Salem schools released from fiscal watch

STAFF REPORT

SALEM — After three years, the Salem City School District has been released from fiscal watch.

Treasurer Jill Rowe said the district officially was released Thursday after being placed in fiscal watch in March 2006.

“This is a very positive step for our school district,” she said in a news release. “It would not be possible without all the hard work and dedication of the staff, administration, board of education and citizens of Salem.”

A representative of the state auditor’s office presented a release recommendation from fiscal watch to the board of education Dec. 14.

The district originally was placed on watch because of deficit balances in the general fund for a period of three to five years, according to a news release.

The district was able to pass two emergency levies totaling $3.4 million between 2006 and 2007. Cuts also were made inside the district, and changes to the health-care plan were implemented, resulting in a total budget surplus of $1.54 million, according to the news release.

Rowe said that since then, the district has since taken several measures to ensure the district does not return to fiscal watch.

“We put budgets into place that we didn’t really have before, and we’ve got an audit and finance committee in place,” she said. “We are praying the state can fund us, too, and with the news [Thursday] from the Senate and passing of House Bill 318, no cuts are coming Jan. 1.”