Greenland superintendent reports improved finances for troubled school district
Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008
GREENLAND - School District Superintendent Roland Smith offered optimistic financial projections Tuesday that the district could end the fiscal year with a balance of $135,000 and an increased balance of $250,000 for 2009-2010.
“Our projections are increasingly positive,” Smith said during his monthly town meeting for patrons. “For the first time, we are now predicting a positive balance for June 30, 2010, that is significantly higher than 2009.”
The district was placed under fiscal distress this spring due to financial issues and taken over by the state in July. The school board borrowed $121,000 in June so the district would not end the 2007-08 fiscal year in the red.
The $121,000 was on top of a $500,000 short-term loan the district already had.
Smith said the district paid off the $621,000 in loans a month early, which saved approximately $7,301 in interest. The balance was due this month, and he does not anticipate borrowing more money to help with cash flow this year.
“We no longer have the loan,” Smith said. “We expect to end with a balance and we expect that the next two years will show increased balances. What’s against us is that we’ve had some of these issues in the past.”
The April placement on fiscal distress was not the first time the district has been given the designation. It was previously on the list from 2004 to 2006 under different superintendents.
However, Smith said he believed it might be possible to finish the 2009-10 fiscal year with a balance of $250,000.
“We will no longer have a declining cash balance, one of the categories for being in fiscal distress,” Smith said.
The optimistic projections are based on a variety of factors, which include cost-cutting and staff reductions, possible donation revenue, increases in revenue due to a passed millage and an increase in the assessed valuation.
“I’m trying to be conservative in what I’m predicting,” Smith said. “If we can make these figures, we have a very strong case.”
The district has received more than $80,000 in donations so far due to community fundraising activities. Smith also outlined a variety of savings measures he has implemented, which added together equal $53,037.
“Anything that can be done to increase the revenue will make it a better scenario,” he said.
The Greenland City Council is looking to help the district, possibly with a sales tax election to aid the school. The council is scheduled to discuss the matter at a meeting Monday, alderman and former school board member Bill Groom said.
Smith said he would also like to budget $125,000 for salary increases next year to help district staff. This would require state approval, he noted, so it is not guaranteed.
“We haven’t even talked about a small increase (before),” Smith said.
The district’s financial woes were largely due to being overstaffed and not adjusting staff in conjunction with an enrollment decline after the district closed Winslow High School in 2005.
Greenland spent $464,435 less from July to November than it did during those months in 2007, Smith said.
Smith said he would expect the Arkansas State Board of Education to make a decision in April on whether to remove the district from fiscal distress or continue monitoring the district for another year.
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