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Watson Chapel School District Superintendent Danny Hazelwood told the district board of directors Monday that a steady drop in student enrollment numbers is not being met with a commensurate drop in staff and that the existing situation is not sustainable.
If student enrollment continues to fall, the board must make some hard decisions and cut the district’s staff, Hazelwood warned. The superintendent does not have far to go to find an example.
Frank Anthony, the state-appointed superintendent of the Dollarway School District, told the state Board of Education on Monday that while he is making progress in addressing the district’s financial and administrative headaches, he can’t stop expenditures from outpacing revenues this school year.
Because of declining enrollment, Dollarway’s revenues fell by about $500,000 last year, while expenses increased by about the same amount. Certified and classified staffs were under contract for the 2012-13 school year when Anthony took over in mid-June.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Hazelwood and Anthony have time to trim expenditures for the next school year, but little wiggle room now.
Anthony likens his job to cleaning up “the wild wild West” as the new sheriff in town. He keeps finding problems in recordkeeping and finances.
“Last year we spent $3.2 million on supplies and materials versus $2 million the year before,” Hazelwood told directors. “Most of the expense was due to the purchase of textbooks. We anticipate the same kind of spending again this year.”
Fuel costs and utility expenses are also up, but projected revenue for the 2012-2013 school year is down from the previous two years at Watson Chapel.
Projected revenue is based on the number of students that the district is currently serving. State revenue is down because the district’s total number of students is down.
The difference between $28.56 million in revenues in 2010-2011 and projected total revenues of $25.25 million this year probably keeps Hazelwood from sleeping well some nights. School directors and Hazelwood have the benefit of time for planning that was not available to Anthony.
More problems
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A state audit of the Pine Bluff School District received by lawmakers Thursday indicated numerous weaknesses exist in the district’s internal controls over financial reporting and several major programs.
Auditors found 52 receipts torn from the district’s business office receipt book and discovered that 36 separate pieces of equipment purchased between July 2009 and June 2011 were not being utilized. The items were found stored in their original boxes.
The latter is not surprising, with teachers repeatedly asking for certain items for the classroom and the district’s technology personnel contending they didn’t have time for installation.
The school board’s decision to pay former Superintendent Jerry Payne $10,000 in advance for moving expenses in 2011 got auditors’ attention. Payne submitted expense receipts to the district totaling $19,308, but a review of the receipts found most were furniture, appliances, linens and home décor items.
Auditors noted the only receipt that did qualify as a moving expense was $396 for a rental moving van. Payne was fired by the school board early this year and at the board’s request reimbursed the district more than $9,000.
Pamela Winkler, the district’s director of business and finance, told legislators when she tried to bring them to the financial issues to the board’s attention, Payne “stopped us from discussing each individual item.”
While Linda Watson, who was named interim superintendent of the Pine Bluff district in June, said the audit’s findings are being addressed, she might remind board members of their financial oversight role.