016 budget that calls for expected revenues of $12,985,000 and expenditures of $6,298,000. The budget calls for a balance of just over $4 million on June 30, 2016.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
At the Tuesday meeting, Superintendent Patsy Hughey also pointed out that schools receive state funds for their enrollment from the previous year, meaning Dollarway is receiving money for 1,313 students who were enrolled last year. This year, there are 1,272 students, or 41 fewer.
The Dollarway School District is in academic distress for a fifth straight year. The Arkansas Department of Education defines academic distress as a school that has fewer than 49.5 percent of students who score proficient or advanced in math or literacy. The district is also on an early watch list for fiscal distress.
“They were wise to budget [bonuses] but because they are on fiscal watch, they are also wise to wait until they know where they are fiscally later in the year,” Wilde, who has a doctorate in education, said. “… When they do [give bonuses] could be a problem.”
The Arkansas Department of Education is providing assistance to Dollarway, Wilde said. He prefers the Dollarway school board remain in existence rather than be removed by the state, he said.
Wilde advised the board to prepare for a meeting with Cherry Norris, Arkansas Department of Education Fiscal Services and Support coordinator in the Division of Fiscal and Administrative Services, to discuss their budget. The board did not set a date for its meeting with Norris.
The Dollarway board members met in executive session Thursday night for more than two hours. They did not take action on anything, Board President Billie Sanders Lankford said.